Two housing proposals that could reshape parts of Salt Lake City drew more than 100 people to City Hall on Wednesday, but the plans left the Planning Commission on different paths.
Commissioners forwarded a positive recommendation for a disputed Glendale rezone that would allow approximately 24 homes on three parcels. A broader proposal affecting much of the city’s residential land was tabled because of a public-notice error.
The Glendale dispute began attracting wider attention after resident Ross Whitaker brought FOX 13 a hand-drawn map showing where the proposed homes would be built.
Whitaker and other opponents argue the development would place too many homes in a small area and increase pressure on the neighborhood’s parking, traffic and aging infrastructure. Organizers now report 863 signatures on an online petition and another 66 signatures submitted in writing.
The Planning Commission’s recommendation passed with three commissioners voting in favor, two voting against it and two abstaining.
Although the rezone advanced, Whitaker viewed the divided commission as a victory for opponents.
“I feel we did a great job. I feel we won. I feel we made a statement,” Whitaker said. “We’re serious, and we don’t want this to happen.”
The commission attached several conditions to its recommendation.
The development would be limited to the density allowed under RMF-30 zoning and could not use the city’s affordable housing incentives to add more units. New construction could not exceed 30 feet, and parking reductions would not be permitted.
Every new home would also need at least two bedrooms. Half of the homes or lots would have to be offered for sale at prices affordable to buyers earning no more than 80% of the area median income. The remaining homes would be divided between limits of 100% and 120% of the area median income.
The conditions also address landscaping, tree planting and assistance for tenants displaced if existing homes are demolished.
Turner Bitton, executive director of Wasatch Advocates for Livable Communities, supports the development. He said the ownership requirements could provide options for people who otherwise could not afford to buy in Glendale.
“There’s a recognized need for affordable housing,” Bitton said. “The neighborhood consistently says it wants more ownership opportunities.”
Bitton said traditional single-family homes built on the property would likely sell for more than $600,000. Building townhomes, he argued, would allow the city to add ownership opportunities without expanding farther outward.
The Glendale vote applies only to the three parcels involved in that application. The second proposal considered Wednesday could reach neighborhoods across Salt Lake City.
Expanding Housing Options, known as EHO, would change development rules on approximately 77% of the city’s residentially zoned land.
Under the draft, properties would generally need 2,000 square feet of lot area for each dwelling. A property retaining an existing home could qualify for an additional unit not subject to that minimum.
Projects meeting the proposed standards could be approved without an individual rezone, public notice or public hearing.
Peter Wetzel of the Neighborhood Housing Alliance contacted FOX 13 after its initial Glendale report. His group produced illustrations showing how it believes existing neighborhoods could change under EHO.
“You could drop a house in the front yard, and you could drop a house in the backyard,” Wetzel said while describing what could be permitted on a typical 7,000-square-foot lot.
Salt Lake City planners said they have not reviewed the alliance’s illustrations and could not verify them.
The city describes EHO as an effort to create “gentle infill” and give owners more choices for their property. Those choices could include adding another unit, creating space for relatives to age in place or building smaller homes for future generations.
The proposal would not require the new homes to meet affordability or owner-occupancy standards. It would require one parking space for each dwelling.
Wetzel estimated that nearly 150 people attended Wednesday’s two housing discussions between the main commission chamber and an overflow room.
Brian Burnett was among those who spoke during the EHO hearing. He supports creating affordable housing but questions whether the proposal has received enough public scrutiny.
“I really don’t think most people in a lot of areas of the city even know about this proposal,” Burnett said. “So I think that it needs to be vetted more.”
Bitton supports EHO and argues that limiting most neighborhoods to one type of housing would eventually push working residents farther away from the city.
“We lose affordability, and we lose the diversity — both of income, of background, of ethnicity — all of the things that I think make Salt Lake City what it is,” Bitton said.
Commissioners did not vote on the substance of EHO. They unanimously tabled the proposal because of a public-notice error.
The Planning Commission is scheduled to resume the EHO public hearing on Sept. 23.
The Glendale rezone will next go to the Salt Lake City Council, which has final authority. The council will hold a briefing and another public hearing before making its decision, but those dates have not been scheduled.
“Win or lose, we showed them we could fight,” Whitaker said. “And we will.”
