Read the full stored bill text
25
10-21-304
17-80-304
0
Small Lots and Starter Homes Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Raymond P. Ward
Senate Sponsor: Lincoln Fillmore
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill deals with regulation of certain land uses in residential zones located in counties of
the first, second, and third class.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
defines terms;
provides that a person may make a request to a county of the first, second, or third class,
or a municipality located in a county of the first, second, or third class, in regard to a
proposed land use that conforms with a preferred land use regulation;
requires the municipality or county to determine if a request conforms with a preferred
land use regulation and provide notice of the determination to the applicant;
authorizes a planning commission or legislative body to deny a request, under certain
conditions, that conforms with a preferred land use regulation;
provides that if a planning commission or legislative body does not deny a request that
conforms with a preferred land use regulation within 45 days, the request becomes a
permitted use;
provides that a person has two years from the day on which a request becomes permitted
to submit a complete application; and
provides that, after a request is denied, a person may make a subsequent request made
within four years of the denial but the subsequent request requires the legislative body to
expressly approve the request for the request to become a permitted use.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
ENACTS:
10-21-304
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
17-80-304
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
10-21-304
is enacted to read:
10-21-304
. Definitions -- Conformity with a preferred land use regulation a
permitted use under certain circumstances.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Application" means a land use application.
(b)
"Area mean purchase price" means the mean purchase price of a single-family
residential unit sold in a county, as determined by the county or a municipality in the
county based on publicly available data, during:
(i)
the immediately preceding calendar year; or
(ii)
the calendar year immediately before the calendar year described in Subsection
(1)(b)(i)
.
(c)
"Preferred land use regulation" means a regulation described in Subsection
(2)
:
(i)
that the Legislature finds:
(A)
would advance the state's objective of lowering the average cost of housing by
enabling the construction of homes that are smaller and less expensive;
(B)
allows for some permitting of individual projects that are unlikely to adversely
affect nearby property owners, the public, or the communities in which the
projects are built; and
(C)
maintains the local land use authority's jurisdiction over which projects are
permitted to be built within the local land use authority's boundaries; and
(ii)
that, as applied to a property owner in a municipality, is not a permitted use under
the municipality's zoning regulations, land use ordinances, or building standards.
(d)
"Request" means a written submission from a property owner, or a person acting on
a property owner's behalf, seeking that a municipality located in a county of the first,
second, or third class, as classified under Section
17-60-104
, accept a preferred land
use regulation on a specific parcel as part of a simultaneous or upcoming application.
(e)
"Setback" means the required distance between the property line of a lot or parcel
and the location where a structure is allowed to be placed under an adopted land use
regulation.
(f)
"Starter home" means a single-family residential unit that:
(i)
is sold to an initial owner-occupier for an amount equal to or less than the area
mean purchase price of a single-family residential unit;
(ii)
is deed restricted to be owner-occupied for two years following the day on which
the unit is first sold;
(iii)
has a minimum of two parking spots, covered or uncovered; and
(iv)
is built:
(A)
on a lot of any size;
(B)
without meeting a minimum number of livable square feet;
(C)
with any floor area ratio;
(D)
with any setbacks, if the setbacks meet minimum safety codes; and
(E)
on a lot with at least 35 feet of street frontage.
(2)
The following are preferred land use regulations in an area zoned for residential use:
(a)
regulations that permit a person to build a starter home; or
(b)
for lot size requirements, a minimum of 5,400 square feet.
(3)
(a)
Subject to Subsection
(10)
, a person may submit a request that a municipality
accept a preferred land use regulation, notwithstanding a conflicting municipal
regulation, as part of an application or an upcoming application to develop a specific
residential property as described in this Subsection
(3)
.
(b)
A request shall include:
(i)
a brief, written description of the anticipated single-family residential unit;
(ii)
a drawing of the anticipated development, accurately depicting:
(A)
the dimensions of the property; and
(B)
the proposed dimensions, location, and outline of the anticipated single-family
residential unit; and
(iii)
a specific reference to the preferred land use regulation the person is seeking.
(c)
A municipality may require supporting information from a person making a request
only as strictly necessary to determine whether the request meets the requirements of
this section.
(d)
A municipality may not require a person making a request to:
(i)
submit engineering plans, architectural drawings, plats, or will-serve letters; or
(ii)
conform with all other municipal regulations or standards that the municipality
normally requires to accept or process a complete land use application.
(4)
(a)
No later than 10 business days after the day on which a municipality receives a
request, municipal staff shall determine if the request conforms with Subsection
(3)
regardless of whether the request conforms with the applicable land use regulation
otherwise governing the parcel at issue.
(b)
If a request conforms with Subsection
(3)
, the municipality shall, within one business
day of making the determination, provide notice of the determination to the applicant.
(5)
(a)
If a municipality determines that a request does not conform with Subsection
(3)
,
or if the request lacks information the municipality requires under Subsection
(3)(c)
,
the municipality shall no later than 10 business days after the day on which the
municipality receives the request, deny the request and provide to the applicant:
(i)
notice of the determination and denial; and
(ii)
the reasoning for the determination.
(b)
The municipality may not use the person's failure to submit a complete land use
application as the basis to deny a request.
(c)
A denial and determination under this Subsection
(5)
is an administrative act.
(d)
A person that receives a denial and determination under this Subsection
(5)
may
submit a new request, which:
(i)
shall begin a new 10-day time period; and
(ii)
does not constitute a subsequent request, as described in Subsection
(10)
.
(6)
A
planning commission or legislative body may, within 45 calendar days of the day on
which the municipality notifies the person under Subsection (4)(b) that the request
conforms with Subsection
(3)
, act to deny the request:
(a)
if the planning commission or legislative body determines, for any reason, that the
benefit to the person and community would be outweighed by the negative effect to
others in the community;
(b)
if the planning commission or legislative body makes a finding on the record
regarding the determination described in Subsection
(6)(a)
;
(c)
in a public meeting of the planning commission or legislative body; and
(d)
by majority vote.
(7)
If a planning commission or municipal legislative body expressly approves or does not
deny a request as described in Subsection
(6)
:
(a)
the preferred land use described in the request becomes a permitted use as to the
property and as to the use described in the request 46 days after the day on which the
municipality notifies the applicant under Subsection (4)(b);
(b)
approval of the request or the failure to deny the request does not constitute approval
of the entire land use application; and
(c)
all other land use regulations and requirements for permitting and inspections
continue to apply.
(8)
(a)
A person who makes a request that becomes a permitted use as described in
Subsection
(7)
shall, by no later than two years from the day on which the request
becomes permitted, submit a complete application for:
(i)
a building permit, for a request that conforms with Subsection
(2)(a)
; or
(ii)
plat approval, for a request that conforms with Subsection
(2)(b)
.
(b)
If a person fails to timely comply with Subsection
(8)(a)
, the use is no longer
permitted.
(9)
With respect to a preferred land use regulation request that becomes a permitted use as
described in Subsection
(7)
, the municipality is not required to:
(a)
amend municipal zoning regulations, land use ordinances, or building standards; or
(b)
apply the preferred land use regulation to other land use applications for the same
residential zone.
(10)
(a)
A person who makes a request that is denied under Subsection
(6)
may make a
subsequent request regarding the same property as described in this Subsection
(10)
.
(b)
A subsequent request that is made within five years of the day on which the initial
request is denied:
(i)
shall indicate that the request is a subsequent request; and
(ii)
notwithstanding Subsection
(7)
, requires express approval from the planning
commission or legislative body within 45 days of the day on which the person
makes the subsequent request in order to become a permitted use.
Section 2. Section
17-80-304
is enacted to read:
17-80-304
. Definitions -- Conformity with a preferred land use regulation a
permitted use under certain circumstances.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Application" means a land use application.
(b)
"Area mean purchase price" means the mean purchase price of a single-family
residential unit sold in a county, as determined by the county based on publicly
available data, during:
(i)
the immediately preceding calendar year; or
(ii)
the calendar year immediately before the calendar year described in Subsection
(1)(b)(i)
.
(c)
"Preferred land use regulation" means a regulation described in Subsection
(2)
:
(i)
that the Legislature finds:
(A)
advances the state's objective of lowering the average cost of housing by
enabling the construction of homes that are smaller and less expensive;
(B)
allows for some permitting of individual projects that are unlikely to adversely
affect nearby property owners, the public, or the communities in which the
projects are built; and
(C)
maintains the local land use authority's jurisdiction over which projects are
permitted to be built within the local land use authority's boundaries; and
(ii)
that, as applied to a property owner in an unincorporated county, is not a
permitted use under the county's zoning regulations, land use ordinances, or
building standards.
(d)
"Request" means a written submission from a property owner, or a person acting on
a property owner's behalf, seeking that a county of the first, second, or third class, as
classified under Section
17-60-104
, accept a preferred land use regulation on a
specific parcel as part of a simultaneous or upcoming application.
(e)
"Setback" means the required distance between the property line of a lot or parcel
and the location where a structure is allowed to be placed under an adopted land use
regulation.
(f)
"Starter home" means a single-family residential unit that:
(i)
is sold to an initial owner-occupier for an amount equal to or less than the area
mean purchase price of a single-family residential unit;
(ii)
is deed restricted to be owner-occupied for two years following the day on which
the unit is first sold;
(iii)
has a minimum of two parking spots, covered or uncovered; and
(iv)
is built:
(A)
on a lot of any size;
(B)
without meeting a minimum number of livable square feet;
(C)
with any floor area ratio;
(D)
with any setbacks, if the setbacks meet minimum safety codes; and
(E)
on a lot with at least 35 feet of street frontage.
(2)
The following are preferred land use regulations in an area zoned for residential use in a
county of the first, second, or third class:
(a)
regulations that permit a person to build a starter home; or
(b)
for lot size requirements, a minimum of 5,400 square feet.
(3)
(a)
Subject to Subsection
(10)
, a person may submit a request that a county accept a
preferred land use regulation, notwithstanding a conflicting county regulation, as part
of an application or an upcoming application to develop a specific residential
property as described in this Subsection
(3)
.
(b)
A request shall include:
(i)
a written description or drawn sketch describing the anticipated development plan;
and
(ii)
a specific reference to the preferred land use regulation the person is seeking.
(c)
A county may require supporting information from a person making a request only as
strictly necessary to determine whether the request meets the requirements of this
section.
(d)
A county may not require a person making a request to:
(i)
submit engineering plans, architectural drawings, plats, or will-serve letters; or
(ii)
conform with all other county regulations or standards that the county normally
requires to accept or process a complete land use application.
(4)
(a)
No later than 10 business days after the day on which a county receives a request,
county staff shall determine if the request conforms with Subsection
(3)
regardless of
whether the request conforms with the applicable land use regulation otherwise
governing the parcel at issue.
(b)
If a request conforms with Subsection
(3)
, the county shall, within one business day
of making the determination, provide notice of the determination to the applicant.
(5)
(a)
If a county determines that a request does not conform with Subsection
(3)
, or if
the request lacks information the county requires under Subsection
(3)(c)
, the county
shall no later than 10 business days after the day on which the county receives the
request, deny the request and provide to the applicant:
(i)
notice of the determination and denial; and
(ii)
the reasoning for the determination.
(b)
The county may not use the person's failure to submit a complete land use
application as the basis to deny a request.
(c)
A denial and determination under this Subsection
(5)
is an administrative act.
(d)
A person that receives a denial and determination under this Subsection
(5)
may
submit a new request that addresses the reasoning for the denial, which:
(i)
shall begin a new 10-day time period; and
(ii)
does not constitute a subsequent request, as described in Subsection
(10)
.
(6)
A
planning commission or legislative body may, within 45 calendar days of the day on
which the county notifies the person under Subsection (4)(b) that the request conforms
with Subsection
(3)
, act to deny the request:
(a)
if the planning commission or legislative body determines, for any reason, that the
benefit to the person and community would be outweighed by the negative effect to
others in the community;
(b)
if the planning commission or legislative body makes a finding on the record
regarding the determination described in Subsection
(6)(a)
;
(c)
in a public meeting of the planning commission or legislative body; and
(d)
by majority vote.
(7)
If a planning commission or municipal legislative body expressly approves or does not
deny a request as described in Subsection
(6)
:
(a)
the preferred land use described in the request becomes a permitted use as to the
property and as to the use described in the request 46 days after the day on which the
county notifies the applicant under Subsection (4)(b);
(b)
approval of the request or the failure to deny the request does not constitute approval
of the entire land use application; and
(c)
all other land use regulations and requirements for permitting and inspections
continue to apply.
(8)
(a)
A person who makes a request that becomes a permitted use as described in
Subsection
(7)
shall, by no later than two years from the day on which the request
becomes permitted, submit a complete application for a building permit, for a request
that conforms with Subsection
(2)(a)
, or plat approval, for a request that conforms
with Subsection
(2)(b)
.
(b)
If a person fails to comply with Subsection
(8)(a)
, the use is no longer permitted.
(9)
With respect to a preferred land use regulation request that becomes a permitted use as
described in Subsection
(7)
, the county is not required to:
(a)
amend county zoning regulations, land use ordinances, or building standards; or
(b)
apply the preferred land use regulation to other land use applications for the same
residential zone.
(10)
(a)
A person who makes a request that is denied under Subsection
(6)
may make a
subsequent request regarding the same property as described in this Subsection
(10)
.
(b)
A subsequent request that is made within five years of the day on which the initial
request is denied:
(i)
shall indicate that the request is a subsequent request; and
(ii)
notwithstanding Subsection
(7)
, requires express approval from the planning
commission or legislative body within 45 days of the day on which the person
makes the subsequent request in order to become a permitted use.
Section 3.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-12-26 9:04 AM