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Committee advances parking-focused housing bill that counts two‑car garages as two spaces
Summary
Senate Bill 181, a parking-focused housing affordability measure that counts a two‑car garage as two parking spaces and bars municipalities from requiring garages for deed-restricted owner-occupied affordable housing (while allowing on-site parking requirements), received a unanimous favorable recommendation in committee.
A Utah legislative committee on Wednesday recommended favorably the first substitute of Senate Bill 181, a housing affordability bill focused on parking standards that sponsors and stakeholders described as part of a consensus package from the Commission on Housing Affordability.
Senator Fillmore, sponsor of SB 181, told the committee the bill makes two principal changes: it defines a two‑car garage so that it counts as two parking spaces for land‑use calculations, and it prohibits municipalities from requiring a garage for deed-restricted owner‑occupied affordable housing (while allowing municipalities to require on‑site parking). The measure includes a small property tax exemption for rehabilitated housing owned by a housing authority.
Committee members questioned potential neighborhood impacts and enforcement details. Representative Ward said he supported the bill but requested further study of why, in practice, some two‑car carports or driveways produce street parking spillover while two‑car garages do not. League of Cities and Towns Executive Director Cameron Dale and redevelopment/property-rights coalition representatives said the bill was part of a negotiated, consensus package and that it seeks to reduce costs that make owner-occupied affordable units more expensive.
Supporters noted the commission negotiated the measure over months and described it as an incremental compromise: "This is a bill that everyone can live with and nobody loves," Senator Fillmore said. Representative Miller moved that the committee recommend the first substitute favorably; the motion passed unanimously.
Why it matters: Sponsors say removing mandatory garage requirements for deed‑restricted affordable owner‑occupied housing and counting two‑car garages as two spaces lowers construction costs and makes homeownership more accessible for households at or below defined affordability thresholds, while supporters acknowledged trade‑offs such as greater potential on‑street parking that local planners must manage.
