Utah League of Cities and Towns board members spent substantial time on housing and land‑use issues, including a proposed timeline for building‑permit screening and plan review, LPC survey results on local priorities, and a case study from Lehi about a density‑bonus overlay designed to produce owner‑occupied starter homes.

Plan review timelines: Jared (ULCT staff) summarized negotiations over statutory time frames for building‑permit screening and plan review. The current proposal under discussion would require a three‑day screening period to determine whether an application is administratively complete and a 14‑day substantive plan‑review window. Staff said the screening check can often be completed quickly (a state official said about 15 minutes for a completeness check), and the proposal would permit tolling the review clock when an applicant is notified of incompleteness until they supply the missing materials. The board generally supported the three‑day screening/14‑day review approach, while noting smaller jurisdictions may need operational adjustments when staff are pulled from other work to perform completeness checks.

LPC survey highlights: staff reported LPC survey responses showing member interest in safe‑harbor tools for modern income housing plans focused on ownership, strong interest in using surplus state land (including park‑and‑ride sites) for affordable ownership, and mixed views on ADU mandates. Parking stall size standardization and tandem‑count issues were low‑to‑moderate political priorities among respondents.

Lehi pilot for ownership: Mayor Mary Johnson (Lehi) presented a local overlay created to produce attainable owner‑occupied homes. Key features include developer agreements, a density bonus up to 50 percent for qualifying projects, restrictions on home size and fixture units (to limit sewer/water fixture counts instead of traditional ERU limits), deed restrictions requiring owner‑occupancy (with limited exceptions for immediate family caretakers), and profit‑margin limits submitted by developers for city review. Lehi’s proposal targets smaller single‑family or patio homes (roughly 1,200–1,500 square feet, no basement) priced near $300,000–$340,000 in the city’s pro forma, achieved by reducing right‑of‑way widths, minimizing landscaping requirements and allowing future garage additions rather than requiring attached garages.

Why it matters: the plan‑review time frames would impose concrete deadlines on local permitting operations and could be adopted into state code; Lehi’s density bonus is an example of local innovation that might inform state housing policy on ownership incentives.

Next steps: staff will continue negotiating plan‑review language with stakeholders and report back to LPC. The board encouraged staff to use the Lehi case study in legislative conversations and housing plan development after the session.