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Staff reports on moderate-income housing filing; council discusses legislative pressure and next steps
Summary
City planning staff submitted the annual moderate-income housing report and outlined a multi-year path to meet state reporting expectations; council members discussed the state’s requirements, parking-count strategies, possible rezones, and outreach to state legislators.
Planning staff told the council they submitted the city’s annual moderate-income housing report and described continuing challenges in meeting state expectations without additional zoning changes.
Daniel, a planning staff member, said the city has been submitting the report annually and is working to collect new data and propose policy changes over a multi-year schedule. He summarized the staff approach as: collect data in 2025, draft an ordinance in 2026 and present policy in 2027. Daniel emphasized the state’s scoring matrix includes factors such as allowed density and public-transportation access; the city currently receives points for certain changes (for example, strategies to reduce parking requirements for accessory apartments) but staff must present new actions each year to maintain compliance.
Council members and staff discussed potential consequences of failing to meet state requirements, including the withholding of road funds. Staff said Pleasant Grove has complied in recent years and expects to receive road funds if the current submission is accepted; final results will be known after the state-review cycles that conclude in January.
The council debated the broader political context. Multiple participants said the issue is being discussed across Utah and that some proposed legislative ideas would reduce local land-use authority. Members suggested staff pursue targeted conversations with state representatives to explain local implementation challenges and urged participation in the Utah League’s work on the issue.
Staff also reported two parallel downtown strategies: (1) participation in the Main Street America program (currently tier 1; data collection ongoing with potential tier advancement and grant eligibility later), and (2) a consultant procurement using MAG funding (RFP issued; about a dozen respondents being whittled down for interviews), intended to support downtown planning and advance a tier-2 Main Street application.
Staff said they will convene a committee of planning commissioners, council members and community members to help shape proposed code changes and report back as the draft ordinance is developed.
