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Bountiful council reviews state housing-affordability data, discusses local tools including ADUs and accessory-structure changes
Summary
At a July 8 work session the Bountiful City Council reviewed data from a University of Utah/Gardner Institute briefing on statewide housing affordability trends and discussed local responses including the general plan update, accessory dwelling units, and a proposed change to accessory-structure height on the regular meeting agenda.
Bountiful City Council held a work session on July 8, 2025, to review statewide housing-affordability data presented to the governor and to discuss what the city might do locally. City Manager Gary Hill summarized charts from the Kemp C. Gardner Policy Institute and the University of Utah showing long-term increases in home size, declines in household size, sharply rising construction costs since 2020 and that, statewide, the median sales price reached 6.4 times median household income in 2023.
The discussion matters locally because Bountiful’s median home price is about $535,000, and Hill said the income needed to afford a median-priced home in the city in 2024 was roughly $160,000 annually. Hill highlighted a chart showing that 87% of renters cannot afford a $505,000 home and said the share unable to buy a median home in Bountiful would be closer to 90%.
The council and staff framed the data as complex and multi‑factorial. Hill said he disagreed…
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