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Annual balanced housing report: West Jordan remains above multifamily threshold; ordinance blocks new multifamily except by exception
Summary
City staff reported 2024 housing permit totals and reiterated the city’s balanced housing ordinance requires a 77/23 single-family-to-multifamily ratio; as of 2024 the city’s stock is about 73% single-family and 27% multifamily, leaving the city short of the 77% target for single-family.
City planning staff presented the West Jordan balanced housing report for 2024 at the Jan. 21 Planning Commission meeting, detailing building-permit activity and how it relates to the city’s balanced housing ordinance (Title 13, Chapter 8, Section 23).
Staff reported 226 detached single-family permits and 73 multifamily units issued in 2024. The city’s inventory now stands at 27,769 single-family units (about 73%) and 10,438 multifamily units (about 27%). The balanced housing ordinance uses a target of 77% single-family and 23% multifamily; staff said the city would need approximately 7,176 additional single-family homes to reach the ordinance’s breakeven point, assuming no additional multifamily units are built under ordinance exceptions.
Mark, the staff presenter, summarized the ordinance’s intent: to guide higher-density development into areas with infrastructure or special overlay designations — for example, within one-quarter mile of a transit station, in large planned communities (75+ acres), in interchange overlay zones, or for age-restricted senior housing. He explained multifamily permit totals can vary significantly year to year because multifamily projects often deliver many units at once.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about whether multifamily units approved under ordinance exceptions still count toward the city’s inventory — staff confirmed they do count but are permitted because they meet exception criteria. Council and planning staff officials present noted the ordinance remains a deliberate policy tool adopted to direct growth to appropriate areas and provide predictability to the development community.
No formal action was taken; the report is an annual informational item required by the ordinance.
