Details

Title	Salt Lake City, Utah Code
Highlights	There is implicit recognition that impact fees have a negative impact on housing affordability.   Salt Lake City exempts certain new rental and for-sale property from its fire, roads, and open space impact fees.                       There is implicit recognition that the zoning code has provisions that have a negative impact on affordable housing.   Salt Lake City requires housing impact assessments for rezoning of land to nonresidential uses, allows home occupations and is lenient with residential non-conforming uses.
Description	The Salt Lake City Code contains a number of provisions that impact affordable housing. Buildings and construction are regulated in Title 18, subdivision regulations are contained in Title 20 and the zoning code is Title 21A Section 18.97 of the Buildings and Construction Title addresses mitigation activities that the City will undertake to reduce the impact of the loss of affordable housing in certain areas of the City. According to 18.97.020, any request for a conditional use permit to create vehicle parking in a residential zone or any request for a zoning change to permit nonresidential uses of land in areas with residential units cannot be approved until a housing mitigation plan is approved by the City. The City requires the requestor to create a housing impact statement that identifies residential units to be demolished and a plan to reduce the impact of the housing loss. Salt Lake City offers developers a number of options to mitigate these losses, including the creation of replacement housing and the payment of fees to the City’s housing trust fund. (Section 18.97.030) The City’s requirements for the payment of impact fees are addressed in Section 18.98. In the section, Salt Lake City finds that new development creates a increased demand for roads, parks, open space, recreation facilities, police services and fire facilities. Developers of residential and commercial areas in some sections of the City are required to pay impact fees to the City before the City will issue a building permit. The City exempts certain housing from the impact fees. Rental housing for those earning 60 percent of the area median income and homeowner housing for those at 80 percent of the area median income are 100 percent exempt from these fees. A smaller exemption is allowed for nonrental housing for those at 90 and 100 percent of the area median income. The City also allows a number of offsets to the fee that would otherwise be due. Such offsets include developer-provided facilities and donation of land. In Section 18.99 the City provides relocation assistance to tenants of certain apartment buildings who are displaced from housing closed by the City. Tenants who live in apartment buildings with four or fewer units, which are closed by the City because they are substandard or dangerous, are eligible for assistance. The City appropriates money for this program and gives priority to low- and extremely low-income tenants. Salt Lake City’s zoning code is found in Section 21A. Several features of the code have an impact on affordable housing. Specific sections address mixed use residential uses, mobile home parks, home occupations and nonconforming uses. The City allows dwelling units above or below first story retail or commercial uses in Residential Business, Residential Mixed Use and Residential-Office zones. In addition, Salt Lake City permits small group homes and manufactured homes in any residential zone. (21A.36.070) The City regulates mobile home parks in Section 21A.32.110. Mobile home parks must contain at least 10 acres of land, must be setback from public or private streets, must have internal and peripheral landscaping and must provide common open space. Salt Lake City allows, but regulates, home occupations. According to Section 21A.36.030 the City classifies home occupations into one of three categories: permitted, conditional, and prohibited. The permitted category generally precludes client visits. Some of the occupations in this category include: artists, writers, photographers, publishers, consultants, private investigators, bookkeepers, locksmiths, and mail order businesses. The zoning administrator, on his own authority, can allow these uses. Conditional uses require a client to come to the home. Examples of this type home occupation include: barbers, cosmetologists, manicurists; physicians, therapists, massage therapists; musical instructors, or small appliances repairmen. The City’s Board of Adjustment has the authority to approve these type uses but can delegate the authority to the Zoning Administrator. The City requires the operator to apply and be approved before they can operate either a permitted or conditional home occupation. Prohibited home occupations include: auto repairs shops, kennels, welding shops, repair services for large appliances, truck hauling, and stables. Nonconforming uses are addressed in 21A.38. One and two family dwellings, legal prior to 1995 are considered legal conforming uses. This status allows owners to disregard square footage requirements when replacing these dwelling units. In addition, owners must only replace the parking previously on the site without regard to any new parking requirements in the zoning code. Section 21A.38.120 and 21A.38.130. This site was accessed in June 2003.
Publication Date	2003
Organization	Salt Lake City, Utah
Web Location	http://66.113.195.234/UT/Salt%20Lake%20City/index.htm

Notice: The contents of this record reflect the views of the author and/or promulgating municipality, and should not be construed as representing the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or U.S. HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research. No attempt has been made by U.S. HUD or its contractors to verify the accuracy, currency, or validity of the record contents presented herein.