Utah bill would add more housing options around transit lines

SALT LAKE CITY — In areas like the Salt Lake Valley and Utah Valley, two of Utah’s most populated areas, there seems to be less and less room to expand. A new bill tackles that issue by creating additional housing around transit lines.

Bill sponsor Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, said SB26 would maximize investments put into major transit systems and transportation hubs.

“We need to go through and make sure that the investment is really enhanced around those areas,” Harper said. “We’ve got people who want to have transit—mass transit—as their primary mode or as a secondary mode. So what we’re doing here is saying, around these investments, [a] quarter mile around these investment areas, let’s go through and create additional housing density and housing options.”

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Convenience is driving this bill. Harper said he wants to get some of the condos, patio homes, and townhomes closer to public transit so that people can walk, participate in recreation, and go shopping without having to drive several miles.

The bill also intends to offer different housing options for people of all lifestyles and incomes.

“We want a complete community where people can live, work, play, recreate, and feel comfortable,” Harper said.

Reinvestment zones

The bill also addresses creating “a process to propose a convention center reinvestment zone.” Harper said this zone would enhance some of the older facilities in the district, such as the Salt Palace Convention Center, Abravanel Hall, and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, in preparation for the Olympics.

“The taxes generated in that area — property tax and sales tax — will be reinvested to pay for the expansion and remodel those facilities. (That includes) infrastructure like the sewer and water line upgrades, rather than going through and having the entire county or state pay for those,” he said.

And Harper said this bill will not increase taxes; heh said it’s an option that facility users will pay for.

“We’ve created a couple housing and transit reinvestment zones in three counties, in Salt Lake, Davis, and Utah counties,” Harper said. “This is just kind of a cleanup of what we’ve done before to make sure that the next ones actually work in a better fashion and are more applicable to more people,” 

What’s next?

Harper said there were some questions about the bill, and after taking in additional stakeholder input, the bill is back in committee.

“I’m waiting for a substitute bill that represents comments that came from the Tax Commission, from Salt Lake County, from Salt Lake City, [and] from the business community… We’re enhancing what we’re doing,” Harper said, “but that pause gave us more eyes on it for a longer period of time so we can have a better bill and a better project moving forward.”

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