UVU students working to improve affordable housing in Heber

SALT LAKE CITY — A group of college students is working to increase affordable housing in Heber City, proposing several ideas largely focused on improving awareness of existing city resources.

Over the last three years, students from Utah Valley University have conducted studies and surveys in Heber City to find out what residents are worried about and the best ways to address their concerns.

Student Lauren Howe explained three key findings last week when four groups of PR and strategic communication students spoke at a Heber City Council meeting.

“47% of respondents want more single family homes. The second (finding) is over a third of respondents are dissatisfied with their life in Heber City. And the third is 78% of respondents know someone in Heber City who is struggling with housing insecurity,” Howe said.

Proposals to improve affordable housing in Heber

Three of the four student groups proposed ideas to connect residents to resources.

“We want to help educate these residents on how to access these amazing resources and show them what affordable housing options are currently available to them right now,” said student Avri Mathie.

Student Darby Carroll and her group proposed amending the city’s Moderate Income Housing Plan to increase the number of single-family homes in new developments.

“For example, if 400 homes are built, all we’re asking for is six homes,” Carroll said.

Council member Mike Johnston appreciated the proposal but said that building homes isn’t an issue. It’s making them affordable that is.

“The single family homes that are being built now, and we’re building them … They start at a million dollars, so it’s not affordable,” the council member said.

In the end, council members expressed their willingness to further work with these students on their projects and said they will be actively helping over the next several weeks.

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