H.B. 184: Small Lots and Starter Homes Amendments

What the bill does

Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026.

It would have let people ask larger counties and the cities within them to confirm that a proposed use fits a preferred small-lot or starter-home zoning rule, with the local government required to answer and give notice of its decision. It never reached a floor vote: a committee sent it back to the Rules Committee, and it was filed on March 6, 2026.

This bill deals with regulation of certain land uses in residential zones located in counties of the first, second, and third class.

• Defines terms
• Provides that a person may make a request to a county of the first, second, or third class, or a municipality located in a county of the first, second, or third class, in regard to a proposed land use that conforms with a preferred land use regulation
• Requires the municipality or county to determine if a request conforms with a preferred land use regulation and provide notice of the determination to the applicant
• Authorizes a planning commission or legislative body to deny a request, under certain conditions, that conforms with a preferred land use regulation
• Provides that if a planning commission or legislative body does not deny a request that conforms with a preferred land use regulation within 45 days, the request becomes a permitted use
• Provides that a person has two years from the day on which a request becomes permitted to submit a complete application
• Provides that, after a request is denied, a person may make a subsequent request made within four years of the denial but the subsequent request requires the legislative body to expressly approve the request for the request to become a permitted use

The description and list come from the bill's own long title as recorded by the Legislature; the paragraph above is the Ledger’s summary. Read the official bill. The Ledger takes no position on it.

Subjects: Land Use · Housing · Municipalities · Political Subdivisions (Local Issues) · Planning and Zoning · Counties

How it moved

1. January 20, 2026 · House1st reading (Introduced)Rules Committee
2. February 4, 2026 · Houseto standing committeeEconomic Development and Workforce Services Committee
3. February 18, 2026 · HouseHouse Comm - Substitute RecommendationEconomic Development and Workforce Services Committee
4. February 18, 2026 · HouseHouse Comm - Motion to Recommend FailedEconomic Development and Workforce Services Committee
5. March 4, 2026 · HouseHouse Comm - Recommends Returned to RulesEconomic Development and Workforce Services Committee
6. March 6, 2026 · Housefiledfile for bills not passed

Steps as the Legislature recorded them; clerical and fiscal-staff entries are left out. Numbers such as 54-14-7 are yeas, nays and absent.

Fiscal note

From the Legislative Fiscal Analyst's note on 3rd Sub. H.B. 184 (Cherry), dated February 16, 2026. A fiscal note estimates direct costs and revenue; it is not an appropriation.

• State revenue: Enactment of this legislation likely will not materially impact state revenue.
• State expenditures: Enactment of this legislation likely will not materially impact state expenditures.
• Local government: Enactment of this legislation could cost counties in the first, second, and third class ongoing beginning in Fiscal Year 2027 for staff review time and public noticing costs for denied applications. The exact change in cost per county is dependent upon the number of applications and whether the county decides to use application fees to offset the increased workload for staff.
• Individuals and businesses: Enactment of this legislation likely will not result in direct expenditures from tax or fee changes for Utah residents and businesses.

Bill overview

Sponsor: Raymond P. Ward

Senate floor sponsor: Lincoln Fillmore

Legislature passed-list status: Not available in the saved metadata.

Passed-list membership is not a finding that a bill was signed or took effect. A bill absent from that list is not necessarily pending or defeated.

Latest recorded action

filed
Action date: March 6, 2026

The full step list is above. Find the bill in the official session list for status, hearings and committee records.

Recorded floor votes

No floor-vote records for this bill and session are available here. This does not mean no vote occurred; consult the official bill record.

Ledger coverage

No Ledger stories with an explicit source link to this bill and session are listed here.