Growth & housing
Development, housing, land, water and infrastructure.
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Emery County offers home buyers loans up to $15,000 and owners up to $20,000 for repairs
The county's redevelopment agency is paying for the program mostly with money set aside from local solar projects. Households earning 80% to 120% of the area median income can apply.
Sunset adopts accessory dwelling rules and approves a 75-foot billboard move, 4-0
On Oct. 20 the council added detached units to its ADU ordinance and kept a 30-day minimum on rentals. A council member asked YESCO to check a 65-foot state height limit for its billboard.
Iron County sets hearings on rezoning 40 acres near Parowan for Karman Space & Defense
The Planning Commission meets Nov. 5 and the County Commission Nov. 9 on a request to change the land from agriculture to industrial. A second hearing covers 13.54 acres near Cedar City.
Clearfield weighs rules for large power and water users, including data centers
A staff memo for the council's Oct. 13 work meeting asks which impacts of large power and water users deserve city rules. A temporary land use regulation expires March 16, 2027, and state lawmakers may act first.
Box Elder County weighs zoning all unzoned land as agricultural heritage or industrial
A Planning Commission hearing was set for Oct. 29. Staff say zoning gives landowners predictability, while one speaker urged county commissioners not to zone all property.
Hurricane planners approve Kachina Ridge plat and send sensitive-lands plan to council
Both Oct. 22 votes were 5-0. Both tallies come from the meeting video, and minutes are pending. The City Council holds a public hearing on the sensitive-lands application Nov. 5.
Layton council rezones two flex buildings for light industry 5-0, tables a land purchase
On Oct. 15 a council member asked why a rezone was needed two to three years after the buildings were built. The council also tabled Resolution 26-44, a land purchase near 1337 East 1700 North.
Logan council denies 5-acre west side rezone for 100 townhomes, 3-1
The Oct. 6 vote followed a staff recommendation to deny and a 4-2 Planning Commission recommendation to approve. Council members cited the scarcity of commercial land on the west side.
Western Cache Corridor study drew nearly 3,000 survey responses, county council told
At the Oct. 27 meeting the council heard that a $2 million federal earmark pays for the planning study, which is expected to finish in early 2028. Open houses are planned for early and summer 2027.
Cache County creates wild-game processing use and eases FR-40 road frontage rule
Both ordinances passed 7-0 on Oct. 27. County staff said about 59% of parcels in the FR-40 zone could never meet the 150-foot frontage rule as written.
North Logan bans large data centers and tables 9.9-acre Ashbourne rezone
Both Sept. 16 votes were unanimous. The Ashbourne plan would put about 120 homes on 9.9 acres, and the council wants a development agreement and a public workshop before deciding.
Davis County approves pass-through of $9.3M federal grant for Hill AFB West Gate road
On Oct. 27, the commission approved the pass-through agreement with MIDA 3-0 after a resident questioned costs and fees. It also approved a $30.8 million third-quarter transportation priority list.
Ogden RDA approves $1M loan for a 116-unit senior housing project, 5-2
At its Oct. 13 meeting, the board raised the loan's interest rate from 2.5% to 3.5% before voting. Council Members Jeremy Peterson and Dave Graf voted no.
Carbon County commission tables 1,236-acre tech park and gas plant until Nov. 10
The 5-0 vote delays a conditional use permit east of Wellington so staff can review the project; Valar Atomics also presented a reactor proposal.
St. George council continues Rusty Cliffs South vote, approves Ledges unit shift, 5-0
At its Oct. 22 meeting the council paused a plan to drop commercial space from a 49.3-acre Highway 18 neighborhood, approved moving Ledges units within a 2,600-unit cap, and added personal instruction uses at a Mall Drive office site.
Ephraim council reviews apartment density cap and parking rules, OKs impact fee study
At its Oct. 7 meeting Ephraim's council discussed capping apartments at 15 units per acre, a 60 percent townhome limit and an EV charger, and approved a $129,500 impact fee study and new short-term rental license fees.
Tooele City Council cuts new-home water right requirement to 0.27 acre-feet, 5-0
The Oct. 7 ordinance lowers the depletion rate used for interior water from 100 percent to 60 percent, reducing the diversion right developers must supply per home from 0.45 to 0.27 acre-feet.
Wasatch County Council gives preliminary OK to Heritage Hills subdivision, 7-0
The 23-lot conservation subdivision, with two additional lots of record, sits at about 6380 East Lake Creek Road, according to draft minutes of the Sept. 16 meeting.
Brigham City Council approves Heron Ridge townhome plat, 4-0
The Oct. 15 vote clears a 72-unit townhome subdivision near 650 South and 1200 West. Council members discussed which Planning Commission conditions to keep.
Salt Lake City council approves Ballpark rezone with 5-acre open space rule, bans jails
The council voted unanimously Oct. 20 on Ballpark zoning changes and a text amendment that prohibits community correctional facilities and jails on private property.
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Taylorsville adopts backyard cottage rules for 11,000-square-foot lots
Oct. 21 meeting: The 5-0 vote on Ordinance 26-15 follows a 2026 state law. The council changed the planning commission's 2-to-1 rule for taller units to 1-to-1, applied to setbacks as well, and kept the state-code rental periods for now.
West Valley council makes Highbury roads public and rezones two sites for industry
The council voted 6-0 on every action item Oct. 27, including a new Highbury development agreement, two industrial rezones, $113,050 in chairs and ambulance remounts that save about $248,000.
Lost Creek zone goes to Summit County Council after planners urge denial, 6-0
The proposed zone would let a Brown's Canyon developer seek approval of a master-planned community of 100 acres or more, with no cap on homes.
Cache County Council rezones 40 acres for tire recycling site, 6-1
Ordinance 2026-41 applies the Public Infrastructure overlay to a parcel on 3000 North, west of the Benson Marina, so a local waste hauler can seek a permit to build a tire-recycling and sorting site.
Sandy council approves Canyon Gate rezone on reconsideration after rental limits added
The rezone and development agreement for the 7.2-acre site passed 5-2, and the general plan change 6-1, after the developer agreed to cap rentals at 20% of units for five years after sale.
Herriman approves $50 million state road grant tied to 2,500 Olympia homes
The grant pays for three roadways and requires 2,500 owner-occupied affordable homes inside Olympia's already approved 6,480 units.
Utah audit finds no clear link between impact fees and home prices
Auditors found no statistical tie between fees and sale prices, but more than half of nine local governments reviewed in depth misspent fees or broke state rules.
Study estimates Stratos gas power could cause up to 45 early deaths a year
The Box Elder County data center's spokesman says the report models equipment the project has not chosen.
Iron County opens door to large data centers over Paiute Tribe's objections
Commissioners unanimously approved a Strategic Development Zone overlay and ended the data center moratorium nearly a month early.
Heber City and Wasatch County agree on limits to protect the North Fields
The memorandum moves the city's growth line to the Provo River. An interlocal agreement with Midway is still in the works.
How Utah counts water use per person, and why a city's number can't be lined up against another's
The state's gallons-per-capita-per-day figure counts every drop a provider delivers and divides by the people it serves. Here is what goes in, what does not, and why the state itself says the numbers aren't comparable with other measures.
Draft study picks Delta as the first site for a Utah spaceport
A report for the Legislature's Spaceport Exploration Committee puts startup costs at $35 million to $75 million and keeps Green River West as an option.
Lehi council denies commercial rezone of 12.8 acres, turns to a development agreement
The split vote on the Peck family's land at 600 South 600 East sends the proposal back as a development agreement for a later meeting.
Salt Lake airport's $5.1 billion rebuild is done as the last gates open Tuesday
Seven gates and six concessions open in Concourse B, bringing the airport to 94 gates.
Washington County wants designs for a Dixie Convention Center expansion up to $30 million
Architect proposals are due Oct. 30 for an addition of about 117,000 square feet to the St. George facility.
Heavy rain has lifted Lake Powell nearly 10 feet since its September low
Experts called the gain welcome but small against the lake level, which stands 19.55 feet lower than a year ago.
Ballpark zoning requires five acres of public land as city seeks developers
The Community Reinvestment Agency will ask for proposals in the coming months, and the city hopes to turn part of the stadium into an entertainment venue.
Salt Lake City weighs $85 million bond to rebuild or remodel three libraries
Debt service would add about $4.76 a month to the average residential property tax bill, and some council members say approval is not certain.
SR-29 in Emery County to close at least a week after flood washes out road
About 100 feet of the eastbound lane in Straight Canyon washed away, and drivers are asked to use other routes.
Utah State adds battery storage and more than 1 megawatt of solar on three sites
The new 500-kilowatt-hour battery at the Uintah Basin Campus is the university's first large-scale storage system, and part of it is reserved for Rocky Mountain Power.
Sandy council approves 86 townhomes at Canyons district education center site
The council rejected the development agreement in September before revising its rental restrictions.
Summum appeals approval of 10-story Salt Lake City apartments near its pyramid
The group says shadows would fall on its sanctuary in March, June, September and December.
Utah panelists say the state can keep growing while cutting water use
Speakers at a ULI Utah conference said regional water use has stayed flat for 40 years as the population doubled, but that no conservation target exists yet.
Lehi's city-owned fiber network passes 7,150 subscribers, ahead of its 2026 goal
Finance officials told the City Council the system's churn rate is under 5% and projected 10,500 users by 2030.
American Fork planners set Nov. 4 hearings on developer guarantees and stormwater
The 6:30 p.m. meeting at City Hall includes a code change on guarantees developers must post and an update to the city's stormwater plan.
Central Utah Project fed Wasatch Front growth but left some eastern Utah storage unbuilt
The Ute Indian Tribe says reservoirs promised under a 1965 agreement were never completed, and courts have dismissed its claims as filed too late.
Salt Lake City council backs owner-occupancy rule for new backyard homes
Public hearings on the broader zoning plan are set for Nov. 10 and Nov. 17.
Provo council approves Towne Centre redevelopment that will displace a mobile home park
The 5-1 vote clears the way for 1,300 apartments and 77 townhomes, and residents of Shady Acres will get 18 months and $10,000 each to move.
O'Leary Digital seeks 1,712 acre-feet of water a year for Stratos data center
Close to 200 protests were filed within days of the new application for Salt Wells Spring Stream water near Snowville.
Snyderville Basin voters to decide $71 million recreation bond Nov. 3
The district estimates the bonds would cost about $120.94 a year on a $1 million primary residence.
Drought and a 1964 water right put Central Utah Project deliveries in focus
Transbasin diversions moved about 165,000 acre-feet to the Great Basin in 2024, and this year's drought sharply cut inflow to Strawberry Reservoir.
Salt Lake warehouse ICE bought for a detention center is listed for sale
A federal magistrate judge extended a stay in the city and county's lawsuit to Jan. 18 and barred converting the building into a detention center in the meantime.
Utah County panel backs data center rules as deputies remove a woman from the meeting
Video shows deputies restraining protester Aspen Azalea after the commission's unanimous vote.
Pipeline opponents press Emigration Canyon and Salt Lake City leaders to take a stand
Save Our Canyons presented a petition with 1,281 signatures to the Emigration Canyon Council, which took no vote.
Salt Lake City approves lower-height zoning for Smith's Ballpark redevelopment
KSL reports the council unanimously adopted MU-8 and MU-5 zoning for about 14.8 acres. Construction timing remains unclear, according to the report.
High Valley Transit plans winter pause in major SR-224 construction
The operator plans to remove traffic controls and reopen trails, while allowing bus-stop work when weather permits.
Washington County seeks architect for Dixie Center expansion
The proposed project would add about 117,145 square feet to the St. George convention center.
St. George's new City Hall Plaza draws more than 4,000 visitors on weekend days
The downtown space off Main Street includes fire pits, a zen garden, public art and two metal slides off a parking structure.
Stevenson Fields: Layton's 335-home west-side plan and where its approvals stand
The City Council voted 4-1 in December 2025 to annex and rezone land along West Gentile Street for 335 homes by Destination Homes. Draft Planning Commission minutes record approval of a preliminary plat for the first two phases, 71 single-family homes.
Layton's secondary water notice bars all outdoor watering after Sept. 15
The city's water conservation page says the secondary system would shut down Sept. 15, 2026, because of below-normal snowpack and runoff and a hot, dry summer. After that date, no outdoor irrigation is permitted with secondary or culinary water.