Starter Home SLC: Create New Attainable Housing in SLC
An Analysis of the potential of lot size reform and other changes to create attainable housing in Salt Lake City
Restrictive zoning changes made at multiple points in the past several decades have impacted the housing supply in Salt Lake City. Over 60% of the City’s residential land is zoned exclusively for single-family detached housing with large lots. This development pattern means the housing supply is artificially constrained, and neighborhoods have not added housing at the same pace as demand has grown. It has also resulted in a growth pattern where incremental development is restricted in most neighborhoods, and instead, high-density development has largely been concentrated in a few neighborhoods.
The lack of incremental growth in existing neighborhoods contributes to residents’ lack of housing options and a fading dream of homeownership for many households.
This Storymap presents data supporting our goal of encouraging new infill development by reducing minimum lot sizes and making it easier to build homes in high-opportunity neighborhoods where people want to live.
Map 1: Housing Creation by Number of Units
The first map demonstrates the disconnect between the stated goals of most city master plans and the impact of zoning restrictions implemented in the mid-1990s. Despite the demand for new housing and walkable communities, zoning restrictions have created a marked lack of incremental development in established, high-opportunity neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods have notable concentrations of building activity after restrictive zoning, while most neighborhoods still need to add houses to meet new demand.
The same analysis was conducted, but it focused only on single-family housing. The lack of overlap between building eras signifies the unmet need for incremental growth. Zoning restrictions adopted in the 1990s have essentially made incremental growth impossible, forcing builders to expand into historically greenfield areas of Salt Lake City.
Map 2: Single-family housing creation before and after exclusionary zoning implementation in mid-1990s
The second map illustrates that zoning restrictions have reduced open space and created car-centric, disconnected neighborhoods away from public services and transportation. This increases the burden on public finances through ongoing, unfunded maintenance liabilities.
Impact #1: The blue layer represents the density of public transit in Salt Lake City, prioritizing ridership and frequency. Residents of homes built after the changes of the 1990s generally lack access to public transit to the same degree as older established neighborhoods. The lack of transit access increases air pollution and traffic and contributes to car dependence, directly conflicting with Salt Lake City’s sustainability goals.
Impact #2: The pattern of concentrated growth with very little incremental growth in established neighborhoods will continue unless zoning restrictions are eased in Salt Lake City. Our proposal for lot size reform can accomplish this by creating neighborhood-scale housing in every part of the city.
Map 3 Salt Lake City Property Values Support Incremental Growth
Financing remains one of the critical barriers to constructing housing options such as accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and other attainable housing in existing neighborhoods.
The strength of property values demonstrates that land value can be effectively utilized as collateral for financing new infill housing development if restrictive zoning regulations such as minimum lot size, lot coverage, and setbacks are reduced.
Significant financial resources are required to build housing in Salt Lake City, and zoning restrictions have essentially excluded individual property owners from helping to meet the city’s housing needs.
The lack of incremental development contributes to the city’s unmet housing needs and conflicts with its goals to create mixed-income, multi-use, walkable neighborhoods. Many aspiring homeowners are unable to make the jump to ownership and stay in the rental market.
We propose allowing for incremental growth in established, high-opportunity neighborhoods. Our proposal would eliminate restrictive barriers such as frontage, lot coverage requirements, minimum lot size, parking, and setbacks, all of which make it more challenging to meet the city’s housing needs.
Below is a map illustrating the potential of each lot in a single-family zone to undergo lot splitting. We have provided several examples illustrating the potential of lot size reform in Salt Lake City. Our analysis estimates that with lot size reform, Salt Lake City could create approximately 4,000 new homes citywide, many of which would be attainable starter homes or homes for those looking to downsize without leaving the ownership market.
Map 4: Our Proposal for Inclusive Lot Size Reform
We propose reducing Salt Lake City’s minimum lot size and eliminating other restrictions hampering the infill building. The key proposals include:
- Reducing Minimum Lot Sizes: Reforming select single-family zones (i.e. R1/5,000, R1/7,000, SR1A, SR3) to establish a minimum lot size of 1,400 square feet, allowing for more compact and attainable housing options.
- Supporting Infill Development: Modifying the flag lot ordinance to encourage the development of underutilized land within existing neighborhoods.
- Adjusting Setbacks and Lot Coverage: Reducing setbacks and lot width requirements while increasing lot coverage allowances to maximize land use efficiency.
- Allowing Single-Family Attached Housing: Allowing builders to provide single-family attached homes in traditionally single-family zones citywide.
The vast majority of lots in single-family zones in Salt Lake City could potentially be split, affording at least one new home per lot. Many larger and newer lots have the potential to be split multiple times without destroying any existing homes. These changes would allow the creation of thousands of new homes, creating new homeownership opportunities citywide.