Summit County politicians discuss House Bill 462

(left to right) State Sen. Ron Winterton, and Utah House Reps. Kera Birkeland and Mike Kohler. Photo: Utah Legislature

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — Utah Sen. Ron Winterton and state House Reps. Kera Birkeland and Mike Kohler spoke with the Summit County Council on Wednesday to recap the general session of the Utah Legislature, which ended in early March. The three represent parts of Summit County in the Legislature.

The hot topic was House Bill 462, which contains a provision that only pertains to Summit County and appears to be the result of a lobbying effort by a developer looking to build in Kimball Junction.

A four-line provision in the bill requires Summit County to include an HTRZ within the Snyderville Basin General Plan. The county must approve and submit a proposal to the Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) by December 31 this year.

An HRTZ is a mechanism from the GOEO that pushes the Utah Department Of Transportation (UDOT) to prioritize local improvements. UDOT is triggered in the program because of the added density the required development brings.

Senate Bill 140, which was signed into law this year, changes the requirements for an HTRZ. Under the bill, an HTRZ must have 51% residential uses (10% of units must be affordable) and must have a density of at least 50 units per acre. The density can be reduced to between 39-49 units per acre, however, it reduces the tax increment from 80% to 60%.

Last year, Salt Lake City-based developer Dakota Pacific was in front of the Summit County Council with a project that would have brought over 1,000 housing units to the area of Kimball Junction by the Skullcandy building. After heavy community outcry at a December meeting, the developer paused its plans.

County councilman Glenn Wright has said that because of the company’s likely lobbying efforts in H.B. 462, he will not vote on the development.

Rep. Birkeland currently has a bill file open that would repeal the provision in H.B. 462.

“This was a project that they tried to approve several times and it’d been held up and the legislature actually did step in in this case and say ‘no, we’re going to approve this project and make this project happen,’” Gov. Spencer Cox said of the Legislature’s influence on the Dakota Pacific project last week.

Sen. Winterton noted that the author of H.B. 462 is not running for reelection. “In talking with him, he just says, ‘Well, I’m out of here. You guys do what you want.'”

The senator said that a special session to remove the provision prior to the Oct. 1 deadline is unlikely.

“I think they could be very lenient with us in giving us some time, or giving us a chance to maybe come up with some alternative legislation that will help ease everyone’s concerns on this,” Winterton said.

He said if the county wants to make an argument for changing the law, it needs to be quick and concise. “I get about 15 minutes with the president when I get anybody in there,” Winterton said about discussing issues with Utah Senate President Stuart Adams.

“If we can do a really good job at pleading our case or showcasing the county and the extreme need — that’s probably going to do a lot for us.”

The monstrous housing bill also contains a “Moderate Income Housing Element,” which pushes cities and counties across the state to come up with strategies for affordable housing and an implementation plan that must be complete by October 1.

County councilman Roger Armstrong said that Summit County has already implemented several of the moderate-income housing requirements set forth in H.B. 462.

The council as a whole expressed an interest in having state leaders, including Gov. Spencer Cox, come and visit the county to help them understand specific local issues and how they have been approached.

“That’s the challenge — if the notion is just build more housing and in the midst of 10,000 units of housing, there’ll be sprinkles of affordable housing,” Armstrong said. “We can’t make that work here where the market-rate housing is flying off the shelf.”

“Honestly, if I’m being blunt, the attitude at the Capitol is — Summit County’s got it all going for them,” Rep. Birkeland told the council. “I think kind of opening the eyes to the wider picture of what Summit County is doing, and who Summit County is, the difference between Park City and Kamas — I think would really open a lot of eyes at the Capitol.”

Birkeland said she’d heard many business owners’ concerns about their workers having to drive long distances because of unavailable and unaffordable housing.

“I’m not sure if Steve Waldrip was carrying these bills on his own,” Rep. Koehler said of the Eden representative that sponsored H.B. 462.

“He sponsored several bills that had a little edge on them, where the state was forcing development pressure on locals. And they kept saying it’s for Salt Lake or Layton or whatever, but it affects us across the state as been mentioned.”

Birkeland, Winterton, and Kohler are all up for reelection this fall.