OPINION — Few would be surprised to hear that we are facing a housing crisis in Southern Utah. The current median home price has risen to an incredible $562,250, more than double what the average income in St. George can actually afford.

This price discrepancy is pushing home ownership out of reach for many current and hopeful residents. Of the affordable homes currently listed under $250,000, more than 75% arrived on wheels.

The average price for a home featured in this year’s St. George Area Parade of Homes reached almost $3 million or $557 per square foot. Something is seriously wrong. We need more housing at affordable prices.

Rising labor costs, material prices and inflation are easy culprits to blame, but that is not the whole story. We need to take a serious look at zoning and its role in the current crisis.

What is zoning?

As cities grow, especially western cities, they expand radially outward. How land is divided and developed is determined by zoning. Zoning tells you what you can and cannot do or build on a parcel of land. It tells you where on your lot you can build, how big it can be, how much landscaping you need and how many parking stalls it will require.

Zoning tells you whether you can build an apartment over a garage for your college kid or a little house in the backyard for your aging mother who needs extra care.

It tells you whether you can put a Frei’s fruit stand on that vacant lot on the corner. In most cases, these are illegal. Because 75% of residential zoning is single-family housing — meaning the only thing you are legally allowed to build is a single house in the middle of your property. This phenomenon is unique within the United States and has become synonymous with the American Dream. That is the problem.

As it turns out, single-family housing is the most inefficient and expensive form of housing to build. It uses the most materials, labor and resources to construct. It requires increased infrastructure in the way of roads, power and sewer, etc. It also promotes a culture of commuting. Zoning, especially single-family zoning, is driving our inflated housing prices because it effectively outlaws affordable housing.

In contrast, many cities have created zones of mixed uses and higher density housing with great success. I bet you have visited one:

Think of a place you visited where you could walk to a small market close by, which was next to a bike or ice cream shop, with homes mixed in between. You’ve likely seen something like this when you’ve driven down the main street of an old town. Have you ever noticed the charm? It’s the mix of houses on a main street, next to boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants and hotels.

Mixed and dense zoning creates these vibrant and walkable communities. It’s not just aesthetic though. Think how much land is wasted on parking lots. When communities are walkable, large plots of land don’t have to be dedicated to parking lots on every corner. Dividing uses into spread-apart areas makes walkable and bike-able communities impossible.

Not to mention the greatest impact of zoning, which is the social impact for lower classes. A major zoning problem is the fact that a single-family home only takes three weeks to get through the permit process, but the complicated year- or yearslong process to get denser housing approved is a major barrier to entry.

The process of getting through entitlements for this type of project alone can account for almost one-third of the overall cost! This makes what would and should be affordable housing types more costly and deters developers from wanting to make it happen.

The lengthy process is further impeded by public meetings and multiple governing bodies. For example, this process could include meetings and approvals from the historical commission, hillside commission, staff review, planning commission, city council, site review, permit reviews, as well as their associated public comments.

These discretionary review processes are often hijacked by the vocal minority that don’t represent the broader needs or interests of the community. The current system encourages and amplifies “NIMBY” voices. NIMBY stands for Not In My Backyard. These are the people that are able to show up to these meetings. They tend to be the wealthy, elderly, or other interest groups who are disproportionately opposed to new housing. The working middle class that these projects would serve are usually absent due to work, family, or other life responsibilities.

Did you know that up until the state of Utah passed HB 406 last year a project could be sent back to the drawing board if a city official didn’t like the exterior finishes or architectural style?

This bill now restricts Utah cities’ ability to regulate exterior details in an effort to help alleviate the soaring prices brought on by excessive regulation. This kind of law helps keep city powers in check, but even still zoning regulation has become increasingly restrictive and difficult in recent years. We need more legislation like this.

So what can we do?

The solution is simple and best of all — it costs nothing: Rethink zoning.

• Rethink zoning to allow better, smarter and more flexible uses. Policy change costs nothing, yet it could have dramatic effects. Several states and cities have banned single-family zoning altogether and seen great success. This comes in the form of increased affordable housing options, diverse and vibrant communities, and more efficient land and resource use.
• Rethink zoning to simplify and streamline the approval process. Waiting one to two years for approval is unacceptable for the great changes we need to see, especially because the time and effort it takes to navigate city approvals translates directly into a cost that is passed onto buyers.
• And finally, be a YIMBY — say “Yes In My Backyard.” Be someone who encourages democratized housing for everyone who is chasing the American Dream regardless of social or economic status.

Tell your city that you support your neighbor building a little house in their backyard for grandma. Tell them “yes” to mixed and dense uses. Tell them the current system does not work. We do not have the resources to keep doing things the way that they have been done in the past and housing has already eclipsed what we can afford.

Rethinking zoning means there can be affordable housing for your kids and future generations. It means our beautiful community can be shared with all who want to call Southern Utah home.

Submitted by Matt Metcalf, St. George, Utah.

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