Logan • Secondary residential units on single-family lots are becoming an increasingly popular solution for Utahns seeking housing, additional income or help paying off their home. In Logan, building one may soon become easier.
During a heated debate at Tuesday’s Logan Municipal Council meeting about restrictions on Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, and short-term rentals, Cache Valley resident Zane Hummel, along with many others, expressed frustrations with the existing policy surrounding these housing alternatives, saying he constantly feels watched by neighbors checking to see if he has too many people living in his home — an issue he believes is fueled by existing restrictions on ADUs.
Currently, Logan only permits internal ADUs, such as basement or attic conversions, in certain areas. At the meeting, the council discussed an ordinance that would lift these restrictions and allow ADUs citywide, including near Utah State University — a proposal Hummel strongly supports
“This restriction is creating a neighbor-versus-neighbor mentality,” he said during the public comment period. “I feel like being watched all the time as well, just trying to live my life.”
Like much of the state, Logan is facing an affordable housing crisis. In recent years, the council has revisited its code regarding ADUs and short-term rentals as part of an effort to create more housing options.
After discussing these topics for more than two hours, the council decided to delay any decisions until its next meeting on Oct. 1.
Council weighing short-term rentals
When it comes to short-term rentals — such as vacation homes or rental properties with tenants on month-to-month leases — the proposed ordinance would lift the city’s current prohibition in single-family residential zones. It would also increase the required distance between short-term rentals in multi-family zones from 500 feet to 1,000 feet and lower the allowable number from three per 1,000 homes to one per 1,000 homes.
Of the 16 neighbors who spoke during the public hearing, nearly all supported lifting restrictions on ADUs citywide. However, the idea of allowing short-term rentals in single-family residential zones received mixed feedback, with five people speaking against the proposal and seven in favor of the measure.
Those who embraced short-term rentals included renters and people who work in the short-term rental cleaning business. One resident, Zackary Cooper, a neighbor to a licensed short-term rental, said the property next to his is always well-maintained — something others fear when rentals begin operating in their neighborhoods.
“They’ve been very helpful towards me,” he said, “to also help me improve my property and clean it up and give me good advice.”
Another short-term rental advocate, Dan Davis, who lives in Logan’s Island neighborhood, said he relies on the income from his short-term rental. The concern that these rentals are often run by absentee landlords, he said, is unfounded.
“Limiting short-term rentals,” Davis said, “to just a few is really a spit in the face to anybody who wants to be an entrepreneur, buy a place, and start looking at building their future and building some retirement.”
The argument against short-term rentals
Others, however, such as Logan resident Dan Everton, argued that short-term rentals in residential areas negatively impact quality of life.
“It’s a mini hotel without somebody at the desk,” he said. “And it is receiving the benefit of my great neighborhood and in all the great neighborhoods around here. It’s receiving that nice, warm, comforting, safe, calm atmosphere. They’re coming in there, and they are having an effect on that.”
After the public hearing, the council discussed how the majority of negative impacts from short-term rentals seem to be coming from unlicensed properties. According to a city analysis of vacation rental websites, more than 100 short-term rentals in the city are not compliant with local codes. Council members said they will work to address this issue before making a final decision.
