Utah lawmakers are targeting what one expert describes as an “arbitrary” requirement that increases housing costs — garages and parking minimums.
A Senate committee on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill that would prevent some cities and counties from requiring garages with affordably-priced, single-family homes.
SB181, authored by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, would also define what qualifies as a parking space and make it so local governments can’t require spaces to be larger than certain dimensions. It would not stop local governments from requiring on-site parking.
The bill is part of a suite that came out of the work of the state’s Commission on Housing Affordability and has broad support from municipalities, developers, realtors and the governor’s office.
Fillmore, a Republican from South Jordan, initially had proposed a larger bill but took out “all the controversial stuff” — language related to the Olene Walker Housing Fund.
As sent to the Senate floor for debate, the bill focuses solely on parking and garage requirements as one piece of the housing affordability puzzle.
“It really can be a way to bring the price of a first home down on a small lot,” Fillmore said of removing the garage requirement.
Construction material costs have skyrocketed in recent years, with the price for some materials growing by more than 70% between 2020 and 2024, according to the National Association of Home Builders, meaning garageless homes are less expensive to build — and buy.
Daniel Herriges, policy director with the Parking Reform Network, said garages increase housing costs by raising the base price of construction and making it harder to utilize smaller lots.
This makes it harder for young homebuyers to get into the market, Herriges said.
What the bill would do
SB181 would only apply to some homes. It specifies that the changes only apply to owner-occupied homes that are affordably priced, setting a ceiling of 80% of the median home price in any given county.
According to data from the Utah Association of Realtors, the median home sales price in Utah last year was $500,000 and ranged from $249,500 in Carbon County to $1.34 million in Summit County.
The bill also wouldn’t apply to every part of Utah. It would affect specified municipalities and counties:
Cities with at least 10,000 people
Cities with at least 5,000 people if they’re located in a county with at least 40,000 people
First-class, second-class and third-class counties with a population of more than 5,000 in areas outside cities and towns.
That’s the same parameters as the state’s moderate-income housing program, which applies to about 90 cities and Box Elder, Cache, Iron, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Utah, Washington and Weber counties.
In those communities, the bill would:
Define what counts as a parking spot and prevent local officials from requiring spots larger than certain dimensions depending on whether or not they’re covered.
Bar local officials from requiring a garage for single-family housing, whether standalone or attached, when the home is owner-occupied and priced at 80% of the county’s median home price or below.
The bill would still allow local officials to require on-site parking with owner-occupied affordable housing.
Lowers base construction cost
Steve Waldrip, who serves as Gov. Spencer Cox’s senior adviser for housing strategy, said the bill is a “critical piece to solving this puzzle” as the state tackles its housing crisis.
That largely comes down to construction costs, said Herriges with the Parking Reform Network.
The group estimates surface parking costs $5,000 to $10,000 dollars per space to install, he said, and garages are more expensive.
“That’s directly tacked onto the construction cost of the house,” he said, and sets a floor price that shuts out “a whole bunch of prospective homebuyers.”
Garages also make it harder to utilize land, Herriges said, which especially matters in areas like the Wasatch Front where land is at a premium.
Accommodating parking makes it harder to economize on small lots, he said, and makes the kinds of starter housing that let young homebuyers get into the market.
Herriges added local mandates requiring garages are arbitrary and not connected to data.
Most opposition to removing those requirements is based on an “ingrained expectation that the space in front of your house is yours,” he said, not a lack of available parking.
In areas where parking is at a premium, he added, cities have other mechanisms like parking permits to address residents’ concerns.
Megan Banta is The Salt Lake Tribune’s data enterprise reporter, a philanthropically supported position. The Tribune retains control over all editorial decisions.
