Provo City is making changes to the process for obtaining approval to rent accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which are also known as “mother-in-law apartments.”

On Tuesday, the Provo City Municipal Council voted in favor of removing a special use permit option for ADUs in the city code, but it is exploring alternative ways for people experiencing economic challenges to pursue approval for an ADU.

The special use permit allowed residents to acquire approval for an ADU through a 66% neighbor approval and an administrative green-light, as opposed to approval by the city council.

Over the past year, 12 special use permit applications have been granted and at least 12 more are still under review. 

Multiple property owners in a neighborhood can still apply for an ADU through the Application for Permitted Use for Multiple Homes.

According to city code, owners are welcome to submit a text amendment application to the Development Services Department seeking to designate accessory dwelling units as a permitted use for all the subject properties within the application. In this case, the city council would sign off on the approval.

ADUs include internal and external apartments (such as an apartment built over a garage), mother-in-law apartments and places for children to live with their families if they need a place. All homes with ADUs are to be owner-occupied.

The item was continued from the council’s Nov. 19 meeting where several changes to ADU regulations were passed, including rental disclosure requirements for landlords and tenants and proof of owner occupancy. The minimum age for extra living space eligibility was lowered from 65 to 60.

The council said the topic of ADUs has become a hot button item in Provo, with some residents believing the dwelling units change the fabric of their neighborhoods and having concerns with the lack of parking and people who may be abusing the option.

On the other hand, many residents feel ADUs are a flexible option that provides a solution to the ongoing housing crisis while allowing citizens to garner an additional source of income.

Before the council took action on several motions related to the issue at Tuesday night’s meeting, more than a dozen community members on both sides of the issue voiced their opinions.

Provo resident Cali Prater said she and her husband are newlyweds and first-time home buyers. She noted her family’s long history with Provo and her desire to improve her home for her family’s future, but she expressed disappointment in knowing that despite the steps taken to create a separate basement apartment and get approval for an ADU, the process could become more complicated.

“We don’t feel that it’s fair to take away a process and make it more complicated and continue to add those restrictions when we’ve already built and planned for the things that are currently in place,” she told the council members.

Provo resident Adam Dines highlighted how ADUs are a path to affordable housing and maintaining a diverse community.

“What is leading to high housing costs? One of the biggest factors is lack of supply of housing. And what is leading to a lack of supply of housing? A lot of it is how we do our zoning,” Dines said. “ADUs are, I think, a very straightforward and simple way to try to increase housing, but in a way that doesn’t make dramatic changes to neighborhoods.”

While Prater, Dines and others hoped to keep the special use permits in place, a number of residents were in favor of the council’s proposal of nixing the option.

Resident Doug Gayle said in his neighborhood, the streets have become overtaken by disproportionate parking.

“People move there to have single family homes,” he told the council. “Preserve single family dwellings in our community so that they’re not run over with excess parking or individuals that become more like a student complex.”

Maureen Lapra, another Provo resident, echoed that sentiment with a personal experience she’d encountered.

“I have seen what happens when people come in and they start renting out. It increases cars, it increases traffic, and it changes the dynamics of the neighborhood,” she said to the council. “And I don’t want to see this happen to our neighborhood.”

During the council’s discussion of the topic, concerns were raised about what message removing the special use permit may send to state leaders.

Utah state law requires cities to allow for internal accessory dwelling units, though regulations can vary according to each municipality’s code.

“We are not operating in a vacuum; the problems of housing affordability, housing supply and accessory dwelling units are a nationwide problem,” said Council Member Rachel Whipple. “There are different jurisdictions who are approaching this in different ways.”

She suggested making an amendment to the extra living space code that adds an income qualification provision that could act as a way to help those who are experiencing hard times such as a job loss, divorce or other difficulties explore adding an ADU to secure supplemental income.

A motion was made to keep the special unit permits in place while council staff explores an economic hardship option, but the motion failed 4-3 in an effort to keep each issue separate.

Ultimately, the council passed the motion to repeal the special use permits for individual property owners 4-3, though a motion was also passed unanimously that allows for applications submitted prior to Tuesday’s motion to be processed.

Additionally, the council voted 5-2 in favor of directing council staff to research a process for those experiencing economic hardship to be allowed to apply for an extra living space. The council will revisit that issue in March 2025.

“The Provo City Council is always looking for innovative ways to address the council’s housing goals,” Council Chair Katrice MacKay told the Daily Herald in an emailed statement. “The SUP (special use permit) was an attempt at bringing innovative solutions into the city. However, after two years of citizen feedback, the pathway proved more divisive than inclusive.”

She noted that currently, nearly 50% of residential zones in Provo allow ADUs. Though that number is down from a year ago, plans and developments are underway that would allow for more than 700 acres of land where ADUs will be permitted in west Provo.