The Lindon City Council on Monday unanimously approved an amendment to the moderate-income housing element of the city’s general plan.

This amendment allows the city to comply with Utah State Code 10-9a-401 which requires cities to have a long-range general plan that includes a plan for moderate-income housing growth, as well as Utah House Bill 462, which was passed into law this year.

HB 462, Utah Housing Affordability Amendments, requires that cities amend and update previously adopted moderate-income housing strategies by Oct. 1 to include strategies approved by the legislature. The bill requires cities to adopt at least three moderate-income housing strategies, as well as two additional strategies to receive prioritization for state road funds.

Utah is rapidly growing in population size, and with it the need for varying housing types and affordability. In January 2022, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah reported that Utah’s population is projected to increase by 66% between 2020 and 2040, and Utah County is expected to receive 30% of that total growth.

As of 2022, Lindon has an estimated 12,545 residents. The Mountainland Association of Governments estimates the city will reach 13,105 residents by 2029.

According to the amended Lindon City Moderate-Income Housing Plan, the city has chosen to adopt the following five strategies and has begun the process of creating a code update to:

• Create or allow for, and reduce regulations related to, internal or detached accessory dwelling units in residential zones;
• Eliminate impact fees for any accessory dwelling unit that is not an internal accessory dwelling unit as defined in Section 10-9a-530;
• Demonstrate utilization of a moderate-income housing set aside from a community reinvestment agency, redevelopment agency, or community development and renewal agency to create or subsidize moderate-income housing;
• Reduce, waive, or eliminate impact fees related to moderate-income housing;
• Implement zoning incentives for moderate-income units in new developments.

These strategies were presented to the council in a report from Michael Florence, the Lindon City planning and economic development director.

“I think these are all recommendations that we’ve been able to discuss and we’re comfortable with, and match kind of how Lindon wants to approach some of the moderate-income ways to strategize moving forward,” Mayor Carolyn Lundberg said.

A public hearing was held to discuss the amendment during the Aug. 15 meeting, however, no residents contributed to the discussion.

Newsletter