A new Utah Foundation survey shows that municipal officials and staff are generally in favor of fostering affordable housing in their communities. This includes using a variety of measures to achieve a diversity of housing. However, they see the most substantial barrier to affordable housing is community opposition.
The Utah Foundation’s newest report details the survey responses to explore the perspectives of municipal officials and staff concerning the provisioning for affordable housing in general. In addition, it looks at general messaging strategies to address residential concerns and discusses the type of housing diversity Utahns want in the present and may wish for in the future.
“Decisions on which affordable projects get approved and which don’t often come down to city officials with varying levels of knowledge,” said Drew Maggelet, Director of Housing for the survey’s sponsor, the Call to Action Foundation. “By surveying city officials on affordable housing, we learn more about where most decision-makers are on the topic and how developers and other stakeholders can educate and dispel common misconceptions. The more that all Utahns understand, the more likely they will be to embrace the benefits of building affordable housing in their backyard.”
“Researcher shows the benefits of having sufficient affordable housing in all of our communities,” said Shawn Teigen, Utah Foundation president. “Clearly, municipalities receive some voter pushback. This suggests that elected officials and staff need to be even more strategic in messaging the importance of maintaining affordable options for future generations. This report shows the way forward.”
“This report is important in that it offers an enhanced understanding of opinions within municipalities,” said John Salevurakis, the author of the report. “Perhaps even more importantly, it explores how municipal officials might best present their objectives in an environment sometimes opposed to affordable housing.”
Highlights of the report:
- “Affordable housing” is understood by municipal officials to mean a variety of things, from simply “low quality” and “dense” housing to more technical definitions based on local area
median income. This likely parallels many residents’ perceptions. - Municipal officials and staff recognize a shortage of diverse housing options and appreciate the need for accessory dwelling units (71%), encouraging “middle housing” (66%), and smaller lots (57%).
- Many municipal officials and staff seem to oppose Utah’s Moderate Income Housing Plan
requirement, some of whom perceive it as a heavy-handed, state-level intervention that is less well-suited to rural and suburban municipalities. - Outside research informs about three-quarters of survey respondents’ preferences regarding housing policy, and about three-quarters of respondents seek affordable housing information from training events and colleagues.
- Many municipal officials and staff see the most substantial barrier to affordable housing as emanating from community opposition (56%).
- Affordable housing has both costs and benefits, and it is up to municipal leaders to effectively communicate these realities to communities so that more informed dialogue can result.
- Modifying the nature and content of the dialogue between municipal officials and communities can increase the availability of housing diversity in various communities across the state.
