CEDAR CITY — Cedar City Council members approved an ordinance change allowing for more flexible housing options that could reduce rent prices citywide.

On March 23, Cedar City Council members voted to alter ordinances in Chapter 26, Articles I, III and V, which contains the city’s planning and zoning requirements. The change will allow landowners to build external accessory dwelling units, which are small detached buildings, similar to guest houses, that can be built behind an existing single-family home and rented out.

The change follows the passage of HB 82, “Single-Family Housing Modifications,” prohibiting cities and counties from disallowing internal accessory dwelling units as long as the owner occupies the home, council member Tyler Melling said in an interview with Cedar City News. These units, sometimes called “mother-in-law” apartments, are self-contained quarters often built in basements or garages.

“It’s not that we’re turning single-family homes into duplexes for absentee landlords,” Melling said. “It’s just saying if you live in your home that you owner-occupy, now you can rent out part of that home without having to jump through all the hoops.”

During discussions of the bill, Melling said many local officials testified against it, but he was one of the few advocating in favor.

“I hear arguments about local control but at the end of the day, the state of Utah has an obligation to protect constitutional, God-given rights,” he said. “And so, the question is, is this a right or not? (Is it a right that) needs to be protected from local control? Because local governments have a lot of political pressure and don’t do a very good job on civil rights issues because of that.”

The “Cedar City Council Agenda Item 8 Staff Information Sheet,” cites several studies in support of utilizing ADUs to relieve housing issues. According to a November 2021 study completed by the Utah Foundation, the state is short 45,000 housing units, a gap it said cannot be closed by apartment complexes alone.

The rent charged for accessory dwelling units averages about 58% below market value, a study by the University of California, Berkley states. Melling said rental prices might decrease across the board because of this, adding that a significant portion of Utahns currently spends more than half their income on rent.

Accessory dwelling unit requirements

City planner Don Boudreau presented the proposed ordinance changes to the City Council, explaining that external accessory dwelling units will be limited in size to no more than 800 square feet on lots larger than 10,000 square feet. He said they can be no more than one story, which the ordinance defines as 16 feet high. Additionally, the units will be limited to two bedrooms.

The units must be located behind the primary dwelling and match it in color and roof design. Parking must also be located behind the primary dwelling on a driveway that is at least 12-feet wide, he said. In addition, ADUs must meet current building and fire code provisions.

Both internal and external units will be required to have a separate address, according to the ordinance. Existing guest houses can be converted into external units if they meet the requirements listed in Cedar City’s ordinances.

Council Members deliberate

Council member R. Scott Phillips said he appreciates that city planners and council members were thoughtful of neighborhood concerns when writing the ordinance.

“I know there can be a concern with what it does to the character of the neighborhood and no one’s more aware of that than myself,” he said. “But, … I think we’re making the right attempts to make it possible and still make it part of our community character.”

Council member Terri Hartley said in an email to Cedar City News that she felt comfortable moving forward with the ordinance change because it offers another avenue for providing affordable housing.

“It will not be a fit for every size and shape of lot, however, I believe it can be a good option if used within the parameters outlined,” she said. “The most important factor is one of the units must be owner-occupied which will eliminate investor property owners from capitalizing on neighborhoods.”

Most qualifying properties will be in older neighborhoods with longer, deeper lots, Melling said.

“In the smaller lots, you can still do the internal dwelling but really the external is only going to work in a limited number of circumstances,” he said.

These units will likely benefit students, young families and retirees who want to move to single-level, smaller homes while remaining in their neighborhoods, Melling said.

“If you’re an investor that wants to squeeze every dime out of the property, you can’t rent out both units,” he said. “So are you going to pay a premium for that guest home? No. So an owner-occupied user is more likely to buy that home in the future than an investor.”

Melling said that an increase in owner-occupancy is one way in which the ordinance will promote the preservation of the city’s character while allowing more young families to move into older neighborhoods.

“When you talk about intergenerational poverty, and people being able to, you know, have upward mobility, you don’t do that by sticking them all in the same spot,” he said. “You do that by allowing people to have different types of living arrangements and this is a good way to do that without harming the character of neighborhoods.”

Citizens discuss concerns

During public comment at the March 16 City Council meeting, Cedar City resident Laura Henderson asked how accessory dwelling units will be differentiated from Airbnb rentals, expressing concerns about “getting into some gray area.”

She asked the council how these rental types would be monitored. Phillips said landlords will need to acquire a rental license for $40. Melling clarified later that potential landlords will need to apply for a residential rental business license.

During the meeting, Melling stressed that the units are limited to long-term renters and that homeowners would not be approved for short-term renting on the same property.

Properties with accessory dwelling units would continue having their water metered as single-family homes, Melling added, in part because these properties would be owner-occupied.

City resident, Tom Jett, questioned why these units would be treated differently for water metering than duplexes and triplexes, which are also owner-occupied in some cases like his.

Water meters are expensive for the city to install and maintain. Homeowners with accessory dwelling units who remain on a single meter and use more water will move up billing tiers more quickly, which is advantageous for the city, Melling said in an interview

Additionally, these units are not necessarily a good, long-term investment, he said, adding that in these cases, the decisions are often emotional rather than financial.

Melling said that the nature of the units indicates that many could be vacant for years at a time. In addition, he said landlords are likely to be pickier because they are renting out units in or just outside of their primary residence.

“The key here is that these are very flexible, adaptable units,” he said. “So it doesn’t make sense to require metering of something that maybe isn’t going to be rented out forever.”

Restoring historical use

Before zoning laws, homeowners commonly rented out rooms or took in boarders for extra income but with the advent of zoning laws this historical use became less normal, Melling said.

While he doesn’t want to abolish zoning regulations, he said he thinks that these regulations have created a situation where homes can become liabilities instead of assets. He said the recent changes won’t fix everything but “it’s a start.”

Melling said people in his neighborhood, near Southern Utah University, have received letters in the past, asking homeowners to take in students in need of housing. However, while many wanted to and had space in their homes, the requirements were too onerous to allow it, he said.

He said he hopes citizens who were previously unable to rent units to students or family members will no longer hesitate to do so.

Cedar City Council passed the proposal unanimously. Iron County also passed an ordinance change concerning accessory dwelling units, July 28, 2021, in compliance with HB 82.

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