ST. GEORGE — Gov. Spencer Cox put cities and counties in Southern Utah and the rest of the state on notice Tuesday. Start approving smaller lots for starter homes or the state may force their hand.
Speaking to members of the Southern Utah Home Builders Association during a luncheon at the St. George Hilton Garden Inn on Tuesday, Cox urged the contractors to build more starter homes costing less than $300K as a way to make homes affordable for more local residents.
He also said that he’s giving one year for local communities to do zoning and permit approvals that will pave the way for more affordable homes.
Local mayors and council members have been critical about what they allege is the governor and the state legislature taking authority on residential zoning decisions away from the cities in the name of promoting affordable housing. But Cox told the homebuilders he cut some state red tape for cities to allow for smaller housing zones and smaller residential lots that are needed to allow more people to own a home and he expects local actions within the next year.
“City councils and planning commissions still have to approve smaller lots. We didn’t force that because they promised us they would do it if we would give them some of these things,” Cox said. “We’re going to be paying very close attention over the next year. Is everybody playing ball? Is this going to work?”
Speaking to St. George News after the address, Cox confirmed that what he said in his speech was akin to an ultimatum to cities, though he added it was in the form of collaboration rather than a threat.
“This is the year we need everybody to step up and we do have a great relationship,” Cox said. “I’m very confident that our cities, our city council members, our mayors are here to step up.”
Washington County Commissioner Gil Almquist told St. George News afterwards that encouraging more affordable housing starts countywide, adding the homes need to be aesthetically pleasing and not “Kleenex box of glass and steel.”
“Design trumps density. The problems with those that don’t like dense areas is they say it’s automatically crime-ridden. It’s automatically this, it automatically goes to pot and there goes the neighborhood. That’s not true,” Almquist said. “If you can have a well-designed, well-lit, well-managed project, you can have higher densities, which is the solution to some of our population that can’t find a place to live.”
Almquist said apartments and rentals are not affordable housing in the long-term.
“I’m talking about ownership. I started with my wife and had two kids in a 700-square-foot condo. And then we worked, we saved, we did what we could. We owned it. That’s where we need to go,” Almquist said. “It’s got to be ownership, not just rental. People take care of things better if they own them.”
Cox said that he is convinced the main reason why it is hard for many to be able to afford a home in places like Southern Utah is the lack of homes, rather than salaries or inflation.
He urged the homebuilders to commit to building more starter homes that may not produce as much a short-term profit as a mansion or townhomes, but can lead to greater community growth in the long run.
“In my mind, it was very clear. We have to build starter homes,” said Cox, who added 35,000 starter homes need to be built statewide over the next five years to bring the costs down. “We stopped building starter homes generally as a nation about 15 years ago. We now build two things pretty well. We build apartment buildings in places and we build bigger homes for people who can afford bigger homes.”
In a panel session after Cox’s speech, the governor’s Senior Advisor for Housing Steve Waldrip said contractors have to move away from townhomes and mansions toward smaller homes that most people could afford to own.
“We need to bring more density with a target of $350,000 for a single-family,” Waldrip, a former Utah House member, said. “It may not have a 2-car garage, but that’s fine. I didn’t get one when I started. I couldn’t afford one. We lived like that and we’re fine.”
Local Utah Rep. Neil Walter-R, also CEO at NAI Excel, told St. George News it will take a conscious awareness effort by local leadership to overcome “not in my backyard” concerns about smaller residential lots.
“I’ve heard many times somebody say, ‘Well I just moved here and so I don’t want it to grow anymore. I don’t want it to get more crowded,’ et cetera. We have to get over that,” Walter said. “What people forget is that if we stop providing room for the next generation, we lose all of the workforce. We lose all of the services, we lose all of the critical support,” Walter said. “We can’t just drive out young people, working-age people because we don’t want more traffic or we don’t want more people to come here to this community. If that were the case, we would be 10,000 people in a small outpost in the middle of nowhere stuck in 1960.”
The visit to Southern Utah comes a few days after a tumultuous Utah Republican Party Convention in Salt Lake City Saturday where delegates gave their preference to state Rep. Phil Lyman and forced a primary between Lyman and the incumbent in June.
During the panel, Cox said it is the role of homebuilders and elected leaders to encourage homes to be built for those who live here, not to attract wealthy residents from out-of-state.
“We need people elected to be committed to solving this crisis,” Cox said. “It’s not about bringing more people from California. It’s about our children.”
Shortly after the appearance at the homebuilders luncheon, Cox participated in a photo opportunity in front of the Dixie Center where he received endorsements from around 60 of the state’s approximately 87 county commissioners for the Utah Association of Counties Conference.
Among local leaders were Washington County Commission members Almquist and Victor Iverson, who ran against Cox as the running mate of former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes in the 2020 GOP primary. Santa Clara City Council member Crista Hinton was also among those showing support.
Almquist said Cox has helped the area rebound post-pandemic and promote businesses. Addressing the “emotional times” of the convention and local critics of the government who have dubbed him with the acronym for “Republican in name only,” he said the time is over for people to take an unyielding stand “on the edge of politics.”
“The second somebody tries to appease an opposite point of view, they are labeled as being with that opposite point of view. And that is not true. If you want to say that Gov. Cox is a RINO, then you’re blind to the things that he’s trying to do to get people to understand what it means to be an American,” Almquist said. “He’s a great governor for the fact that he is a human and he wants other people just to feel included. Otherwise, we’re just gonna break off into factions and we might as well go back to medieval living, build our own fort, attack your neighbor.”
Also giving his endorsement was Beaver County Commissioner Wade Hollingshead.
“He has done a lot of good things for rural Utah,” Hollingshead said. “I think he’s a governor for rural Utah right now. And so I really appreciate his support for our county.”
Concerning the difference between the results of the weekend convention and a poll by Noble Predictive Insights of Utah Republicans released Monday that showed Cox with a 70% margin over Lyman, Cox wouldn’t take a position on whether the current system of delegates picking a nominee is out of step with the electorate as a whole.
“Let other people decide that and judge that,” Cox, who was the only candidate to gather enough signatures to automatically qualify for the primary. “What I know is that like today, I’m all over the state. This is what I do. I believe in competent governance. I believe that good governing is very underrated right now. What I also know is that the majority of Utahns see that we’re the best in the nation for a reason, and I’m, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to lead.”
Photo Gallery
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox talks with an attendee at a luncheon of the Southern Utah Home Builder Association at the Hilton Garden Inn, St. George, Utah, April 30, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News County commissioners from throughout the state gather in front of the Dixie Center St. George in an appearance with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox , St. George, Utah, April 30, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Steve Waldrip, Gov. Spencer Cox's senior advisor for housing speaks during a panel at a luncheon of the Southern Utah Home Builder Association at the Hilton Garden Inn, St. George, Utah, April 30, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News (L-R) Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Senior Advisor for Housing Steve Waldrip, Southern Utah Home Builder Association President Skyler Stevens and Tammy Houchen, president of the Washington County Board of Realtors participate in a panel during a luncheon of the Southern Utah Home Builder Association at the Hilton Garden Inn, St. George, Utah, April 30, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News (L-R) Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner and Washington County Commissioner Gil Almquist share a conversation in front of the Dixie Center St. George for an appearance with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, St. George, Utah, April 30, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News County commissioners from throughout the state gather in front of the Dixie Center St. George in an appearance with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox , St. George, Utah, April 30, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Beaver County Commissioner Wade Hollingshead speaks with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox , St. George, Utah, April 30, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Washington County Commissioner Victor Iverson points out during an appearance with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox , St. George, Utah, April 30, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Utah Gov. Spencer Cox addresses a luncheon of the Southern Utah Home Builder Association at the Hilton Garden Inn, St. George, Utah, April 30, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Utah Gov. Spencer Cox addresses a luncheon of the Southern Utah Home Builder Association at the Hilton Garden Inn, St. George, Utah, April 30, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
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