LOGAN – At their regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 17, the members Logan Municipal Council were on the way to approving far-reaching code amendments, but became derailed over the issue of short-term rentals within city limits.
The proposed changes to Chapters 17.36, 17.37.70 and 17.37.130 of the Logan Code were brought to the council by Mike DeSimone, the city’s development director.
They were intended to modify the operational standards for home businesses; amend the city’s regulations for governing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s); and limit the number of Short-Term Rentals (STR’s) allowed in the city.
The first of those issues flew by with minimal discussion, followed by a public hearing in which city residents argued both in favor and against ADU’s and STR’s.
ADU’s are an additional or secondary housing unit located on a residential property. They can take the form of an addition to the main home, a basement conversion, a second story over a detached garage or a separate structure elsewhere on a residential property.
Utah is now encouraging the development of ADU’s as a quick and efficient way to increase housing supply in the state’s tight real estate market.
“The (proposed) changes to the Accessory Dwelling Unit standards reflect the realization that the level of impact is not as great as what was believed when the city originally adopted its ADU approach,” DeSimone explained.
Since its adoption in September of 2021, Logan’s policy regarding ADU’s has been to allow them only as internal additions to existing owner-occupied, detached single family dwellings. City Ordinance 21-14 also bans ADU’s in an exclusion area around Utah State University.
The city staff now proposes that ADU’s be allowed city-wide, including in the previous USU exclusion area; allowing all types of ADU’s (internal, external and detached); modifying parking standards for ADU’s; and eliminating the current prohibition against using ADU’s as short-term rentals, among other policy relaxations.
While generally agreeing to those changes, council member Mike Johnson found fault with a few of the details.
He disputed a 20-foot height limitation on external ADU structures, a quibble with which other council members agreed.
Johnson also felt that the city could afford to dispense with a minimum 6,000-foot lot size for external ADU’s, an idea that earned little support from other council members.
On the issue of short-term rentals in the city, the members of the council found even less common ground.
DeSimone explained that a short-term rental is a residential dwelling used for temporary, transient occupancy of less then 30 days, commonly referred to as an AirBNB or vacation rental.
The city’s concern with STR’s, he added, is that they deprive a tight housing market of one more potential home; contribute to escalating housing prices; and, add to further deterioration of residential neighborhood cohesiveness.
The changes to Chapter 17.37.130 that DeSimone recommended included banning STR’s in all single family residential zones; permitting STR’s only in multi-family, mixed use, commercial or town center zones; and, allowing for STR’s in purpose-built communities.
When asked about how the city planned to enforce a ban on STR’s in residential areas, DiSimone admitted that was an issue, given that Logan now has 55 short-term rentals licensed while another 100 or so are being operated.
That admission led council member Jeannie Simmons to focus on the enforcement issues, saying that DeSimone needs to come up with “a carrot” that will incentivize property owners to license as short-term rental operators.
Much discussion also focused on the proposals from the city staff to limit STR’s by increasing the separation between licensed short-term rentals from 500 feet to 1,000 feet as well as reducing their existing maximum numbers in residential areas from 3 per every 1,000 residents to 1 per every 1,000 residents.
Finally, Simmonds made a motion to table the issue until the council’s next meeting on Oct. 1 while DeSimone prepares new code amendments for the council members to review.