(1) As used in this section:
- (a) "Affordable housing" means housing occupied or reserved for occupancy that is priced at 80% of the county median home price.
(b) "Building design element" means:
- (i) exterior color;
- (ii) type or style of exterior cladding material;
- (iii) style, dimensions, or materials of a roof structure, roof pitch, or porch;
- (iv) exterior nonstructural architectural ornamentation;
- (v) location, design, placement, or architectural styling of a window or door;
- (vi) location, design, placement, or architectural styling of a garage door, not including a rear-loading garage door;
- (vii) number or type of rooms;
- (viii) interior layout of a room;
- (ix) minimum square footage over 1,000 square feet, not including a garage;
- (x) rear yard landscaping requirements;
- (xi) minimum building dimensions; or
- (xii) a requirement to install front yard fencing.
- (c) "Owner-occupied" means a housing unit in which the individual who owns the housing unit, solely or jointly, lives as the individual's primary residence for no less than five years.
- (d) "Specified county" means the same as that term is defined in Section 17-80-101.
- (e) "Unobstructed" means a parking space that has no permanent barriers that would unreasonably reduce the size of an available parking space described in Subsection (4).
- (2) Except as provided in Subsection (3), a county may not impose a requirement for a building design element on a one- or two-family dwelling.
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to:
(a) a dwelling located within an area designated as a historic district in:
- (i) the National Register of Historic Places;
- (ii) the state register as defined in Section 9-8a-402; or
- (iii) a local historic district or area, or a site designated as a local landmark, created by ordinance before January 1, 2021, except as provided under Subsection (3)(b);
- (b) an ordinance enacted as a condition for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
- (c) an ordinance enacted to implement the requirements of the Utah Wildland Urban Interface Code adopted under Section 15A-2-103;
- (d) building design elements agreed to under a development agreement;
(e) a dwelling located within an area that:
- (i) is zoned primarily for residential use; and
- (ii) was substantially developed before calendar year 1950;
- (f) an ordinance enacted to implement water efficient landscaping in a rear yard;
(g) an ordinance enacted to regulate type of cladding, in response to findings or evidence from the construction industry of:
- (i) defects in the material of existing cladding; or
- (ii) consistent defects in the installation of existing cladding;
(h) a land use regulation, including a planned unit development or overlay zone, that a property owner requests:
- (i) the county to apply to the owner's property; and
- (ii) in exchange for an increase in density or other benefit not otherwise available as a permitted use in the zoning area or district; or
(i) an ordinance enacted to mitigate the impacts of an accidental explosion:
- (i) in excess of 20,000 pounds of trinitrotoluene equivalent;
- (ii) that would create overpressure waves greater than .2 pounds per square inch; and
- (iii) that would pose a risk of damage to a window, garage door, or carport of a facility located within the vicinity of the regulated area.
(4) A county that is a specified county may not:
(a) require that the dimensions of a single parking space for a one- or two-family dwelling or town home be:
(i) for unobstructed, enclosed, or covered parking:
- (A) more than 10 feet wide; or
- (B) more than 20 feet long; or
(ii) for uncovered parking:
- (A) more than nine feet wide; or
- (B) more than 20 feet long;
- (b) restrict an unobstructed tandem parking space from satisfying two parking spaces as part of a minimum parking space requirement; and
- (c) restrict a two-car garage from satisfying two parking spaces as part of a minimum parking space requirement.
- (5) A county may not require a garage for a single-family attached or detached dwelling that is owner-occupied affordable housing.
- (6) If a county requires a garage, the county shall count each parking space within the garage as part of the county's minimum parking space requirement as described in Section 17-80-303.
- (7) Nothing in this section prohibits a county from requiring on-site parking for owner-occupied affordable housing.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 14, 2025 Special Session 1