A Summit County Housing Authority commissioner has proposed designating  “housing overlay” zones within conservation easements and rezoning infill sites for mixed-use development as ways to create affordable housing for the workforce. Rich Sonntag, the authority’s vice chair, also support s incentives that encourage private homeowners to build accessory dwelling units, such as mother-in-law suites and converted garages, as a strategy to provide affordable rental housing on their residential lots. Approximately 21,000 workers commute daily from outside the county to their jobs, many of them lower-paid hospitality and service workers, he noted in an article in a Summit County newsletter. “Others work for our local governments, for our sheriff’s, police and fire departments, or for our school districts,” Sonntag said. “While some may prefer to live outside the county, say in the more vibrant social scene of Sugarhouse, many would prefer to avoid the time and expense of commuting if only local, affordable housing were available. Unfortunately, high costs for both property and construction have made it all but impossible for the free market to provide such housing. A scarcity of available property appropriate for such housing is also a big part of the problem.” Sonntag’s article reflects his personal views and not the position of the housing authority as a whole. The Summit County Council established the body in late 2024 and set a goal to bring 1,500 affordable housing units to the area by 2035.  The electorate has been willing to approve open space bond issues that have preserved a large portion of the remaining undeveloped but developable property, Sonntag said. Some of that land — which is next to existing neighborhoods, served by existing public utilities, located near public transit, and accessible to shopping and local services — could have been used for workforce housing but it is covered by conservation easements, he said. Most of the public open space acquisitions involve the bargain purchase with private contributions and public monies of a former ranch, which includes a compound area, he said. His proposal is to exclude from the easement the compound part that was bought with public funds and suitable for clustered housing. The Housing Authority already is working to find remaining infill parcels under public ownership, such as state and county agencies and school districts. The idea is to work with the public entities to rezone the sites for affordable and attainable housing. “The Housing Authority might serve as the catalyst in helping these owners work  with planning/zoning authorities, funding sources (both public and private), and construction partners (such as Habitat for Humanity) who can help achieve their goals most cost effectively,” Sonntag wrote. “For example, under this strategy school districts might create housing for their employees and fire districts might build homes for firefighters.” He said another move, increasing the size limits of ADUs from 1,000 square feet maximum to 2,000 square feet on properties that are at least an acre, would benefit families with children and people with roommates because they could have more bedrooms.   “This strategy holds special promise for eastern Summit County where there is no small-lot or multifamily zoning which might otherwise permit affordable small homes and multifamily rentals,” Sonntag said. The Housing Authority already has been considering incentivizing the construction of ADUs to address the housing shortage along the Wasatch Back. Ultimately, financial resources to subsidize affordable housing are limited, Sonntag said. He noted some people have suggested just letting things continue as they are with workers commuting from the Salt Lake City area, Heber or even Evanston. “However, this won’t work in the long run, as the continued expansion of our resorts will ultimately lead to complete local gridlock as residents, resort guests, and commuting workforce all hit the roads at once,” Sonntag said. “We can avoid (or at least delay) this approaching Carmageddon with strategies such as those outlined above.”  The post Mother-in-law suites, rezoning among suggestions to address workforce housing shortage appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less