In the 2021 General Legislative Session, the Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone Act (SB 217) was adopted and allows for a municipality or a public transit county to propose a Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone, or HTRZ, around strategic transit stations along the Wasatch Front.
An HTRZ is a strategic tool that enables a portion of incremental tax revenue growth to be captured over a period of time to support costs of development. The bill has been amended in subsequent years to expand eligibility to different types of transit, limit the number of allowable HTRZs, change committee membership, and provide additional clarification.
To request access to the HTRZ application portal or for additional information on HTRZ, interested municipalities or public transit counties should contact the office at htrz@utah.gov.
HTRZs are designed as an all-hands-on-deck approach to help Utah tackle its housing affordability crisis by facilitating mixed-use, multi-family and affordable housing within a given radius of light rail, bus rapid transit or commuter rail stations.
The Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone Act promotes the following objectives:
- higher utilization of public transportation,
- increase affordable housing availability,
- improve efficiencies in parking and transportation, including walkability near public transit,
- overcome development impediments and market conditions that render a development cost prohibitive absent the proposal and incentives,
- help conserve water through efficient land use,
- improve air quality by reducing fuel consumption and the number of vehicle trips,
- encourage transformative mixed-use development and investment in transportation and public transit infrastructure in strategic areas,
- strategic land use and municipal planning in major transit investment corridors,
- increase access to employment and educational opportunities, and
- increase access to childcare.
The HTRZ process is initiated when a municipality or public transit county submits a detailed and extensive proposal to the office.
The table below summarizes and compares requirements based on type of station and density of housing development.
The office has been tasked with administering the HTRZ program, conducting the independent “gap analysis”, and managing the HTRZ Committee. Below is a timeline for the HTRZ proposal process:
An HTRZ Committee is formed after the gap analysis is received by the office. The committee consists of representatives from interested parties, including taxing entities. The list of committee members is outlined in 63N-3-605 (2).
The composition of each HTRZ Committee will vary depending on the taxing entities associated within the proposed HTRZ.
December 20, 2023
South Salt Lake HTRZ Committee Meeting
Time: 10:30-11:45 a.m.
Place: PDQ, 2200 S Main St, South Salt Lake, UT 84115, USA, 3rd floor
November 13, 2023
Lehi HTRZ Committee Meeting
Time: 1-2:30 p.m.
Place: Thanksgiving Point, Visa Building, 2901 Ashton Blvd., Lehi, UT 84043, Fifth Floor Conference Room
November 8, 2023
Salt Lake City (200 W 900 S) HTRZ Committee Meeting
Time: 10-11:30 p.m.
Place: Utah State Capitol, 350 State St., Salt Lake City, UT 84103, Capitol Board Room, Room 240
October 17, 2023
Summit County HTRZ Committee Meeting
Time: 10-11:30 p.m.
Place: East Senate Building, Aspen Conference Room, First Floor, 120 E Capitol St., Salt Lake City, UT
84103
March 22, 2023
South Jordan HTRZ Committee Meeting
Time: 2:30-4 p.m.
Place: Fire Station 64, 5443 W Lake Ave, South Jordan, UT
December 12, 2022
Vineyard HTRZ Committee Meeting
Time: 9-10:30 a.m.
Place: Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity
September 27, 2022
Sandy HTRZ Committee Meeting
Time: 12-1:30 p.m.
Place: Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity
Interested municipalities are encouraged to consult Utah Code (63N-3-6) as to how a HTRZ plan can be developed that meets statutory requirements prior to official proposal submission. The following application best practices include proposals that outline and consider:
- An executive summary that includes the number of acres, number and percentage of affordable housing units, and the percentage, duration, and amount of tax differential of funding proposed
- A summary of how a status quo or market-driven plan would be different as compared with the HTRZ proposal according to the number of units per acre for residential and commercial use
- A summary of how the amount of tax differential would address costs directly associated with parking for dense residential construction, affordable housing, and other uses
- A summary of the amount of tax revenue generated between the status quo or market-driven plan as compared with the HTRZ proposal
- An outline of how the HTRZ proposal promotes the statutory objectives outlined in 63N-3-603(1).
- Site plan overlaying the location of the transit station, a radius of the HTRZ area, and the parcels of land within the proposed area to create a sales and use tax boundary
- Visual renderings or other visual aids to assist with how the HTRZ area will look and function with the various aspects and modes of transportation, housing, and retail
- A list of assumptions of market rates, such as material and labor costs, vacancy rates, costs of capital, and other information useful for assessing the plan
- A pro forma estimating the gap between status quo or market-driven plan, used by reference to the summaries found in the narrative sections
Other information relevant to the support of statutory requirements
Within 30 days after the HTRZ Committee approves a housing and transit reinvestment zone, the municipality or public transit county is required to do the following:
- Record with the county recorder where the HTRZ is located a document containing a description of the land, statement of approval, and date of adoption.
- Transmit to the Utah Geospatial Resource Center a description of the land and an accurate map or plat indicating the HTRZ boundaries.
- Transmit a copy of the HTRZ proposal, map and description of the land to the following:
- The auditor, recorder, attorney, surveyor, and assessor of the county in which any part of the HTRZ is located
- The officer or officers performing the function of auditor or assessor for each taxing entity that does not use the county assessment roll or collect the taxing entity’s taxes through the county
- The legislative body or governing board of each taxing entity
- The Tax Commission
- The State Board of Education