Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Mayor Biskupski's Affordable Housing Plan Is Up

Whittney Evans
Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski unveils her new affordable housing plan.

Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski has a plan for growing the city’s supply of affordable housing. She unveiled some of the details at a press conference today.  

It’s called Growing SLC and it acknowledges what Biskupski says is a crisis unfolding in Salt Lake City. There’s a 2 percent vacancy rate and housing costs are rising as a result.

“We are facing this crisis together and we must find solutions together,” she says.

Many renters are spending 30 percent or more of their monthly income on housing.

“From those struggling from a path out of homelessness to individuals earning $10 an hour to a new teacher or young professional starting their career and bringing in less than $45,000.”

Biskupski says she wants to do away with old city policies and zoning that limit the type and size of housing that can be built in certain neighborhoods.

“I recognize that some of the policies are in place to preserve the character of our city, but in some instances, they fail to allow us to be innovative in how we grow,” Biskupski says.

The plan will streamline the permit process and incentivize developers to create affordable units within new developments.  Biskupski plans to renovate vacant or underused properties that already exist and create roughly 1000 units for people exiting homelessness. She’s convened a Blue Ribbon Commission to find long-term funding and resources for these new polices.

The entire plan can be found on the city’s Housing and Neighborhood Development page www.slcgov.com/hand

Whittney Evans grew up southern Ohio and has worked in public radio since 2005. She has a communications degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she learned the ropes of reporting, producing and hosting. Whittney moved to Utah in 2009 where she became a reporter, producer and morning host at KCPW. Her reporting ranges from the hyper-local issues affecting Salt Lake City residents, to state-wide issues of national interest. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the guitar and getting to know the breathtaking landscape of the Mountain West.
KUER is listener-supported public radio. Support this work by making a donation today.