Marcus Jessop, Salt Lake HBA Government AffairsMarcus Jessop, Salt Lake HBA Government AffairsMost of the decisions that shape what it costs to build a home never make the evening news. They happen in city council chambers, planning commission meetings, etc., usually with very few people in the room. Those rooms are exactly where the Salt Lake Home Builders Association spends its time.

Over the past year, our Government Affairs team has been on the ground across Salt Lake and Tooele Counties, working on the kind of local policy that quietly adds up on every project and every monthly bill. A few examples show what that looks like in practice.

In Salt Lake City, multifamily owners were hit with sewer bills that spiked dramatically under a usage-based billing structure. One fourplex owner watched a bill that normally ran about $75 a month climb to $775 in a single summer, even though nothing about the property had changed. After months of meeting with city staff and Public Utilities, we helped move the city toward a flat sewer rate for multifamily properties. That change brings real predictability back to owners' budgets and saves them hundreds of dollars a month through the summer.

In South Salt Lake, we have been at the table on water rates, pushing for a structure that is fair to both businesses and homeowners as the city funds its infrastructure needs. Rate studies and multi-year rate plans are easy to overlook, but they have a direct effect on affordability for renters, owners, and the small businesses that anchor our neighborhoods.

In West Jordan, we are engaged on a proposed doubling of impact fees. Impact fees get passed straight through to the price of a new home, so a jump like that does not only affect builders. It affects every buyer trying to get into the market. Our goal is to make sure any increase is justified, transparent, and not simply placed on the backs of future homeowners.

These are only a few of the items on our plate. In any given week our team is tracking ordinances, fee schedules, zoning changes, and budget proposals in cities throughout Salt Lake and Tooele Counties, because the policies set at the local level are often the ones that hit your bottom line the hardest.

This is where you come in

If you are running into a roadblock with a municipality, whether it is a fee that does not add up, a permitting delay, a zoning question, or a policy proposal that has you worried, do not try to navigate it alone. That is exactly what we are here for.

Use the Salt Lake HBA as a resource. Reach out to Marcus Jessop with the Salt Lake HBA, and our Government Affairs team would love to help advocate for you. We know the people, we know the process, and we are already in the room.

Your membership gives you a seat at the table. Let's put it to work!