Lehi City News
Lehi revises backyard housing rules ahead of Oct.1 state deadline
Rob Shelton | Lehi Free Press
Lehi changed its detached accessory dwelling rules July 14 to comply with a Utah mandate that takes effect Oct. 1.
The city already allowed backyard residences. But the new state law required Lehi to open that option to smaller lots and revise restrictions on parking, dwelling size and approval procedures.
“We’ve actually been allowing these detached accessory dwelling units for a number of years,” Kim Struthers, Lehi’s community development director, told the City Council.
The July action put Lehi ahead of the deadline. Neighboring American Fork, which had not allowed detached accessory dwelling units, approved its ordinance Sept. 22 at its last regularly scheduled council meeting before Oct. 1.
Utah’s new requirement, enacted through Senate Bill 284, directs covered municipalities to allow detached accessory dwelling units on lots of at least 11,000 square feet that contain a single-family home where that use is permitted. The units must meet applicable building, health and fire codes.
Often called backyard cottages, the dwellings provide separate living quarters on the same property as a primary home. These structures may accommodate relatives or tenants without requiring an apartment inside the main house.
Lehi previously required at least 14,520 square feet, or one-third of an acre, for an allowable detached accessory dwelling. The city also limited the dwelling portion to 1,300 square feet and required two off-street parking spaces.
The changes lowered the minimum lot size to 11,000 square feet and replaced the fixed dwelling-size cap with a limit tied to the primary home. State law caps local parking requirements at one space for units smaller than 650 square feet and two for units of 650 square feet or more.
Lehi also removed conditional-use approval requirements for converting older accessory buildings into dwellings. Qualifying new detached dwellings already were permitted under the city’s previous rules.
Struthers said the city retained existing standards where the Legislature left room for local decisions.
“So, we’ve kept the standards that we already had, and then we’re just amending what we have to comply with state law,” he said.
The changes still leave homeowners with limits. Detached units must sit beside or behind the main house, stand on a permanent foundation and remain at least six feet from the primary residence. Their finished living area must be smaller than the main home, and a property cannot have both an apartment within the primary home and a detached accessory dwelling operating at the same time.
New units must provide at least 300 square feet of living space and cannot exceed the main home’s height or 35 feet, whichever is lower. Building height and window placement determine setbacks from neighboring properties. Utilities must connect to the main dwelling.
For resident Holly Rollins, the change offered a way to help her parents.
“We are so excited for this change, and hope that you pass it because we are looking for a way to care for my aging parents,” Rollins told the council.
Her property measures 14,418 square feet, she said, just below Lehi’s previous minimum.
Rollins wanted her parents nearby without sacrificing their independence. She described the goal as providing care “while also allowing my parents to be independent, but being close enough that we can help them out.”
She also supported open space, saying she believed the new lot-size threshold and the city’s requirements would still leave room for it.
Council members examined how the units would fit beside existing homes.
Councilmember Emily Lockhart questioned a provision requiring at least six feet between a detached accessory dwelling and the primary residence.
“I’m concerned that that’s really close,” she said.
Struthers explained that the separation allows emergency personnel to move around a building. Owners with more room could place the dwelling farther away.
“But six would be the bare minimum,” he said.
The discussion also turned to utilities and the cost of adding households to existing neighborhoods. Struthers said Lehi had accounted for accessory dwellings in its utility planning, though stronger-than-expected demand could require another look.
“We know that there’s going to be an increase in demand when you start infilling,” he said.
Struthers described the state requirement as an unfunded mandate, expressing frustration over infrastructure costs.
“You have to allow these, and we’re not going to chip in on the infrastructure,” he said, characterizing the state’s approach.
For Rollins, the ordinance addressed a more immediate concern: finding a workable arrangement for aging parents.
“I appreciate your consideration of passing [the new rules] which the state has asked,” she said.
