City OKs smaller residential lot sizes

The Moab City Council has given final approval to an ordinance allowing home construction on smaller lots.

Approved by a 4-1 vote Tuesday night, the ordinance allows minimum lot sizes of 5,000 square feet rather than the previous 7,200 square feet. It also reduces the maximum height of new homes from 40 feet to 30 feet.

Council members characterized it as a way to provide affordable housing within city limits. However, the issue became somewhat controversial over the past year, with some city residents saying during public hearings that the ordinance would negatively impact neighborhoods and possibly block solar access.

Council member Kyle Bailey explained during an interview that he is worried about the effects the ordinance will have on existing subdivisions. People who purchased homes in a neighborhood did so expecting a certain look, Bailey said. But homeowners are free to expand their houses under the revised ordinance, altering the appearance in a way other residents might not like, he said.

The ordinance goes into effect immediately for new residential construction, Peterson said.
Moab Times-Independent

Moab Nonprofit Uses Straw Bales to Build Affordable Housing

When Nancy Morlock and boyfriend Eric Boxrud were ready to give up the communal living that tends to go hand in hand with being a mountain bike guide in Moab, their search for a place of their own yielded results that were less than appealing.

"Houses were priced out of our income level," said Morlock, a guide for Moab Cyclery and Escape Adventures.

Community Rebuilds — a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve workforce housing in Moab through the construction of affordable energy-efficient homes. The group hauled off Morlock and Boxrud's pink, single-wide trailer and replaced it with a light green home that includes more than a few unique features.

Niehaus, who has a master's degree in social work and experience as a loan officer, said she first got the idea for Community Rebuilds in 2003. That was two years before the Southeastern Utah Association of Governments conducted a housing study that showed just how dire the affordable housing situation was in Moab.

"(The study) showed that 35 percent of the housing stock in Moab was considered dilapidated or unacceptable," Niehaus said. "The majority of the homes are pre-1976 manufactured homes."

Many of those manufactured homes had been brought to town during the uranium boom, which began in the 1950s. Their age and condition often made them the only affordable option for the folks who "run the machine" that keeps Moab's tourism industry alive.

The floor plan for those homes is relatively simple: three bedrooms, two bathrooms and less than 1,000 square feet. And the people who build them are all interns who receive a food stipend and a place to stay during the four months it takes for construction. The Republic

In Utah, Affordable Green Homes Teach Green Build Skills

In Moab, Utah, interns from all over the world are gaining an education in people-powered, sustainable housing, while helping to put a green roof over the heads of low-income area residents. Community Rebuilds is a non-profit organization with a mission to build energy-efficient, affordable workforce housing through a volunteer-run program that also provides a basic education in straw bale construction for its worker interns. Call it the straw bale version of Habitat For Humanity.

Homeowners interested in having an old, inefficient or dilapidated home rebuilt through Community Rebuilds must meet a number of requirements. Their families must fall below the low income limits established by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and must reside within Grand County (Moab) or La Plata County (Durango). One member of the family must have had a full-time job in the area for at least two years, and applicants must be income and credit approved via a loan pre-qualification process. Community Rebuilds also works with landowners to construct new homes on similar terms.

During the process of construction, it’s not just interns who learn lessons in green building, but homeowners as well. Homeowners as well as staff members and volunteers get in on the act, working alongside one another to build the home — from foundation to finishes — in just four months. Building interns receive the most instruction on the process, however, working under licensed contractors and under the direction of natural building experts. According to Community Rebuilds, it is currently the only organization that provides this type of hands-on, green building instruction free of cost. Earth Techling

City PC recommends code changes to pave way for more affordable housing

The Moab City Planning Commission recommended several changes to city code that city officials said would help make affordable housing more available. Following several public hearings on April 12, the commission voted on a number of issues, including allowing secondary dwellings in R-1 residential zones and increasing the allowed size for those buildings. Moab Times-Independent

Utah home sales up in October

Utah home sales rose for the fifth straight month in October — up nearly 25 percent from last year, according to a new report from the Utah Association of Realtors. During the month, Utah Realtors sold 2,819 homes, townhomes and condos compared to 2,261 sales last year. It was the fourth consecutive month of double-digit sales increase. Since the beginning of the year, Utah home sales are up over 7 percent compared to the same 10-month period in 2010.

The month's inventory in Uintah County is 4.6 months and prices are up nearly 14 percent, a release states. Similarly, in Washington County, the month's supply is 6.5 months and the median price has increased about 11 percent from last October. Statewide, the number of homes on the market has come down more than 21 percent over the past year — the fewest amount of homes on the market since mid-2007 and the eighth consecutive month of double-digit declines. In October, the median price of homes sold in Utah was $174,750, down 3.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

In addition to Uintah and Washington counties, several other areas saw increasing prices, including Emery, Grand, Juab, Morgan and San Juan counties. The median price in Weber County stayed nearly the same, coming in at $139,500 compared to $137,990 last October. Deseret News