Show All Answers

1. What is moderate income housing?

Moderate Income Housing is defined in Utah Code as “housing occupied or reserved for occupancy by households with a grow household income equal to or less than 80% of the median gross income for households of the same size in the county in which the city is located.” According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development (HUD), the 2020 median family income in Salt Lake County was $87,900. A low (80% of median) income household earned $70,300. Therefore, for the purposes of this plan, moderate income housing is defined as those housing units that were affordable to households that earn $70,300 or less annually. HUD defines housing as affordable when it consumes less than 30% of a household’s income. If families are required to pay more than 30% of their income for housing, they are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation, and medical care. Thus, the generally accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay no more than 30 percent of its annual income on housing (including housing related expenses such as utilities, insurance, taxes, etc.) HUD goes further to break down affordability into subcategories that better define the income levels that are being targeted for their programs. The subcategories are listed below:

• Extremely low income: Below 30% of AMI (below $26,370)
• Very low income: Below 50% of AMI (below $43,950)
• Low income: Below 80% AMI ($70,300)
• Moderate income: Between 80% and 120% of AMI ($70,300 - $105,480)

2. How will South Salt Lake’s Moderate Income Housing Plan address housing need?

The Moderate Income Housing plan will offer guidance on the various levels of housing that are needed in our community. We will engage with our residents, stakeholders, community leaders and policy makers to 1) identify needs; and 2) consider various tools to build housing as we refine our housing goals and policies. These tools can be placed into broad categories including:

• Development tools – which include zoning changes, establishing public-private partnerships, and fast-tracking development processes;
• Community housing tools – such as down payment assistance or shared equity programs;
• Funding Sources – which pursue various federal, state, regional and local funding assistance.

Ultimately, we expect to see a multilevel implementation strategy that uses various tools, funding approaches and other strategies to address affordability gaps.

3. How is the State supporting this process?

Through the Utah Department of Workforce Services, the State Legislature requires municipalities to identify an affordable housing implementation strategy in their General Plan that includes a robust annual reporting process. Additionally, the state has increased funding alternatives including state tax credit programs, low-interest loans, housing preservation, first-time home buyers’ assistance programs.

4. What is South Salt Lake’s Current Housing Situation?

The Moderate Income Housing Plan will include a detailed inventory of the various types and supply of housing currently available in South Salt Lake. The following is data collected from the 2020 United States Census:

• Population 2020:  26,777
• Number of Households:  9,904
• Persons per household:  2.49
• Language other than English spoken at home:  34.3%
• Owner-occupied housing:  37.9 %
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units:  $287,200
• Median monthly owner costs with mortgage:  $1,509
• Median gross rent:  $1,039