Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a strategy that promotes high density, mixed-use (residential and commercial) development centered around public transportation services. Focusing development in the vicinity of public transit increases potential ridership and fare revenue while also generating less traffic and household transportation costs for the new development. While TOD can improve access and mobility, it can also increase housing prices, which poses the risk of gentrification. As a result, some governments have turned to equitable TOD (ETOD) as a strategy to ensure a more inclusive environment around transit developments, and affordable housing is a key element in ETOD strategies. 

This is the ninth installment in Eno’s continuing series examining how metropolitan areas across the country are approaching TOD work, including how agencies coordinate across housing, land use, and transportation, what tools they use, and what constraints they encounter on affordable housing and transit policy.  

This week: Salt Lake City 

Issues in Housing Affordability  

As of early 2026, the median home sale price in Salt Lake City was around $588,000, roughly 48 percent higher than the national median of $396,000. Among ten selected areas, the Salt Lake City metropolitan area is the fifth hardest place for a family to afford a home, according to the National Association of Realtors affordability index. The index measures whether the typical family in each region earns enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a typical single-family home. An index above 100 signifies that a family earning the median income has more than enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a median-priced single-family home, assuming a 20 percent down payment. 

Table 1. Housing Affordability Index 

Affordability on the rental side is a challenge as well. The National Low Income Housing Coalition affordability index estimates the number of affordable and available rental housing units per 100 households at or below certain area median income thresholds. In the Salt Lake City area, there are 43 affordable and available rental units per 100 households at or below 50 percent area median income, well below the national average of 54. The region has a shortage of 30,700 units for the same income category. The region is growing, and its housing supply is struggling to keep up.  

UTA’s Transit-Oriented Development Work 

In 2014, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) broke ground on its first joint venture transit-oriented development. It also published a set of TOD Design Guidelines for developing TOD sites with private partners. The Guidelines include design elements that UTA expects developers to follow in their development plans. UTA now describes its work as Transit-Oriented Communities, emphasizing neighborhoods and districts rather than isolated real estate projects. UTA identifies economic growth, reduced congestion, improved air and water quality, housing affordability, and access to opportunity as intended outcomes. It supports the full development lifecycle, from predevelopment and planning through project delivery and long-term management, and uses a collaborative process when UTA has a property or financial interest. 

Joint development remains an important delivery mechanism. Where UTA owns land near a station, it can work with municipalities, regional partners, property owners, and competitively selected developers to implement an adopted station-area vision. The significance here is that each UTA parcel is treated as a part of a larger walkable district, with access, housing, and land uses considered together.  

Station Area Planning 

Utah’s 2022 bill, HB 462, established a station-area planning framework for communities with fixed-guideway transit stations. UTA describes a station area plan as a long-term document focused on the area within one-half mile (about a 10-minute walk) of a TRAX light rail, FrontRunner commuter rail, or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station. Plans address land use and zoning; infrastructure needed to reach the station and nearby destinations; and access to jobs, services; and housing (including affordable housing).  

When a plan includes UTA-owned property, it must be approved by the municipality, certified by the metropolitan planning organization, reviewed by the UTA’s Local Advisory Council, and adopted by the UTA’s Board of Trustees before a development partner is selected. This sequence makes the station area plan the bridge between community vision, regional coordination, and real estate delivery. For Salt Lake City and the larger Wasatch Front region, the next test is implementation. Station area plans are most effective when they are paired with affordable housing resources, related infrastructure improvements, and zoning changes. 

Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zones 

In 2021, the Utah State legislature passed a law that allows cities and counties to establish Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zones. These zones allow a portion of tax revenue growth around a transit station to be used for development costs including housing costs, construction, parking development, and land purchases. The Reinvestment Zones are intended to address Utah’s housing crisis by promoting mixed-use, multi-family, and affordable housing near transit hubs. Amendments effective in May 2025 require proposals to show how they will accomplish statutory objectives, provide more detailed financial information, and ensure that at least 25 percent of dwelling units contain more than one bedroom.  

The Reinvestment Zones program includes the following requirements: 

• At least 12 percent of the residential units must be affordable, including at least three percent reserved for households with a gross income of no more than 60 percent of the area’s median income. 

• Residential use of at least 51 percent of developable acreage. 

• An average of at least 50 residential units per acre dedicated to residential use at commuter rail and light rail stations. This requirement is at least 39 dwelling units per acre at BRT stations. 

• Each county can have no more than eight zones around light rail stations and three around BRT stations.  

Parking and Zoning 

Parking remains a central component in UTA’s TOD work. Structured parking can unlock development on constrained station sites and HTRZ funds can be used for that purpose. However, too much parking takes up developable land and may get in the way of walkability and connectivity. Currently, Salt Lake City has parking requirements city-wide, except for in transit contexts (zoning districts that immediately surround mass-transit facilities and/or are in the downtown core), where there is no minimum parking requirement. The relevant question is to determine how much parking is needed, and how the station area supports walking, biking, bus connections, and households that own fewer vehicles.  

In its zoning code, the City of Salt Lake City established TOD-related core and transition areas. Core areas feature comparatively intense land development with a mix of land uses, generally within a one-quarter mile walk of a transit station platform. The core area may mix ground floor retail, office, commercial and residential space. Buildings should be a minimum of two or three stories in height, depending on location. A minimum of 30 dwelling units per acre is encouraged within the core. 

Transition areas reinforce the viability of the core area and provide opportunities for a range of housing types at different densities. Transition areas are generally located within a one-half mile from the station platform but may vary based on the character of the area. The minimum desired density is 10 dwelling units per acre. Commercial uses may include office, retail, restaurant and other commercial land uses that are necessary to create mixed use neighborhoods. 

Regional Coordination 

The Wasatch Choice Vision is the regional framework for coordinating transportation investment, development patterns, and economic opportunity. Its current strategies emphasize transportation choices, housing options, parks and public spaces, and walkable city and town centers. The regional land use map was updated in May 2025, allowing local governments and partners to compare current center and growth assumptions with the previous 2023 map.  

For TOD work, the map is best understood as a coordination tool. It helps investments, housing needs, and infrastructure priorities overlap. Local plans and regulations still determine what can be built on a specific site.  

Barriers to TOD and Affordable Housing  

Community Opposition 

While there is community support in the Salt Lake City area for TOD, there is a presence of NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) voices both in the community and local governments. Furthermore, adopting zoning changes and implementing TOD tends to be more challenging and slower in some communities, where local officials and community members have been less eager to collaborate on UTA’s TOD efforts and invest in infrastructure that supports TOD. 

Fragmented Governance 

UTA, municipalities, the state, MPOs, landowners, and developers control different pieces of the implementation puzzle. The station area planning and HTRZ process bring multiple stakeholders together, but durable delivery still depends on strong interagency relationships and transparent decision making.  

Key Lessons 

Station Area Planning 

 A holistic station area plan considers all of the aspects of TOD including parking, streetscapes, community needs, and transit connectivity. For example, the Murray North Station area plan lays out in detail the existing conditions around the station, and planned land uses (including future commercial, office, residential, and connectivity plans). The plan incorporates the community’s desire to enhance connectivity, improve access to goods and services, and create a positive image for the neighborhood. The plan also identifies the specific elements that will achieve these goals. 

Relationship building 

 UTA builds strong relationships with its partners. For example, coordinating its TOD guidelines with the MPO’s long range plan, and preparing station area plans with cities, counties, and developers. The Wasatch Choice Vision can guide where growth should occur; city plans and zoning, UTA partnerships, and HTRZ financing determine whether that growth becomes equitable and transit supportive.