Resolution on Affirming Local Control on Planning and Zoning for Utah Municipalities
Sponsored by Cristy Henshaw
Adopted by the State Central Committee on January 10, 2026
WHEREAS, Utah has a long and proud tradition of favoring local control, but that tradition has significantly eroded over the past fifteen years, especially on land-use, zoning, and housing policy; and
WHEREAS, since 2019, the Utah State Legislature has passed significant housing bills that preempt local authority and have questionable effectiveness proven by successive requests for more legislation and for the same reasons–illustrating the extent of local control erosion and the need to restore balance; and
WHEREAS, treating cities as mere political subdivisions of the state with only narrowly delegated powers undermines the spirit of federalism and concentrates authority far from the people it affects; and
WHEREAS, planning and zoning decisions determine neighborhood character, housing, traffic, schools, parks, and quality of life—matters best decided by residents who must live with the consequences and by elected officials who share the same community; and
WHEREAS, when the state centrally mandates higher density and new housing development types, communities bear the cost of roads, water lines, sewers, schools, police, fire protection, and other infrastructure without having had any meaningful say in whether the community wants or can handle the growth; and
WHEREAS, true freedom includes the freedom to err; cities that make planning or zoning mistakes have far greater incentive and ability to quickly correct those mistakes than a distant state government that imposes one-size-fits-all errors on every community; and
WHEREAS, every Utah city and town has the right to preserve a distinct look, feel, scale, and cultural identity that reflects its history, geography, and the shared values of its residents, rather than being forced into a uniform, state-dictated pattern of development; and
WHEREAS, the property rights of large developers and institutional investors seeking to maximize profit through upzoning or mass development are fundamentally different from—and must be scrutinized more rigorously than—the property rights of individual homeowners and long-term community members who simply wish to preserve the livability of the places they call home; and
WHEREAS, statewide “affordability” mandates are too often built on oversimplified and erroneous claims that housing challenges are solely a simple matter of supply-and-demand, ignoring complicated economic factors and demonstrating a disregard for true free-market principles and a lack of caution for unintended consequences; and
WHEREAS, state officials are frequently presented with single-source, selective or biased data supplied by well-funded NGOs and advocacy groups that have a direct financial or ideological stake in statewide zoning outcomes; and
WHEREAS, local decision-making, because it is closer to the people produces better long-term results, and is far less vulnerable to corruption or outside influence than decisions made at the state capitol; and
WHEREAS, the people are the government, and the government closest to the people must retain primary authority over the places they call home;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Utah Republican Party State Central Committee urges the Utah Legislature to honor its historic commitment to local control by:
- Granting municipalities greater statutory authority over local affairs, including planning, zoning, and land use, with the presumption that these are local matters;
- Requiring any state preemption of local authority to be justified by clear, multiple-source data with substantial evidence of statewide concern and narrowly tailored in scope;
- Protecting local zoning ordinances from legislative override absent a supermajority vote and compelling statewide interest;
- Recusing themselves from voting if they have any conflict of interests;
- Cease all appropriations for public information and/or propaganda campaigns regarding housing;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that keeping planning and zoning authority local ensures that decisions are informed by on-the-ground reality rather than curated data, oversimplified economic theories, or the profit motives of large developers—producing fairer outcomes, stronger communities, and cleaner government; and if this resolution passes, this body DIRECTS that copies (emails) of this resolution be sent to all Republican Utah Legislators and all municipalities.
Sponsor: Cristy Henshaw
Co-Sponsors: Mike Carey, Scott Schultz, Wendy Hart , Mike Carpenter, Sarah Montes, Brooks Benson, Britshana Barfuss, Chris Null, Scott Wiscombe, Marilyn Momeny, Jaime Munns, Bill Hoster, Chad Saunders, Kris Kimball, Neil Sebring, June Rigby, Thomast Young, Rachel Goates, Willie Billings, Bruce Williams, Carolyn Phippen, Kim Del Grosso, Michael Parker, Anita Maxfield, Brent Beach