The 67th Utah State Legislative Session began Jan. 20. In preparation, the Cottonwood Heights City Council and staff members met with their city lobbyists to discuss what had already been forecast, highlight potential concerns and to reiterate the city’s main priorities for the session. 

Community and Economic Development Director Jim Spung voiced his concern over the State Legislature writing broad policies for specific communities. He mentioned how there were over 300 bills filed on Land Use alone. 

Mayor Gay Lynn Bennion (previously Senator) added there were over 900 bills filed overall last year. Just as many bills were anticipated to be filed this year (with 466 bills written and filed as of Jan. 16). 

“When you get into Land Use Code, the way you write it really matters,” Spung said. “Cities should have the ability to create language specific to their community.” 

He also mentioned how there’s a big push right now to build hundreds of new starter homes. “It’s all cities have to make room to build new homes and that’s at the expense of existing neighborhoods.” 

Both Councilmember Suzanne Hyland and Public Works Director Matthew Shipp voiced a similar concern over difficult and lengthy processes being implemented by the legislature. Last year, all unincorporated areas within Salt Lake County were required to annex into the largest neighboring city (S.B. 322). 

Cottonwood Heights staff worked through that annexation process with three different neighborhoods. Even though it should’ve been a similar process, Shipp recounted how each of the three were handled differently based on how the processes, and even subprocesses, were written. 

In addition to protecting local control, the city council reiterated their priorities of focus on Jan. 6 including short-term rentals, affordability, parking, taxation, transportation, Wasatch Boulevard, UDOT’s proposed gondola for Little Cottonwood Canyon and ski traffic congestion. 

“I think we bear a huge burden for state tourism that isn’t adequately acknowledged,” Hyland said.

The 2026 Utah State Legislative General Session will end March 6. For more information about the session, including to read through the proposed bills, visit the website at: www.le.utah.gov

UDOT’s proposed gondola for Little Cottonwood Canyon will be of conversation in the 2026 general legislative session. (Photo courtesy of Cottonwood Heights and UDOT)