Housing Mitigation Requirements in Wasatch County, Utah

No fixed countywide percentage -- terms are negotiated per Development Agreement

Rather than a standing, codified inclusionary-zoning percentage that automatically applies to every qualifying subdivision, Wasatch County's affordable-housing requirements for large Jordanelle Planning Area developments have generally been set project by project inside each development's own Development Agreement -- a negotiated document approved alongside the project's zoning and entitlements, not a fixed formula applied uniformly countywide. That means the affordable-housing obligation (if any) attached to a specific parcel or subdivision depends entirely on the terms of that project's particular agreement, and a buyer can't assume a given percentage or unit count applies just because a nearby or comparable project carries one.

Heber City, which administers its own approvals for projects inside city limits (including parts of the Jordanelle-adjacent growth area), has applied a more standardized policy on projects it approves: a requirement that each residential development reserve 10% of its total residential units for affordable housing, with resale price increases on those units capped at 3% per year to keep them from being flipped at market rate shortly after purchase. That 10%/3% framework is a Heber City policy, not a countywide Wasatch County ordinance -- confirm which entity (the county or Heber City) actually approved a specific project before assuming which framework, if either, applies to it.

Jordanelle Ridge: a real, current, and already-renegotiated example

Jordanelle Ridge -- a large development in the Jordanelle area with plans reported at roughly 5,700 homes and over 5,000 acres of open space -- illustrates how negotiated these terms actually are in practice. Its 2020 development agreement originally required affordable-housing units capped at 80% of area median income (AMI), with roughly 200 units contemplated. As of 2025 reporting, that agreement has been renegotiated: factors including rising interest rates pushed the parties toward raising the income cap toward 120% of AMI (against a reported local AMI figure of around $115,000 annually) and, in at least one reported version of the deal, having Jordanelle Ridge pay roughly $7 million in fees in lieu of Heber City rather than constructing the originally-contemplated 200 units. Heber City and Wasatch County housing authorities have publicly disagreed over aspects of this deal, underscoring that it remains an active, evolving negotiation rather than a settled, final term sheet.

The practical lesson for a land buyer: even a project's original, publicly-reported affordable-housing commitment can change substantially years later, in response to market conditions and negotiations between the developer and whichever local government approved it. If you're evaluating land inside or adjacent to a large Jordanelle-area development, ask directly for that specific project's current Development Agreement language on affordable/workforce housing -- not a summary of what was originally approved -- since the terms as reported today may not be the terms in effect by the time you close or build.

A general plan that signals more housing-policy attention ahead

Wasatch County's ongoing general plan update has specifically named transit and housing as focus areas, with the county adopting a 2026 General Plan update and continuing land-use discussions into 2026 that touch on housing goals for the county's future growth. This doesn't itself create a new binding requirement on any specific parcel, but it does suggest the county's ad hoc, project-by-project approach to housing mitigation could shift toward something more standardized over time -- worth asking about directly if you're evaluating a larger parcel with subdivision or development potential, rather than assuming today's negotiated, case-by-case pattern is permanent.

What this means for evaluating a Wasatch County development parcel

• Don't assume any specific affordable-housing set-aside percentage or unit count applies to a Wasatch County parcel by default -- confirm whether the project has an existing Development Agreement, and if so, get its current, specific affordable-housing terms directly.
• If the project is inside Heber City rather than unincorporated Wasatch County, ask whether Heber City's 10% set-aside / 3% annual price-increase-cap policy applies, since that's a city policy distinct from any county-level Development Agreement terms.
• Treat a reported affordable-housing commitment (unit count, AMI cap, or fee-in-lieu amount) as a snapshot in time, not a fixed fact -- the Jordanelle Ridge case shows these terms can be substantially renegotiated years after original approval.
• Ask both Wasatch County Planning and Zoning and, where relevant, Heber City Community Development which entity actually holds approval authority over a specific parcel, since the two housing authorities have not always agreed on Jordanelle-area housing terms.