Blog What is zoning like in Cache County?

Zoning Is Quietly Driving Up Housing Costs in Cache County

When people talk about housing affordability, the conversation often jumps straight to interest rates, construction costs, or population growth. Those factors matter—but they miss a quieter, more structural issue that shapes everything else: zoning. Simply, what can you build in the first place?

New data from the National Zoning Atlas shows just how constrained housing is by local land-use rules across Cache County. The takeaway is simple: most of our land only allows one kind of home, on large lots, with very little flexibility to add modest new housing.

What the zoning actually allows

Across all residential land in Cache County, more than 99% only allows single-family homes by right. Duplexes, triplexes, and small apartment buildings are effectively off the table:

• 95–96% of residential land prohibits 2-, 3-, or 4-family housing outright
• Only 3–4% of land allows these homes even conditionally, often requiring a public hearing

That means the “missing middle” housing types—duplexes, fourplexes, courtyard apartments—are largely illegal, even in places close to jobs, schools, and transit.

Large lots, fewer homes

Even where single-family homes are allowed, zoning rules push housing to be more expensive than it needs to be. According to the Atlas:

• 76% of land that allows single-family housing requires minimum lot sizes of 40,000 square feet or more
• Many areas require 80,000 square feet or even larger lots

Large lot mandates inflate land costs, reduce the number of homes that can be built, and make it harder for first-time buyers or downsizing seniors to stay in the community.

ADUs: mostly still illegal

Accessory dwelling units—basement apartments, backyard cottages, garage apartments—are one of the gentlest ways to add housing. But Cache County zoning still makes them rare:

• 95% of land only allows ADUs with occupancy restrictions
• In only 1%, about 3,300 acres, out of the 741,971 acres in the county, are ADUs allowed outright
• The remainder allows them only after a discretionary approval process

That’s lost opportunity for aging parents, young adults, and rental income that helps homeowners stay in their homes.

One note of optimism, however, Logan City made good changes in response to a state recommendation. Because the National Zoning Atlas tracks what the code says, they may be slightly underestimating opportunities for ADUs in Cache County because of Logan's smart changes. You can check out Logan YIMBY's advocacy for making backyard cottages easier for people to live in here.

Why this matters for affordability

Housing prices are shaped by supply and demand. When zoning restricts what can be built and where, it artificially caps supply—even as Cache County grows.

The results are bidding wars, longer commutes, fewer options for families, and young people getting priced out of the community they grew up in.

A better path forward

Reforming zoning doesn’t mean eliminating single-family homes. It means allowing more choice. Housing reform is overwhelmingly about government getting out of the housing business:

• Legalizing duplexes and fourplexes by right
• Reducing minimum lot sizes
• Allowing ADUs broadly and simply
• Letting neighborhoods evolve naturally over time

Groups like Logan YIMBY exist to push for these pragmatic, pro-housing reforms. Zoning isn’t just a technical code—it’s a moral and economic choice about who gets to live here.

If we want Cache County, and Utah as a whole, to remain a place where teachers, nurses, young families, and retirees can all find a home, zoning reform has to be part of the solution.

Without this, Logan is going to become a Park City 2.0. Homes for the wealthiest; day trips at best for the rest.