Logan YIMBY encourages students to engage, advocate for affordable housing

On March 19, the Logan Yes In My Back Yard, also known as YIMBY, hosted an event at Utah State University to discuss how to expand housing in Cache Valley and throughout Utah.

YIMBY refers to a pro-housing movement that focuses on accessible housing and policy reform.

Josh Smith, Logan chapter lead, said one of the main goals of this event was to get more students involved with the movement.

“I’ve been to a lot of city council meetings, and I’ve been involved in a lot of things, like listening to the planning commission that decides what gets built,” Smith said. “One thing I have noticed missing is students at these meetings. Housing developments are being denied because people are showing up to the city meetings to protest them. Students are a big group that resides within Logan, and they are not being heard right now.”

Megan Jenkins, another chapter lead, said the attendees of most city council meetings are usually older homeowners. Logan YIMBY is hoping to amplify the voices of the student community by educating them on what they can do.

Students listen to a panel discuss affordable housing and zoning laws in the Big Blue Room in the TSC on March 19.

“Young people in Cache Valley are disproportionately impacted by this housing shortage and the high housing costs we are experiencing,” Jenkins said. “We wanted to speak with them about the kind of policy that’s driving those costs and encourage them to talk to their local elected officials and express that they want policies that can help fix it.”

Karina Brown, policy analyst for the Cache County Executive Office, said if students begin to participate in the housing discussion, the community should see a big difference.

“We really want students to engage in the housing discussion by sharing insights and needs,” Brown said. “It will really help create a more balanced perspective.”

Gretchen Fairchild, senior in the nursing program at USU, said she is unhappy with the housing options available to her as well as the price she is forced to pay because of the shortage of student housing.

“A lot of the housing in Cache Valley is severely overpriced, and most of the time, the quality of it is subpar at best,” Fairchild said. “Me and a lot of my friends have experienced the worst of housing, paying prices upwards of $600–800 a month and having many issues with appliances in our house as well as mold.”

Jenkins said one of the issues discussed was the high housing costs in Cache Valley.

“The reason for those high housing costs is that land-use regulations increasingly limit property rights,” Jenkins said. “The more limited those property rights are, the harder it is for people to build new housing.”

Smith said in the last few years, the housing prices in Utah have skyrocketed.

“Housing is a fundamental challenge in Utah right now,” Smith said. “With the continually increasing cost of housing, we are seeing more and more people who are put in a fragile situation and have to live paycheck to paycheck.”

Smith said one of the ways they are trying to make housing more affordable is through their “room for one more” movement.

“Logan City only allows three unrelated people to live together in a house regardless of how many bedrooms the house has,” Smith said. “Since Logan is a university town, this can make it a lot harder for students to be able to rent homes.”

Smith said if they are able to get the policy approved, it will allow four unrelated people to live in a home together. This will create more housing for students in Logan at a more affordable price.   

Jenkins said along with needing more housing, more diverse types are needed.

“We don’t want to just have single-family homes being built but also apartments, townhomes and other types,” Jenkins said. “You need a different type of housing from the time when you go to school to the time you retire.”

Brown said it is important for the students to realize they can make a big difference

“Students at USU and young people in Cache Valley need to realize that your voice matters, your perspective matters and what you say and do makes a difference,” Brown said.

Those who want to get involved with Logan YIMBY can visit their website or contact them at hello@loganyimby.org.