As Utah’s housing crisis deepens, Gov. Spencer Cox is floating a bold solution: take zoning power away from cities and use state authority to allow higher-density housing.

At the Ivory Prize Summit —an event celebrating affordable housing solutions—Cox signaled a sharp policy shift, vowing to “get more aggressive” in addressing affordability.

His message was clear: “Supply, supply, supply.”

It’s a startling proposal for a state that has long celebrated family-friendly suburbs, wide-open spaces, and the standard of homeownership. But with median home prices nearing $600,000 and just 9% of nonhomeowners able to afford a house, according to research from the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Institute —those ideals are slipping out of reach.

Cox’s plan would mark a turning poin

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