Kitchen’s Affordable Housing

Derek Kitchen is Utah’s District Two State senator who fought for the right of same sex

marriage in Utah. But he hasn’t only done that, he is also fighting for affordable housing costs in

Utah. Derek Kitchen is an advocate for change, he also is an entrepreneur in Salt Lake City

owning a restaurant with his partner Moudi. Kitchen also lives in the downtown area in an

apartment with Moudi and his dogs.

Kitchen fought in the historic Utah Court Case Kitchen vs. Herbert, where he fought for

same-sex marriage in Utah. Now he is fighting for affordable living in Salt Lake City with the

Senate Bill 34, which is to start to make housing and apartment prices lower in Salt Lake City.

The bill gives Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund $20 Million to help pay for the construction of

affordable residential buildings. The vote was 20-9 in favor of the bill, which was a win for

Derek Kitchen’s first term.“He said as the state’s population continues to grow, Salt Lake City

was experiencing one of its tightest housing markets ever, with a vacancy rate hovering around

2.5 percent.” (Salt Lake Tribune). Kitchen believes that the growing population is what is

causing the high prices because there is only so much space in the city.

In October of 2018, Kitchen helped pass an ordinance to build more accessory dwelling

units for older residents that need to make more money. The accessory dwelling units can’t be

further than 10 blocks away from a transit station. “We have spent an enormous, an amazing

amount of time on this ordinance. And I think we need to pass it tonight and see how it shakes

out in our community … and come back and revisit it in two to three years and see how it's taken

shape…” said Kitchen (KSL). He wants to keep the city updated with what is happening, he

makes it public. "This will not fix the affordable housing issue in our community, but when we

have such a tight housing market, adding any units will inevitably help us bring down rent, even
nominally," he is starting to make the change in our community for the best of all of us an not the

rich and wealthy. The accessory dwelling units are a secondary home added onto an existing

home, this is supposed to create more housing for people in our small city. The ordinance passed

5-1 putting this into progress. “This is a simple supply-and-demand issue we’ve got to figure out

how to pump more into the supply side.” (Salt Lake Tribune) Kitchen says that we have too

much demand and not enough supply because people cannot afford the expensive houses and

apartments in Salt Lake City and since the city is small that there isn’t a lot of options for people

and families.

“Our growth will continue to put enormous pressure on our housing stock.” (Derek

Kitchen’s Public Website, Issues). This goes back to where he said that the growth of the

population in Salt Lake City is getting bigger and bigger that it will keep putting more pressure

on the housing market in Salt Lake City. “Current estimates suggest Salt Lake County has the

tightest housing market in a generation.” (Derek Kitchen’s Public Website, Issues). That is the

effect of the growing population and the rising prices since luxury apartments are more

becoming more frequent in Salt Lake City.

To conclude, Derek Kitchen is putting in a lot of effort in his first term to help many

young families, students, and others afford to live in the Salt Lake City area. He helped pass the

Senate Bill 34 which put gave $20 million to a development fund to build affordable houses.

Then after that there will be an additional $4 million every year after the first year. He voted for

the the ordinance to start to build accessory dwelling units which are meant for older citizens

who still need to earn money to get by. Kitchen has a huge influence on the change in Salt Lake

City, he also plays a big role in funding these affordable housing units and apartments. He is

doing a great service for the citizens in need of housing, he is helping the many young families
and parents who don’t make enough to live in the city. He’s helping the many people who need

food stamps to get their groceries because they are spending too much money on their rent.

Derek Kitchen is the senator that will try his best to help us all.

Derek Kitchen (right) with his partner and dog

 Works Cited

“Issues.” Derek Kitchen, www.derekkitchen.com/services.

McDermott, Mackenzie. “City Council Member Derek Kitchen Answers Student Questions at

the U – Daily Utah Chronicle.” Daily Utah Chronicle, 26 Sept. 2017,

dailyutahchronicle.com/2017/09/25/city-council-member-derek-kitchen-answers-student-

questions-u/.

“Salt Lake City Council Approves Mother-in-Law Apartment Ordinance.” KSL.com,

www.ksl.com/article/46407991/salt-lake-city-council-approves-mother-in-law-apartment-

ordinance.

Semerad, Tony. “Utah Senate Passes Affordable-Housing Bill by 20-9 despite Concerns It Costs

Too Much and Isn't Tough Enough on Cities.” The Salt Lake Tribune,

www.sltrib.com/news/2019/02/13/utah-senate-passes/.