District 20 · Housing · Infrastructure · 2026

Affordable Housing That Works

Housing is one of the biggest challenges facing District 20. But housing doesn’t exist on its own. It’s directly connected to water, transportation, and infrastructure. When those systems aren’t aligned, housing becomes more expensive, harder to build, and harder to sustain.

🏠 Housing 💧 Water 🚂 Transportation Wasatch Back Uintah Basin
District 20 & Beyond Housing is moving faster than infrastructure across the Wasatch Back Design First. Density After. You can’t solve a housing problem without solving the systems around it Water · Transportation · Housing: One System Workforce housing tied to energy cycles in the Uintah Basin Infrastructure-First Planning When those systems aren’t aligned, families pay the price
The Core Problem

Why Housing
Gets Expensive

Housing costs rise when infrastructure isn’t planned alongside development. Water systems aren’t aligned with growth. Transportation bottlenecks limit where people can realistically live. Communities are forced to react instead of plan ahead.

You can’t solve a housing problem without solving the systems around it. That’s not a slogan. It’s how infrastructure actually works. When a subdivision goes in before the water modeling is done, ratepayers across the district cover the gap.

When a road corridor isn’t planned before density is approved, workers can’t get to jobs. The families who pay the price are the ones who moved here to stay.

“Housing, water, and transportation are one system. Planning them together is how we keep communities strong.”
Annette McRae
Three Causes. One Result.
💧
Cause 01
Water systems not aligned with growth
🚗
Cause 02
Transportation bottlenecks limit where people can live
📋
Cause 03
Communities forced to react instead of plan ahead
📈
Result: Housing becomes more expensive & harder to sustain
Different Regions, Same Problem

Two Regions.
One Broken Pattern.

The Wasatch Back and the Uintah Basin face different pressures, but the core issue is the same: housing is moving faster than infrastructure. Different conditions. Same underlying problem: disconnected planning.

Wasatch Back
Rapid Growth,
Rising Displacement
Summit and Wasatch counties are seeing dramatic growth driven by resort economy expansion, remote workers, and developer pressure. The infrastructure hasn’t kept pace, and working families are being priced out of communities they built.
  • Rapid growth outpacing water and road capacity
  • Rising home prices displacing workforce families
  • Developer timelines disconnected from infrastructure planning
  • Canyon corridor bottlenecks affecting daily commutes
  • 2034 Olympics adding pressure before systems are ready
Uintah Basin
Workforce Housing
Tied to Industry Cycles
Duchesne, Uintah, and Daggett counties rely on energy industry cycles that create boom-bust housing demand. Infrastructure planned for peaks can’t serve valleys, and the communities in between pay for both.
  • Workforce housing demand tied to energy price swings
  • Limited transportation corridors isolating communities
  • Water infrastructure gaps limiting sustainable growth
  • Tribal communities facing additional planning barriers
  • State decisions made without Basin-level input
What Works

Infrastructure-First.
Every Time.

This approach doesn’t stop growth. It makes growth sustainable. Four principles that work together, not in isolation.

💧
Align Housing with Water Availability
Every housing approval must connect to a real water capacity assessment, not a pro forma check. Complete Basin water projects, protect senior agricultural rights, and model long-term supply before density is approved.
Water First
🚂
Transportation That Connects Jobs to Housing
Freight rail decouples Basin highway risk. Passenger rail reduces Wasatch Back canyon congestion. Transportation corridors must be planned before density, not after. Workers need to live near their jobs.
Rail & Corridors
🏛
Local Decision-Making with Clear State Guardrails
Communities know their land better than Salt Lake City does. Local governments should make growth decisions, with predictable, enforceable state guardrails that prevent approvals from outrunning infrastructure.
Local Control
📐
Design First. Density After.
Large-scale growth should follow infrastructure investment, not precede it. The Infrastructure Shot Clock, with real permitting deadlines and accountability, ensures approvals move and communities aren’t left holding the bag.
Infrastructure Shot Clock
Why It Matters

Housing Affects
Everyday Life

When housing is disconnected from infrastructure, families pay the price. Here’s what that looks like on the ground in District 20.

01
Families
Whether families can afford to stay in their communities
When housing costs outpace wages, driven by infrastructure gaps that raise development costs, working families get priced out of the communities they built. Teachers, nurses, tradespeople, and oilfield workers can’t afford to live in the district they serve.
02
Workers
Whether workers can live near their jobs
A Basin worker driving 90 minutes each way because there’s no affordable housing near the wellsite isn’t just losing time. They’re carrying a hidden cost the market doesn’t capture. Workforce housing tied to energy cycles creates instability that ripples through every community in the district.
03
Communities
Whether communities grow in a stable, predictable way
Boom-bust growth driven by disconnected planning leaves infrastructure gaps that last for decades. Schools built for peak population sit half-empty. Roads built for growth that didn’t materialize still need maintenance. Planned growth that follows infrastructure builds more durable communities.
The Difference

Reaction vs. Architecture

District 20 deserves a housing approach built on systems, not press releases after the damage is done.

Reactive Planning
◦Housing approvals before water modeling is complete
◦Transportation corridors planned after density is already there
◦Infrastructure decisions made in isolation from housing
◦Growth managed in crisis mode instead of designed in advance
◦Working families absorbing costs the system didn’t plan for
VS
Annette McRae
◆Water capacity assessed before housing density is approved
◆Transportation corridors planned as a precondition for growth
◆Housing, water, and transit treated as one connected system
◆Infrastructure Shot Clock: real deadlines with real accountability
◆Local control protected by predictable, enforceable state guardrails
See the Full System

Housing Never Stands Alone

Every housing decision in District 20 connects to water availability, transportation capacity, energy infrastructure, agricultural land use, and public safety planning. When all six are planned together, communities are resilient. When they’re not, the gaps become crises.

The Connected System
🏠 Housing 💧 Water 🚂 Transit ⚡ Energy 🌾 Ag 🚨 Safety
View the Full Plan → ← Back to Home

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Annette McRae Utah Senate District 20 · Forward Party · 2026
Paid for by Annette McRae for Utah Senate District 20
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