Park City leaders on Thursday approved a law making it a criminal offense to commit fraud involving work force housing.

The Park City Council voted 4-0 in favor of the law with City Councilor Liza Simpson absent.

According to the law, City Hall prohibits people from misstating, misrepresenting or omitting information when negotiating a transaction involving a unit that is deeded as work force housing. The terms work force housing and affordable housing are used interchangeably.

Some of the prohibited activities include:

  • participating in or facilitating a transaction involving a price above the maximum allowed resale value as outlined in the deed.
  • obtaining or facilitating financing at a figure greater than the maximum allowed resale value according to the deed
  • leasing a work force unit without complying with the requirements of a restriction on the deed
  • failing to use a work force unit as a primary residence

    Violations are class B misdemeanors, which are punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine upon conviction.

    In a report to the elected officials, City Hall’s housing specialist, Rhoda Stauffer, said issues with work force units have evolved as the number of units increased.

    “A criminal ordinance will provide an additional tool for education as well as compliance. Legal and housing staff will have both civil (when the City is a party to the deed restrictions) and criminal means to address defaults. Finally, a criminal ordinance helps to emphasize the seriousness with which the City regards the loss of even one deed restricted home,” Stauffer said in the report.

    The report indicates a similar law on the books in Summit County cannot be enforced inside the Park City limits.

    Scott Loomis, the executive director of Mountainlands Community Housing Trust, a not-for-profit focused on work force housing issues, spoke to the elected officials on Thursday, saying a law would be a “great tool” for City Hall.

    “It will help us do our job,” Loomis said in support of enacting a law.

    Loomis discussed scenarios of people attempting to circumvent restrictions attached to work force housing. He described that someone may sell the furniture inside a work force unit at a high price as the unit itself is sold at the restricted level. Or, he said, a purchase could be financed at a higher level than it should.

    Habitat for Humanity also supported the enactment of a law.

    Park City leaders for years have seen themselves as some of the community’s chief supporters of work force housing. City Hall’s development rules require work force housing as part of larger projects and the municipal government itself has either built work force housing or assisted others with projects. Officials have long argued that work force housing benefits Park City by allowing people of varying means to live within the city and cutting commuter traffic, as examples.