Moving to Orem, UT?

Orem permits construction 7 AM to 9 PM on weekdays and 8 AM to 6 PM on Saturdays. No construction within 200 feet of residential zones is allowed outside these hours. No Sunday construction.

Orem considers excessive and continuous barking a noise nuisance. Dogs must be contained on the owner's property or on a leash. Orem Animal Control responds to barking dog complaints. The North Utah Valley Animal Shelter in Lindon handles impoundment.

Orem enforces quiet hours from 10:30 PM to 7 AM under its criminal offenses code. Loud noise plainly audible at 30 feet from a residence during quiet hours is prohibited. Disturbing the peace is a Class C misdemeanor if it continues after a request to stop.

Orem City Code Chapter 22 does not establish a short-term rental insurance requirement because the 2002 zoning amendment prohibits transient lodging under 30 days in residential districts, so the city has not codified a liability minimum, certificate-of-insurance filing, or homeowner-policy endorsement rule for STR operators. Utah Code does not impose a statewide STR insurance mandate either; HB 217 (2024) limits cities' ability to ban STRs solely on advertising but leaves insurance as a local choice not yet exercised by Orem.

Orem City Code 22-6-2(F) restricts a single-family dwelling to occupancy 'by one single family,' and the 22-2-1 definition of 'family' counts only guests who stay under 30 days and pay no rent, which effectively bars paid nightly rentals rather than setting a head-count cap. Utah's STR definition (UCA 10-8-85.4(1)(e)) is any unit offered 'for occupancy for fewer than 30 consecutive days.'

STR operators in Orem must collect Utah state sales tax (4.85%), Utah County Transient Room Tax (6%), and applicable local taxes. Platforms like Airbnb may auto-collect, but hosts remain responsible for compliance.

STR properties in Orem must have designated off-street parking for guests. Street parking is limited to 72 hours per vehicle. HOAs often impose stricter parking rules. Planned development zones may have enclosed RV storage requirements.

Orem does not license short-term (under-30-day) rentals in residential zones: the zoning code limits dwellings to occupancy by a single 'family' and defines a permitted guest as someone staying fewer than 30 days who pays no rent, so a paid nightly rental is not an allowed use. Utah Code 10-8-85.4(4) lets a city require a business license before any short-term rental operates.

STR guests in Orem must comply with the city's noise ordinance. Quiet hours are 10:30 PM to 7 AM. Noise plainly audible at 30 feet from residences during quiet hours is prohibited. Hosts are responsible for guest compliance.

Orem allows state-approved (class C / division 1.4G) consumer fireworks only on the dates and hours set by Utah Code 53-7-225, and city ordinance 7-2-8 plus an annual restriction map prohibit discharge within 100 feet of any undeveloped areas of the city and within 500 feet of any National Forest or BLM lands.

Small recreational backyard fires are allowed in Orem without a burn permit, but the adopted 2021 IFC requires a 25-foot clearance from structures and combustibles (15 feet for a portable outdoor fireplace), and a city burn permit is required to burn any forest, brush, range, grass, grain, stubble, or hay land under Orem City Code 7-2-11.

Orem's Fire Division allows backyard recreational fire pits year-round, but the fire pit diameter should not exceed 3 feet and the fire must be kept at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material, attended by an adult, with a means of extinguishment on hand. The adopted 2021 IFC supplies the same clearance baseline.

Open burning in Orem requires a burn permit from the Orem Fire Division and is only allowed during Utah's residential burn windows - roughly March 30-May 30 and Sept. 15-Oct. 30 - and only when the clearing index is 500 or higher. Burning anything related to property development, including trees and brush from clearing, is prohibited.

Utah Code 41-6a-1406 authorizes a peace officer to remove and impound vehicles at the owner's expense, including abandoned vehicles under 41-6a-1408, and Orem City Code Chapter 19, Article 4 declares vehicles constituting nuisances subject to City impound.

Orem has no blanket overnight on-street parking ban, but Utah Code 41-6a-1408 treats a vehicle left unattended on a highway for more than 48 hours as abandoned, and Orem City Code 19-3-6 limits any vehicle to 72 hours in the same on-street location.

Orem City Code 19-3-5 makes it unlawful to park or keep any trailer, unattached camper, or boat on a public street for longer than 72 hours, and 19-3-4 bars parking any vehicle or trailer 25 feet or longer (or over 1.5 tons) on a public street in any residential zone.

Orem caps continuous parking in the same on-street location at 72 hours (Orem City Code 19-3-6), and Utah state law (UCA 41-6a-1402) requires vehicles to be parked with the right-hand wheels parallel to and within 12 inches of the curb on a two-way roadway.

Orem City Code 19-3-4 prohibits parking any vehicle or trailer 25 feet or longer (or over 1.5 tons rated capacity) on a public street in any residential zone at any time, and bars the same large vehicles in commercial or industrial zones between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.

Orem requires a minimum number of off-street paved parking spaces by zoning type. For accessory apartments, at least 3 paved off-street parking pads are required. Driveways may not be within 25 feet of a fence over 3 feet in the clear vision area.

Orem caps any fence, wall, hedge or enclosing structure at 36 inches above finished grade within a front setback or clear view area, and limits general fencing to about 8 feet elsewhere; sport-court, pool, tennis and backstop enclosures may reach 12 feet under Orem City Code 22-14-19.

Orem requires a building permit for any masonry or concrete fence, and its commercial standards require sight-obscuring fences of at least six feet for outdoor merchandise, junk and solid-waste storage, with chain-link-with-slats barred for required utility-box screening.

Orem follows Utah general property law for shared fences. Utah Code §17-15-3 provides county fence viewers for disputes. No Orem-specific cost-sharing ordinance exists. Fences must not create vision hazards near driveways.

Orem requires a written fence permit for new fences and a building permit for masonry or concrete fences, pools and retaining walls four feet or more high; standard wood or vinyl fences need the fence permit but not a building permit, and simple fence repairs need no permit.

Orem limits households to a maximum of two dogs and two cats (four months of age or older) per lot. Dogs over four months old must also be licensed annually and kept current on rabies vaccination.

Orem permits backyard hen chickens (no roosters) on single-family lots under one acre, with the number scaled to lot size (2 hens at 5,000 sq ft up to 12 at 30,000 sq ft). Larger livestock such as cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and turkeys require at least one acre.

Orem has no breed-specific ordinance, and it cannot enact one. Utah Code Section 18-2-101 prohibits any municipality from adopting or enforcing breed-specific dog rules and voids any that exist, so pit bulls and other breeds are legal in Orem.

Orem requires all dogs to be leashed or contained at all times, including in most city parks. The only designated off-leash area is the dog park at Timpanogos Park. All dogs over 4 months must be licensed annually.

Orem permits beekeeping subject to city regulations. Utah Code §4-2-103 requires registration with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF). Hive setback and management rules apply in residential zones.

Orem's animal control provisions restrict keeping wild or exotic animals. Utah Admin Code R657-3 governs reptile and amphibian ownership. Permits may be required by species. Wild-caught animals are prohibited.

Orem City Code Section 11-1-3 declares dead, decayed, diseased, or hazardous trees, weeds, hedges, and overgrown or uncultivated vegetation a public nuisance when they are in a hazardous condition, obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic, or are likely to harbor pests, requiring property owners to trim or remove them.

Orem City Code Section 11-1-3 declares noxious weeds on vacant lots or other property, along sidewalks or the outer edge of a public street, or weeds that constitute a fire hazard a public nuisance; the property owner must abate them by discing, plowing, or mowing weeds within four inches of the ground and removing the cut weeds.

Orem has no fixed year-round watering-day or watering-hour ordinance for residents; mandatory odd-even watering days (by street address) are imposed only when the City Manager declares a Severe Stage water shortage under the City's Water Shortage Management Plan, while everyday outdoor irrigation is governed by efficiency expectations and Utah's water-wise landscaping statute.

Tree removal on private property in Orem is generally permitted without a city permit for most trees. Heritage trees under the Utah Heritage Tree Act require a permit. Street or right-of-way trees require city approval.

Orem City Code Section 11-1-3 declares noxious weeds along public ways or that constitute a fire hazard a public nuisance requiring abatement within four inches of the ground, and Utah's Noxious Weed Act (Utah Code Title 4, Chapter 17) independently obligates landowners to control and prevent the spread of state-designated noxious weeds.

Home occupations in Orem residential zones must not generate customer traffic or on-site visits that alter the residential character. No non-resident employees typically permitted. High-traffic businesses require a Conditional Use Permit or commercial zone.

Orem City Code Section 22-14-15 requires every home-based business to obtain both a home occupation permit from the Finance Department and a business license before operating. The home occupation permit carries an annual fee set by City Council resolution, and the Finance Director may issue the permit only if every standard in Section 22-14-15 is met.

Orem City Code Section 22-14-15 prohibits any external evidence of a home occupation. There may be no exterior displays, no display of goods, and no advertising signs visible from outside the dwelling unit, and no business activity or storage of materials may occur outside the dwelling.

Orem City Code Section 22-14-15 allows limited business activity in a residential dwelling in any zone only where it is clearly incidental and secondary to the residential use, occupies no more than 1,000 square feet or 40 percent of floor area (whichever is less), and is carried on solely by resident family members (with a narrow one-non-resident-employee exception). Outdoor storage, noise, odor, and heavy-truck servicing are prohibited.

All residential pools in Orem require a building permit. Safety standards follow the IRC and Utah Admin Code R392-302. Pool drains must comply with the Virginia Graeme Baker Act. Commercial pools require Utah County Health Department approval.

Orem City Code Section 22-6-9(J) requires every in-ground pool, and every above-ground pool with a wall height of 36 inches or more, to be completely surrounded by a fence or wall at least five feet high, set back five feet from property lines, with self-closing, self-latching gates and no opening that passes a four-inch sphere.

The City of Orem requires a building permit for swimming pools, hot tubs and spas, with the only exception being prefabricated swimming pools less than 24 inches deep; permits are applied for through Orem's online building permit portal and reviewed against the 2021 IBC, IMC, IPC, ISPSC and related codes.

Above-ground pools in Orem require a building permit and must meet the same fence/barrier requirements as in-ground pools. Associated decking may require an additional permit. Self-closing, self-latching gate access points are required.

Orem City Code 22-6-10(J) allows enclosing a pre-March-2000 attached carport into a garage if it sits at least 5 feet from the side and 25 feet from the front property line, the existing footprint is not enlarged in a nonconforming way, and a building permit is issued. If you convert a garage into living space and create an internal ADU, Utah Code 10-9a-530(4)(c) lets the city require replacement of the lost parking.

Carports in Orem are accessory structures counted toward the 8%/12% accessory footprint cap under 22-6-8(D), and any accessory building over 500 square feet or 50% of the main home's footprint must use residential styling with a matching roof pitch and similar exterior materials (22-6-8(D)(5)). Multifamily carports may have flat roofs.

Orem allows only one single-family dwelling per residential lot (22-6-8(F)), prohibits using a detached accessory building as a separate apartment or guest house (22-6-8(D)(7)), and bans shipping containers, semi-trailers, boxcars, and PODS as residential structures (22-6-8(D)(9)) - which together restrict standalone tiny homes. Tiny dwellings within the main house may qualify as internal ADUs under Utah Code 10-9a-530.

Orem requires the property owner to live in either the main residence or the accessory apartment, and detached accessory buildings may not be used as a separate apartment (Orem City Code 22-6-8(D)(7)). Internal ADUs created within an owner-occupied single-family home are a permitted use statewide under Utah Code 10-9a-530.

Orem City Code 22-6-8(D) caps the combined footprint of all accessory buildings at 8% of a single-family parcel (12% for multifamily), requires a 6-foot gap from the main house for any permitted structure, limits rear-yard accessory buildings to 18 feet in height, and bans shipping containers and PODS as permanent structures. A building permit is not required for a shed of 200 square feet or smaller on single/two-family lots.

Orem enforces FEMA flood zone standards under City Code Chapter 10 (Flood Damage Prevention). Properties in SFHAs face elevation requirements, flood insurance mandates, and construction restrictions. 2024 FEMA map updates affected Orem boundaries.

Orem enforces a juvenile curfew for minors under 17. Nighttime curfew hours typically run 11 PM to 6 AM on school nights with later weekend hours.