The RDA adopted a tax increment reimbursement policy which creates the process and standards for consideration of NWQ, LLC’s tax increment reimbursement application. The policy requires the RDA to consult with a third-party financial analyst to provide a recommendation on the public benefits provided by the project and a determination of financial need. The developer did not hire the consultant or pay for the evaluation. The RDA paid for the public benefits analysis of this project, and selected the firm Lewis Young Robertson & Burmingham (LYRB) after a competitive Request For Proposals (RFP) process. LYRB is a locally based firm that has a national reputation for thorough and conservative analysis. LYRB prepared a public benefit analysis for the RDA Board. Any analysis of how public money is spent can and should be scrutinized, and the City Council welcomes any additional questions that we can clarify with LYRB.

The public benefit analysis is required in the RDA’s tax increment reimbursement policy as part of the third-party financial analysis to help the RDA consider the financial impacts of a tax increment reimbursement application. It is different than a standard public benefits analysis the Council undertakes under Utah law when it allocates City resources. . In the RDA’s tax increment reimbursement context, the public benefit analysis serves the more narrow purpose as an independent third party financial analysis s (see excerpts below from the NWQ tax increment policy – which is attached). The purpose is not to look at every public benefit, but is to verify that a financial gap exists, or verify that private dollars will be spent on public infrastructure (infrastructure that benefits the public), and determine whether sufficient tax increment will be generated to reimburse what has been requested.

The area was previously zoned for agricultural uses. In 2017 the developable area was rezoned to M-1. This zoning district permits light manufacturing uses and future development will have to be consistent with the requirements of that zone.

The proposed action before the Council is informed by several previous processes, all of which included the opportunity for public input. These include but are not limited to the Master Planning process, the adoption of the Community Reinvestment Plan, the adoption of a development agreement. With regard to this specific Tax Increment request, the Council has made every effort in its toolbox to notify the public about the briefing on August 20, 2019, and at that meeting accommodated every person who wished to provide comment to the Board a safe and inclusive way. Council Members and Council Staff have also answered numerous requests for information and met individually with interested stakeholder groups to walk through the information in a more detailed way.

The Council shares the public’s values of environmental protection, open space preservation, and wise use of taxpayer funds. All levels of government are legally obligated to recognize the rights of private property owners. With most City decisions, the City must balance a wide array of sometimes competing interests, priorities and values, through the rezoning, budgeting, and master plan process, each of which includes public engagement opportunities.

The City executed the Development Agreements in 2018 because it is committed to ensuring that the local elected officials remain involved with the development of the northwest quadrant. If the Mayor and Council had not approved these agreements, the RDA’s NWQ Project Area would not be exempted from the Inland Port Authority Act and development would likely still be moving forward without local control and without the improvements the City has required.

The natural areas are protected by the City’s zoning but are part of the City’s negotiations with the private property owners over the years about which natural areas should be protected. The Development Agreement is one aspect of years of negotiations with the City and property owners which resulted in the sensitive open space being preserved. This preservation area is currently reflected in the City’s zoning (the open space is zoned OS) and in the boundaries of the inland port authority’s jurisdictional land (the open space is exempted from the port authority’s jurisdiction). The State Legislature established the current port jurisdictional boundaries and had previously adopted boundaries that included the area that is currently planned for preservation. In Utah, Cities are creatures of the State. A court would need to determine whether the Legislature could change the port boundaries again, or adopt regulations that supersede some aspects of the City’s zoning..

There are environmental protections gained by the City’s involvement, including but not limited to the 4,000 acres of open space that will be preserved. Ten percent of the new property tax generated on this property (tax increment) will be allocated to affordable housing. Additionally, from an economic perspective, the project will generate a monetary benefit that will come to the City general fund to offset the cost of providing City services.

The Council values economic development and companies that offer a living wage with benefits, even requiring contractors paid by the City to provide a living wage to their employees and offer benefits. However, the current policy doesn’t provide a way for the Council to require a living wage when a property owner is building facilities without identified tenants.