The action item is a resolution authorizing the Mayor to negotiate and execute a tax increment reimbursement agreement with the property owner, pursuant to the terms in the attached term sheet. The proposal before the Board is a product of the City’s efforts to implement the Northwest Quadrant Master Plan. The planning and input by City officials and the public on this plan set the framework for the City to guide how and under what conditions development would occur on private property in the Northwest Quadrant, as well as identifying what types of environmental protections are needed in which areas.

The original public process for the Master Plan started in 2007 with a favorable planning recommendation in 2009. The Master Plan was not adopted at that time. Several years later, attempting to capitalize on the previous engagement efforts, the City focused on reworking the plan and getting feedback on a revised version of the plan instead of starting from scratch. Throughout the summer of 2015, the City worked with various stakeholders and property owners, and the general public to develop this plan. Other public engagement included an Open House, a booth at a local festival, and an Open City Hall forum on the City’s website. The plan went through the City’s standard process of review through the City’s Planning Commission and was forwarded to the City Council. The plan was then adopted by the Council in 2016. The plan includes an unprecedented number of acres planned for preservation, following significant discussions among advocates, property owners and Salt Lake City.

In July 2016 the Council acting as the Board of the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) authorized the drafting of a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) for the Northwest Quadrant and a visioning report, based on the economic development goals established in the Master Plan. In January 2018, the City began implementing the goals of those plans by adopting the CRA and signing Development Agreements with Kennecott and NWQ, LLC.

The application by NWQ, LLC is a warehouse development consistent with the existing zoning for that area. It is within the inland port authority’s jurisdictional lands but it is not an application for a railyard.

This is not a rushed decision. The City has been planning and engaging on the development of the northwest quadrant for years. After the Board authorized the Development Agreements in January 2018, it agreed to consider any application by NWQ, LLC for tax-increment reimbursement within 60 days of receiving it, and make a decision as soon as reasonably practicable. The Council scheduled this discussion in order to meet the requirements of that agreement. The tax increment reimbursement application was developed following a policy adopted by the Council, acting as the RDA Board, in August 2018 to guide any tax-increment reimbursement agreements. Read the agreements.

The Development Agreements were executed prior to enactment of the Inland Port Authority Act, and the Act specifically acknowledged the existence of the Development Agreements. It states that “existing land use and other agreements and arrangements between property owners within the authority jurisdictional land and within other authority project areas and applicable governmental authorities are to be respected.” The Development Agreement before the Board is therefore an “existing agreement” from the perspective of the legislation, and the City’s increment is therefore not governed by the Inland Port Authority Board.

The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the Inland Port Authority Act’s usurping the City’s power to make decisions about municipal planning, infrastructure, and spending of municipal monies. The Development Agreement was executed by the City to preserve local control of municipal planning, land use and money.

The vote before the Board is whether to approve or deny NWQ, LLC’s application for a tax increment reimbursement that is contemplated by the Development Agreement executed in January 2018. The Board is scheduled to discuss and potentially take action on the tax increment reimbursement application on Tuesday, August 27, at 2:00 p.m., following the RDA’s public comment period.