Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — The controversial Weber County inland port project is moving forward.
The Utah Inland Port Authority board on Monday approved the development framework for an expansive area of undeveloped western Weber County despite the fierce opposition of some worried it could harm area wetlands. One would-be developer in the zone, BlackPine Group, has already been laying the groundwork to move forward with a proposal, while other entities have expressed interest.
The vote to move forward is a positive "for those making inquiries," said Chris Roybal, president of the Northern Utah Economic Alliance and a project proponent. The Utah Inland Port Authority is a quasi-governmental unit tasked with promoting economic development, among other things, and the Weber County project area is one of several around the state created by the entity as a hub for future industrial and other development.
The initial interest some are already expressing notwithstanding, development in the area measuring some 9,000 acres is a long-term proposition that'll likely evolve over 25 years.
"This is not something that's going to take place in the next three to five years," said Roybal, who promotes economic development in Weber and Davis counties in his role with the economic alliance.
Monday's action followed a tour of the Weber County project area with media led by inland port officials and Roybal — and separately, a press conference and demonstration at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City by foes of the plans.
Presuming the proposal got the OK from the Utah Inland Port Authority board, as it did, Deeda Seed said the opponents would be considering "all of our options," including litigation, to halt the process. She's a senior Utah campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity and part of a group that has repeatedly voiced opposition and concern with the varied inland port projects across Utah.
Darren Parry, one of the speakers at the press conference, expressed alarm at the possible depletion of natural resources brought on by continual development and concern about the possible upshot to future generations. The Weber County inland port project area, dotted with wetlands, sits east of the Great Salt Lake and between the Harold Crane and Ogden Bay waterfowl management areas.
"We've got to start governing for the benefit of our kids and our grandkids," said Parry, former chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation.
The Weber County proposal has been the focus of intense scrutiny by officials and residents in the county. Weber County leaders, for their part, have long envisioned industrial development in the expansive area. Doing so under the umbrella of the inland port, they and state inland port officials argue, allows for more cohesive development.
"This is going to develop with or without the inland port," said Ben Hart, the Utah Inland Port Authority executive director. The Utah Inland Port Authority model allows for use of tax-increment financing coming from property taxes on new development to build infrastructure within inland port boundaries, partnering with leaders in local communities.
Development outside the planned format of the Utah Inland Port Authority would be a "shotgun, patchwork approach," he said. Development under inland port parameters, by contrast, allows for a proper balance between development and environmental protection.
Environmentalists have expressed concern about possible harm to wetlands in the area and the Great Salt Lake brought on by development, and Hart said the inland port schematic contains protections for such areas, outlined in a plan specific to Weber County. Notably, those developing on areas deemed to be wetlands by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would not be able to tap into benefits otherwise available in project areas under Utah Inland Port Authority guidelines.
The Weber County inland port area would be the ninth such development zone around Utah. Hart said "advanced manufacturing" entities would be potentially drawn to the area, possibly firms that produce composite materials, food manufacturers and biotech companies.
"We want to see jobs that are actually the economic foundation for families," Hart said.
Weber County Economic Development Director Stephanie Russell said after Monday's action that the county, broadly speaking, is pursuing recruitment of companies to western Weber County that support renewable energy. The county won't recruit firms that generate a lot of emissions given air quality issues in western Weber County. Likewise, the county won't recruit firms that use a lot of water or generate a lot of wastewater.
Much of the 9,000 or so acres in the Weber County inland port area, perhaps half of it, is owned by the family of the late Randy Marriott. Marriott acquired his and his family's holdings over a period of 40 years, according to Roybal. His survivors, those managing the land that was in his portfolio, are on board with wetlands protection measures governing the inland port area.
An investment group is the other larger landholder in the inland port area, while there are many more who own smaller plots of land, according to Roybal. The Weber County inland port area is made up of two separate expanses of land and BlackPine Group plans to develop on the smaller expanse, measuring 349 acres.
As for potential legal action to halt Weber County inland port plans, Smith pointed to potential violations of the Clean Air Act and wildlife protection measures.
