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OGDEN — A new inland port facility is in the works in Weber County on 8,785 acres of largely undeveloped land in the western expanse of the county, north of the Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area and east of the bed of the Great Salt Lake.
It's sparked strong opposition from some residents worried industrial development could harm wetlands in the zone, as well as the Great Salt Lake. But Weber County officials say safeguards are in place to protect the environment, and on Tuesday, after hearing from the foes, Weber County commissioners approved a measure asking Utah Inland Port Authority officials to craft a final development plan for the expanse.
"Bringing in the inland port at this point in the process is providing a resource for us," said Stephanie Russell, the Weber County economic development director, alluding to the financing possibilities opened up by teaming with the Utah Inland Port Authority, or UIPA. The port authority, also partnering with officials in several other locales around the state on similar development projects, "won't govern what happens in that area."
Next, the Utah Inland Port Authority Board of Directors will preliminarily consider the plans at a Jan. 10 meeting in Salt Lake City. A second meeting of the Board of Directors, when the officials could give the plans the green light, is tentatively set for March 26, according to Ben Hart, inland port executive director.
Environmentalists have come down hard against some of the UIPA plans that have emerged around Utah meant to spur job growth and economic development, and several spoke out Tuesday, asking commissioners to vote against the Weber County proposal. The proposed development area includes an 8,436-acre expanse in extreme western Weber County near where Compass Minerals and Western Zirconium operate. Also included is a 349-acre expanse east of that where a business park is proposed.
The critics worry the development would bolster truck traffic, leading to more air pollution. They also say it would harm wetlands in the area as well as the nearby Great Salt Lake, threatening the water fowl that migrate through the area. The original inland port site sits in northwestern Salt Lake County while others are located in Box Elder, Tooele, Utah, Juab, Beaver and Iron counties.
"Accelerated development like this is the last thing we need," Brian Moench of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment told KSL.com. He didn't attend Tuesday's meeting, but his group is part of a coalition opposing UIPA projects and he voiced the same concerns as the critics at Tuesday's gathering.
Hart took part in Tuesday's meeting and he later spoke with KSL.com, countering the opponents' concerns. The Weber County plans have been in the works since last year, and county commissioners last August debated a scaled back 903-acre inland port proposal, which has since grown to the 8,785-acre incarnation.
"Opposition is one thing. Misinformation is another. What I heard this morning is probably misinformation," Hart said.
Weber County leaders have long pushed for industrial development in the area. In fact, Russell and Charlie Ewert, Weber County's principal planner, said the area in question is already zoned for heavy industry and manufacturing, whether or not as an inland port. Either way, county zoning rules and the general plan, which guides development in the area, contain safeguards to protect the wetlands and other natural attributes in the area.
"There are a ton of laws in place that developers will have to comply with, including wetland mitigation," Ewert said. Provisions in the general plan call for a balance between development and maintaining open spaces and also contain environmental protections.
Beyond that, Hart maintains that development would actually aid in environmental protection efforts because it would generate funds that would have to be used to protect water resources in the area. Moreover, developing the area as an inland port would enable use of tax-increment finance, or TIF, funds to cover the cost of infrastructure improvements, proponents say. TIF funding comes from property tax revenue created by new development.
The sort of development that would occur if the area becomes an inland port remains to be seen.
Moench says similar sorts of projects elsewhere around the country have resulted in warehousing developments that offer low-paying jobs. "They aren't the kind of jobs that are going to help the economy and the Wasatch Front," Moench said.
Hart envisions "advanced manufacturing" and high-wage jobs. Weber County officials, meantime, have said they'd like to develop an "industrial district and renewable energy hub" in western Weber County.
A Union Pacific rail line cuts through part of the proposed Weber County inland port location, part of the draw for the location. It is also served by a roadway, the 12th Street corridor, that connects to I-15 further east. In the years to come, officials envision the West Davis Corridor extending northward into Weber County, serving as another transportation link to points to the south.
