63N-3-604.  Process for a proposal of a housing and transit reinvestment zone — Analysis.

(1)  Subject to approval of the housing and transit reinvestment zone committee as described in Section 63N-3-605, in order to create a housing and transit reinvestment zone, a municipality or public transit county that has general land use authority over the housing and transit reinvestment zone area, shall:

Terms Used In Utah Code 63N-3-604

  • Base year: means , for a proposed housing and transit reinvestment zone area, a year beginning the first day of the calendar quarter determined by the last equalized tax roll before the adoption of the housing and transit reinvestment zone. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Bus rapid transit: means a high-quality bus-based transit system that delivers fast and efficient service that may include dedicated lanes, busways, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, elevated platforms, and enhanced stations. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • City: includes , depending on population, a metro township as defined in Section 10-3c-102. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Commission: means the Unified Economic Opportunity Commission created in Section 63N-1a-201. See Utah Code 63N-1a-102
  • Commuter rail: means a heavy-rail passenger rail transit facility operated by a large public transit district. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Enhanced development: means the construction of mixed uses including housing, commercial uses, and related facilities. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Enhanced development costs: means extra costs associated with structured parking costs, vertical construction costs, horizontal construction costs, life safety costs, structural costs, conveyor or elevator costs, and other costs incurred due to the increased height of buildings or enhanced development. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Housing and transit reinvestment zone: means a housing and transit reinvestment zone created pursuant to this part. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Housing and transit reinvestment zone committee: means a housing and transit reinvestment zone committee created pursuant to Section 63N-3-605. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Land: includes :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Light rail: means a passenger rail public transit system with right-of-way and fixed rails:
(a) dedicated to exclusive use by light-rail public transit vehicles;
(b) that may cross streets at grade; and
(c) that may share parts of surface streets. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Metropolitan planning organization: means the same as that term is defined in Section 72-1-208. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Municipality: means the same as that term is defined in Section 10-1-104. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Public transit county: means a county that has created a small public transit district. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Public transit hub: means a public transit depot or station where four or more routes serving separate parts of the county-created transit district stop to transfer riders between routes. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Sales and use tax base year: means a sales and use tax year determined by the first year pertaining to the tax imposed in Section 59-12-103 after the sales and use tax boundary for a housing and transit reinvestment zone is established. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Sales and use tax boundary: means a boundary created as described in Section 63N-3-604, based on state sales and use tax collection that corresponds as closely as reasonably practicable to the housing and transit reinvestment zone boundary. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Sales and use tax increment: means the difference between:
    (a) the amount of state sales and use tax revenue generated each year following the sales and use tax base year by the sales and use tax from the area within a housing and transit reinvestment zone designated in the housing and transit reinvestment zone proposal as the area from which sales and use tax increment is to be collected; and
    (b) the amount of state sales and use tax revenue that was generated from that same area during the sales and use tax base year. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Tax Commission: means the State Tax Commission created in Section 59-1-201. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Tax increment: means the difference between:
    (a) the amount of property tax revenue generated each tax year by a taxing entity from the area within a housing and transit reinvestment zone designated in the housing and transit reinvestment zone proposal as the area from which tax increment is to be collected, using the current assessed value and each taxing entity's current certified tax rate as defined in Section 59-2-924; and
    (b) the amount of property tax revenue that would be generated from that same area using the base taxable value and each taxing entity's current certified tax rate as defined in Section 59-2-924. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • Taxing entity: means the same as that term is defined in Section 17C-1-102. See Utah Code 63N-3-602
  • (a)  prepare a proposal for the housing and transit reinvestment zone that:

    (i)  demonstrates that the proposed housing and transit reinvestment zone will meet the objectives described in Subsection 63N-3-603(1);

    (ii)  explains how the municipality or public transit county will achieve the requirements of Subsection 63N-3-603(2)(a);

    (iii)  defines the specific transportation infrastructure needs, if any, and proposed improvements;

    (iv)  defines the boundaries of:

    (A)  the housing and transit reinvestment zone; and

    (B)  the sales and use tax boundary corresponding to the housing and transit reinvestment zone boundary, as described in Section 63N-3-610;

    (v)  includes maps of the proposed housing and transit reinvestment zone to illustrate:

    (A)  the proposed boundary and radius from a public transit hub;

    (B)  proposed housing density within the housing and transit reinvestment zone; and

    (C)  existing zoning and proposed zoning changes related to the housing and transit reinvestment zone;

    (vi)  identifies any development impediments that prevent the development from being a market-rate investment and proposed strategies for addressing each one;

    (vii)  describes the proposed development plan, including the requirements described in Subsections 63N-3-603(2) and (4);

    (viii)  establishes a base year and collection period to calculate the tax increment within the housing and transit reinvestment zone;

    (ix)  establishes a sales and use tax base year to calculate the sales and use tax increment within the housing and transit reinvestment zone;

    (x)  describes projected maximum revenues generated and the amount of tax increment capture from each taxing entity and proposed expenditures of revenue derived from the housing and transit reinvestment zone;

    (xi)  includes an analysis of other applicable or eligible incentives, grants, or sources of revenue that can be used to reduce the finance gap;

    (xii)  evaluates possible benefits to active and public transportation availability and impacts on air quality;

    (xiii)  proposes a finance schedule to align expected revenue with required financing costs and payments;

    (xiv)  provides a pro-forma for the planned development including the cost differential between surface parked multi-family development and enhanced development that satisfies the requirements described in Subsections 63N-3-603(2), (3), and (4); and

    (xv)  for a housing and transit reinvestment zone at a commuter rail station, light rail station, or bus rapid transit station that is proposed and not in public transit service operation as of the date of submission of the proposal, demonstrates that the proposed station is:

    (A)  included in a metropolitan planning organization‘s adopted long-range transportation plan and the relevant public transit district’s five-year plan; and

    (B)  reasonably anticipated to be constructed in the near future; and

    (b)  submit the housing and transit reinvestment zone proposal to the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity.
  • (2)  As part of the proposal described in Subsection (1), a municipality or public transit county shall study and evaluate possible impacts of a proposed housing and transit reinvestment zone on parking within the city and housing and transit reinvestment zone.

    (3) 

    (a)  After receiving the proposal as described in Subsection (1)(b), the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity shall:

    (i)  within 14 days after the date on which the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity receives the proposal described in Subsection (1)(b), provide notice of the proposal to all affected taxing entities, including the Tax Commission, cities, counties, school districts, and metropolitan planning organizations; and

    (ii)  at the expense of the proposing municipality or public transit county as described in Subsection (5), contract with an independent entity to perform the gap analysis described in Subsection (3)(b).

    (b)  The gap analysis required in Subsection (3)(a)(ii) shall include:

    (i)  a description of the planned development;

    (ii)  a market analysis relative to other comparable project developments included in or adjacent to the municipality or public transit county absent the proposed housing and transit reinvestment zone;

    (iii)  an evaluation of the proposal to and a determination of the adequacy and efficiency of the proposal;

    (iv)  an evaluation of the proposed increment capture needed to cover the enhanced development costs associated with the housing and transit reinvestment zone proposal and enable the proposed development to occur; and

    (v)  based on the market analysis and other findings, an opinion relative to the appropriate amount of potential public financing reasonably determined to be necessary to achieve the objectives described in Subsection 63N-3-603(1).

    (c)  After receiving notice from the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity of a proposed housing and transit reinvestment zone as described in Subsection (3)(a)(i), the Tax Commission shall:

    (i)  evaluate the feasibility of administering the tax implications of the proposal; and

    (ii)  provide a letter to the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity describing any challenges in the administration of the proposal, or indicating that the Tax Commission can feasibly administer the proposal.

    (4)  After receiving the results from the analysis described in Subsection (3)(b), the municipality or public transit county proposing the housing and transit reinvestment zone may:

    (a)  amend the housing and transit reinvestment zone proposal based on the findings of the analysis described in Subsection (3)(b) and request that the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity submit the amended housing and transit reinvestment zone proposal to the housing and transit reinvestment zone committee; or

    (b)  request that the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity submit the original housing and transit reinvestment zone proposal to the housing and transit reinvestment zone committee.

    (5) 

    (a)  The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity may accept, as a dedicated credit, up to $20,000 from a municipality or public transit county for the costs of the gap analysis described in Subsection (3)(b).

    (b)  The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity may expend funds received from a municipality or public transit county as dedicated credits to pay for the costs associated with the gap analysis described in Subsection (3)(b).

    Amended by Chapter 357, 2023 General Session