The Provo Republican's SB245 was unanimously endorsed Tuesday by the Utah Senate's Revenue and Taxation Committee. The bill would allow "inactive industrial sites" to be incorporated into property-tax-using RDAs.
If passed, the bill would aid developers by exempting industrial sites from a restriction that bans RDAs from covering more than 100 acres. Industrial sites that are larger than 1,000 acres, are inactive and have hazardous and solid waste would be eligible for RDAs, according to the bill.
RDAs work by allowing cities to bond against future property tax revenues and to use that money to aid development on land that would be too expensive to develop otherwise. Typically, RDA money is used to pay for roads, utilities and other infrastructure.
Geneva Steel is a prime example of an inactive industrial site. Anderson Development recently paid $46.8 million for the site on 1,700 acres on Utah Lake's eastern shore. The Sandy firm plans to bring a mixture of retail, commercial, light industry, and high- and low-density housing to the land once it has been cleared.
