The Sandy City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to create a "community development project" encompassing land owned by Real Salt Lake (RSL) and BD Medical. What the vote does is authorize city staff to launch a study of what property and sales taxes could be generated by development to pay back potential bonds floated for infrastructure improvement at 9400 South and State Street.

What the vote doesn't do is commit any funds to the team or anyone else. Whether money would ever flow to the team is still debatable.

Councilman Scott Cowdell said he wasn't interested in giving an "inkling" to the team until he gets more details from them and city staff.

"We don't know what's being asked and what's being expected," Cowdell said.

The timing is interesting because Sandy is considering increasing its investment to help RSL build a soccer stadium, hotel and broadcast studio, a project projected to cost $145 million. Just a week ago, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon nixed a deal that would have sent $35 million in hotel room taxes to the project.

Finances - specifically that the tax was tied up and the county couldn't begin paying off a loan for a decade meant the payback price would have been nearly $90 million - were the basis for Corroon's decision.

Sandy was prepped to pitch in $10 million that would have come from property taxes. One possibility floated to get the deal back together was Sandy pitching in more money.

Can the city scrape millions more money from the land?

That's what the upcoming study will determine.

In targeting property taxes the city will have to turn to the Jordan School District and Salt Lake County Council for help. Under a new state statute that authorizes the use of community development projects, the city will have to convince other taxing entities to give up their portion of property taxes.

"There's no money until we go in and meet with the other taxing entities and get them to buy in on our project," said Randy Sant, the city's director of economic development.

Of note: the approval appears to be the first time a city has used Utah's reworked redevelopment agency statute.

The approval isn't just about RSL.

BD Medical, which lies on the south side of 9400 South, is planning invest $50 million to expand the facility and create 300 new jobs.

In recent years, the company has been offered as much as $25 million to relocate out of state.