In a move that came as no surprise to most observers, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski last week filed a lawsuit in the 3rd Judicial District Court of Utah questioning the legality of creation of the Inland Port Authority by Utah’s Legislature. The mayor has objected to the way the board was formulated, saying it usurps “taxing and land use authority over one-third of Salt Lake City.”
Biskupski has opposed the way the port was created and had threatened to sue to stop it since the law passed during the 2018 general session. Her action last week was prompted by legislation that was moving through the 2019 session of the legislature that would have banned a mayor from unilaterally taking legal action against the port board by requiring full city councils to take such a move. The bill, HB433, passed late last week but only after the provision that would have prohibited Biskupski’s suit was removed.
Biskupski has been at odds with most members of the Salt Lake City Council over the creation of the port since the legislation was first proposed. The bitter rift between the mayor and the council came to a head in September when Biskupski walked out of discussion of the port during a regular city council meeting. She addressed supporters and port opponents in the hallway outside the council chambers and promised, “Our day in court will happen.”
In her statement last week announcing the lawsuit against the Inland Port Authority, Biskupski said, “I have been clear since last year that I believe the state of Utah has violated the firmly established role of municipal governments. Rather than work to correct this error, the state is preparing to double down on the worst parts of this legislation, seizing even more tax dollars and taking steps to close the courtroom door to me and other mayors who may be impacted by this gross state overreach.”
The lawsuit names as defendants the Utah Inland Port Authority, Derek Miller in his formal capacity as chair of the Inland Port Authority board and Gov. Gary Herbert.
The Utah Inland Port Authority was created on the last day of the 2018 session of the Utah Legislature. It created a massive transportation and distribution center of over 22,000 acres in Salt Lake City’s Northwest Quadrant. In a special session late last year, the bill saw several revisions, including an increased size and several concessions to Salt Lake City. While the city council negotiated with the state for changes it saw necessary to mitigate what some saw as a “land grab,” Biskupski boycotted the talks. The council voted in June to prohibit the mayor from suing the state without permission from the council.
James Rogers, council vice chairman who also sits on the Inland Port Authority board, said Biskipski had not consulted the council about last week’s action and characterized her move as a “campaign tactic.” Biskupski faces re-election in the fall and several members of her party have announced plans to oppose her.
“After listening to the community and conversations with city attorneys and outside counsel, I believe we must move forward with this lawsuit today, before this year’s legislation takes effect,” Biskupski said in her prepared release. “As mayor, I took an oath to protect Salt Lake City in every action I take.”
“The Inland Port represents one of the greatest threats to Salt Lake City — and frankly, to the rights of cities and towns, the form of government closest to the people,” she continued. “While I do not take this action lightly, I take it with full confidence that I am doing what is right for the residents of Salt Lake City.”
Biskupski’s lawsuit asks the court to find specific provisions in the legislation creating the inland port to be contrary to the Utah Constitution. She asks the court that declaratory judgment be made against the “removal of Salt Lake City’s administrative land use authority” and “the taking of property tax increment,” among other complaints.