About 9,000 acres in western Weber County is Utah’s newest inland port area, despite lingering concerns about impacts future development might bring.
At a recent meeting in Salt Lake City, the Utah Inland Port Authority board approved the controversial West Weber project area. However, in a board first, it also approved a wetlands protection strategy with several provisions. Buffer zones of at least 600 feet will be in place between development projects and waterfowl and wildlife management areas, and 3 percent of the area’s tax differential will be dedicated to wetlands mitigation projects.
Also, Ben Hart, UIPA’s executive director, said the authority will not be “doing anything outside of what the current zoning allows for.”
The project area consists of the Little Mountain and Weber Bend zones totaling about 8,785 acres east of Promontory Point near the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake. It is bounded by the Harold Crane Waterfowl Management Area to the north and the Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area to the south.
The area plan includes significant infrastructure improvements to support both current and future logistical needs, enhancing the area’s chances of being a magnet for companies in manufacturing, distribution and technology. UIPA documents indicate that its economic development incentives would generally favor advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense, distribution and logistics, data centers and renewable energy.
The approval comes despite a drumbeat of criticism. At a recent meeting, opponents concerned about wetlands, traffic and congestion issues submitted a petition with more than 1,500 signatures from people and organizations who wanted the project to undergo more study. Authority officials had been meeting with various stakeholders for several months.
Stephanie Russell, Weber County’s executive director and government relations liaison, said the project area is “full of opportunity.”
“We’re so excited for this opportunity to partner with you guys and to bring the next phase of development, which is going to be some really significant infrastructure, into that area,” she told the board. “That area’s vision, as it relates to the county, is to be an industrial, advanced manufacturing and renewable energy hub.”
Jerry Stevenson, a board member and state senator, said UIPA can ensure that area development is done correctly. He cited land around the Legacy Parkway as an example of some development done with the environment in mind and some without it.
“We can make sure these developments do what they’re supposed to do: produce jobs, produce value to our communities, and make sure we grow in a good way,” Stevenson said.
“There is a responsible way to create jobs, and the inland port is helping us do that,” added Chris Roybal, executive director of the Northern Utah Economic Alliance. “I think what we’ve seen with multiple landowners out there and with the infrastructure that will be required, this will do nothing but create more efficiency and opportunities to bring developers and landowners together for infrastructure, for environmental safety, so on and so forth.”
Other speakers noted that the Weber County Commission already had prioritized industrial development for the area.
“Today, if the landowners wanted to, they could go out and start developing,” Joel Ferry, a board member and executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, said before the vote. “It’s zoned commercial, and they could build right on the fence line of one of our waterfowl management areas. They could, and there’s nothing that we could do to stop that.
“And so, having these types of arrangements, having a wetland strategy that is more stringent than what the Army Corps of Engineers will put in place, is a benefit and long term is more beneficial to that ecosystem. If we were to just walk away and do nothing, it’s all bets are off, and it becomes what the county and local landowner, what do they want to do?”
In a prepared statement after the meeting, Hart said the area plan adoption “underlines our commitment to fostering economic growth while ensuring environmental stewardship and respect for community values. This project will not only create high-quality jobs but also significantly boost the economic landscape of Northern Utah through thoughtful and strategic industrial development.”
“This initiative represents a significant opportunity for economic and community development, promising to synergize Weber County’s industrial capabilities with our commitment to the environment and well-being of our residents,” said Weber County Commissioner Gage Froerer.
The wetlands strategy says the port will not support development or construction that would result in the destruction of wetlands. “The Port views the wetlands in the Weber County Project Area as of utmost importance,” it says. “The Port is dedicated to protecting these areas and to not providing any resources or supporting any efforts that would lead to their development or destruction.”
“The Port has, and will, coordinate with landowners that own property with identified, existing or potential wetlands and ensure they are completing required due diligence,” it says later.
West Weber joins eight other inland port project areas in the state: an area in Salt Lake County, including in the Northwest Quadrant of Salt Lake City and parts of West Valley City and Magna; the Iron Springs Inland Port near Cedar City; the Verk Industrial Park project area in Spanish Fork; the Golden Spike project area in Garland, Tremonton, Brigham City and other parts of Box Elder County; the Central Utah Agri-Park in three parts of Juab County; the Mineral Mountains project area, consisting of four zones in Beaver County in parts of Beaver City, Beaver County and Milford City; the Tooele Valley area; and the Twenty Wells area in Grantsville in Tooele County.