"I'm a firm believer in the free market system," said Bountiful city manager Tom Hardy. "Any time you start to muck around with the free market system, you tend to distort it. It's a fact, I think, that Costco would have come without one single penny of incentive."

The same is true for Farmington, Jerman said. Developer Rich Haws is planning to build a 100-acre development tucked around the interchange where I-15, Highway 89, the Legacy Parkway and commuter rail will all converge.

City officials recently approved an $18.5 million RDA budget for the project. The money will go toward roads, utilities and other infrastructure, said Haws.

RDA foes say there is a better way to use public money. Nearly 57 percent of Farmington's property tax goes to schools — something that the commuter rail development would siphon money from with the use of RDA dollars.

Farmington should borrow money and bond, said Jerman. "If it's that important, they can use their own tax base to do it," he said.

Haws disagrees. Farmington is a city with little retail and a small tax base; they can't afford to front the cash for roads and utilities, he said.

Gary Jones, a consultant who completed a blight study of the area, said the use of RDA funds is legitimate. The area is farmland with a high water table and the need for extensive drainage. Because of that, it lacks the potential for development without significant funding, he said.

"It's going to sit there for years and years and not be developed. It's got a lot of potential. I can't see anything but a positive outcome," he said.

As for the efforts of RDA foes, Haws says he's been careful in planning his project and it will withstand scrutiny. "I think what the city has done is very defensible," he said. "It's pretty bulletproof at the end of the day."

To see photos of projects being targeted, visit: www.utahtaxpayers.org/ and click on the link under "Important Policy Issues."

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com