UTA may get to build Bluffdale station

If creating state law is like playing a game of chess, then the Senate transportation committee just put Bluffdale in check.

With one stroke, the committee moved forward a bill Wednesday morning that essentially would allow the Utah Transit Authority to build commuter rail and its accompanying stations wherever necessary, without regard to municipal or county land use ordinances.

Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, chief sponsor of SB286, says his proposed law isn't a direct response to Bluffdale's recent decision to deny a zone change that would have allowed UTA to build a FrontRunner station in their city. At the same time, Killpack acknowledges that Bluffdale is "the only part along the rail corridor that's not cooperating."

Under the bill, UTA would be allowed to bypass city and county land use regulations when building a rail line that passes through two or more counties. That provision would be repealed on July 1, 2013, which is around the time UTA is expected to finish work on its extension of commuter rail from Salt Lake City into Provo. Work is scheduled to finish this April on a northward extension of commuter rail from Salt Lake to Pleasant View in Weber County.

"I deal heavily in transportation issues," Killpack said of his reason for initiating the bill. "Many times, I have been criticized as being anti-rail. I believe in being as cautious as possible and in using prudence (with state money.)"

Bluffdale's City Council voted 3-2 on Feb. 12 to ultimately deny UTA's request for a commuter rail station in the city. UTA's other alternative for a commuter rail stop in that area is in Draper, but that location would be more expensive. By building in Bluffdale, UTA would be able to save $50 million to $60 million, Killpack said.

Bluffdale City Councilman Bill Maxwell won the council's vote to deny UTA with a slim margin but he says he's not surprised to see the Legislature's reaction.

"It's about what we expected," Maxwell said. "We'd had UTA and different lobbyists say they thought they had the political support to do something like this if they felt they needed to do it. It's disappointing."

Through most of this legislative session, Killpack's bill was a "boxcar bill" that was numbered and titled but had no text. It was made public only on Monday, just two days before the only committee hearing — and thus, public comments — for the bill.

UTA spokeswoman Carrie Bohnsack-Ware says the agency is taking a "wait and see" approach to the bill, expressing neither support nor opposition to the bill's potential.

"It looks to be pretty positive, but it's totally up to the Legislature," Bohnsack-Ware said. "If the Legislature thinks this is important enough to pass, then of course, we'll completely support it and do everything we can to adhere to it."

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