Utah Legislature: UTA could become commercial development partner

SALT LAKE CITY — The House approved a bill that will allow the Utah Transit Authority to partner with developers and build retail-office-residential centers on UTA-owned land.

Allowing the centers, called "transit-oriented developments," is just one issue addressed in SB272 le.utah.gov/~2010/htmdoc/sbillhtm/SB0272S02.htm sponsored by Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton.

The bill also allows the UTA general manager to become a chief executive officer.

"UTA's grown, and someone over the rails would be general manager of the rail system," said Rep. Bradley Last, R-St. George, who sponsored the bill in the House. "Someone over the buses would be the general manager over the bus system. Then you'd have a CEO."

The bill also gives UTA an additional board of trustees member, which UTA requested.

"Our board is currently even, and it's never good to have an even number," said Justin Jones, UTA's government relations manager. "We want a 15th for those close votes."

An environmental group warned legislators about the bill with fliers. To get the bill passed, Stevenson negotiated with some legislators, who inserted provisions to restrict UTA's power, Last said. For instance, UTA cannot have more than five transit-oriented development projects at once.

Another provision inserted was that UTA's trustees cannot have any business transactions with UTA.

"I guess there have been some developers on the board of UTA and there were some concerns about who would have the first shot (at bidding and building projects) if they were on the board," Last said.

Specifically, UTA formerly was considering a station near 13500 South that trustee Terry Diehl was helping develop. Current UTA policy requires trustees to declare potential conflicts of interest and abstain from voting on the deals they may have interest in. Diehl followed UTA policy.

But the bill, if it becomes law, would prohibit Diehl and other would-be developers from even sitting on the board if they are interested in those types of projects.

Among the rules established for transit-oriented developments:

 UTA cannot obtain property by eminent domain.

 For a development to begin, UTA must own the property and the developer must put up at least 25 percent of the property value in cash.

 UTA must participate as a limited liability partner.

"If there were ever problems, the general (contractor) would have to be replaced," Last said. "Even if the project struggled, UTA won't have to put anything else in. It would have to be another general partner."

Because the bill was amended one last time in the House, it will return again to the Senate for a vote.

e-mail: lhancock@desnews.com