State Supreme Court sides with Inland Port against Salt Lake City

John Rogers 

The Utah Supreme Court has sided with the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) in ruling against two Salt Lake City challenges to the legislative act creating the huge project in west Salt Lake County. The court upheld a 3rd District Court ruling that dismissed the city’s claims that the creation of the UIPA violated the Utah Constitution.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

“We affirm the dismissal of the city‘s challenges to the zoning provisions. The city has failed to establish that the zoning provisions’ disparate treatment of three municipalities is not rationally related to a legitimate legislative objective,” Associate Chief Justice Thomas Lee wrote.

“The court ruled that the act may require affected cities to comply with zoning and land use requirements for the Inland Port,” said a press release from the Utah Attorney General’s office. “This ruling affirms two important parts of the act, which provides a framework for developing the proposed inland port in northwest Salt Lake City, West Valley City and Magna.”

In a post on Salt Lake City’s webpage, Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the City Council characterized the decision as “deeply disappointing.”

“The Legislature should not be allowed to unilaterally change municipal land uses it does not agree with or redirect tax revenues that belong to cities,” the post said. “The Utah Supreme Court’s decision is deeply disappointing. The purpose of Salt Lake City’s litigation was to emphasize the unique authority of cities in Utah to directly respond to the needs of local constituents.”

“By allowing the state to usurp municipal land use authority, the Utah Supreme Court has potentially created serious consequences for the local authority of all 249 Utah cities and towns,” Salt Lake City’s response concluded.

The UIPA responded to the ruling in a press release.

“The Utah Inland Port Authority is pleased with today’s decision by the Supreme Court of Utah to affirm in part the 3rd District Court’s previous ruling rejecting Salt Lake City’s legal challenges to the creation of the UIPA,” the statement said. “UIPA will continue to support the State of Utah in challenges related to the tax provisions of the Utah Inland Port Authority Act. The Port Authority will also continue to fulfill the charge of the Utah Legislature by providing smart, sustainable and equitable logistics solutions for all of Utah. UIPA is committed to future-proofing Utah’s link in the global supply chain, modernizing logistics to safeguard Utah’s natural beauty and reduce risk, and improving quality of life by enhancing community livability.”

“I obviously think it’s the right decision,” Gov. Spencer Cox told FOX 13 News. “But I also will say I think it’s important that many of the concerns of the mayor and residents were addressed in this legislative session. Obviously not all of them. But I would say maybe 90 percent of the concerns were addressed, major changes that allowed us to come together. We are in a much better place.”

Utah’s inland port is a massive logistics and shipping center planned near the Salt Lake City International Airport. It came into being when the state Legislature created the geographic area and designated a governing port board in the waning hours of the 2018 legislative session.{/mprestriction}