IN THE MARCH ISSUE

Advancing Wasatch Choice Centers through Station Area Plans (HB462)

The new Station Area Plan (SAP) provisions within HB462 are the theme for our March 2022 Map of the Month.

The Wasatch Choice Vision is our region's shared plan for sustaining our high quality of life amidst continued growth. Local, regional, and state partners are working toward implementing Wasatch Choice through four key strategies: providing transportation choices, preserving open space, supporting housing options, and linking economic development with transportation and housing decisions.

The SAP provisions within HB462 advance all four of these strategies. By conducting station area plans, cities can maximize development potential, and thereby increase the availability and affordability of housing, around transit stations. Our map of the month presents a list of existing FrontRunner, Trax and streetcar, and bus rapid transit stations, by city, for which SAPs must be developed in the coming years. SAPs will also need to be developed around future stations. WFRC also prepared a summary of HB462, accessible here.

The map's accompanying graphic illustrates that a majority of SAP planning efforts around existing transit stations coincide with Wasatch Choice centers and employment areas designated by local government. SAPs are a very important catalyst toward realizing the Wasatch Choice Vision and its quality of life benefits.

Transportation and Land Use Connection (TLC) 2022 Awards

From Copperton to West Point, and many points in between, the TLC Program was pleased to announce the 2022 awarded projects at our Regional Growth Committee Meeting on March 17th. TLC partners including WFRC, Salt Lake County, Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), and Utah Transit Authority (UTA) awarded technical assistance for planning to 16 projects. The project list includes ordinance updates, active transportation plans, station area plans, and more.

"I'm excited to see the sustained growth of the Transportation and Land Use Connection program as it provides local leaders and their staff with the technical assistance needed to plan for tomorrow," said South Jordan City Mayor Dawn Ramsey, Chair of WFRC's Regional Growth Committee. "With this milestone investment, we can continue to put the principles of the Wasatch Choice Vision into practice to ensure a high quality of life for our friends and family today, tomorrow, and for generations to come."

This year's total TLC program funding awarded approximately $1.5 million from the intergovernmental partnership, with local matches equaling approximately $500,000, for a total region-wide funding amount of $2 million - a record high, reflecting the significant demands growth is placing on our communities. Notably, one awarded project, the Salt Lake County Southwest Waterways Vision, was supplemented through a new partnership with Intermountain Healthcare and Zions Bank to create healthy communities.

The TLC program provides technical assistance to local communities to help them achieve their goals and plan for growth. The program helps communities implement changes to the built environment that reduce traffic on roads and enable more people to easily walk, bike, and use transit. This approach is consistent with the Wasatch Choice Vision and helps residents living throughout the region enjoy a high quality of life through enhanced mobility, better air quality, and improved economic opportunities. Accomplishments of past TLC projects can be found in report cards prepared each year. 

Communities interested in future opportunities through the TLC program are encouraged to apply for 2023 funding when Letters of Intent are accepted beginning in September 2023. Until then, the TLC program encourages potential applications to continue to keep brainstorming projects in each area that may be of interest and eligible for funding. Continue to follow WFRC on social media and read our newsletter for future TLC program updates.

State Update

The 45-day legislative session came to a close on Friday, March 5th. It was another unprecedented year for the state fiscally, with a near $26 billion dollar budget appropriated (see the legislature’s Budget Quick Facts and Summary), and 513 passed bills. This was a significant session, both in terms of notable investments and substantive legislation, to address Utah’s nation-leading growth and advance our region’s shared Wasatch Choice Vision. 

Specifically, the legislature appropriated $1.2 billion for multi-modal transportation infrastructure with funding for roads, transit, and active transportation. We are thrilled that this package is consistent with the shared principles for infrastructure investment  developed by WFRC and its partners. The legislature also put significant dollars into housing affordability and planning for growth with funding for technical planning assistance and a statewide conversation on growth. 

These funding items complement the dozens of bills passed to help to accommodate Utah’s growth, housing, and transportation needs. A key bill is HB462 which makes various changes to moderate income housing plan requirements and requires station area planning, SB140 provides a limited expansion of the Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone (HTRZ) tool to TRAX and BRT. For more detailed information, you can find our 2022 Legislative Session Wrap Up HERE, and can refer to our full WFRC 2022 Bill Tracker that shows which bills passed and which did not. 

At the end of another great 45 days we applaud the dedicated efforts of the Utah legislature, and in particular recognize WFRC members Representative Mike Schultz and Senator Wayne Harper. We appreciate the leadership of Governor Spencer Cox. We give special thanks to the members of WFRC and its committees -- the city and county local elected officials in the region. And we thank our partner organizations, the Utah League of Cities and Towns (ULCT), the Utah Association of Counties (UAC), the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB), the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), and the Utah Transit Authority (UTA). Collectively, these people and organizations are motivated by a mission to serve all of Utah’s communities, and ensure great quality of life now and for generations to come. Thank you!

Federal Update

After months of continuing resolutions to keep the federal government funded, Congress ultimately passed, and the president signed, a Fiscal Year 2022 federal spending bill. This is notable as certain appropriations and funding authority in the federal infrastructure bill (IIJA) needed a passed appropriations bill to be fully implemented. 

With a budget passed, over the coming weeks and months USDOT will move to implement the IIJA. This will include putting out Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) for competitive discretionary grant programs. As information is made available to us, we will be sharing it with local officials and their staff members. Additional information about current funding opportunities is below. 

Federal Funding Opportunities

On November 6, 2021 Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure. As a result, many new funding opportunities will be made available to the state, local governments, and our partners. A few noteworthy current opportunities were recently shared at WFRC’s February Transportation Coordinating Committee meeting, including: 

• RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure Sustainably and Equitably): This popular program helps communities around the country carry out road and transit projects with significant local or regional impact. Selection criteria include safety, sustainability and climate, equity, and economic competitiveness.
• MEGA (known statutorily as the National Infrastructure Project Assistance program): MEGA is a new grant program resulting from IIJA that will support large, complex projects that are difficult to fund by other means and likely to generate national or regional economic, mobility, or safety benefits.
• INFRA (Infrastructure for Rebuilding America): INFRA awards competitive grants for multimodal freight and highway projects of national or regional significance to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of freight and people in and across rural and urban areas. While this is not a new funding initiative, INFRA was updated to include new eligibilities, set-asides, and other programming changes.
• Rural Surface Transportation Grant: The Rural Surface Transportation Grant is a new grant program resulting from IIJA that will support projects to improve and expand the surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas to increase connectivity, improve the safety and reliability of the movement of people and freight, and generate regional economic growth and improve quality of life.
• Federal Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Earmarks. Though earmarks were not included in the federal infrastructure bill, Congress did include earmarks in the recently passed FY22 appropriations bill and will pursue it again for FY23. If your community wishes to submit a local transportation project earmark request to your Congressman for potential inclusion in the FY23 appropriations bill, your entity will need to submit those requests to your House Member’s office by the following deadlines:
• Representative Chris Stewart: April 8
• Representative Blake Moore: April 15
• Representative John Curtis: April 18
• Representative Burgess Owens: April 15

If you would like to request a letter of support from WFRC for your transportation project request, we ask that your project be included in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Though general guidelines have been released, please seek additional direction for your application from Utah’s Congressional Offices (note that Utah’s Senators will not be accepting requests). 

While WFRC will provide information and answer questions about these federal funding opportunities, communities are responsible for completing applications for their desired projects. As funding opportunities arise from the IIJA over the course of 5 years, WFRC will communicate them to local officials and their planning staff through more detailed funding opportunity notice emails (please keep an eye out for those moving forward).

WFRC is grateful for the thousands of partners and members of the public who follow and engage with us online. Please continue to help us spread the word about our good work. View, like, and share these posts on Facebook and Twitter. We’re also on LinkedIn!