Resolution 34 of 2019

SALT LAKE CITY CORPORATION

Resolution Supporting the Protection of Public Health in Salt Lake City through Environmentally Sustainable Development of the Utah Inland Port

WHEREAS, protecting the health and welfare of city residents and visitors is of utmost importance to the Salt Lake City Council; and

WHEREAS, dramatic growth within the region presents the City with the challenge to plan for accommodating new economic development opportunities for businesses and residents while minimizing new developments’ environmental impact; and

WHEREAS, the City Council adopted the Northwest Quadrant Master Plan, which called for balancing unique economic development opportunities in this area with environmental sensitivity that protects natural resources and habitat; and

WHEREAS, throughout the Master Planning and zoning processes for the Northwest Quadrant, extensive public outreach was conducted and the public consistently expressed support for compatible, sustainable development and protection of critical habitat; and

WHEREAS, the City Council adopted zoning ordinances to implement the vision of the Northwest Quadrant Master Plan, including the Northwest Quadrant Overlay Zoning District with the intent to:

• protect sensitive lands and wildlife habitat;

• allow for the continuation of agricultural uses;

• ensure development of lands in appropriate areas contributes to the future economic growth of the City without negatively impacting sensitive lands, habitats, and waterways; and

WHEREAS, the Inland Port Overlay Zoning District was developed to be a model for sustainable development that:

• Respects and maintains sensitivity to the natural environment;

• Helps to achieve City and State goals for air and water quality;

• Minimizes use of natural resources;

• Utilizes best available technology and practices to avoid, minimize, manage and mitigate detrimental environmental impacts;

• Is compatible with and complements other uses within and near the district; and

WHEREAS, during Inland Port negotiations with State leaders, the City Council successfully argued to include strong environmental provisions to the State Inland Port statute such as:

• Requiring the Port Authority to work with the Department of Environmental Quality to include sustainability considerations in its Business Plan;

• Incorporating policies and best practices that meet or exceed federal and state standards regarding emissions monitoring and reporting;

• Develop strategies that use best available technology to mitigate environmental impacts from development on Authority jurisdictional land;

• Requiring appeals to the Port Authority to identify any potential environmental impact a proposed development will have on air quality, surface and groundwater, and migratory bird production areas; and

WHEREAS, the enabling legislation requires the Port Authority to report annually on implementation of environmental sustainability requirements; and

WHEREAS, through City Council participation on the Utah Inland Port Authority Board, refinements to the Business Plan scope of work were included to ensure consideration of environmental and sustainability measures, including:

• Performance of a baseline air quality analysis;

• Assessment of potential impacts to air quality through increased amounts of air, rail, and truck traffic;

• Consideration of alternative fleet options that could be implemented;

• Assessment of impacts on wildlife;

• Water quality and mitigation options;

• Identification of potential mitigation options for air, noise, and vibrations on local communities; and

WHEREAS, during the 2019 Legislative Session, the Salt Lake City Council supported Senate Bill 144, which directs the Department of Environmental Quality to establish and maintain monitoring facilities to measure environmental impacts from inland port development and to report results of the monitoring; and

WHEREAS, the Salt Lake City International Airport located near the City’s Northwest Quadrant, is being redeveloped using state of the art standards. Included in the many efforts to reduce the Airport’s carbon footprint are:

• Transitioning to an electric ground equipment fleet;

• A design to achieve LEED Gold certification;

• A new configuration that will allow more planes to move between concourses simultaneously, reducing time planes spend idling, resulting in lower fuel consumption and fewer emissions.

These combined with countless additional design elements will reduce overall energy consumption per square foot by 30% from current levels; and

WHEREAS, the City Council supports clean energy goals, including:

• The City Public Utilities’ efforts to minimize environmental impact;

• Funding the City’s Sustainability Department which continually works to develop programs to improve the city’s air quality and reduce waste;

• an emphasis on a clean City vehicle fleet;

• additional investments in vehicle charging stations;

• and achieving 100% renewable energy for community electricity by 2032; and

WHEREAS, the airshed is not managed or affected by any single entity and best efforts of residents, businesses, elected officials and advocacy groups are needed to improve the air quality; and

WHEREAS, economic development growth is expected and necessary to sustain the growth of a community; and

WHEREAS, most of the property in the Northwest Quadrant area is zoned for light manufacturing development and property owners have a right to develop their property according to the zoning, which the Council adopted with the intent for future development to be a sustainable model and contribute to the future economic growth of the City while minimizing negative impacts to sensitive lands, habitats, and waterways; and

WHEREAS, the City Council is encouraged the Port Authority’s tax differential policy recommends supporting projects that foster healthy communities, and environmentally and economically sustainable development that use the most efficient and best available technology to mitigate environmental impacts; and

WHEREAS, the City Council is encouraged that the Port Authority Executive Director has experience with retrofitting older, established ports into more environmentally sustainable models, and has expressed a professional commitment to “use best practices to try to drive a more progressive, more forward looking, smarter development;” and

WHEREAS, the City Council looks forward to continuing opportunities for partnerships with stakeholders to develop the Northwest Quadrant in a manner that advances future economic growth of the City without negatively impacting sensitive lands.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED

that the Salt Lake City Council strongly encourages the Utah Inland Port Authority and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to collaborate with the Salt Lake County Health Department and the Utah Department of Health to establish a working group to identify and recommend policies that will ensure the public’s health is a priority and commit to working toward developing the cleanest possible port, consistent with the Council’s policy goals throughout this process.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

that the Salt Lake City Council encourages the Utah Inland Port Authority to implement the environmental impact and sustainability recommendations in the forthcoming business plan to the highest level in order to further advance the goal of a sustainable, clean port.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

that the Salt Lake City Council encourages the Utah Inland Port Authority Board to build on the environmental safeguards established jointly with stakeholders to further advance innovative approaches and capitalize on this generational opportunity by incentivizing clean development projects, develop forward thinking, environmentally sustainable Port policies that champion economic development success while improving and preserving critical environmental habitat and improving air quality for the City, State and Region.

Passed by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah, this 8^th day of October 2019.