Utah Code § 63N-23-703 — Utah Code / Title 63N / Chapter 63N-23 / § 63N-23-703
§ 63N-23-703. Process for a proposal of a first home investment zone.
Status: in_force

(1) On or before December 31, 2027, and subject to approval of the housing and transit reinvestment zone committee as described in Section 63N-23-704, in order to create a first home investment zone, a municipality that has general land use authority over the first home investment zone area, shall: (a) prepare a proposal for the first home investment zone that: (i) demonstrates that the proposed first home investment zone will meet the objectives described in Subsection 63N-23-702(1); (ii) explains how the municipality will achieve the requirements of Subsection 63N-23-702(2); (iii) defines the specific infrastructure needs, if any, and proposed improvements; (iv) demonstrates how the first home investment zone will ensure: (A) sufficient pedestrian access to schools and other areas of community; and (B) inclusion of child care facilities and access; (v) defines the boundaries of the first home investment zone; (vi) includes maps of the proposed first home investment zone to illustrate: (A) proposed housing density within the first home investment zone; (B) extraterritorial homes relevant to the first home investment zone, including density of the development of extraterritorial homes; and (C) existing zoning and proposed zoning changes related to the first home investment zone; (vii) identifies any development impediments that prevent the development from being a market-rate investment and proposed strategies for addressing each one; (viii) describes the proposed development plan, including the requirements described in Subsections 63N-23-702(2) and (4); (ix) establishes the collection period or periods to calculate the tax increment; (x) describes projected maximum revenues generated and the amount of tax increment capture from each taxing entity and proposed expenditures of revenue derived from the first home investment zone; (xi) includes an analysis of other applicable or eligible incentives, grants, or sources of revenue that can be used to reduce the finance gap; (xii) proposes a finance schedule to align expected revenue with required financing costs and payments; (xiii) evaluates possible benefits to active transportation, public transportation availability and utilization, street connectivity, and air quality; and (xiv) provides a pro forma for the planned development that: (A) satisfies the requirements described in Subsections 63N-23-702(2) and (4); and (B) includes data showing the cost difference between what type of development could feasibly be developed absent the first home investment zone tax increment and the type of development that is proposed to be developed with the first home investment zone tax increment; (b) submit the proposal to the relevant school district to discuss the requirements of the proposal and whether the proposal provides the benefits and achieves the objectives described in this part; and (c) submit the first home investment zone proposal to the Governor's Office of Economic Development. (2) As part of the proposal described in Subsection (1), a municipality shall: (a) study and evaluate possible impacts of a proposed first home investment zone on parking and efficient use of land within the municipality and first home investment zone; and (b) include in the first home investment zone proposal the findings of the study described in Subsection (2)(a) and proposed strategies to efficiently address parking impacts. (3) (a) After receiving the proposal as described in Subsection (1)(c), the Governor's Office of Economic Development shall: (i) within 14 days after the date on which the Governor's Office of Economic Development receives the proposal described in Subsection (1)(c), provide notice of the proposal to all affected taxing entities, including the State Tax Commission, cities, counties, school districts, metropolitan planning organizations, and the county assessor and county auditor of the county in which the first home investment zone is located; and (ii) at the expense of the proposing municipality as described in Subsection (5), contract with an independent entity to: (A) perform the gap analysis described in Subsection (3)(b); and (B) perform an analysis of the pro-forma described in Subsection (1)(a)(xiv)(B) and the feasibility of the proposed development absent the tax increment. (b) The gap and pro-forma analysis required in Subsection (3)(a)(ii) shall include: (i) a description of the planned development; (ii) a market analysis relative to other comparable project developments included in or adjacent to the municipality absent the proposed first home investment zone; (iii) an evaluation of the proposal and a determination of the adequacy and efficiency of the proposal; (iv) an evaluation of the proposed tax increment capture needed to cover the system improvements and project improvements associated with the first home investment zone proposal and enable the proposed development to occur, and for the benefit of affordable housing projects; and (v) based on the market analysis and other findings, an opinion relative to the appropriate amount of potential public financing reasonably determined to be necessary to achieve the objectives described in Subsection 63N-23-702(1). (c) After receiving notice from the Governor's Office of Economic Development of a proposed first home investment zone as described in Subsection (3)(a)(i), the municipality, in consultation with the county assessor and the State Tax Commission, shall: (i) evaluate the feasibility of administering the tax implications of the proposal; and (ii) provide a letter to the Governor's Office of Economic Development describing any challenges in the administration of the proposal, or indicating that the county assessor can feasibly administer the proposal. (4) After receiving the results from the analysis described in Subsection (3)(b), the municipality proposing the first home investment zone may: (a) amend the first home investment zone proposal based on the findings of the analysis described in Subsection (3)(b) and request that the Governor's Office of Economic Development submit the amended first home investment zone proposal to the housing and transit reinvestment zone committee; or (b) request that the Governor's Office of Economic Development submit the original first home investment zone proposal to the housing and transit reinvestment zone committee. (5) (a) The Governor's Office of Economic Development may accept, as a dedicated credit, up to $20,000 from a municipality for the costs of the gap analysis described in Subsection (3)(b). (b) The Governor's Office of Economic Development may expend funds received from a municipality as dedicated credits to pay for the costs associated with the gap analysis described in Subsection (3)(b). (6) Beginning January 1, 2028: (a) a municipality may not propose a first home investment zone; (b) a municipality may amend a first home investment zone proposal, as described in Subsection (4), if the proposal was pending on December 31, 2027; and (c) the Governor's Office of Economic Development may not fulfill the duties described in Subsection (3) or (5) in regard to a proposal for a first home investment zone unless the proposal was pending on December 31, 2027.