Weber County mulls new development zone, to continue 12th Street corridor upgrade
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- The West 12th Street corridor in western Weber County, between 5900 West and 9300 West, on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. Weber County Commissioners include funds in the tentative 2019 budget to complete an upgrade of the roadway, partially finished in 2017.
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- Construction crews work on the final touches of a section of 900 South in west Weber County on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020.
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- Construction crews work on the final touches of a section of 900 South in west Weber County on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020.
OGDEN — Weber County officials have taken a preliminary step toward potential creation of a special development zone in the western part of the county in connection with a project proposal in the area.
Separately, officials on Tuesday approved a contract with a firm to handle design of the final segment of the 12th Street corridor to be upgraded in extreme western Weber County. The roadway — the western extension of Ogden’s 12th Street — is the key connector to the area, where county officials envision industrial expansion over the long haul. Moreover, the roadway cuts through the land that’s eyed as a possible reinvestment project zone.
County commissioners, meeting Tuesday as the Weber County Community Reinvestment Agency, authorized completion of a study looking into creation of the Promontory Commerce Center Community Reinvestment Project Area. The area in question encompasses Wadeland Dairy property and covers some 340 acres of largely undeveloped land owned by Wadeland Land, according to online property records.
Community reinvestment areas allow for use of tax-increment finance funds — money that would otherwise be distributed as property taxes — for infrastructure improvements within their boundaries. Officials aren’t saying much about what’s potentially in the works in the Promontory Commerce swath, which abuts the west side of the Weber River around 5900 West and straddles 900 South, the name of the 12th Street corridor in that section.
County Commissioner Jim Harvey said preliminary plans call for commercial and light industrial development. “The key word there is light industrial, not heavy,” he said.
Typically, a would-be developer seeks creation of a community reinvestment area in connection with development plans, Harvey said. Per Tuesday’s action, Weber County planning and development officials will now take a closer look into creation of the zone in the Promontory Commerce area, determine if it would be feasible and craft a potential budget. The findings and recommendations would be subject to later consideration by the Weber County Community Reinvestment Agency.
Taxing entities that would lose property tax revenue to creation of reinvestment areas — Weber County and the Weber School District in this case, most likely — typically have to sign off on the plans as well. That, though, would come later.
As for the 12th Street corridor plans, county commissioners on Tuesday approved a plan with Wasatch Civil Consulting Engineering calling on it to design the upgrade of the roadway from 7100 West west to 9800 West, a 3.37-mile segment. The area east of 7100 West has already been upgraded.
“Currently, 1200 South from 7100 West to Little Mountain consists of two lanes with minimal shoulders and drainage ditches along most of this stretch,” reads the request for proposals for the work issued by Weber County. “Weber County is expecting substantial industrial growth around Little Mountain with the likelihood of a future industrial park in the northwest region of the county.”
The design work has a budget of up to $207,940 and construction would follow, probably starting by the spring of 2024, according to Tucker Weight from the Weber County Engineering Department. The roadway connects to large industrial operations like Compass Minerals and Western Zirconium.
The Weber Area Council of Goverments, or WACOG, made up of elected reps from across Weber County, has allocated $10 million for the road work, but Weight isn’t sure that will be enough to rebuild the entire roadway section west of 7100 West. Plans call for widening the narrow two-lane roadway to three lanes — one lane going each way plus a center turn line and wider shoulders.
Officials have long dreamed of developing some sort of industrial park in western Weber County given the wide-open spaces and expected eventual extension of the north-south West Davis Corridor into Weber County. The vision has also figured in redevelopment of the 12th Street corridor.
In other business Tuesday, the Weber County Community Reinvestment Agency also authorized completion of a study looking into creation of the Chromalox Community Reinvestment Project Area in connection with the possible expansion of Chromalox. The business, located at 2150 N. Rulon White Blvd., is a developer of advanced thermal technologies.