[{"_1":2,"_105":-5,"_106":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,85,95],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6476765,"mediaKeyId","5716842-e93e10f7156209cf60379f826d4cdf33","parentId",5716842,"title","CRA board approves $5,000 to finalize housing plan and debates options for affordable housing spending","audioSeconds",3267,"startMs",2287000,"endMs",5554000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5716842-e93e10f7156209cf60379f826d4cdf33&start=2287&end=5554","thumbnailUrl","https://d352y6ypj4mjo3.cloudfront.net/AudioPlaceholder.png","articleUrl","/articles/6476765/Utah/CRA-board-approves-5000-to-finalize-housing-plan-and-debates-options-for-affordable-housing-spending","mediaUrl","author","Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency","date","2025-09-04T10:00:00Z","article","The Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency voted Sept. 4 to authorize $5,000 to finalize a county housing plan that will guide use of the CRA’s affordable‑housing set‑aside. The motion passed on roll call: Tom Huntington, Jordan Leonard, Jay Humphrey, Jacob Sharp and Kevin Jensen voted “aye.”

Board discussion before the vote covered multiple concepts for deploying the 10 percent affordable‑housing set‑aside that CRA law requires. Ideas raised by board members and staff included:

- Using CRA funds to buy manufactured/mobile homes (single‑wide or small dwellings) to place in existing, underused mobile‑home parks that already have hookups, then offering those homes on a rent‑to‑own schedule or other low‑interest repayment plan so buyers build equity; proponents said this approach uses existing infrastructure and reduces the barrier of obtaining new water hookups.

- Establishing a revolving loan fund or forgivable-loan programs for down-payment assistance; the draft housing plan includes examples such as forgivable loans (the draft suggested figures like up to $10,000 for down payments and $3,000 for closing costs as illustrative amounts, to be finalized in program guidelines).

- Piloting small senior housing near the new senior center and identifying county‑owned parcels or vacant hookups that could be repurposed for affordable small units.

- Considering partnerships and public‑private models so the CRA funds seed projects while private developers handle construction and long‑term management.

Staff and the Utah Association of Counties presenter emphasized legal limits and compliance needs: affordable‑housing funds must be income‑targeted under the statute, funds set aside for housing must be held in a separate fund and earn interest that remains with the housing set‑aside, and purchases or projects must meet income‑targeting requirements. The presenter said a draft housing plan had been prepared with outside legal and technical assistance and could be adopted as a framework to guide later, more-detailed applications and agreements; adoption of the framework would not obligate the CRA to fund every conceptual program in the plan.

Board members discussed implementation risks — including ongoing administration, possible competition with private sellers and developers, and the need for deed restrictions, monitoring and potential enforcement to prevent misuse (for example, ensuring income targeting and preventing quick resale as market housing or conversion to short‑term rentals).

After discussion, a board member moved and a second was given to pay $5,000 toward the final housing plan. The motion passed on roll call. Staff said the plan would provide the framework for future program rules, applications and deed‑restriction language, and the CRA’s housing set‑aside could later be used for revolving‑loan capital, manufactured‑home purchases, infrastructure components directly tied to an income‑targeted housing project, or other eligible activities as allowed by statute and local policy.","mediaType","Audio","parentTitle","Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency - 9-September 2025 CRA Audio","oneSentenceSummary","The Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency authorized $5,000 at its Sept. 4 meeting to complete a draft housing plan and held an extended discussion about using the CRA’s 10% affordable‑housing set‑aside for manufactured homes, a revolving loan fund, senior housing and other targeted programs.","taxTitle","Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency, Emery County Boards and Commissions, Emery County, Utah","taxId",74979,"location","Utah","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":50,"_51":82,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":83,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":84,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6476770,"Emery County CRA approves separate 2026 proposed budget; staff to finalize before November deadline",620,1666000,2286000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5716842-e93e10f7156209cf60379f826d4cdf33&start=1666&end=2286","/articles/6476770/Utah/Emery-County-CRA-approves-separate-2026-proposed-budget-staff-to-finalize-before-November-deadline","The Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency voted Sept. 4 to approve a proposed 2026 CRA budget that will be adopted outside the county’s primary budget. Staff told the board that the CRA budget had not been included in the county’s main budget submission and therefore must be approved separately before the statutory Nov. 30 timeframe.

Staff reviewed the 2024 amended (actual) numbers, 2025 budget and year‑to‑date actuals through August, and presented a 2026 proposed budget built on reported project values and anticipated triggers. The presenter cautioned that Green River’s figures were based on budget estimates and could change depending on project completion and pricing. Board members were shown the projected distributions for the next several years and discussed administrative fees that can be negotiated with developers to support local administration.

Board members also heard from the Utah Association of Counties presenter about a statewide CRA administration portal in development that could centralize reporting, audits and distribution calculations; staff suggested agencies might bill an administrative fee to cover outsourcing to such a portal. After discussion a board member moved, a second was given, and the board voted to approve the proposed 2026 budget.

Staff were directed to finalize the budget documentation and file the CRA budget separately prior to the Nov. 30 timeframe.","The CRA board approved a proposed 2026 budget separate from the county budget after staff confirmed the CRA budget was omitted from the county’s main budget and must be adopted before Nov. 30.",{"_33":86,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":87,"_41":88,"_43":89,"_45":90,"_47":91,"_49":50,"_51":92,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":93,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":94,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6476774,"CRA approves distribution of tax-increment funds for Castle and Horn Shadow solar projects",666,1001000,1667000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5716842-e93e10f7156209cf60379f826d4cdf33&start=1001&end=1667","/articles/6476774/Utah/CRA-approves-distribution-of-tax-increment-funds-for-Castle-and-Horn-Shadow-solar-projects","At its Sept. 4 meeting the Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency approved the disbursement of CRA tax-increment funds associated with Castle Solar and Horn Shadow Solar project areas and discussed operational details for making those payments.

Staff said Castle’s distribution included both personal-property and real-property components and that most future project distributions will come in two parts: one payment 30 days after personal-property receipts and a second 30 days after receipt of real-property payments. A presenter explained, “the agreement says actually 30 days after the agency receives the funds,” and noted the board meets quarterly while the developer payment timing does not always align with the board calendar.

Officials said Horn Shadow’s distribution remained in process because the treasurer’s software setup was not complete; county staff expected the Horn Shadow check to be issued to the agency within weeks, which then triggers the 30-day disbursement window. The board discussed the mechanics of how the treasurer issues funds to the agency and how the agency then requests distribution to taxing entities or to the CRA’s affordable housing set-aside.

Board members also discussed the legal requirement that affordable-housing set-aside funds be held in a separate account and accrue interest to that set-aside; staff recommended a separate account for the housing portion so interest and principal are clearly traceable. Sherry Duran said administration varies across counties and noted a statewide software/admin portal under development that would centralize reporting, distribution and audit compliance for CRAs.

After discussion, a board member moved and a second was given to approve the disbursements for Castle Solar and Horn Shadow Solar. The motion passed.","The Emery County CRA approved disbursement of 2025 CRA tax-increment funds tied to Castle Solar and Horn Shadow Solar; board discussed timing, personal vs. real property distributions, and the separate affordable-housing set-aside accounting.",{"_33":96,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":97,"_41":98,"_43":99,"_45":100,"_47":101,"_49":50,"_51":102,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":103,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":104,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6476780,"Emery County CRA reviews and approves GOEO annual reports for Castle and Hunter solar projects",1061,50000,1111000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5716842-e93e10f7156209cf60379f826d4cdf33&start=50&end=1111","/articles/6476780/Utah/Emery-County-CRA-reviews-and-approves-GOEO-annual-reports-for-Castle-and-Hunter-solar-projects","The Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency on Sept. 4 accepted annual reports filed on the state GOEO (Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity) platform for the Castle Solar and Hunter Solar project areas and voted to approve the reports to meet the statutory filing deadline.

Sherry Duran of the Utah Association of Counties, who presented the packet, said the documents in the board packet are a “user friendly version of what is actually on the GOEO site,” noting the state’s portal is hard to search and that GOEO charges jurisdictions a submission fee. “So we kind of created this just to give you a summary of what information is there,” Duran said.

The board briefly discussed whether battery storage additions to solar projects would be treated as part of an existing CRA project area and therefore eligible for tax-increment incentives. Duran explained that current statute ties incentives to the boundaries of a previously created project area and that the state code does not clearly anticipate later, additional investment types such as battery storage. ‘‘Once you’ve created that project area, no matter what goes in there ... there’s no statutory way of dealing with that,’’ she said, adding the county could seek a legislative fix or use boundary exclusions (sometimes called “cherry-stemming”) where appropriate.

Board members also noted that developers have sometimes negotiated participation agreements tied to a single developer; Duran said if a second developer (or different owner) comes into the same project area, the county would negotiate a new participation agreement with that developer or retain all increment if no participation agreement exists.

Following the presentation and questions, a board member moved and a second was given to approve the Castle Solar and Hunter Solar GOEO annual reports; the chair called for the vote and the motion passed.

The board did not adopt new policy at the meeting; members asked staff to review existing participation agreements and conditional-use-permit conditions to clarify whether battery storage additions are captured by existing agreements or require separate negotiation.

The acceptance of the reports was described as a ministerial step to meet the GOEO filing requirement; board members were told the agency may later amend filings if needed.","At its Sept. 4 meeting the Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency accepted the GOEO-format annual reports for Castle Solar and Hunter Solar, discussed whether future battery storage would be eligible for CRA incentives, and voted to approve the reports to meet filing deadlines.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

CRA board approves $5,000 to finalize housing plan and debates options for affordable housing spending

Emery County CRA approves separate 2026 proposed budget; staff to finalize before November deadline

CRA approves distribution of tax-increment funds for Castle and Horn Shadow solar projects

Emery County CRA reviews and approves GOEO annual reports for Castle and Hunter solar projects