County staff on March 31 presented a draft Business Recruitment, Expansion and Development policy intended to clarify which organizations coordinate marketing, site selection and incentive discussions for development in unincorporated Weber County.

Stephanie Russell, presenting the draft, said the policy “establishes a framework for business engagement, site development, and financial incentives.” The draft designates the Northern Utah Economic Alliance (NUEA) and Weber County Economic Development to maintain the county’s property inventory and to be the primary funnel for requests for information and site-selector visits. Russell said that currently responses and site visits are arriving through multiple state and regional entities in ways that can bypass county planning and the county’s Western Regional Plan.

Key elements Russell outlined include: marketing and property inventory maintenance (currently under contract to MUA for unincorporated areas); routing requests for information and site-selection coordination through NUEA; coordinated handoff from marketing organizations to county development staff once a prospective developer selects a site; and clarification of which public finance incentives are available and through which governing bodies (county economic development finance committee, Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, and Utah Inland Port Authority, depending on the tool).

Russell emphasized the county’s intent to protect its Western Regional Plan and to ensure developers understand existing infrastructure constraints. “We have the knowledge about the current infrastructure and we hold the cards as it relates to incentives,” she said.

Commissioners and attendees welcomed the document as a way to reduce confusion between state and local partners. One commissioner said the policy will give the county a written standard to reference when state or other organizations bring site selectors into the county without prior coordination. Several presenters and commissioners suggested meeting with GOEO, EDCUtah, NUEA and the Utah Inland Port to review the policy after the commission adopts it.

Discussion also touched on related state legislation (House Bill 237 and HB 307) and whether housing policy should be added or handled separately; presenters suggested keeping industrial recruitment and housing policy distinct but noted they could draft a companion statement for housing infrastructure and resource limits in the corridor.

No formal action was taken in the work session; presenters said they would make a minor phrasing change to ensure the policy applies to all remaining unincorporated areas and bring a resolution for adoption to the commission agenda.

Details clarified in the meeting: nominations and site requests are to be routed to NUEA; existing contracts maintain the county’s property inventory; public finance tools covered include public infrastructure districts, community reinvestment agencies/tax increment finance, and Inland Port tax differential (the latter handled through the Utah Inland Port Authority).