Regionally Significant Development Zone (RSDZ)

Open: Ongoing

The State Coordination of Regional and Local Economic Development Projects Amendments (H.B. 507), adopted during the 2026 General Legislative Session, allow a municipality or county (creating entity) to propose a Regionally Significant Development Zone (RSDZ) to promote efficient use of transit and land, housing affordability, and regional economic growth.

At the broader state level, RSDZs coordinate public financing to achieve long-term housing and economic development goals while balancing local communities' needs to protect their tax bases and maintain essential services.

To request access to the RSDZ application portal or for additional information regarding RSDZ, interested municipalities or counties should contact the office at [email protected].

Categories of RSDZ

There are three specific types of RSDZs that a creating entity may propose:

Transit-Oriented RSDZ (63N-3a-301)
First Home Village RSDZ (63N-3a-302)
Economic Development Opportunity RSDZ (63N-3a-303)

If the Economic Development Opportunity RSDZ involves a large-load customer or a qualifying data center, the proposal must also comply with Part 4, Regionally Significant Zones with Energy Implications.

Who can propose an RSDZ?

A "creating entity," which is the term used for the proposer of a Regionally Significant Development Zone (RSDZ), must be either a municipality or a county and can be proposed by one or more creating entities.

This means an RSDZ can be proposed by:

A single municipality
A single county
Multiple entities (one or more municipalities and/or counties)

Key Information

RSDZs are designed to overcome market barriers and development impediments that would otherwise make high-quality, regionally beneficial projects cost-prohibitive. By utilizing public incentives and incremental financing, these zones support specific regional goals. Each type of RSDZ has its own distinct objectives:

Transit-Oriented RSDZ
These zones promote high-density, mixed-use development along major transit corridors to maximize public transit use and increase affordable housing availability. The full list of objectives is outlined in 63N-3a-301.

First Home Village RSDZ
These zones focus on promoting homeownership and diverse housing options by creating walkable, interconnected communities anchored by medium-density residential and mixed-use commercial space. The full list of objectives is outlined in 63N-3a-302.

Economic Development Opportunity RSDZ
This category is for projects that do not qualify for the other two types but still meet critical regional economic needs. Proposals must demonstrate how the project will generate significant capital investment within the zone and the region.

Additional information is required for any project involving a large-load customer or a qualifying data center.

As directed by statute, the office established additional criteria to demonstrate whether a project provides broad regional benefit to the state of Utah and its residents. The criteria focus on three areas of interest: enhancing statewide infrastructure, contributing to economic resilience, and providing affordable housing.

These criteria were developed primarily for Economic Development Opportunity RSDZs, but provide useful considerations for all types of RSDZs.

Enhancing Statewide Infrastructure
A project demonstrates broad regional benefit through infrastructure enhancements by extending or improving public assets that serve beyond the immediate development. Consideration includes:

External Service Area: Does the infrastructure improvement enhance capacity or reliability for users outside the RSDZ project boundary, such as a major highway interchange, water treatment facility, or utility trunk line?
Transportation Impact: Does the project demonstrably reduce regional travel times (commute times), decrease congestion on key state or regional transportation corridors, or significantly expand public transit access?
Critical Utilities: Does the project provide substantial upgrades to critical utilities? (e.g., water, power, or high-speed fiber-optic broadband) that increase redundancy or capacity for multiple municipalities or a defined economic region of the state)
Investment Threshold: Does the project include investment in the region beyond the RSDZ project boundary? (e.g., percentage of the total development cost toward publicly owned or publicly accessible infrastructure improvements)

Contributing to Economic Resilience
A project demonstrates broad regional benefit by strengthening the long-term, diverse economic health of the state:

New, High-Quality Jobs: Does the project create new, permanent, full-time jobs within a specified time frame?
Above-Average Wages: Does the projected average wage of the new jobs created exceed the most recently published state or regional average wage by a set percentage?
Industry Diversification: Does the project primarily support industries identified by the state as strategic growth sectors or as necessary for diversifying the regional economy away from existing concentrations?
Community Revitalization & Amenities: Does the project foster economic and cultural growth, such as revitalizing the community's Main Street, enhancing cultural venues, or addressing local service gaps, such as grocery stores and child care facilities, to expand spending and improve quality of life?
Supply Chain Support: Does the project create a new supply chain that may attract additional businesses?
Net Fiscal Impact: Does the project show a positive projected net fiscal impact on state and local revenues over a defined period (e.g., 10 years), accounting for increased public service costs?
Workforce Training: Does the project include a formal partnership with a regional higher education or technical college institution to develop a curriculum and provide training programs that specifically supply a workforce pipeline for the new jobs created?
Other Considerations: Are there any other significant impacts or factors that should be considered along with this project?

Provision of Affordable Housing
A project demonstrates broad regional benefit through affordable housing by promoting housing accessibility and sustained commitment. Examples include:

Quantity and Restriction: Does the project dedicate a percentage of all new residential units as long-term affordable housing?
Affordability Target: What is the threshold for the affordable units? (e.g., 80% AMI or less, adjusted by household size).
Duration of Affordability: Do the affordable units include a guarantee for a period of time? (e.g., deed restriction or other legally enforceable agreement)
Regional Need: Is the project located in a region or county identified by a relevant state agency as having a critical shortage of affordable housing units?

Be advised that a project will not meet all criteria points, but all should be considered in developing an RSDZ proposal.

An RSDZ application and proposal should demonstrate broad regional benefits to the state and its residents, including providing affordable housing, enhancing infrastructure, or contributing to economic resilience.

A proposal for an RSDV should include the following items:

Confirmation that the tasks required before the submission have been completed.
Feedback from public entities that were provided notice of proposal before submission.
An executive summary, including the need for the creation of the zone and benefit to the community.
An outline of how the proposal demonstrates the statutory objectives outlined in sections:
- 63N-3a-301 for a transit-oriented RSDZ
- 63N-3a-302 for a first home village RSDZ
- 63N-3a-303 for an economic development opportunity RSDZ
Maps, visual renderings, or other visual aids for the zone.
Establish a proposed qualified development zone boundary that may include a project area only or a project area and a proposed impacted primary area.
Identify development impediments and strategies for addressing them.
Request to capture property tax increment, the entirety of personal property tax revenue, or both.
Establish the collection period(s) to calculate the tax increment, including the base year.
Describe projected maximum revenues generated and the amount of tax increment capture from each taxing entity.
A pro forma, including a comparison of the type of development that could occur without the regionally significant development zone funding vs. the proposed zone funding provided in the proposal.

63N-3a-102(2)

Once the office receives an application, it triggers the creation of an Increment Authorization Committee. The committee includes 10-12 rotating members, including state and local leaders, taxing entity representatives, and experts in related fields; some of whom are appointed by the governor.

The composition of each Increment Authorization Committee varies depending on the category and the location of the RSDZ proposal.

Core Committee Members with Local Representatives

1. GOED Executive Director or designee Committee Chair	2. Executive Director of UDOT or designee	3. Representative from the State Treasurer’s Office
4. Member from the State Senate 1 of 2 positions	5. Member from the State Senate 2 of 2 positions	6. Member from the State House of Representatives 1 of 2 positions
7. Member from the State House of Representatives 2 of 2 positions	8. Next largest participating taxing entity by population Other than a water conservancy district	9. Creating Entity representative

Additional Committee Members by the Category of RSDZ proposal

Transit-oriented RSDZ	First Home Village RSDZ	ED Opportunity RSDZ
10. Representative from the Transportation Committee - OR - Representative from a large public transit district (UTA) Appointed by the governor	10. GOED Representative working on Housing Policy	10. Director of the Office of Energy Development
	11. Representative from affected school district 1 of 2 positions	11. Individual with relevant experience Appointed by the governor
	12. Representative from affected school district 2 of 2 positions

Blue text positions indicate the rotating membership and will be filled based on the location and category of the RSDZ proposal.

PRE-INCREMENT DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING

Beginning July 1, 2026, an agency intending to use tax increment is required to follow the pre-increment disclosure and reporting requirements as outlined in Utah Code Title 59 Chapter 36 Part 2.

ANNUAL TAX INCREMENT FINANCING REPORTING (AFTER APPROVAL)

For a newly created RSDZ:

To comply with reporting requirements for a newly created RSDZ, the TIF entity must submit the following items to the STATS program by January 1 of the year following the RSDZ's creation:

The project area plan
The project area budget
All applicable interlocal agreements
A map of each project area

Ongoing TIF Reporting Requirement:

Beginning January 1, 2028, and every year thereafter, a TIF entity must submit a summary of the progress of each TIF project area to the STATS program as outlined in statute.

Additionally, the creating entity must submit an annual written report to the office that outlines the activities to implement the RSDZ's objectives. This report is due no later than August 1 of each year.

Regionally Significant Development Zone (RSDZ)

Categories of RSDZ

Who can propose an RSDZ?

Key Information

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