Criticism for Plans for Massive Inland Port Plan Near the Great Salt Lake

Morgan Baskin reports on concerns surrounding plans for a massive "inland port" proposed in Utah:

The thousands of acres of muddy fields adjacent to Utah’s Great Salt Lake are still barren and quiet. But the site, formerly a landfill and long eyed by state lawmakers for development, has become a flashpoint for Utahns concerned about the future of their state’s economy.

The Utah Inland Port Authority will release a business plan for the 16,000-acre complex this spring, according to Baskin, so details are still scarce while the stakes are high. Baskin writes: "More than just a vision for the port, it’s a crack at urban planning that grapples with a key tension: How should states that boast distinct, fragile geographic features, like the Great Salt Lake, leverage them to keep building, and how far should legislatures go to protect them?"

Legislators voting to move the project forward have been accused of rushing the political process to start the project. Opponents, like then-Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski, have called the state's approval of the project a "land grab."