The most expensive thing in the room Tuesday night was not on the agenda

On Tuesday, the Utah County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the county's first data center ordinance, without taking public comment on the item, which the commission noted had been taken at an earlier meeting (Salt Lake Tribune). Deputies then removed several attendees. The Sheriff's Office says she struck a deputy in the groin before she and the deputy went to the ground in the lobby; she was booked on three misdemeanors (Sheriff's Office statement). She denies striking him and told KSL she suffered a concussion; KSL's video does not show the full removal. One county source told the Insider this was not her first run-in at a public meeting. The Insider could not independently verify any prior incident. Professional antagonist, or a citizen who showed up to be heard? The record cannot answer that yet. Regardless, the truth of the matter is that trust seems to be at an all-time low.

Stephen M. R. Covey built a bestseller on that arithmetic: in The Speed of Trust (2006), when trust falls, decision making slows and costs rise, a trust tax or the inverse a trust dividend. Exhibit A: Berkshire Hathaway's $23 billion purchase of McLane from Wal-Mart in 2003, closed 29 days after a two-hour meeting, no due diligence. Buffett: "We knew everything would be exactly as Wal-Mart said it would be, and it was."

The tax has a going rate. Davis and Franks (Harvard Kennedy School, 2014; extractive sector) put delay on a $3 to $5 billion project at roughly $20 million a week. Utah's version: Box Elder County's Stratos campus was cut in half amid a referendum fight and lawsuits, and sits stalled. The County Commission holds the final vote, expected in November; as of Thursday, no commissioner had commented publicly (Daily Caller).

The irony: the ordinance itself is a trust device, requiring mailed notice to landowners within a mile and two public open houses before a developer can apply. No Utah study ties trust to permitting timelines; the chronology is the evidence. When residents conclude the hearing is theater, every later project pays the tax.

Provo approves the Towne Centre makeover, 5-1. The council approved Brixton Capital's rezones Tuesday, Councilor Becky Bogdin the lone no; she doubts the plan works and says density belongs in the city center (KUER via provo.com). Target, JCPenney, and Cinemark stay; the project adds 1,300 apartments and 77 for-sale townhomes. The rezone expires if the development agreement is not signed within one year; phase one is capped at 350 units, plus 350 more once commercial shells are finished; at least 75 units must be for-sale; 12 percent must be affordable at or below 80 percent of area median income. Shady Acres residents get 18 months and $10,000 per household; council members called it not enough, and approved nothing more. The HTRZ and PID approvals are separate, still to come.

Why it matters in the valley: the valley's largest mall redevelopment now runs on deadlines, not renderings.

A new justice, and a signature from February. ABC4 reported this week that Utah Supreme Court Justice Michael R. Menssen signed the petition to repeal Proposition 4, the 2018 redistricting initiative (ABC4). ABC4 dates it to February 12, months before Gov. Cox appointed him in August. The repeal effort failed to qualify for the ballot in April. The Senate confirmed Menssen in mid-September, and on October 5 he sat for the argument in League of Women Voters v. Utah Legislature, the Prop 4 case over the three-judge panel law. No party has publicly asked him to step aside; the court and Menssen have not commented. ABC4 is so far the only outlet reporting the signature.

Why it matters in the valley: redistricting decides who speaks for Utah County, and a justice hearing the case signed to repeal the measure at its center.

What it is: a Redevelopment Agency, renamed a Community Reinvestment Agency (CRA) under Utah law. A city or county creates one to revive a project area: a dead mall, a tired downtown block.

Where the money comes from: tax increment. Values freeze as the base at creation; as redevelopment raises them, the extra tax flows to the CRA instead of the usual taxing entities, typically for 20 to 30 years. Nobody's rate goes up, and the CRA cannot levy taxes. Twenty percent of the increment is set aside for low- and moderate-income housing.

Who oversees it: the CRA board, usually the city council in a second hat, under Title 17C; the county auditor verifies the increment (Utah County Auditor).

Why it matters in the valley: the standard tool behind Utah's downtown revivals, and the one to watch if Provo's Towne Centre project seeks public money beyond the HTRZ.

Saturday, Oct 31 — State report on nuclear campus barriers due to the legislature.

Monday, Nov 2 — Waystar (Lehi) Q3 earnings.

Tuesday, Nov 3 — Election Day; UVU RISE Conference.

Saturday, Nov 21 — Project Paideia AI Buildathon at UVU (Sorensen Center).

Utah Valley Insider is reported to a simple standard: truth or it doesn't print. Tips: reply to this email.

Harvey Scott, Founder

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Sources for this issue: Salt Lake Tribune; Utah County Sheriff's Office; KSL; Daily Caller; KUER; provo.com; ABC4; Utah County Auditor; Utah Code Title 17C; Davis & Franks (2014).