Transportation and Land Use Connection Program

The Transportation and Land Use Connection (TLC) program is a partnership between the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC), Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), Utah Transit Authority (UTA), and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB).

The TLC program provides technical assistance to local communities to help them achieve their goals and plan for growth. The program helps communities implement changes to the built environment that reduce traffic on roads and enable more people to easily walk, bike, and use transit. This approach is consistent with the Wasatch Choice Vision and helps residents living throughout the region enjoy a high quality of life through enhanced mobility, better air quality, and improved economic opportunities.

Mission

The Transportation and Land Use Connection supports local governments in their planning efforts, implementing the Wasatch Choice Vision.

Goals

Maximize the value of investment in public infrastructure.
Enhance access to opportunities.
Increase travel options to optimize mobility.
Create communities with opportunities to live, work, and play.

Explore TLC projects

Program Lifetime Impact

Total Program Funding Awarded

$15,546,939

Number of Communities Supported

Number of Projects Awarded

180

How to Apply

The TLC program provides technical assistance to local communities to help them achieve their goals and plan for growth.

September

Applicants submit a short Letter of Intent to begin the process.

December

Upon receipt of approval for the project’s Letter of Intent, interested parties should submit an application using the TLC application form. Program staff and partners will review the applications based on the TLC project selection criteria.

March

Applicants are notified if their projects will receive funding, and WFRC staff will follow up at that time with additional information about next steps.

Letter of Intent form

Application

Eligibility and Criteria

Eligibility

Assistance is available to municipalities, counties, townships, and multi-jurisdictional groups of local governments within the WFRC's area of responsibility (Box Elder, Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Tooele, and Weber counties). WFRC encourages applications from two or more jurisdictions working together, within county boundaries.

Eligible projects include, but are not limited to, the following.

Projects that involve multi-jurisdictional coordination and regional collaboration.
Activities that help to implement previously-adopted plans, such as revisions to ordinances or other land use regulations.
Assistance with public participation related to developing or implementing local plans.
Site assessments to determine the feasibility of projects, such as transit-oriented development projects or first/last mile strategies.
Studies or specific plans related to important local issues, such as housing, transportation choices, or market studies.
The development of local visions or plans.

Ineligible

Project phases, such as land acquisition, engineering, or capital investment, are not intended to be pursued through TLC program.

TLC partners, including WFRC, UTA, and UDOT, evaluate applications utilizing the selection criteria below. Additionally, the partners consider non-quantifiable factors, including the management of any ongoing projects and regional distribution of funds.

Local Match (min 6.77%) — The applicant's percentage of local funds committed towards the total project cost. Percentage is based on jurisdictional size. (Match: Total Project Cost)
Project Type — Nearness to implementation for the final product/document of the project.
Wasatch Choice Vision / TLC Mission — Degree to which project impacts a Wasatch Choice Center.
TLC Goal 1 — Degree to which project maximizes the value of investment in public infrastructure.
TLC Goal 2 — (1) Degree to which project increases travel options to optimize mobility (multi-modal). (2) Degree to which project enhances street connectivity, or builds on good connectivity.
TLC Goals 3 & 4 — Degree to which project creates communities with opportunities to live, work, and play / Project enhances access to opportunities.
Regional Collaboration — The extent that the applicant is looking to have multi-jurisdictional and/or multi-agency collaboration.
Implementation / Impact — The extent to which the project will have a tangible or significant impact for the community.
Program Access — Has the community/project been continuously denied funding?
Capacity / Unspent Funds — Does the project have multiple or stalled ongoing projects where there are concerns about staff capacity?
General Plans Only — A General Plan application MUST include a significant component beyond minimum state requirements, AND the application must clearly convey the project's intended impact for the community.

Consultants

Visit Procurement for the pre-qualified consultant pool and the most recent Request for Statements of Qualifications.

Additional Assistance

Ordinance Assistance

The Ordinance Assistance opportunity aims to help communities in implementing their planning goals through local ordinances. The program provides technical assistance regarding ordinances related to parking, subdivisions, street connectivity, zoning, and more.

Undertaking audits and updates to these ordinances is a time-consuming and technical effort. Wasatch Front Regional Council staff will work with local staff, appointed officials, and/or elected officials to understand the community’s ordinance needs and conduct the audit at no cost to the local communities. Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. Projects will be accepted based on the project’s support of local goals and the Wasatch Choice Vision, as well as WFRC staff capacity.

Learn more

Application

Technical Assistance for Station Area Plans and Ordinances

As a result of the 2022 state Legislative session, HB462 Housing Affordability Amendments was passed and signed into law, requiring a city that has a fixed-guideway public transit station (rail or BRT) to develop a Station Area Plan for that station and update its general plan and zoning to implement the Station Area Plan. You can find WFRC’s comprehensive summary of HB462 here.

The Wasatch Front Regional Council can provide technical assistance to help communities implement Station Area Plans in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, the Utah Transit Authority, and the Mountainland Association of Governments.

SAP Technical Assistance

Resources

Full descriptions of the projects awarded assistance through the Transportation and Land Use Connection program may be found below. For older years, visit the TLC map.