Wade R. Budge, P.C.

Bar Admissions

• Utah

Court Admissions

• Supreme Court of Utah
• United States District Court, District of Utah

Education

• University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law (J.D., 1999)
  • William H. Leary Scholar
• Brigham Young University (B.A., 1996)

Languages

Spanish

Awards & Recognition

• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business®, Real Estate (2018-2024)
• The Best Lawyers in America®, Land Use & Zoning Law, Real Estate Law (2013-2025)
  • Salt Lake City Lawyer of the Year, Land Use & Zoning Law (2013, 2023)
• Mountain States Super Lawyers^®, Land Use/Zoning (2018-2024)
  • Top 100 (2019)
• Mountain States Super Lawyers®, Rising Stars Edition, Land Use/Zoning (2008, 2010-2011)
• Utah’s Legal Elite: Natural Resources, Land Use/Environmental (2004-2011), Real Estate (2012-2022), Utah Business Magazine

Representative Experience

• Advised major sports franchise proponents on legislation for entitlements, acquisitions and public financing for a public-private partnership sports district in Salt Lake City
• Represented world-renowned ski resort on its 3,000-acre expansion and negotiated entitlements for ski-related facility, leases, and easements for overall resort
• Led legal team in the creation of multiple public improvement districts to facilitate infrastructure development for a transit-oriented, mixed-use development
• Represented master developer in negotiating a long-term public-private partnership for a large mixed-use development within a 600-acre state-owned development area located in Salt Lake County
• Negotiated the acquisition of the largest Utah master-planned community, a community that is located on over 4,000 acres and is entitled for 20,000 residential units
• Negotiated and obtained entitlements from the local municipality and state entities for the creation of the primary project area within the Inland Port
• Led disposition team on the sale of more than fifty automotive dealerships across eight Western states in connection with a multi-billion-dollar transaction
• Negotiated and obtained entitlements for the construction of a world-class, year-round action sports facility, with associated snow sports, lifts, and action sports infrastructure located in Park City, Utah
• Led the team to acquire an over 250-acre site and establish a partnership to develop a mixed-use community along the shores of Utah Lake and adjacent to a new commuter rail train station
• Negotiated and represented seller on an approximately $40,000,000 transaction to sell over 1,300 acres of undeveloped open space land located between two major ski areas and three resorts for use as a public and private year-round recreational area
• Advised and represented developer/owner of a significant, multi-billion-dollar retail, housing, and office project on obtaining entitlements and agreements for development from local regulating authorities
• Represented property owners and sports teams in drafting zoning ordinances and associated development approvals for professional sports arenas, practice facilities and stadiums in multiple cities along the Wasatch front
• Negotiated increment incentive agreement for retail business locating a new, approximately $90,000,000 business complex in a growing Wasatch front city
• Advised multi-family developer on multiple projects involving tax increment financing to support affordable housing projects
• Represented premier Little Cottonwood Canyon ski resort in obtaining permits and approvals required for an extension of resort area boundaries into significant ski terrain and associated development
• Negotiated entitlements and ski resort use and access rights in connection with multiple hotel and condominium projects with local governments on behalf of developers
• Represented developer of a 1,300-unit master planned community and commercial area in obtaining entitlements in Summit County, including negotiating affordable housing, public amenities, and community benefits
• Represented owner of Utah’s premier golf community in negotiating with governmental entity for approvals for development from local, state, and federal regulators
• Represented multiple developer and property owners on lobbying Utah legislature regarding laws affecting retail center operators, public financing, real estate transactions and development
• Represented school developers and both public and private schools in entitling new school sites within residential neighborhoods

Professional Memberships and Activities

• Urban Land Institute (2018-present)
• Utah Land Use Institute
  • Board Member (2018-present)

Community Involvement

• Carden Memorial Foundation
  • Board of Directors (2018-present)
• Utah Land Use & Eminent Domain Advisory Board
  • Board of Directors (2024 – Present)

Representative Presentations and Publications

• “Financing Infrastructure,” Moderator, Utah Land Use Institute (October 25, 2023)
• “Legislative Update – Land Use at Capitol Hill,” Co-Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (April 7, 2023)
• “Processing Land Use Applications,” Co-Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (April 7, 2023)
• “Public Participation in the Land Use Process,” Co-Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (April 7, 2023)
• “Legislative Update or “Big Changes are a Comin,” Media Mention, Utah Bar Journal (January/February 2023)
• “Public “Overparticipation”?,” Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (October 26, 2022)
• “Innovation in Housing,” Moderator, Utah Land Use Institute (October 26, 2022)
• “Evolving Land Use Law,” Co-Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (October 26, 2021)
• “Land Use and Entitlements,” Presenter, University of Utah, Master of Real Estate Development program (September 14, 2021)
• “The New Triumvirate of Local City Councils, State Legislature, and Citizens at the Ballot Box,” Panelist, Utah Land Use Institute (October 29, 2019)
• “Land Use Law Roundtable,” Co-Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (October 30, 2019)
• “Changing the Focus: Managing State Trust Lands in the Twenty-First Century,” 19 Journal of Land Resources and Environmental Law 223 (1999)