Tooele City Council unanimously approved two separate resolutions on Aug. 20 authorizing payment of fee in lieu of water rights conveyance for two development projects.

John Perez, Tooele's economic development director, presented both requests. The first, for Advanced Spine & Pain near 2400 North and 400 East, requested 1.2 acre-feet of water and cited a capital investment of about $8 million and the creation of eight full-time jobs. Perez said the council would include a two-year expiration condition requiring vertical construction to begin within two years.

"This was a request from Physicians Accounting and Management Systems for Advanced Spine and Pain, a request for 1.2 acre feet," Perez said.

Council members moved and voted to approve Resolution 2025-71; the vote was 5-0.

The second approval, Resolution 2025-73, authorized a fee in lieu for Grow Development LLC's planned light-industrial complex at 249 East 1000 North. Perez told the council the developer estimated 130 full-time jobs at final completion, average wages of about $55,000 annually, and roughly $30 million in capital investment. City engineering staff confirmed the request for 7 acre-feet, and Perez said the same two-year vertical-construction condition would be added.

Both resolutions passed 5-0. Perez noted the water volumes were confirmed by the city engineer and that landscaping would be "no turf" to reduce water use. The council did not attach additional conditions beyond the construction-start timeframe discussed in the work meeting.

These approvals authorize the projects to pay the city's established fee instead of conveying water rights; the fee-in-lieu mechanism is part of the city's development policy to address water availability for new construction.