Council voices reservations about water for Desert Rose mixed-use project; asks staff for policy clarity

Tooele City Council members on Wednesday raised concerns about authorizing city water for a proposed Desert Rose mixed-use development, asking staff for clearer policy guidance before making a commitment.

Community Development Director Andrew Agard briefed the council on the five-acre project east of Zaxby’s near Macy’s, which conceptually proposes 35 townhouse-style units with ground-floor commercial space and residential units above. Agard said the project falls into a gray area of the city’s water policy: the city permits payment-in-lieu for commercial water rights and for limited residential cases (single homes on vacant lots), but the policy is unclear for stacked mixed-use buildings.

Agard described the key policy questions: whether the project’s primary…