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Residents ask planning commission about water requirement for proposed lot split; staff to consult city attorney
Summary
Property owners seeking to split an approximately 1‑acre parcel asked whether the city requires water dedication at subdivision recording or at time of future building. Planning staff said the city generally requires water dedication for each lot at subdivision and will consult the city attorney before advising applicants.
Property owners Duran and Susan attended the Mona City Planning and Zoning meeting Oct. 1 to ask whether the city requires culinary/secondary water dedication at the time of subdivision or only when a building permit is sought.
The applicants said they bought an approximately 0.9–1.0 acre parcel with an existing house and want to split the parcel to sell the house on a half‑acre while retaining the remaining land for future use. They asked whether the city would require water dedication for the retained lot now, even if they have no current plans to build.
Staff reply and context: Planning staff explained the city’s practice is to require water dedication to each lot at subdivision approval, even if a lot remains undeveloped. "When you subdivided all that subdivision, you put water on every one of those lots," staff said, and the water dedication becomes tied to the new tax ID. Staff said the city adopted an ordinance after some subdivisions were recorded without a water requirement, and current practice requires dedication at subdivision. Staff also explained that if a lot is recorded without required water the county record could be flagged as not buildable until the water dedication is resolved.
Applicants’ concerns: the owners said they do not want to dedicate a water share now and never use it; they worry dedicating water reduces the pool of irrigable water for other users and could complicate resale. Staff noted in prior developments the absence of irrigation led to use of culinary water for landscaping, which carries higher cost.
Next steps: planning staff said they will consult the city attorney (Nick) and follow up with the applicants. Staff told the applicants the subdivision must be recorded to create tax ID numbers and that the city cannot override its ordinance without a council action or variance; recording a split without city authorization would likely result in a red‑flagged lot. The commission directed staff to research the specific ordinance language and report back to the applicants.
