Fairfield council delays final industrial-park deal, adopts updated water rules

The Fairfield Town Council voted Wednesday to adopt an updated town water ordinance and to delay final approval of the Fairfield Industrial Park development agreement so attorneys could finish drafting changes the council discussed.

The council approved ordinance 2025-15, revising water regulations and setting a baseline volume of 0.9 acre-feet of culinary water per lot for commercial and light-industrial parcels in the town’s new industrial park. The measure passed on a voice vote recorded as: RL — yes; Tyler — yes; Michael — yes; Richard — yes; Holly — yes.

The ordinance change follows a lengthy presentation by developer representatives and planning staff on water banking, phased delivery, monitoring and other protections the town would require before lots are sold or building permits issued. Planning staff described three tools built into the development plan and the draft agreement: a water bank that the developer would seed with an initial quantity, phased water delivery tied to buildout, and a post-construction usage study so the town can adjust requirements for later phases.

Wayne Taylor, who presented planning updates to the council, said the design of the development agreement and ordinance allows a phased approach: "we moved the ordinance forward in that manner." Developer representatives told the council they expected an initial deposit of water rights for the project and proposed guardrails so the developer can adjust inventories as lots sell. One development speaker told council, "we're not gonna have 47 buildings all of a sudden go up overnight," describing a phased lot-sale plan and on-site well/well-house arrangements.

Speakers at the meeting pressed several operational details. Council members and staff discussed a 10-acre-foot “water bank” concept, a trigger to replenish that bank if it dropped to 5 acre-feet, and the town engineer or a mutually agreed consultant to validate metering and use. Staff said transfers of additional water rights from the state can take months; Planning staff reported the state sometimes estimates up to eight months for a rights transfer. The developer reported it had demonstrated 45 acre-feet of water as part of the project’s preliminary plat.

Council members also considered how to handle special uses in the industrial park. The developer asked for a permanent allowance for a lightweight crane use and proposed a 50-foot height limit for permanent cranes; council members asked for more specific language limiting the number of permanent cranes and clarifying when temporary construction cranes would not count as a permanent use. Town legal counsel and staff agreed to draft specific special-use standards and include them in the development agreement or the association’s CC&Rs, with the council to review final wording.

After extended discussion the council agreed to let town and developer attorneys finalize draft language on water easements, crane rules, setbacks and final plat requirements and to return an edited agreement to the council next week for final action. The council’s motion to adopt the water ordinance explicitly left a mechanism for later adjustment: the ordinance allows the town council, by resolution and with engineering evidence, to revise the volumes if monitoring and regional studies warrant it.

The council’s staff and the developer also discussed fire-protection requirements, meter sizing for high-demand uses, pump-house footprints and road-setback/easement tradeoffs. Staff said building permit-level reviews will require site-specific engineering that may trigger additional water requirements for any user whose predicted use exceeds the developer-supplied allotment. Council members repeatedly emphasized the town needs measurable usage data after the first phase so later phases can be adjusted.

The council did not adopt the development agreement on Wednesday. Instead members directed legal counsel to finalize the edits agreed in the meeting and bring a redlined draft back for a final vote at the next council meeting.

Ending: Council direction left a clear sequence: (1) attorneys will revise the development agreement to incorporate the water-banking, special-use and setback language discussed; (2) staff will continue to refine the water-easement and metering language to make sure building permits cannot be issued without required water in place; and (3) council will reconsider the final agreement and recorded plat at its next meeting.