Midway to pursue ordinance requiring 'will-serve' letters from sewer district; council to seek HVSSD input, legal review

The Midway City Council on June 3 instructed staff to place an ordinance on the June 17 agenda that would require applicants to provide a written will-serve verification from the Heber Valley Special Service District (HVSSD) as a condition of land-use approvals, and to seek input from HVSSD and a legal review by the city attorney before final action.

Council members raised concerns that HVSSD can process sewage but currently lacks downstream capacity to discharge effluent in some scenarios; HVSSD is conducting a study to map entitled demand against disposal capacity. Councilmember Jeff framed the proposed ordinance as a simple protective step: "we're essentially saying, we approve this as long as you can get verification that the sewer will accept your waste," protecting Midway and the planning commission from later legal exposure if HVSSD later denies service.

Discussion covered several technical and legal points: staff and council distinguished between already-entitled (vested) lots and new entitlements; several members said the city could not retroactively deny approvals for recorded lots but could require verification for new entitlements or modifications that increase density or system demand. City staff said the HVSSD study is expected within a year, while capital improvements could span longer timeframes. Councilmembers debated whether the requirement should be adopted only by Midway or universally across the valley; some urged the county and other jurisdictions to adopt consistent requirements.

Council asked city attorney Corbin to analyze possible legal ramifications — including whether requiring a will-serve letter could expose the city to litigation — and asked staff to present the ordinance in ordinance form for possible action on June 17. Councilmembers also said they would ask HVSSD to consider adopting the same requirement across its service area to avoid uneven treatment of projects in neighboring jurisdictions.

Next steps: staff will send the draft ordinance to HVSSD, ask HVSSD for a formal stance within two months, have Corbin review legal risk and language, and place the ordinance on the June 17 council agenda for possible action. If HVSSD provides a will-serve letter and then later withdraws it, council members said any legal dispute should be between the applicant and HVSSD rather than the city.