Council issues notice of pending ordinance to clarify town water rules, seeks engineer and timeline

The Fairfield Town Council voted April 2 to issue a notice of pending ordinance to revise town rules governing water supply, water rights and water development (Resolution R2025'05). Council and staff said the town code lacks clear procedures for transferring water shares, specifying where water must be delivered and accounting for adequacy when developments request building permits.

Town staff told the council that adopting clearer water regulations is urgent because existing code language does not state where water rights should be transferred, how much is required for developments, or how the town should verify that shares are sufficient. "Our water is a mess," a staff member said, summarizing staff'level findings after reviewing records.

Nut graf: The resolution initiates a targeted ordinance revision and sets a process intended to produce defensible, enforceable water-transfer rules so that future approvals do not leave the town short of water. The council asked that any consultant or engineer working on the code understand municipal water law and, where appropriate, aviation-related overlay questions when they overlap with water and development proposals.

Council discussed practical concerns: FastCast election logistics (a separate agenda discussion) and the town's limited staff capacity to run extended election polling were mentioned in the meeting earlier, prompting councillors to note the town's limited resources for multi-day tasks. For water, staff recommended using qualified engineering firms and legal counsel familiar with water rights; town counsel and outside consultants were discussed as options.

The resolution includes a timeline element similar to the airpark notice: planning commission review is expected in a shortened window (the council discussed 45 days as a target for a focused review), though state code permits the process to extend. The council voted to adopt the notice of pending ordinance; recorded votes included Raul, Tyler, Michael, Richard and Mayor Holly McKinney in favor.

Ending: Staff will pursue engineering and legal review and return proposed ordinance text to the planning commission and council. Council members said they want the final code to clearly state transfer points, required amounts of water for development and procedures to protect the town's water supply.