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Council delays irrigation ordinance adoption; plans public hearing and to add connection fee to fee schedule
Summary
Bicknell councilors postponed adoption of a revised irrigation ordinance on April 3 after staff noted the draft lacked a connection fee that appeared in the prior ordinance. Councilors agreed to place a connection/impact fee on the town fee schedule and to hold a public hearing on the ordinance on April 21, with a separate CDBG public hearing set
The Bicknell Town Council on April 3 postponed a final vote on a revised irrigation ordinance after staff pointed out the draft no longer included a connection fee that appeared in the older ordinance. Councilors said the fee belongs on the town’s fee schedule rather than embedded in the ordinance language.
Planning and zoning reported they are continuing work on multiple land‑use items; the planning chair said the extended‑stay and home‑occupation ordinances are next in the queue. For irrigation specifically, staff and planning raised three points: (1) the prior ordinance reference to a connection fee was missing in the new draft, (2) connection fees for irrigation infrastructure are rare because new irrigation hookups happen infrequently, and (3) any impact fee must be tied to new infrastructure needs rather than routine maintenance.
Council direction and schedule: councilors agreed not to adopt the irrigation ordinance at the meeting and to publish a public‑notice flyer. They set a public hearing on the irrigation ordinance for April 21 and a second public hearing on the town’s CDBG application for May 1. Staff said they will place an irrigation connection fee on the fee schedule and clearly reference that fee in ordinance notices so residents are informed of potential new charges for new hookups.
Why it matters: An irrigation connection fee affects developers and property owners who seek to add new irrigation service; placing the fee on a fee schedule allows easier updates without redoing ordinance text. Councilors also noted administrative complexity surrounding water shares, leased shares and how existing properties remain connected without owning a share.
Next steps: staff will add a proposed connection fee to the town fee schedule, circulate the draft ordinance in Google Docs for edits and publish the public hearing notices. Councilors deferred final action until the public hearing cycle is complete.
