Orange County delegation delays vote on Sunbridge Stewardship District bill after utility, annexation concerns

The Orange County legislative delegation on Jan. 9 postponed a final vote on a proposed local bill to expand the Sunbridge Stewardship District into the Orange County portion of the project, citing outstanding questions about utility agreements and neighborhood impacts.

Richard Levy, volunteer chair of the Sunbridge Stewardship District, told the delegation the district was approved by Orange County in 2017 and that the local bill would simply expand the district’s governance to cover parcels already entitled for development in Orange County. Levy said the stewardship district finances infrastructure through assessments on property owners, supports applied environmental research with local universities and funds education programs and a full‑time naturalist. “This is about establishing a local government‑like structure for Sunbridge,” Levy said, adding the district’s mission includes conservation and water‑use research.

The district chair repeatedly said the proposal is not a mechanism for any broader annexation or land‑use change. “This bill has nothing to do with that expansion or that proposed larger annexation,” Levy said, and he pointed to a recent Orange County charter amendment as resolving the county’s annexation process.

Orange County Utilities officials told the delegation they had technical and contractual concerns that need clarifying language before the delegation advances the bill. Kerry Kates, deputy director, said utilities staff found “a few concerns” related to existing territorial agreements and to infrastructure that Orange County has already designed or is constructing in the proposed district area. Kates asked the delegation for an opportunity to work on bill language to ensure revenues and operating responsibilities are preserved. “We would ask that we have a commitment from the delegation to allow us to revisit the draft language and make those necessary changes so that we have that needed assurance to move forward,” Kates said.

Laura Tatro, assistant manager in Orange County Utilities’ engineering division, explained how utilities are typically handled: developers construct water, sewer and reclaimed systems at their cost and then turn them over to Orange County for operation and maintenance. Tatro said a portion of the proposed district already has an approved master utility plan that the county expects to accept; another portion has not yet submitted a master utility plan and would need an amendment. “This process won’t change that,” she said, and warned that additional review is required for the area south of the 2017 approvals.

Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith and other members pressed Levy about the properties involved, including whether land associated with Deseret Ranch or Tavistock was implicated. Levy said the properties in question were part of the ranch holdings and that the developer, as previously approved, would be the entity developing the property; he reiterated the charter amendment limits annexation and said the district expansion would not change those limits.

Delegation members debated two competing procedural proposals. Representative Bruce Anton moved to advance the bill with a condition that Sunbridge representatives and Orange County Utilities reach an agreement and return to the delegation in Tallahassee during session. Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith offered an amendment to postpone any delegation vote and schedule a time‑certain meeting before the committee‑week deadlines so commissioners and county staff could be briefed. After extended procedural discussion and several attempts to amend and clarify timing, the delegation voted 6–4 to delay taking a final vote and to reconvene with a time certain that meets the statutory public‑notice deadlines.

A staff member from the applicant’s team confirmed the timeline constraint: local bill filings require a 30‑day public notice period ahead of session deadlines, and delegation members asked to schedule a follow‑up meeting in Tallahassee during an upcoming committee week so county officials, utilities and the applicant can resolve outstanding language issues.

Next steps: Sunbridge representatives and Orange County Utilities agreed to continue negotiating clarifying draft language requested by the county; the delegation will hold a special meeting before the statutory deadline to consider the bill again.

Ending

The delegation’s action preserved the bill for further amendment and input rather than rejecting it outright. Delegation members directed staff and the parties to meet and return with agreed language that addresses county utility territorial agreements and clarifies how constructed infrastructure will be transferred and funded.