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Duchesne planning commission reopens debate on subdivision changes after lengthy water-policy hearing; recesses to March 5
Summary
Commissioners held a lengthy public hearing on proposed subdivision-ordinance amendments that would reduce minor subdivisions from 10 to 4 lots, clarify sanitary authority (Tri County Health), and restrict hauled water and require groundwater studies for new parcels; after extensive technical and public comment the commission voted to recess the hearing to March 5 to allow staff to revise draft language.
The Duchesne County Planning Commission recessed a lengthy public hearing on proposed amendments to the county subdivision ordinance after hours of testimony from county staff, the state’s division of water rights, geologists, water purveyors, developers and residents.
Staff introduced ordinance 25-418 as a response to concerns raised by the county commissioners and a September 2024 moratorium. The draft would apply only to new lots (not existing parcels) and would reduce the minor-subdivision lot limit from 10 lots to 4. Staff said the proposed changes are intended to ensure future lots have adequate culinary water, legal access on class B roads or state highways, and appropriate wastewater approvals; it also clarifies that Tri County Health is the sanitary authority for on-site wastewater permitting.
Two provisions drew particular public attention: a proposed rule that new parcels served by hauled water (cisterns) be at least 40 acres, and a requirement that developers fund a professional geologist’s groundwater feasibility study for a proposed subdivision. Technical witnesses, including the regional engineer for the Utah Division of Water Rights and multiple consulting geologists, told the commission that countywide groundwater data are limited and that defensible regional or aquifer-scale studies can be costly and complex. The state engineer’s representative recommended pursuing a larger regional study paid for or coordinated by the county or state rather than requiring site-specific studies that could impose large costs on individual developers.
Public comment split along familiar lines. Water purveyors and some residents urged caution and better planning for countywide water supplies; well drillers and water-haulers described technical variations in well yields, water quality problems in some areas, and the cost of drilling. Several developers and landowners warned that stricter study requirements and smaller minor-subdivision thresholds would raise development costs and could hinder new housing supply, and some raised property-rights and enforcement concerns. Multiple commenters also urged better enforcement of existing ordinances.
In response to public input, staff recommended removing or revising the 40-acre hauling restriction and rewording the groundwater-study requirement so the county relies on Tri County Health’s culinary-water feasibility standard (the current practice of one test well per minor subdivision) while seeking funding for larger regional groundwater studies through the Utah Geological Survey or other state/legislative sources. The commission voted to recess the public hearing and reconvene March 5 to consider a revised draft that incorporates these concerns and clarifications.
Next steps: staff will revise the draft ordinance to address the groundwater-study scope and the hauling restriction; commissioners will reopen the hearing on March 5 and may forward a recommendation to the county commissioners. If the planning commission fails to act in a timely fashion, county commissioners retain authority to proceed.
