Midway advisory board backs Bergey Lane meetinghouse, contingent on water-use verification

The Midway Water Advisory Board voted to forward a favorable recommendation to city council for a proposed meetinghouse and single-lot subdivision on Bergey Lane, provided final water-use verification shows the site requires no more than 6 acre-feet of water.

The project, identified as the Midway West/Bergey Lane church subdivision on a roughly 4.46-acre parcel, will connect to the town’s culinary water line and to Midway Irrigation Company’s secondary line along the property frontage. Michael, who presented the proposal and the water calculations to the board, said the site’s irrigated area totals about 1.36 acres and the park strip adds 0.22 acres. "Those two combined come out to 4.74 acre-feet," he told the board, and he added an indoor culinary estimate of 0.5 acre-feet based on fixture counts, yielding a combined estimate of 5.24 acre-feet.

Midway Irrigation Company shares are worth 3 acre-feet each, Michael said, and "we're looking at really two shares being dedicated for this" project. Board members noted there is some margin between the estimated need and the 6-acre-foot contingency the board established; they asked staff to cross-check the estimate against meter data from other local meetinghouses before the item goes to council.

Church architect Mike, on Zoom, described the landscaping and parking plan and defended the design choices. "We want to provide adequate parking" to avoid overflow onto neighborhood streets, he said, reporting the design includes about "297 parking stalls." He said the church plans trees around the parking perimeter and drip irrigation for plantings, but prefers to limit interior landscaped islands because they complicate winter plowing and maintenance.

Board members and staff discussed opportunities to coordinate secondary-water construction with nearby development along Pine Canyon Road so the irrigation company could extend service to adjacent homes. Michael said coordination with the developer and the contractor installing road infrastructure could allow simultaneous construction of irrigation lines to serve the church and neighboring properties.

The board approved a motion to forward the subdivision to city council "given that when you guys do that homework it falls within 6 acre-feet." The motion was seconded and passed with no recorded opposition. The presenter said the applicant also has a code text amendment regarding steeple height scheduled for council on March 18; recording the final plat and issuing a building permit will follow.

The board asked staff (Jennifer was referenced) to obtain and compare local metered use at similar meetinghouses to confirm the estimate. If the verified figures push the project above the 6 acre-foot threshold, board members said they would amend the recommendation before council review.

The meeting ended after a brief call for new or old business and a unanimous adjournment vote.