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Staff urges sharing remaining sewer capacity; board to weigh whether to honor full reservations for two large projects
Summary
As Spring Hill faces a sewer moratorium, staff recommended distributing remaining treatment capacity across developers rather than fully honoring reservations for Legacy Point and Spring Hill Commerce Center; the board asked staff to prepare an ordinance and group-2 allocation plan in two weeks.
Spring Hill staff told the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Dec. 1 that the city's remaining wastewater capacity will be fully allocated unless the board chooses whether to honor full reservations held by two large projects. The briefing framed the choice as a policy decision that will determine who can proceed and under what terms once the moratorium is lifted.
Mr. Allen explained staff's capacity math: starting from a 5,000,000 gallons-per-day plant rating and subtracting existing flows, safety reserves and other exemptions, staff set aside roughly 207,000 gpd for projects with true development agreements (Group 1) and proposed distributing about 62,500 gpd across permit-ready vacant lots (Group 2). "If you honor both [Legacy Point and Spring Hill Commerce Center] in full, none of this work matters because there's nothing left for anybody else," Mr. Allen told the board.
Staff recommended placing projects with separate development agreements in Group 1, on legal advice that zoning approvals alone do not create binding contractual promises without a separate development agreement. That approach would give priority to projects that have made binding commitments, such as prepayments, infrastructure advances, or development agreements referenced in entitlements.
Board members and attendees debated fairness, project tenure and protections for smaller builders; some members urged staff to protect small projects and to consider the timing of applicants' build-out needs. Alderman Warner and others expressed support for staff's fairness-focused proposal to spread remaining capacity among more projects rather than allowing two projects to consume all remaining allocation.
Staff said they will publish proposed Group 2 allocations, request 18-month sewer needs from the development community, and prepare an ordinance documenting staff's proposed allocation scheme and alternative-system guidance for the board to act on at the next meeting.
