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Council tables deannexation ordinance after engineer and property owner raise utility concerns
Summary
After hearing technical concerns from an engineer and remarks from the property owner about past representations, the Powell City Council voted to table Ordinance 19-20-25 so staff and council can review development-review minutes and utility options.
The Powell City Council voted to table Ordinance 19-20-25 after a lengthy discussion about sewer access, precedent and costs tied to extending utilities to the property under consideration.
The matter returned to the council’s agenda after a motion to remove the ordinance from the table. Scott Lewis of Granite Engineering and Surveying, speaking for the owner, described the site’s subdivision history and warned that getting sewer service to all lots could require a commercial lift station he estimated at roughly $350,000–$400,000. “If you start looking at a commercial type of lift station, it could be on the order of … between $350,000 and $400,000,” Lewis said, describing the expense as a potential barrier to development.
Lewis also said the owner has already paid about $4,000 in fees tied to replatting and deannexation efforts and urged the council to review prior development-review minutes to understand earlier conversations with the property owner. “When you start talking to the city… I would ask the question point blank, does the city want a lift station?” he said.
A council member moved to approve the ordinance on second reading, but the motion failed for lack of a second. After further discussion—during which councilors asked staff to pull development-review minutes and review precedent—a motion and second were made to table the ordinance for additional review. The motion to table carried.
Council members cited concerns about setting precedent for requiring or waiving infrastructure for edge-of-town properties and said they wanted to examine prior records, engineering options and potential conditions before taking a final vote. The mayor urged additional review so the meeting would not “bury his $2,000” without adequate context, referring to the fees the owner already paid.
Next steps: the ordinance remains tabled so staff can assemble the DRC (development-review committee) minutes, engineering documentation and utility options for council review at a future meeting.
