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Mona officials, developer weigh converting irrigation rights to supply East Hill Meadow subdivision
Summary
City staff estimated the five‑lot East Hill Meadow subdivision would need about 10.54 acre‑feet of water and discussed converting irrigation shares to culinary use, a potential short‑term loan of city culinary credits, and the need for a variance, a system capacity study and City Council approval before construction can begin.
Mona City planning officials and an attendee representing the subdivision questioned whether converting irrigation shares to culinary water could meet the proposed East Hill Meadow subdivision's needs and how quickly the approvals could proceed.
Jonathan Jones, described in the meeting as Mona City's water rights expert, presented the city's starting estimate for water demand: about 1 acre‑foot of water duty per lot for outdoor landscaping and roughly 0.45 acre‑feet per home for indoor use. Using those figures for five lots, Jones said the project would need about 8.29 acre‑feet for outdoor landscaping and 2.25 acre‑feet for indoor use, a combined total of approximately 10.54 acre‑feet.
Councilmember Kris Kay asked how much water the developer already holds; attendees reported the developer has 2.75 shares of irrigation water that they plan to convert to culinary use, leaving a shortfall under Jones's estimate. An attendee identified in the record as Richard Hatfield said the conversion option 'appears feasible' but expressed concern about how long the state change application could take and whether transfers to the city could be accelerated while the application is pending.
Secretary Lori Henrie said the city's existing code requires the use of irrigation water for outdoor irrigation, so a variance and City Council approval would be needed if the developer proceeds with converting irrigation shares to culinary use. Henrie also said she had asked Chad Phillips of the Water & Street Department to attend the meeting to advise whether the city's culinary system could support the added demand.
Jones recommended a formal system study to confirm the culinary system's capacity and said upgrades could be required at the developer's expense; he also flagged concerns about maintaining required fire flow levels if the system is reconfigured. Mayor Troy Painter said city staff prefer avoiding an irrigation pond for the subdivision because the existing ditch that would serve a pond is in poor condition, would need to be piped and would raise questions about who would be responsible for pond maintenance.
Hatfield asked whether the developer could borrow the roughly 8.29 acre‑feet needed from culinary credits held by the city while the state change application proceeds. Jones said he believed there were enough city culinary credits and did not object to a temporary loan in principle but requested a formal agreement to document terms. Chair Dennis Gardner said any loan or credit arrangement would require City Council approval, and Alicia Hills said the agreement should be filed with the variance application.
Chair Gardner stated, "home construction cannot begin until the water change application has been approved." The commission took no formal action on the subdivision during the work session. The work session was adjourned at 7:34 p.m.; Commissioner Jack Boyd moved to adjourn, Commissioner Frank Riding seconded, and the roll call recorded Boyd, Cieslak, Riding and Young as voting Aye (Commissioner Wayne Hellyer absent).
