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Council debates subdivision water requirements, tentatively sets $12,500 fee‑in‑lieu option pending study
Summary
Council discussed new subdivision ordinance language requiring culinary water or water rights for subdivisions, debated a $2,500 per‑lot load share and a proposed $12,500 fee‑in‑lieu option for water rights, and agreed to await RCAC impact‑study results before finalizing commercial/industrial breakout and exact amounts.
Councilors spent an extended portion of the June 17 meeting on proposed changes to the subdivision ordinance and an accompanying annexation policy plan meant to clarify when the city will accept annexations and what utilities are required.
Chair introduced the item as guidance to accompany ordinances. City Manager Jason Brown explained state water‑exaction rules require a five‑year rolling average for water use and said implementing that standard will create additional staff workload. The ordinance language discussed would classify subdivisions of four parcels or fewer as "minor" and five or more as "major," and include a requirement that subdivided lots have culinary water or demonstrate a plan to purchase or provide water rights.
Councilors debated two approaches: require developers to bring water rights with annexations or allow a fee‑in‑lieu so the city could buy bulk water. Brown and staff warned that a fee‑in‑lieu set too low could distort the market, while setting it too high could overburden small local developers or individual landowners. Council discussed a $2,500 current load‑share figure per lot and several round numbers around $12,500 as a possible interim fee; council members agreed to adopt $12,500 as a working figure for now while RCAC completes an impact study to recommend more defensible values.
Council members also raised landscaping policy questions (xeriscaping incentives versus mandatory landscaping rules), the effect of different ditch companies on water‑share prices, and options to protect small local builders from unintended consequences. The council left several commercial and industrial fee details as "to be determined" pending RCAC’s recommendations and directed staff to bring back suggested language that avoids being "arbitrary and capricious." No final ordinance was adopted at the meeting; the discussion is designated for further review and will be revisited when RCAC returns its study.
