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Preston requires additional culinary water rights for new subdivisions effective immediately
Summary
The council voted unanimously to require new subdivision and planned-unit-development proposals to include additional culinary water rights or shares under Preston Municipal Code 16.10.010, effective immediately after a memorandum read by Mayor Dan Keller.
Mayor Dan Keller told the council he had instructed planning staff to require additional culinary water rights for all new subdivision proposals, and the council voted unanimously to support that directive.
Director of City Planning and Land Use Shawn Oliverson told the council that Preston is approaching maximum capacity for culinary water and recommended requiring new developments to bring additional water shares or rights. The council recorded its support for applying Preston Municipal Code 16.10.010 as a condition of final approval for subdivision and PUD proposals going forward.
The change takes effect immediately; Mayor Keller said the memorandum formalizes the city's direction to planning staff to notify applicants that new proposals will be subject to the requirement. The council did not set an implementing ordinance at the meeting and did not specify an exception process for developments already in the pipeline.
Why it matters: the requirement could affect planned projects by increasing upfront costs or delaying approvals for developments that cannot demonstrate sufficient water rights. Planning staff and applicants should expect the new requirement to be enforced at the final-approval stage.
What happened next: the council's action was taken by motion and received unanimous approval, and staff were directed to apply the memorandum to new subdivision proposals effective immediately. No additional deadlines or appeal procedures were provided in the minutes.
