The Tooele City Council is reviewing a draft ordinance amendment that could make development cheaper for landowners who wish to replace old structures with new buildings.
The amendment the council is considering is for a provision of city code regarding water rights conveyance. The current code requires landowners to provide the city with enough water rights to service a proposed development when a landowner requests annexation, a subdivision, a rezone or a building permit.
The amended ordinance, as currently drafted, would not change that requirement, nor would it change the amount of water rights required for a given plot of land. Rather, the amendment, which Tooele City Attorney Roger Baker said has been in the works for two years, is intended to fill in some gray areas not addressed in the original ordinance.
The amendment clarifies what is expected of the city and of landowners in certain situations. For example, if a landowner wants to demolish an old structure to replace it with a new building of similar size and use, the draft ordinance would allow that development to occur without the transfer of water rights.
That rule applies whether the landowner plans to demolish a standing structure, or whether the landowner plans to replace a structure that was demolished a century ago, Baker said.
Additional provisions in the draft include rules that will allow the city to adjust the amount of water rights required for structures that incorporate water-wise plumbing or landscaping. It will also allow the city to include water rights charges in subsequent water bills if the landowner does not follow through with those promises, or if the efficiency features are removed at a later date.
Landowners may fulfill the water rights requirement either through a process called conveyance, in which the landowner deeds the required rights directly to the city, or by payment-in-lieu-of-conveyance, which allows the landowner to pay the city a sum of money in exchange for water rights.
Payment-in-lieu-of-conveyance is only available when the city has excess water rights to sell, and the city council is responsible for setting the rate at which those water rights may be sold. That rate is currently set at $15,000 per acre foot.
The end goal for the water rights ordinance, Baker said, is to ensure the city has the legal authority to pump enough water out of the ground to provide for the city’s needs.
“If we don’t make new development bring water rights,” he said, “then we won’t have the water rights they need.”