A proposed Tooele City annexation is on its way to the city council for final approval after receiving a positive recommendation from the Tooele City Planning Commission on Wednesday night.
The city planning commission granted the Green Meadows annexation proposal a unanimously positive recommendation based exclusively on the area’s intended land use — a residential neighborhood with large lots and a small conservation area on the development’s east side.
But while they agreed that the land use was appropriate and welcome within Tooele City, members of the planning commission raised concerns about the amount of water rights available to the proposed development.
The most recent proposal, which was brought to Tooele City by local developer Matthew Arbshay, calls for roughly 36 acres on the east side of Tooele above Skyline Drive to be annexed and subdivided into 32 half-acre lots.
As currently constituted, the proposal grants each half-acre lot enough water to irrigate an estimated 6,000 square feet. Tooele City Engineer Paul Hansen said that after taking 4,000 square feet of unirrigated land — the house itself, outdoor sheds, patios, etc. — into account, the proposal would leave 11,800 square feet of unwatered land on each lot.
Tooele City Planner Rachelle Custer directed the city planning commission to set concerns about water rights aside and consider the annexation exclusively from the perspective of land use.
Their current responsibilities, she said, did not include considering whether there would be enough water for future development on the annexed land, because the Tooele City Council was responsible for considering such issues.
Tooele City Attorney Roger Baker added that once Green Meadows’ developers returned with an actual subdivision proposal, that proposal would be subject to another, more thorough review before the planning commission, including a public hearing.
The currently proposed development was not an official proposal, he said, and so the amount of necessary water rights could be subject to change.
Baker assured the planning commission that the city intended to do due diligence during the annexation proposal and that the council would be fully satisfied that the city could provide services to the property before approving the annexation.
He pointed out that the city had requested that Green Meadows’ developers undergo a full feasibility study. The study was a lengthy, expensive process for so small an annexation, Baker said, but the city wanted to set a precedent for future annexation proposals.
“That way it will never be a land grab,” he said. “It will be, ‘what can we responsibly take care of?’”