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8-6-1: - PURPOSE AND DEFINITION:#
The purpose of this chapter is to obtain water rights to support development within the City's growth area, inside and outside of the water provision service area. This purpose shall be achieved through the transfer of water rights to the City as a condition of connection to the City's Municipal water system. The purpose for requiring a transfer of water rights is to enhance the public health, safety, and welfare through a provision designed to enable the City to meet the growth of future culinary water needs within the City. The City uses equivalent residential connections (ERC) for calculation of water demand requirements.
(Ord. 904, 9-18-2018; amd Ord. 927 Oct. 2020)
8-6-2: - GENERAL PROVISIONS:#
Any and all shares or rights to be delivered to the City, as required by this chapter, shall be recognized by the State Water Engineer and acceptable to the City. The City may, at its discretion, accept cash in an amount set by the City Council; the cash amount shall be established upon the then current share price of Davis and Weber Canal water in lieu of conveying tangible water shares or rights. Water shares or rights shall be submitted to the City Administrator or his/her designee. All water shares or rights transferred to and accepted by the City shall be held in the sole ownership of the City upon transfer of the same. The City Administrator or his/her designee shall have the right to vote its water shares in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations governing the same and shall coordinate contacts and actions of the City with the respective canal or irrigation companies in which the shares are owned.
(Ord. 904, 9-18-2018)
8-6-3: - REQUIRED:#
In the City, each acre of irrigable property requires roughly four (4) acre feet of water annually during normal water years as published by Utah State Engineers Office in the Consumptive Use of Irrigated Crops in Utah, Research Report 145, Utah State University, 1994. As such, water required to be conveyed to the City as part of a request for approval of an annexation, subdivision, large scale development, or site plan, is established by the State Engineers Office as sufficient to meet the water use requirements of the proposed use. The City has performed an engineered study to determine ERC consumption in acre feet for residential and commercial development. The City has determined that each ERC is equivalent to .30 acre feet for indoor use depending upon development type. The City shall require all residential development to utilize these ERC's in their calculation of water needs when developing. Outdoor water use for Residential shall be calculated using the following formula: Turf grass: 3.2 ac-ft/irr-ac, Xeriscape: 1.43 ac-ft/irr-ac, Hardscape: no water requirement. High Density residential shall use the calculations in subsection C to calculate the water required for the development Nonresidential development shall use the calculations in subsection D to calculate the water requirement for the development. A.
Applicable to All Development: The City Council does hereby establish the preferred type of water acceptable to the City shall be shares or stock within an irrigation or water company or an approved water right in good standing by the State of Utah Engineers Office and capable of delivering water through the City's water distribution system via Weber Basin Water Conservancy District treatment.
1.
All Residential and Commercial Developments that have an approved site plan or subdivision that was approved by the City Council prior to April 19, 2022, shall be eligible to meet the water requirement via cash in lieu of shares. The share price shall be set as the cost of a Davis Weber Canal shares at that time which is forty-five thousand dollars ($45,000.00). Those requiring less than a full share shall be prorated based on increments of one (1) acre foot. Funds will be held by the City in the Water Fund and restricted for future water purchase.
2.
Redevelopments of residential and commercial properties with an existing water connection shall be eligible for a credit of their current water usage towards meeting the water transfer requirements. The credit will be based on the average yearly use of the prior four years' use.
3.
All Residential and Commercial Developments that are in areas of Riverdale City that have secondary water provided by Weber Basin Secondary Water or Pineview water systems and have a connection to the secondary water system that is sufficient to provide for all of the irrigation needs of the development shall only be required to provide water shares for the culinary water requirements. Should a developer choose to provide a private secondary water system for a development that provides for all of the irrigation needs of the development and the secondary system is approved by the Riverdale City Council, the development shall only be required to provide water shares for the culinary water requirements.
B.
Residential Subdivisions: A developer shall convey to the City water rights that have been customarily used on the property to be developed that are usable by and acceptable to the City to provide 0.30 acre feet per ERC or part thereof within a residential subdivision. The 0.30 acre feet shall meet the requirement for indoor use. Outdoor use shall be calculated with the following formula: Turf grass: 3.2 ac-ft/irr-ac, Xeriscape: 1.43 ac-ft/irr-ac, and Hardscape: no water requirement per ERC. Open space, parks, common areas, other landscaped areas, etc. shall be calculated using the following formula: Turf grass: 3.2 ac-ft/irr-ac, Xeriscape: 1.43 ac-ft/irr-ac, and Hardscape. The developer would also have the option to contract with Riverdale City's water consultant firm to complete a study for the individual site and determine the water requirement In the event there are no owner water shares or rights on property to be developed, the developer shall obtain and convey water shares or rights acceptable and usable by the City as determined by the City Public Works Director.
C.
High Density Residential Subdivisions: A developer shall convey to the City water shares or rights that have been customarily used on the property to be developed that are useable by and acceptable to the city to provide 0.30 acre feet per ERC The developer would also have the option to contract with Riverdale City's water consultant firm, at the developers cost, to complete a study for the individual site and determine the water requirement. An adjustment to the standard rate may be made if the study warrants a different amount. Should the development use more than the conveyed amount of water for two (2) consecutive years the development shall be required to purchase additional water to meet the demand. In the event there are no owner water rights on the property to be developed, the developer shall obtain and convey water rights acceptable and usable by Riverdale City as determined by the Public Works Director. Water rights may be purchased from Weber Basin Water Conservancy District through a development agreement and contract with Riverdale City, provided the district has shares available for purchase. The developer is not required to convey water rights for acreage of asphalt or other non-permeable surfaces.
D.
Nonresidential Subdivisions: A developer shall convey to the City water shares or rights that have been customarily used on the property to be developed that are usable by and acceptable to the City to provide 3.2 acre feet for each irrigable acre or part thereof within a nonresidential subdivision. Developments using Xeriscape as defined by the cities landscape ordinance, drip irrigation and smart clocks shall convey water rights based on the following calculations: Turf grass: 3.2 ac-ft/irr-ac, Xeriscape: 1.43 acft/irr-ac, and Hardscape. Mixed use landscaping shall be calculated on a percentage, based on the quantity of the aforementioned calculations. The developer shall also convey the actual calculated indoor usage plus sixteen percent (16%) to account for system losses. These calculations will be used to determine the developments water requirement. Should the development use more than the conveyed amount of water for two (2) consecutive years the development shall be required to purchase additional water to meet the demand. In the event there are no owner water rights on property to be developed, the developer shall obtain and convey water rights acceptable and usable by Riverdale City as determined by the Public Works Director. The developer is not required to convey water rights for acreage of asphalt or other non-permeable surfaces.
(Ord. 904, 9-18-2018; amd. Ord. 927, 11-4-2020; Ord. 952, 6-6-2022; Ord. 957, 10-18-2022; Ord. 969, 9-5-2023; Ord. 976, 1-2-2024)
8-6-4: - EXCEPTIONS:#
A.
Exceptions for Redevelopment of Property: Notwithstanding subsections 8-6-3B and C of this chapter, if the proposed subdivision is on one or more currently landscaped lots, the Public Works Director will waive conveyance of water rights if the developer establishes by clear and convincing evidence that:
1.
Water rights acceptable and usable by the City were previously conveyed as a condition of a prior subdivision approval which included that property.
B.
Governmental or Quasi-Governmental Entities: Conveyance of water will not be required of governmental or quasi-governmental entities proposing development that will improve the public benefit, welfare, health, or safety.
C.
Conveyances to Cease upon Excess Supply: Every five (5) years, if necessary, the City Public Works Director shall determine whether the City's existing available water interests exceed the water interests needed to meet the amount of water needed in the next forty (40) years by the persons within the City's projected service area based on projected population growth and other water use demand ("reasonable future water requirements"). Should the Director conclude that available water interests exceed the reasonable future water requirements of the public, the Public Works Director shall notify the City Council and the City Council shall act to cease conveyance of water shares according to this section until existing available water interests no longer exceed the reasonable future water requirement.
(Ord. 904, 9-18-2018)
8-6-5: - FORM OF TRANSFER OF WATER RIGHT:#
The transfer of water rights pursuant to this chapter shall be in such forms as may be approved by the City Administrator or his/her designee. The applicant may also be required to execute applications for conveyance. Those forms or documents may include, but are not limited to, change in point of diversion, change in place of use, change in purpose of use, and any other documents or forms. The City will diligently pursue approval of the water right transfer. In order for a water right transfer to be completed, the water right transfer must be changed to a Municipal water right. The applicant must convey the water right to the City by statutory warranty deed or other appropriate conveyance instrument, as determined by the City Administrator or his/her designee, upon completion of the water right transfer; provided, however, that the actual conveyance may be delayed to coincide with the City's approval of the petition for annexation or application for development, or as otherwise set forth in an agreement between the applicant and the City.
(Ord. 904, 9-18-2018)