Hyde Park City Zoning Code

Purpose - The intent of this section is to ensure that adequate culinary and irrigation water accompany all property proposed for development. In requiring that developments are accompanied by water shares or water rights in accordance with the provisions of this section, the City can thereby maintain the present quality, quantity, and level of service to both existing users and new users added to the system through new developments.

Contribution - Each owner/developer of real property located within the City’s boundaries are required to dedicate water shares or water rights in accordance with the terms of this Section. The dedication of water shares or water rights herein must occur prior to any final approval being granted and will serve as a prerequisite for the granting of any final approval or recordation of the final plat of any subdivision. Upon dedication of the water shares or water rights, the owner/developer will have no further interest of any kind or nature in said water shares or water rights. 

City use – Water dedicated will be held in trust by the City for future culinary and/or secondary use. The City may use the water for culinary and/or secondary purposes in any area of the City in which it deems appropriate, so long as culinary and/or secondary water from other sources is made available to the developed land.

City Right of First Refusal –

1. Scope. This Right of First Refusal applies only to water shares or water rights that a owner/developer acquired in connection with satisfying, or preparing to satisfy, the dedication requirement of this Section for a specific development, and that are determined to be in excess of the amount actually required for dedication for that development ("Excess Rights"). This Right of First Refusal does not apply to water shares or water rights owned by the owner/developer that were acquired independently of, and are unrelated to, the dedication requirement for that development.
2. Recordation. As a condition of final approval of any development for which Excess Rights are identified, the owner/developer must execute a Right of First Refusal Agreement, in a form approved by the City Attorney, identifying the specific Excess Rights subject to this subsection. The City must record a memorandum of such agreement against the specific water right or water share certificate, as applicable, so that the Right of First Refusal is enforceable against successors and assigns. A Right of First Refusal under this Section that is not documented and recorded in accordance with this subsection is not enforceable against a subsequent bona fide purchaser of the Excess Rights.
3. Notice and Exercise. The owner/developer must promptly notify the City in writing of any intent to sell Excess Rights on the open market. The City will have ninety (90) days from receipt of the owner/developer's written notice to exercise its Right of First Refusal by written notice to the owner/developer.
4. Effect of Non-Response. If the City fails to exercise or respond in writing within ninety (90) days of receipt of the owner/developer's notice, the City's Right of First Refusal shall be deemed waived as to the sale identified in that notice only. Non-exercise as to one proposed sale does not waive the City's Right of First Refusal as to any future proposed sale of other Excess Rights, or a future re-listing of the same Excess Rights following a material change in terms.
5. Valuation. The purchase price will be the fair market value of the Excess Rights, determined by the City and owner/developer working in good faith, considering comparable sales of similar water rights originating from similar locations, comparable open-market listings, bona fide written offers from arm's-length purchasers, appraisals, and other relevant and credible information.
6. Valuation Dispute Resolution. If the City and owner/developer are unable to agree on fair market value within thirty (30) days after the City provides notice of its intent to exercise the Right of First Refusal, each party will, within fifteen (15) days, select a Utah-licensed appraiser with demonstrated experience in water rights valuation. If the two appraisals differ by more than ten percent (10%) of the higher value, the two appraisers must jointly select a third appraiser, whose valuation will be binding on both parties. Each party will bear the cost of its own appraiser, and the cost of the third appraiser, if any, will be shared equally.
7. Agreement to Purchase. If the City exercises its Right of First Refusal, the City and owner/developer must enter into a separate written agreement to effectuate the sale from the owner/developer to the City.

Required Dedication - Water dedication requirements will be determined based upon an evaluation of the proposed development’s anticipated culinary and irrigation water demand. The City Engineer will evaluate each project to determine the water dedication requirements, taking into account the type, size, density, and use of the development. The required dedication will not be based solely on the maximum amount of water permitted for beneficial use under state law or on a generic per-acre standard untethered to the development's actual anticipated demand. Non-residential projects must calculate their water needs in terms of Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs) and based on the table in HPMC 12.150.020.

Options - The water requirement must be satisfied through the application of one, or a combination of the following options:

1. Dedicate Culinary Water. Culinary quality water, per State Testing, would qualify for conversion to municipal use with a point of diversion residing in an existing city diversion point or that may be transferable to an existing city diversion point. The applicant must apply to the Utah Division of Water Rights to transfer any water rights to the City as well as apply for any change applications to convert the Water rights to the use and location as directed by the City. Such culinary water rights will be dedicated at a rate of 1:1.
2. Dedicate Secondary Water. Secondary or irrigation quality water from a canal or irrigation company operating within the corporate limits of Hyde Park City may be dedicated instead of culinary water at a rate of 2:1. Secondary water shares that are dedicated to the subdivision property as required by the ordinance must remain with the property. High water or partial season water shares will not be accepted.
3. Split Option to remove outdoor water dedication requirement. This option may be used in conjunction with the options above by constructing a secondary distribution system within the development or a portion of the development using these guidelines:
4. Install a distribution system providing for secondary water to be used for watering on each building lot created. The owner/developer must create a water entity (HOA or Distribution Co-op) whose ownership and management will be turned over to the subdivision’s residents at the earliest possible point in the development timeline, unless title to the required water share(s) can be transferred directly to each lot owner entitled to and responsible for the same. The entity must
5. provide management of the business requirements related to the water share(s) (pay bills, make assessments, etc.)
6. hold title to the water shares owned and used by the entity for the benefit of the lot owners and other subdivision property, and
7. maintain the delivery system.
8. The owner/developer must work with irrigation, drainage or ditch companies to determine:
9. Methods of covering, realigning or eliminating ditches or canals within or adjoining the subdivision.
10. Methods of distributing available secondary water to each lot and irrigated open space in the subdivision.
11. The size of pipe and culverts required.
12. The responsibility for the periodic inspection, cleaning and maintenance of such ditches, pipes and culverts. In cases where canals or ditches cross public roads or proposed public roads, specifications and grades for pipe or culvert must be approved by the Public Works Director and City Engineer.

Fee in Lieu of Dedication - The City Council may grant a fee in lieu of dedication, or waive the water dedication requirement in whole or in part, based on written findings addressing each of the following criteria as applied to the specific application. Any decision to grant or deny relief under this subsection must be documented in the record and applied consistently among similarly situated owner/developers:

1. The literal enforcement of this Section would cause an unreasonable hardship for the owner/developer.
2. There are certain circumstances, which are not in control nor curable by the owner/developer, which has created an absence of water shares or water rights, or sufficient amounts to comply with the dedication requirements under this Section.
3. The payment of the fee in lieu of dedication is preferable to the City.

Fee in Lieu of Dedication Funds - Funds received as fees in lieu of dedication must be accounted for separately, and such funds will be earmarked solely for future water-related expenses.

Lease Back – The City Council may, upon a finding in the best interest of the City, lease back any water dedicated under this Section to the owner/developer, the person transferring the water shares or water rights, or subsequent owner of the developed property. The Parties must enter into a lease agreement whereby the City is compensated at the prevailing market rate for the lease, and no single lease term will exceed twelve (12) months. Any lease entered into by the City will reserve the right for the City to terminate the lease at any time, without cause, upon thirty (30) days' prior notice. A lease under this subsection may be renewed, provided that (i) the City Council must make a new written finding, at each renewal, that the lease remains in the best interest of the City and does not impair the City's ability to serve existing or anticipated users, and (ii) no lease, including all renewals, will remain in effect for more than thirty-six (36) months in the aggregate absent a specific Council finding of extraordinary circumstances warranting a longer term. All lease payments received by the City in conjunction with this Section must be accounted for separately, and such funds will be earmarked solely for future water-related expenses. Any lease agreement entered into by the City will be expressly deemed a lease and will in no way be construed as the sale of any water shares or water rights. The City must at all times retain all rights and title to any water shares or water rights leased pursuant to this Section.

HISTORY

Amended by Ord. 2021-04 on 2/24/2021

Amended by Ord. 2026-14 on 8/12/2026

Required water dedication will be calculated using the table below.

*Based on the Utah Department of Environmental Quality R309-510, Table 510-3 Source Demand for Irrigation, Average Yearly Demand for zone 4 (Table 510.3).

1. ERU-Based Dedication - The owner/developer engineer will evaluate each building to determine its Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs). The calculation must be submitted with the Preliminary Plan or Plat documents showing how many ERUs are needed to meet the development demand. The Land Use Authority, as advised by the city engineer, will make the final determination of the required water dedication prior to final approval. The minimum required dedication for all projects is 1 ERU per unit.
2. Acre-Based Dedication for Common Areas - The owner/developer engineer must show on the preliminary and final plan set the overall acreage of the landscape area for the project. This should include any common open space, decorative landscaping, landscaped retention ponds, and any areas utilizing culinary water for outdoor irrigation. The total area will be multiplied by the required dedication to determine how many acre-feet of water are needed for outdoor irrigation.
3. Development Not In A Subdivision - The building of a home not in a platted subdivision must contribute the equivalent shares or rights for the acreage of the proposed building lot (see previous section). If the proposed development anticipates property in excess of the residential use and that land meets the requirements for future developable land, the city will only require those shares associated with the residential development consistent with the lot size of the zone in which the building is located.
4. Development outside canal service areas - The owner/developer is required to contact secondary water providers to determine if their project is serviceable by secondary irrigation water. All development outside of a canal service area will not be required to install a secondary irrigation system. Any such development must dedicate sufficient water to provide outdoor watering with city water.
5. Fee in lieu - Hyde Park City will accept a fee in lieu of water rights dedication. The fees will be assessed based on the adopted fee schedule. Any fees collected will be placed in a fund dedicated to purchasing water rights.
6. Required Dedication Reduction - Any project that dedicates real water rights/shares to the city equal to 60% of the required amount will receive a 40% reduction of the overall water dedication requirement. 

HISTORY

Amended by Ord. 2022-21 on 8/10/2022

Amended by Ord 2025-07 on 2/26/2025