Council reviews 7-acre-foot fee-in-lieu request from Grow Development LLC for east-of-fire-station project

Tooele City staff presented a fee-in-lieu request for 7 acre-feet of water from Grow Development LLC for a development site near 249 East 1000 North during the Aug. 20 work meeting, Economic Development Director John Perez said.

Perez said the applicant projects about 130 full-time jobs when fully built, with an average annual wage of $55,000 and an estimated $30,000,000 in capital investment. Perez described the site as the development just east of the fire station, north of the existing assisted-living facility, and included a company background exhibit that noted Grow Development has operated in Utah for roughly 40 years.

Council members discussed adding a construction milestone to any approval. Perez said staff could include a time limit and one councilmember suggested a one-year milestone in this case to “see some progress on that road.” There was also discussion about the water demand appearing large for warehouse-style flex space, but staff confirmed the 7 acre-feet figure reflected the fully built development and included landscaping assumptions.

No formal vote was taken on Resolution 2025-573 during the work meeting. Staff indicated they would include standard milestone language at council direction and that applicants may return to request extensions.

Why it matters: 7 acre-feet is a materially larger request than some single-site allocations in the packet; the council's treatment of time-limited conditions would affect how and when the city's water capacity is committed to multi-phase commercial development.

Next steps: staff may revise the draft resolution to include a council-directed expiry or milestone and bring the item back for formal consideration.