U.S. Water News Online
SANTA FE-- A developer has sued Santa Fe over an ordinance that requires developers to transfer water rights to the city before obtaining a building permit.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court by Tierra Contenta Corp., seeks to restrict the city from enforcing the ordinance against developments in Tierra Contenta. It is the first court challenge of the ordinance since it passed in July 2005.
The developers also seek unspecified damages for delays caused by the water transfer ordinance, said Tierra Contenta's attorney, Mark Ish.
City Attorney Frank Katz said he read the lawsuit but could not comment.
The lawsuit contends Tierra Contenta is not subject to the ordinance because Santa Fe agreed in the 1990s to supply water for the project when the city annexed the land.
"We're not claiming that we're entitled to an exemption; we're saying that we're not subject to it in the first instance," Ish said.
Mayor David Coss, who said he was disappointed that yearlong negotiations with the developer failed, rejected the idea that the annexation agreement meant Tierra Contenta did not have to follow water rights transfer requirements.
James Hicks, executive director of Tierra Contenta Corp., said the ordinance does not work well for such large-scale projects and contended it was not possible to buy enough water. Tierra Contenta spokeswoman Kyla Thompson said she didn't know of a developer who had been able to comply with the ordinance.
But Santa Fe's lead water attorney, Kyle Harwood, said the city has approved the transfer of about 135 acre feet of water rights in the past year and is reviewing 100 acre feet more. An acre-foot, about 326,000 gallons, can meet the annual water needs of one to two U.S. households.
"If Tierra Contenta is alleging that no one can go out there and find any water rights, they're wrong," Harwood said.
Hicks also contends the ordinance threatens the developer's ability to build affordable housing. Buying water rights and transferring them to the city could cost $4 million to $8 million, which would be passed along to homebuyers, he said.
The company has built about 1,900 homes on about 70 percent of the land slated for development, Hicks said. An additional 2,000 housing units -- a mix of single-family, attached and apartment homes -- could be developed in the coming decade.
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