A dispute about water and growth is brewing in a rural area south of Lawrence.

The board of Rural Water District No. 4 — the utility that provides water to about 900 customers in the area roughly between Lawrence and Baldwin — says an idea to reduce the planned density of future development in the area would “severely harm” the utility’s finances.

Fewer new homes would mean fewer new water meters, which would make it harder for the utility to recoup the roughly $1 million it spent recently in anticipation of future growth.

But some of the utility’s customers concerned about the potential for suburban sprawl are upset the board took a position on the matter. They accuse the board members of playing land-use politics and stepping outside their role as a neutral agency that exists only to serve customers.

“They just suddenly decided that they had to take a position because they could lose some money from the speculation they’ve been involved in,” said Richard Morantz, who lives on 80 acres near Baldwin. “They’ve been borrowing and building, and it caught up.”

John Nitcher, a Lawrence attorney who represents the board, said the board hadn’t been speculating or playing politics. It’s just concerned about finances.

“What the district is saying is ‘This is the situation we are in, and this is the obligation we have undertaken,'” Nitcher said. “Whatever the new rules are, we have to be able to meet our financial obligations that we incurred to meet the water needs of our patrons.”

Water controlling growth

At issue is the possibility that the city and county’s land-use plan, Horizon 2020, could be changed to require wider spaces between new homes in rural areas.

Richard Morantz walks along a remote stretch of North 500 Road, where a proposed new rural water line would run two miles north of Baldwin. Morantz says the board members of the Rural Water District No. 4 are playing land-use politics because they have taken a stand against the idea of reducing the planned density of future development in the area. Morantz, who owns the property on the left side of the road, is pictured on Thursday.

As the planning rules now stand, someone must buy at least 5 acres of land to build a home that’s not subject to a lengthy set of “subdivision regulations.” Lawrence-Douglas County planning commissioners are discussing the idea of boosting the minimum area to 20 acres, though no final decisions have been made.

If the number increased, it would mean, for example, that an undeveloped 100-acre property likely could only be sold and developed for five homes instead of 20.

One reason for the proposed change would be to help keep growth clustered at the edges of Lawrence and Baldwin, something planners say is important to keep government services from being stretched thin.

Morantz said he supported the change to the development rules because he feared that if they didn’t change, the result would be sprawl.

“That’s the worst-case scenario: that the farmland of southeast Douglas County is consumed by suburban sprawl with these 5-acre ranchettes,” he said.

Financial costs

But it would be financial blow to the water district, which had estimated it would double its number of water customers in the next 20 years.

With that expected growth in mind, the district recently went into more than $1 million in debt to upgrade its system and tap into Johnson County’s Rural Water District No. 6. It also signed a 20-year contract to buy water from the Johnson County district.

Nitcher said the district made that move in large part because the city of Lawrence, which treats and pumps most of the district’s water, was restricting the amount of additional water it would sell the district.

“The city of Lawrence has tried to control growth in the county through restricting the number of water meters that are being sold,” he said.

Nitcher said he thought Morantz had a valid point about sprawl. But other people served by the district — for example, farmers who may someday give up farming and sell their land — have just as great a stake, he said.

“They’re concerned that the proposed changes to Horizon 2020 could have a negative impact on the value of their farms,” he said.

Speaking out

In a recent newsletter, the water district’s board warned customers that “the district stands to lose hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars … from the substantial decrease in potential meter sales that will result” from the changes under discussion.

“This could severely harm the district financially and increase patron water rates to unacceptable levels,” the letter states. It also urges people to call the planning and county commissions with their concerns.

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Several board members did not return phone calls seeking comment. District Administrator Scott Schultz declined comment.

Board members also described the concerns in a letter sent to the two commissions. Planning Director Linda Finger said she was surprised by the letter.

“I think it’s worded such that it sounds more political than it was meant,” she said. “It sounds like they’re trying to protect themselves.”

Bill Busby, a Kansas Biological Survey scientist who lives in the district, said he thought it was inappropriate for the board to make such a strong statement about the plan.

“I don’t see how they can represent their members unless they’ve gotten some kind of poll or vote for their members on an issue like this,” he said. “I don’t think they should be taking sides on issues like this, because they’re a public utility and it’s not their place.”

The water district board will have its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at 1768 North 700 Road.