Staff ReportMEETING DATE: 06/02/15
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT ITEM NO: Li
fBa _s��os
DATE: MAY 25, 2015
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL /
FROM: LES WHITE, INTERIM TOWN MA
SUBJECT: WATER CONSERVATION
INTRODUCE AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING ADDITIONS TO CHAPTER 27
(UTILITIES) OF THE TOWN CODE RELATING TO WATER
CONSERVATION AND WATER MANAGEMENT AND ESTABLISHING
REGULATIONS PROHIBITING NONESSENTIAL USE OF POTABLE
WATER AND ADOPTING PENALTIES AND FINES
A. MAKE THE REQUIRED FINDING THAT THERE IS NO POSSIBILITY
THAT THIS PROJECT WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE
ENVIRONMENT; THEREFORE, THE PROJECT IS NOT SUBJECT TO
THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (SECTION
15060 (C)(2) AND SECTION 15060 (C)(3)).
B. MAKE THE REQUIRED FINDING THAT THE PROPOSED TOWN CODE
AMENDMENTS ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE GENERAL PLAN AND
ITS ELEMENTS.
C. MOVE TO INTRODUCE THE ORDINANCE BY TITLE ONLY AND
WAIVE THE READING OF THE ORDINANCE.
RECOMMENDATION:
After opening and closing the public hearing, and asking the Clerk Administrator to read the title
of the proposed ordinance, it is recommended that the Town Council:
1. Make the required finding that there is no possibility that this project will have a significant
impact on the environment; therefore, the project is not subject to the California
Environmental Quality Act (Section 15060 (C)(2) and Section 15060 (C)(3)).
2. Make the required finding that the proposed Town Code amendments are consistent with the
General Plan and its Elements.
3. Move to introduce the ordinance by title only and waive the reading of the ordinance.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Following the adoption of an urgency ordinance on May 5, 2015, Town Staff has had the
opportunity to conduct further study of the evolving regulatory environment on water
conservation and the drought. The staff recommendation follows a regional effort to align
standards and messaging on conservation efforts. This is a step in a different direction than that
approved by Council associated with the urgency ordinance.
PREPARED BY: MATT MORLEY
Director of Parks and Publ c W ks
Reviewed by: LV Assistant Town Manager _1fown Attorney
PAGE
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: WATER CONSERVATION
MAY 25, 2015
BACKGROUND:
On May 5, 2015, the Town Council adopted an urgency ordinance reflecting a condition of
drought in Los Gatos. The ordinance requires a 25% reduction in water use Town -wide and
restricts the means in which water is used in several ways, including the requirement for limited
irrigation, the use of positive shut -off hose end sprayers, and the prohibition of watering turf in
median islands.
An urgency ordinance provides the opportunity for a Council to act quickly on an issue while
providing additional time to develop a permanent ordinance. The Town's adopted urgency
ordinance requires further action by the Town Council within 45 days. Per California
Government Code Section 65858, the Council could extend the actions of the urgency ordinance
for another 10 months and 15 days (with a future available extension) or for another 22 months
and 15 days. In any case, the urgency ordinance lapses if Council does not extend it and the total
maximum life of an urgency ordinance with extensions is 2 years from the original adoption.
As presented to the Council at the May 5 meeting, regulations and direction related to the
drought have been ongoing. At that time, mandatory requirements affecting Los Gatos and set
by the State through the Town's retailer, San Jose Water Company (SJWC), included a 20%
conservation level. The Town's implementation of a 25% target was above and beyond the
required level.
Several actions and events have taken place that provide additional information, which staff has
incorporated into this report. This includes a call by the Santa Clara Valley Water District
(SCVWD) for a 30% reduction and a regional drought summit, attended by several Council
members, where a significant part of the discussion revolved around consistent messaging on the
need and the level of conservation. The summit included sample local ordinance language to
facilitate consistency across jurisdictions.
Most recently, SJWC sent a request to the Public Utilities Commission to revise rates to help
achieve a 30% savings and has voluntarily moved its target up to that level from the previously
set target of 20 %. The revised rate schedule sets a baseline usage level across all SJWC users
and a target use level below that. The residential targets are shown in the table below. Water use
is measured in units of one hundred cubic feet (CCF). Each CCF is equivalent to 748 gallons.
SJWC billing shows the water usage in CCF on every bill. Note that the average use and the
monthly allocation are averaged across all residential users and are not specific to individual
account holders. The allocation for all SJWC residential users in July will be 13 CCF, regardless
of the individual users' usage in 2013.
PAGE
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: WATER CONSERVATION
MAY 25, 2015
BACKGROUND (cont'd):
SJWC Residential Allocation Plan
Month
2013 Avg. Use
(CCF)
Monthly Drought
Allocation (CCF)
Monthly Drought
Allocation allons
January
10
9
6,732
February
9
9
6,732
March
9
9
6,732
April
11
9
6,732
May
14
10
7,480
June
16
11
8,228
July
19
13
9,724
August
19
13
9,724
September
19
13
9,724
October
17
12
8,976
November
17
12
8,976
December
14
10
7,480
Usage above the allocation will result in a surcharge of $3.5634 per CCF. Usage above the 2013
average use will result in a surcharge of $7.1268 per CCF. SJWC will use the surcharge to offset
costs associated with conservation. SJWC expects these rates to take effect on June 15, 2015.
DISCUSSION:
Proposed Ordinance
Past Councils have addressed droughts through the use of urgency ordinances. That continues to
be a resource this Council could use. Staff has also drafted Municipal Code additions, discussed
below, and recommends adopting those to provide more effective action by this and future
Councils. This is a step in a different direction than that approved by Council associated with the
urgency ordinance.
Staff has prepared a further ordinance for Council consideration. This ordinance establishes a
new Article 6 in Chapter 27 of the Municipal Code titled Conservation and Water Management.
The ordinance is modeled after the ordinance provided at the drought summit, as mentioned
above. The new Article 6 provides an ongoing means for the Council to declare water
conservation needs through a Council resolution.
Section B of Article 6 provides for ongoing conservation requirements. These requirements are
similar to limitations and restrictions currently in place, including limiting watering hours from
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., limiting watering duration to 15 minutes, requiring leak repair within 10
days, and limiting drinking water service in restaurants on patron request only. Sections C
through E of the ordinance establish a series of water supply shortage levels with the escalating
requirements of each level highlighted here.
PAGE 4
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: WATER CONSERVATION
MAY 25, 2015
DISCUSSION (cont'd):
Level 1 Water Supply Shortage, where the Town Council determines a usage reduction of
between 11 % and 20% is necessary.
• Limits on watering days drops to 3 -5 days per week.
• Obligations to fix leaks increases to 72 hours.
• Hard or paved surfaces can only be washed to alleviate safety or sanitary hazards.
Level 2 Water Supply Shortage, where the Town Council determines a usage reduction of
between 21 % and 35% is necessary.
• Restricts watering days to 2 days per week.
• Increases the requirement to fix leaks to 48 hours.
• Prohibits the filling of ornamental lakes or ponds with potable water.
• Requires automobiles to be washed at a facility that recycles water.
• Prohibits the filling or refilling of swimming pools.
Level 3 Water Supply Shortage, where the Town Council determines a usage reduction of
greater than 35% is necessary.
• Prohibits the watering of vegetated areas with potable water (with some exceptions).
• Increases the requirement to fix leaks to 24 hours.
• No building permits for new pools or spas will be issued.
The Council may declare a Water Supply Shortage by resolution at a regular or special meeting.
Upon adoption of a resolution, the Town must publish notice within 5 days in a newspaper used
for publication of official notices.
Enforcement activities are authorized through the ordinance. The Town will continue to work
with San Jose Water on escalating enforcement through their notification process. If a violation
requires a citation, the fine for the first violation is $100.
Town Activities
As discussed with the Council at the May 5 Council meeting, Town staff has implemented
measures to reduce municipal water use. The main focus continues to be irrigation as the
heaviest source of water use. SJWC bills bi- monthly, so it will be several months before the full
impact of these measures are known. Staff will continue to report on drought activities on a
regular basis.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the Town Council introduce an ordinance adopting additions to Chapter
27 (Utilities) of the Town Code relating to water conservation and water management and
establishing regulations prohibiting nonessential use of potable water and adopting penalties and
fines. Staff will prepare a resolution for adoption at the June 16, 2015 Council meeting declaring
PAGE 5
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: WATER CONSERVATION
MAY 25, 2015
CONCLUSION (cont'd):
a Level 2 Water Supply Shortage to accompany the second reading of the ordinance. The
timeframe between now and June 16 is covered by the 45 day urgency ordinance.
ALTERNATIVES:
By a four -fifths vote, the Council could extend the urgency ordinance for a period of 10 months
and 15 days or for a period of 22 months and 15 days, without adopting the recommended Town
Code additions.
COORDINATION:
This report has been coordinated with the Community Development Department, the Town
Attorney, San Jose Water Company, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
The Town Council finds that this ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or
reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the
activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of
Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to
the environment, directly or indirectly; rather it prevents changes in the environment by
imposing mandatory conservation regulations and associated penalties to protect and preserve
the City's water resources during the current drought conditions. Further, the adoption of this
ordinance is categorically exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15308 for actions taken by
regulatory agencies to ensure the protection of the environment and Section 15061(b)(3) because
the City Council can see with certainty that there is no possibility the adoption of this ordinance
will have a significant effect on the environment. Further, the Town finds that this Ordinance and
actions taken hereafter pursuant to this Ordinance are exempt from the California Environmental
Quality Act as specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency pursuant to Public
Resources Code Section 21080(b)(4) and the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines
Section 15269(c). The Town Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to file a Notice of
Exemption as soon as possible following adoption of this Ordinance.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There are no further fiscal impacts from this action.
Attachments:
1. Staff report from May 5, 2015 Council meeting including Attachments and Addendum
2. Draft Urgency Ordinance Adopted at the May 5, 2015 Council Meeting
3. Draft Ordinance adding Town Code Chapter 27 Article VI