October 4, 2005

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 9:35 AM in the District Conference Room.

Committee Members Present

City of Del Rey Oaks Ron Langford (Left the meeting following the discussion of Item 2.)

City of Monterey Chip Rerig

City of Sand City Steve Matarazzo

City of Seaside Diana Ingersoll, Chair

County of Monterey Al Mulholland

Committee Members Absent

City of Carmel-by-the-Sea Sean Conroy

City of Pacific Grove Doug Rick

Monterey Peninsula

Airport District Thomas Greer

District Staff Members Present

David A. Berger, General Manager

Stephanie Pinter, Water Demand Manager

Arlene Tavani, Executive Assistant

Directors Present:

Larry Foy, MPWMD Board Chair, participated in the Committee discussion

District Counsel Present

David C. Laredo

Comments from the Public

Glorietta Rowland introduced herself as the new Executive Director of the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers.

Action Items

1. Receive Minutes of June 7, 2005 Technical Advisory Committee Meeting

On a motion by Ms. Ingersoll and second by Mr. Langford, the minutes were received on a vote of 4 – 0. Mr. Rerig abstained from voting because he was not in attendance at the June 7, 2005 meeting.

2. Discuss City of Monterey’s Request to Amend Water Credit Transfer Regulations, Rule 28, to Allow Transfers from Open Space to Jurisdiction

Ms. Ingersoll offered a motion that was seconded by Mr. Rerig to ask that the City of Monterey submit a revised request based on the committee discussion. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) could then review the request and appoint a subcommittee to develop proposed language for a rule change, define “existing non-potable sources,” and quantify the amount of “existing non-potable sources” in the District. The full committee could then consider the subcommittee’s recommendation.

DISCUSSION: Mr. Rerig outlined the City of Monterey’s proposal to discontinue potable water use on several landscaped areas, and irrigate those areas with non-potable water from Lake El Estero. He requested that the District’s rules be amended to allow water credit to be granted for those areas where use of potable water is discontinued. In addition, that the water credit be applied to the City’s allocation so it can be distributed to persons on the water waiting list. The proposed rule change should apply to existing reclaimed sources. Mr. Rerig proposed that 15 percent of the water credit be applied to the District’s conservation set-aside as is currently required for water credit transfers. He estimated that the amount of water would be less than one acre-foot and that the 15 percent reduction would bring the amount to about .5 acre-feet. District Rule 28 states, “Open space and residential water use shall not be transferred.” According to District Counsel Laredo, the proposal could be developed and brought before the Board of Directors with CEQA review. The rule should specifically exclude new non-potable sources. District staff stated that a similar rule was proposed in Ordinance No. 91. However, a legal challenge was filed against Ordinance No. 91 and the Board of Directors rescinded it. Ms. Ingersoll noted that the City of Seaside has non-potable water sources that could also be used in this manner if the proposed rule change was implemented. Representatives from the County of Monterey and City of Sand reported that a change in rules would not benefit them. District staff suggested that Mr. Rerig contact the City of Pacific Grove to determine their interest. Mr. Berger reported that the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency has plans to develop a focused EIR on a project that would supply 300 acre-feet of reclaimed water to parks and other non-potable uses within the District. In addition, there are approximately 20 acre-feet of reclaimed water from the CAWD/PBCSD Expanded Recycled Water Project to be stored in Forest Lake Reservoir that may be available for non-potable uses. District staff advised Mr. Rerig that before a request to change the District’s rules is brought to the Water Demand Committee, the City of Monterey should coordinate with all the jurisdictions to quantify the amount of water they expect to convert to non-potable use, and also define the term “existing non-potable sources.” Ms. Pintar recommended that the definition exclude non-potable wells. Mr. Rerig stated that the City of Monterey would revise its request and resubmit it based on the discussion, and would work with the other jurisdictions to quantify the potential for reuse of non-potable water resources.

3. Discuss Request from Coalition of Homeless Services Providers to Modify Water Credit Transfer Regulations, Rule 28, to Facilitate Affordable Housing Development

The committee reviewed the request with Robin McCrae, President of the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers. Following the discussion, Chair Ingersoll continued this item to the November 1, 2005 TAC meeting.

DISCUSSION: Ms. McCrae explained that the Community Advocacy and Education Committee conducted a series of meetings regarding the hurdles to development of affordable housing. They determined that obtaining water for these projects is one of the major concerns, and that the recommendations outlined in the letter addressed that issue. The TAC members expressed support for rule changes that would increase development of affordable housing, and offered the following suggestions. (1) Request should be focused on easing water credit transfer rules for affordable housing only. (3) Concern expressed re Item B2 that would allow the transfer of water use credits across jurisdictional lines. (3) Concern expressed re Item B3 that would allow the transfer of water use credits across water distribution systems. (4) Recommend that the request be narrowed down to the suggestion identified as Item B, “Water use credits for existing water use may be transferred from one property to another for the purpose of commercial and industrial connections for the development of affordable housing.” Focusing the request on Item B may alleviate the controversy that could arise over the other items enumerated in the letter. Item B would also allow each jurisdiction’s land-use policies to determine which projects receive transferred water credits. (5) Item 9(B), “When retrofits occur at public facilities (or special districts), water credits shall be transferred to affordable housing projects,” may not be supported by jurisdictions because it would limit the use of retrofit credits. (6) District staff recommended that Ms. McCrae meet with Stephanie Pintar to discuss ways to modify the request related to the transfer and use of residential water credits, in order to avoid controversy.

Comments by Technical Advisory Committee Members

There were no comments from the committee members. Mr. Foy congratulated the TAC for their work on development of the long-term water needs estimates that were approved at the September 26, 2005 joint meeting of the TAC and the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC). General Manager Berger announced that when the Water Demand Committee reviews the long-term water needs estimates developed by the PAC and TAC, the committee will be informed that not all jurisdictions provided their near-term housing element projects. However, that information is not critical to the long-term water needs estimates because the near-term housing elements extend only through 2007 or 2008.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 10:35 AM.

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