ITEM:

PUBLIC HEARINGS

 

13.

CONSIDER SECOND READING AND ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 114 – AN ORDINANCE OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT AMENDING DISTRICT RULE 24 TO CLARIFY SPECIAL FIXTURE UNIT ACCOUNTING FOR SECOND BATHROOMS AND CONSIDER ADOPTION OF NEGATIVE DECLARATION

 

Meeting Date:

May 17, 2004

Budgeted:  N/A

 

Staff Contact:

Stephanie Pintar

Program/Line Item No.:  N/A

 

 

Cost Estimate:  N/A

 

General Counsel Approval:  General Counsel has reviewed the proposed ordinance.

Committee Recommendation:  The Water Demand Committee reviewed the proposed ordinance on April 13, 2004 and recommends adoption.

CEQA Compliance:  Negative Declaration.  Ordinance No. 114 has no significant effect on the environment.

 

SUMMARY:  Draft Ordinance No. 114 (Exhibit 13-A) clarifies the process by which someone can obtain a second bathroom in an existing single-family residence on a single-family residential site by specifying dates for eligibility, specifying the water fixtures that qualify for the special fixture unit accounting, and by specifying that the fixtures must be installed within the existing dwelling unit.  As the ability to add a second bathroom without debiting the jurisdiction’s allocation is voluntary for convenience only, those choosing to use the special fixture unit accounting will be restricted by requiring full permitting (e.g. water from a jurisdiction’s allocation or on-site water credits) of the second bathroom allowed by this provision before additional bathrooms can be added. 

 

Draft Ordinance No. 114 clarifies existing rules, with one exception:  The ordinance allows property owners that, between May 16, 1999 and May 16, 2001, utilized half-gallon (2-liter) per flush toilets to add a second bathroom.  These property owners will be eligible to replace the existing half-gallon toilets with toilets using a maximum of 1.6 gallons-per-flush if the property would otherwise qualify for an Ordinance No. 98 bathroom at the time of the request to upgrade (e.g. the property is a single-family dwelling on a single-family residential site with no more than two bathrooms).  Staff researched the potential impact of this modification and found that there are 15 permits (19 toilets with a potential maximum impact of 0.133 AFA) issued between May 1999 and May 2001 that could be eligible to upgrade. 

 

The Board adopted a Negative Declaration for MPWMD Ordinance No. 114 at first reading.  The Negative Declaration states that adoption of Ordinance No. 114 has no significant effect on the environment, in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  The “Notice of Intent to Adopt a Negative Declaration for MPWMD Ordinance No. 114,” along with an Initial Study and Ordinance No. 114, was circulated to roughly 40 local agencies and libraries and other entities on March 25, 2004, and was posted on the District’s website as well as at the County Clerk’s office on March 25, 2004.  The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) was the only party to submit a response, and they had no comments.

 

RECOMMENDATION:       Staff recommends the Board approve the second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 114.  The proposed ordinance clarifies existing rules that were adopted to respond to quality-of-life and convenience issues and do not result in increased water use.  The limited impact of upgrading half-gallon per flush toilets to 1.6 gallons-per-flush is also negligible.  This ordinance addresses processing concerns that have been identified since its adoption in April 2001.

 

If adopted on May 17, 2004, staff will file the Negative Declaration with the County Clerk in compliance with CEQA on the following day, and the ordinance would be effective on July 1, 2004.

 

 

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