WATER DEMAND COMMITTEE
ITEM:		ACTION ITEMS
2.	Review Preliminary Draft Ordinance No. 128 of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, Clarifying Terms, Rules and Policies Related to Water Distribution Systems, Water Permits, Water Use Permits, Water Credits, and the Expanded Water Conservation and Standby Rationing Plan
Meeting Date:			May 9, 2007
From:			David A. Berger,
			General Manager
Prepared By:			Stephanie Pintar

SUMMARY: Draft Ordinance No. 128 (Exhibit 2-A) makes amendments to the permit and fee regulations of the District that were not made during adoption of Ordinance No. 125 in September 2007. In addition to amendments to the affordable housing definition, and minor grammatical edits and reference corrections, the proposed ordinance includes the following:

1. New, amended, and deleted definitions for Rule 11:

a. New: APN, Assessor’s Parcel Number, Assignment Document, Confirmation of Exemption, Water Use Permit

b. Amended: Affordable Housing, Existing Structure, Flagrant Violation, Low-Income Housing

c. Deleted: Low-Income Household, Moderate Income Household, Very-Low Income Household

2. Rule 20, Permits Required, is amended to reflect the requirement for a deed restriction and payment of fees prior to Creating/Establishing a Water Distribution System.

3. Rule 20 is amended to exempt parcels served by a Water Distribution System not regulated by the District from the District’s Water Permit requirements.

4. Rule 21, Applications, is amended to provide an exemption to the requirement for a Water Release Form when the final water permit is amended after a final inspection to reflect less water fixtures than shown on the water permit.

5. Rule 21-E is added to clarify the Water Use Permit Application (for properties eligible to obtain a portion of the Pebble Beach Company’s water ntitlement). Water Use Permits were previously administered according to Rule 23.5. Rule 23.5 was adopted by Ordinance No. 39 (2/13/1989) and amended by Ordinance No. 71 (12/20/1993) and Ordinance No. 109 (5/27/2004).

6. Rule 22, Action on Application for Permit to Create/Establish a Water Distribution System, is amended to reflect the requirement for recordation of a deed restriction(s) prior to final action.

7. This ordinance adds Rule 23-1, Action on Application for a Water Use Permit on a Benefited Property, to codify the procedure originally contemplated in Rule 23.5 for processing and issuing Water Use Permits to properties receiving a share of the Pebble Beach Company’s water entitlement (Ordinance No. 109, 5/27/2004). The Water Use Permit procedure was developed in cooperation and coordination with the Pebble Beach Company.

8. Rule 24.5, Connection Charge Exemptions for Affordable Housing, is amended to reflect the District’s connection charge reductions for affordable housing. The clarifications to Rule 24.5 reflect the County-wide standard for determining affordable housing projects. All jurisdictions within the District use the County standard, and in some cases employ a more rigid standard. This definition was discussed by the Technical Advisory Committee and the Water Demand Committee.

9. Rule 25.5, Water Use Credits and On-Site Water Credits, is amended to clarify that Water Use Credits for permanent abandonment of landscaping are calculated using the Estimated Applied Water calculation (the average estimated reasonable water needs after landscaping establishment).

10. Rule 60, Fees and Charges, is amended to reflect the various categories of fees currently shown on the Fees and Charges Table.

11. Rule 60-D, Connection Charges, is amended to eliminate confusing language and to clarify that the connection charge process described in Rule 24 is not modified by changes to Rule 60.

12. Cal-Am is replaced with CAW (as requested by California American Water) throughout the District’s rules.

13. The terms “Dedicated Landscape Water Meter” and “Dedicated Landscape Meter” are replaced with the term “Dedicated Irrigation Meter.”

14. The term “Flagrant Occurrence” is replaced with “Flagrant Violation.”

The proposed activities reflected in the draft ordinance are not subject to CEQA (Guidelines §15060 (c) and 15378 (2)). The activities do not involve the exercise of discretionary powers, and do not have any direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The activities are administrative and involve general policy and procedure making.

RECOMMENDATION: The Water Demand Committee should review the proposed ordinance; make any changes it deems appropriate; and forward its recommendation for the Board’s consideration at its May 21, 2007 regular meeting. The District’s Technical Advisory Committee reviewed and endorsed this proposed ordinance on May 1, 2007. This ordinance and the CEQA finding has been reviewed by District counsel.

EXHIBIT

2-A Preliminary Draft Ordinance No. 128

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