HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012/11/05 BOAA Mins MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
BOARD OF APPEALS AND ADVISORS
CITY OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA
November 05, 2012 Conference Room #137 5:15 PM
276 Fourth Ave. Chula Vista, CA 91910
MEMBERS PRESENT: Sanfilippo, Lopez, Sides, Meservy, West and Starkey
MEMBERS ABSENT: Jones (excused)
CITY STAFF PRESENT: Lou EI-Khazen, Building Official
OTHERS PRESENT: Dan Martin, Otay Water District
CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Chair Sanfilippo called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m and took the roll call.
Building Official EI-Khazen noted Member Jones had contacted him ahead of time and said he would not be
able to attend tonight's meeting, as he would be out of the country. The Committee voted to excuse his
absence.
Mr. EI-Khazen introduced to the committee the new Board of Appeals & Advisor Member Gina Starkey.
1. ROLL CALL: Members present constituted a quorum.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: November 14, 2011
MSC (CS/LM) (6-0-0-1) Approve the Board of Appeals & Advisors minutes of November 14, 2011.
Motion carried with Member Jones absent.
3. NEW BUSINESS:
A. Elect new Chair and Vice-Chair for fiscal year 2012/13: Nominations were opened for Board
Chairman and Vice Chairman. Chair Sanfilippo asked the committee if there was anyone
interested in being nominated. The committee responded they were satisfied keeping Chair
Sanfilippo and Vice Chair Sides in their current positions and no further nominations were made.
A motion for approval was made and passed.
B. Proposed residential clothes washer graywater stub-out ordinance (information/discussion item)
Mr. Lou EI-Khazen, Building Official gave some background information and provided a brief power
point presentation going over the proposed amendment to the Chula Vista Municipal Code of adding
Section 15.28.020 Residential Graywater Stub-out. The proposal calls for new regulations to
incorporate clothes washer graywater plumbing stub-out in new residential development to facilitate
the later installation of a graywater irrigation system used for shrubs and trees only. The ordinance
will only apply to detached single-family dwellings, duplexes and a building permit is not required.
Other residential building types (multi-family and townhomes) were considered but because of the
small lot size and impracticality for multi-family buildings staff is recommending excluding these types
of residential units from the requirements. The building official proceeded to go over pre-plumbing
and stub-out implementation standards. Diagrams in the power point presentation were used to
illustrate the different methods of installing the stub-out. Based on staff's research the incremental
cost for installing the pre-plumbing and stub-out during new construction is estimated to be between
$200 and $350 depending on the location of the laundry room in the house in relation to the most
useful location for the exterior stub-out. To assist homeowners who are interested in utilizing clothes
washer gray water systems, they are working with the Conservation Group to create a Best Practices
Guidebook to inform and educate the homeowners on how to install and use it properly.
Lou discussed the issue brought up by Otay Water District concerning the use of auxiliary water and
RP device requirements in Title 17. Under the current regulations, an auxiliary water supply is
considered unapproved and cross connection creates the potential of potable water being
Board of Appeals & Advisors Page 2 November 5, 2012
Meeting Minutes
contaminated. Having these two requirements in the regulations triggers the requirement for an RP
device, which would be installed next to the water meter. A device like this costs $300-$500 and that
doesn't include labor. In addition, the regulations also require that the water company inspects it
annually and a $200 inspection fee (by water company) is charged to the homeowner. Meeting these
conditions may make it economically unfeasible for homeowners and discourage them from wanting
to use the graywater system.
Mr. Dan Martin, representing the Otay Water .District, acknowledged that different agencies are at
odds with the Title 17 requirement and the water district has reached out to the state to try and
resolve this issue. They are informing them there are other measures in place being implemented by
different cities, and were asking the state to provide a provision that would lessen the requirement in
Title 17.
Committee Members Concerns/Comments:
The Committee Members were all for conservation endeavors and liked the concept of having a
graywater system available; however, they expressed concerns that:
• Too many variables involved might give the resident the opportunity to install the system
incorrectly and ruin their landscaping. Which would not make it cost effective for anybody
whether that be savings in water or environmentally.
• Regardless of the back flow requirement, should they make the homeowner pay for an option
they might never use? The city should ask the developers to have it as an option of installing
the system if the homeowner desires it.
• Not economically feasible in this economic climate
• Need to get some kind of waiver from the state on Title 17 requirement in order to make it
feasible and encourage residents to use.
Since 60-70% of water is used for landscaping we should be looking at other methods of
conserving water i.e. drought tolerant plants, and hardscape that are more cost effective.
Emphasize those methods more than the use of graywater.
It was the consensus of the committee in its current state the proposed ordinance was not practical
and they probably wouldn't be in favor of recommending it.
Mr. EI-Khazen thought the city's perspective on this was if the homeowner installed the stub-out on
his own there would be a greater potential for problems, whereas, if the system was already installed
and the homeowner uses the Best Practices Manual it would be less of an issue.
4. MEMBERS COMMENTSICHAIRMAN'S COMMENTSIREPORTS: None
5. BUILDING OFFICIAL'S COMMENTS/REPORTS: None
6. COMMUNICATIONS (PUBLIC REMARKSI WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE): None
7. ADJOURNMENT:
Chair SanFilippo adjourned the meeting at 6:20 p.m. to a regular meeting on December 10, 2012 at
5:15 p.m. in Planning and Building Conference Room #137.
MINUTES TAKEN BY:
ROSEMARIE RICE, SECRETARY
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT -BUILDING DIVISION