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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc min 1990/01/08Monday, January 8, 1990 City Council Conference Room 5:00 p.m. Administration Building MINUTES OF ADJOURNED jOINT MEETING OF THE CHULA VISTA CITY COUNCIL AND OTAY WATER DISIRICF 1. ROLL CALL: Mayor Cox and President Haden called the meeting to order at 5:13 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Mayo~ CoX and Councilmembers McCandliss, Moore, and Nader. Councilman Malcolm arrived at 5:50 p.m. President Haden and Directors Laudher, Mulcahy, and Watton. ABSENT: Director Sherard 3. DISCUSSION OF GROWTH MANAGEMENT ISSUES: 137~ Mayor Cox gave a brief review of the development of the Growth Management Oversight Committee. He stated the committee contained ten members and was an environmentally oriented organization. They work with the City staff and use the thresholds as adopted by the Council as criteria to evaluate eleven areas within the City and report back to the Council if there are areas of concern. The Council had received the first report in August and four Statements of Concern were issued. One each for the high school and elementary school and one for the Otay Water District and the Sweetwater Water District. A Warning was issued by the GMOC regarding adequate library space and the Council will be addressing this issue in the Capital Improvement Projects during budget discussions.. Mr. Bob Leiter, Director of Planning, noted many of the areas of concern listed regarding the Water District had been addressed and gave a brief review. The concerns were as follows: 1. Whether the District would have water available to serve the eastern territories of Chula Vista and if distribution was available. He stated this issue had been addressed by the District. 2. Provide information to the City for inclusion in the General Plan District is already doing. 3. Guarantee funding for facilities moved forward with major developers. 4. Cooperative effort with Sweetwater Authority ~ District is already doing. 5. Better water - this is also a City responsibility. 6. Contingency plan/water plan for critical times - City not aware of what is being done. Mr. Leiter felt these issues had been addressed at some level and added there would be a annual review. Mr. Leiter stated there would be a third element of the General Plan which would include public facilities for the eastern territories. This will Minutes Page 2 January 8, 1990 include project needs at full build out, facilities provided by the City and outside agencies. The system will be designed to predict where development will occur and coordinate the timing of the facilities with that development. Willdan has been hired to prepare a data base and propose policies. The report is expected within six months. Director Mulcahy stated she felt everyone had the same concerns regarding growth and development. President Haden felt the City of Chula Vista was out in front regarding planning and development and the Management Planning Committee was a means for putting a finger on problems. He noted the District had not been idle for the last two to three years. They have hired Black and Beech to prepare a master plan for the District and have installed several storage tanks. The Water Allocation Plan has also been placed in effect, He noted the District was not in the growth control business but had to be able to protect service to existing customers. 4. STATUS REPORT: Mr, Keith L. Lewinger, General Manager, gave a slide presentation outlining new and proposed developments within the District. He also gave an overview of the Water Allocation Plan. The District currently serves an area of 125 square miles with boundaries from E1 Cajon to the Boarder and the city limits of San Diego to Honey Springs. The District initiated the Water Allocation Plan because they felt responsibility to existing and future growth. The fourth pipeline is expected to be in service in 1993 and if growth continues unchanged, the District would run out of water in the summer before the opening of the pipeline. It is estimated the Plan will control growth to approximately 7%. Wastewater reclamation is an important issue if the District is to meet projected demands. Potential use areas would be golf courses, parks, frontscapes, playgrounds, uses within the District, Olympic Training Center, etc. Newly developed areas within Chula Vista and the District are already installing dual plumbing for common areas. Fifteen percent of total demand could be met with reclaimed water. If agencies such as State and County Health allowed private home lots to utilize reclaimed water, as much as 40% of potable water could be saved. There should be a censerted effort by agencies and water districts to push for implementation of new regulations. The Board amended the Plan at its last meeting to guarantee developers 5 EDU's per quarter and the ability to accumulate in order to build the first phase of their projects. He noted that due to this amendment, the City would see more requests for phased projects and he felt it would be extremely important for the City to work hand in hand with the District regarding phasing. President Haden noted the District is negotiating with the Sweetwater Authority for storage in their reservior. Minutes Page 3 January 8, 1990 Mayor Cox noted the question of capacity seemed well addressed for the long term but questioned if there were assurances that there would be capacity to supply water. Director Watton stated the critical part would be the reclaimed water and noted their nemisis was the Regulatory Water Quality Control Board. He urged support of the Basin Amendments. Reclaimed water would fill 12% of the water gap and the District was unsure of where the other 12% would come from at this time. Mr. Lewinger stated District staff and the metro areas were working on a location for a treatment plant with a capacity of 10 million gallons per day. He informed the Council that the modifications needed to upgrade the treatment plant for waste water reclamation would be aparoximately $6 million. The District felt the potable water users should help pay for these modifications as they would benefit also. Mayor Cox questioned how the City could help the District . Mr. Lewinger stated there was a bill to create a low interest loan program for reclaimed water, Filante Bill - AB 1312, and the District would appreciate any support the City could give. Mayor Cox informed the District about the Legislative Committee for the City and offered their assistance. City Manager Goss questioned whether the District had considered a program, such as the one instituted in San Diego, which would retrofit homes with low flow fixtures. Director Watton stated there needed to be a comparison of low flow vs. regular fixtures, utilizing a family of four, in order to obtain real information. He noted they really have not addressed retrofitring at this time but it was a possibility in the future. Director Mulcahy stated the District was instituting a public information program regarding the conservation of water. Councilman Nader questioned whether conservation would fill the remaining 10% gap. Mr. Lewinger stated conservation was figured into the reclamation figures. Councilman Nader stated he felt there was alot more we could be doing and noted the 10% shortfall that existed without a substantial drought. He felt there should be planned growth until reclamation procedures were in place. President Watton stated the Allocation Plan could be lifted or reduced as water availibility was increased and reimplemented if needed. Councilman Nader questioned whether there were any obstacles within the City. Minutes Page 4 January 8, 1990 President Watton stated there were none and noted that City staff was as interested in reclamation as the District. He felt the City should inform the public that they supported reclaimed water. Councilman Moore questioned how the City and District could work better together. He felt there should be recommended conservation efforts and these should be generated by the District. There should be higher levels of participation from other agencies. Dual water lines should be considered as primary for future developments. Other agencies should be notified of pending issues in order to help lobby reforms and support. Councilwoman McCandliss noted that in the past the District had perceived themselves as purveyors of water only and she felt they had evolved greatly as evidenced by the new Master Plan, Water Allocation Plan, future expansion plans, etc. President Watton stated the District has never tried to inject themselves into land or planning issues and when there was enough water, they did not. Now that there appeared to be a shortfall, they have had to get involved. He urged the Council to pace growth on what they feel is needed and not by the Water District. 5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: none 6 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT(S): none 7. GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT(S): none 8. MAYOR'S REPORT(S): Mayor Cox stated the Council appreciated the opportunity to meet with the District and felt there should be at least an annual meeting and possibly more frequently if needed. He noted there were a lot of issues arising in the eastern territories and the City would work with the District in the future regarding those developments. City Manager Goss stated sewer issues were also a closely related and these were being addressed by the Metropolitan Sewer Task Force. 9. DIRECTOR'S REPORT(S): President Haden expressed his appreciation and stated he felt a meeting should be held as least annually. Minutes Page 5 January 8, 1990 lO. ADJOURNMENT AT 6:50 p.m. City Council adjourned to the next regular City Council meeting on Tuesday, January 9, 1990 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Otay Water District adjourned to the next regular Otay Water District meeting on Wednesday, January 17, 1990. Respectful ly submitted, BEVERLY A. AUTHELET, CMC, City Clerk by Vic~i Soderquist, D~p~t~3~ City Clerk