May 24, 2022
Agenda Item No. 10
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
Mark Vukojevic, Utilities Director - 949-644-3011, [email protected] PREPARED BY:
Mark Vukojevic, Utilities Director
PHONE:
949-644-3011
TITLE:
Ordinance No. 2022-13: Amendment to Municipal Code Chapter 14.16, Water Conservation and Water Supply Shortage Program ABSTRACT:
On June 8, 2021, the City Council approved the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan and the Water Shortage Contingency Plan, both of which are required by the State of California (State). These water plans support long-term water resource planning. At that time, staff committed to updating the water conservation code found in Chapter 14.16 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code.
Utilities Department staff is now presenting and requesting approval for needed updates to the Municipal Code. The updates include feedback received from the November 30, 2021, City Council Study Session, compliance to current State requirements, a review of best practices from other local agencies, modernization, and incorporated feedback from the previous 2015-era drought. The timing of the Municipal Code update is also with the anticipation of further water conservation needed given the current statewide drought.
The significant updates include a name change, now known as the Water Conservation and Water Supply Shortage Program, removing 2013 as the baseline water year, including new State requirements, permanently restricting landscaping watering from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., updating the process and procedure for declaring water shortages, increasing the water shortage levels from one to six, and updating the requirements within each shortage level.
RECOMMENDATION:
Conduct a public hearing;
Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; and Waive full reading, direct the City Clerk to read by title only, introduce Ordinance No. 2022-13, An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach, California, Amending Chapter 14.16 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code Pertaining to Water Conservation and Supply Level Regulations, and pass to second reading on June 14, 2022.
DISCUSSION:
The City of Newport Beach’s Water Conservation Code, Municipal Code Chapter 14.16, was last updated in 2015, during the last drought. Over the past few years, several State requirements have changed and staff has planned to update the Municipal Code. The updates include feedback received from the November 30, 2021, City Council Study Session, compliance to current State requirements, a review of best practices from other local agencies, modernization, and incorporated feedback from the previous 2015-era drought. The proposed updates are underlined and highlighted using a track-changes feature within Attachment B.
General updates for Municipal Code Section 14.16:
The water supply shortage levels have been increased from four to six levels Updates made to the Findings and Purpose section
Definitions have been deleted, updated, or modernized
Edits made to permanent mandatory water conservation requirements Edits made to the restrictions and exemptions within each shortage level Clarifications to the relief from the compliance program Clarifications to the enforcement program
Specific and significant updates:
The code has been renamed to “Water Conservation and Water Supply Shortage Program.” The year 2013 has been removed from the definition of base (water) amount. Instead, the base (water) amount “year” will be specified in a resolution when declaring a water shortage. (14.16.020) A new permanent restriction has been added which prohibits daytime landscape watering (i.e. sprinklers) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (14.16.040B) The permanent restriction which obligates the response time to repair leaks has been changed from seven days to three days. (14.16.040E) A permanent restriction has been added which prohibits the indiscriminate running of water which is wasteful and without reasonable purpose. (i.e. water running from a hose.) (14.16.040R) The procedure for the determination, declaration, notification, and implementation of a water supply shortage has been updated and is further described in the body of this report. (14.16.050) A new Level Five Water Supply Shortage category and associated requirements have been created (carved out of the previous Level Four) which is also known as a Severe Shortage. This is compliant with the Water Shortage Contingency Plan. (14.16.100) A new Level Six Water Supply Shortage category and associated requirements have been created (carved out of the previous Level Four) which is also known as a Catastrophic Shortage. This is compliant with the Water Shortage Contingency Plan. (14.16.110)
Procedure for the determination, declaration, notification, and implementation of a water supply shortage (14.16.050) Changes in State Water Code require the City of Newport Beach (City) to submit an annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment, beginning this year. This document is drafted and certified by the Utilities Director, with input received from our groundwater and wholesale water districts. It certifies our current known position regarding our water supply, and if necessary, our shortage response actions, compliance, enforcement, and communications actions. The existing Municipal Code provisions for declaring a water supply shortage is a multi-step, lengthy and antiquated process. Based on a review of best practices found in other local agencies, an updated, one-stop City Council process is recommended by staff. For each shortage, Utilities staff and the City Manager will prepare a resolution outlining the communications and actions associated with each shortage level. The City Council will have the discretion to modify actions including implementation dates. This gives the City the ability to move quickly into and out of shortage levels when needed.
Proposed language for Section 14.16.050 E
“Upon the Director’s determination of the existence of a water supply shortage based on the criteria and stages defined in the City’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan, the City Council may declare a Level One to Level Six Water Supply Shortage. The City Council may also declare a Level Six Catastrophic Water Supply Shortage in accordance with California Water Code Sections 350-352 when a sudden event poses a catastrophic threat to the water supply. The declaration of a water supply shortage shall be by resolution and the mandatory water conservation measures applicable to the declared water supply shortage level shall take effect on the date specified in the resolution.” Update on the current drought situation:
Governor Newsom recently signed Executive Order N-7-22, addressing the current drought and directing the State Water Board to adopt and implement new drought regulations. Recent discussions indicate that a one-size-fits-all, statewide drought approach may not be mandated and agencies will rely on their annual Water Supply Assessment and their Water Shortage Contingency Plans. This is good news since the City has made a significant investment in its sustainable groundwater system, its replenishment efforts, and its water conservation efforts. Overall, the City uses 25 percent less water today than it did 20 years ago. Staff is currently working with the groundwater and wholesale water districts to draft the City’s annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment. The draft submittal is due to the CA Department of Water Resources by June 1 and the final is due July 1.
At this time, staff is likely to certify that the City has enough water to meet demands for next year; although no surplus exists, and its supply is threatened. Staff is expecting to bring a resolution declaring a Level One shortage, specifically declaring that no surplus water exists. The Level One will focus on additional water conservation and outreach efforts and enforcement to further reduce wasted water. Also, with the lack of surplus, customers will be required to use no more than their 2019 water usage. These efforts will further reduce the City’s overall water use, keep it compliant with State requirements, and position the City well if the drought continues or escalates further. Further details on the implementation of these measures will be brought with the resolution declaring a Level One shortage.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no additional fiscal impact related to the amendment of the Newport Beach Municipal Code. The adopted budget includes sufficient funding for the promotion of water conservation and the enforcement of permanent water restrictions. If future water supply shortages are enacted, staff will bring back analysis regarding any fiscal impact.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item). Also, a notice of this hearing was published in the Daily Pilot, twice, at least 10 days before the scheduled meeting.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A – Ordinance No. 2022-13
Attachment B – Track Changes Version of Newport Beach Municipal Code Chapter 14.16 Attachment C – Public Hearing Notice
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Ordinance No. 2022-13: Amendment to Municipal Code Chapter 14.16, Water Conservation and Water Supply Shortage Program
May 24, 2022
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