HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/25/1976MINUTES
ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1976 - 12:15 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
Roll Call
PRESENT: Councilmen Graham, Gurnee, Norris; Petterson
and Mayor Schwartz
' ABSENT: None
Staff Present
Others
PRESENT: J.H. Fitzpatrick, Acting'City Administrator /City Clerk;
A.J. Shaw, City Attorney; D.F. Romero, Director of
Public Services; Rob Strong, Director of Community
Development; Wayne Peterson, City Engineer; R.D. Muravez,
Director of Finance; John Quirk, Utilities Superintendent
PRESENT: John Evans, County Farm Advisor; Clint Milne, Deputy
. County Engineer
1. Mayor Schwartz presented a report to the City Council dealing with
water and growth and . stiting -that time was-approaching when the people.of San
Luis Obispo must make a very significant.decision regarding the effect on the
future of the City of San Luis Obispo. The question was 'Where shall the City
acquire an additional water supply and,.if so, from where and in what Fquan tities ?'
He felt,the answer would govern for.-all practical purposes the future size of
the City of San Luis Obispo and would effect the City's annual rate of growth
' for many, many--.years to come. He_reviewed-for the Council the'present safe
annual water supply,from_the,Santa Margarita Reservoir, Whale Rock Reservoir
and Reservoir Canyon. He also stated that in 1973 the City commissioned a'
study to determine if an underground..supply of water might exist beneath the
City and its environs. The study indicated only insignificant quahtities;of
subsurface water may exist. Therefore, the two practical and known sources
of supplemental water in which the City could obtain a share to.serve.its
projected needs-were: 1) Nacimiento..Reservoir; and-2)--the State Water Project
via the Coastal Aqueduct Branch.-:San Luis:: Obispo :County.had -an: entitlement
of.17,500 acre.feet•of -water from:Nacimiento of-.which 15000 acre feet could
be distributed-as far south as San Luis Obispo. The County also has an entitle-
ment of 25,000 acre feet from the State Water Project. The County taxpayers
now yearly pay .04C per $100 of assessed.valuation for each of the two
projects. It.is..estimated.that San Luis Obispo County would pay the
State Water Project..some.$230,000 in 1976. No water has been received from
either project as yet. Negotiations-:are..currently under.way.:between - the
County, the Lost Hills Water District and the State Resource Agency for
leasing of-the County's.water entitlement on a temporary basis. If this
was accomplished; a large-portion of future yearly payments to the State
would be recovered. The:�proposed physical routing of the Nacimiento and
the Coastal-Branch Aqueduct as shown on-..the County's- Master Water and Sewage
Plan indicated that .both coastal and .valley community's: in- the_ north: county
would be better served-by the Nacimiento Project and that San Luis Obispo
and south county'communities would be- .better.served by the Coastal Branch
Aqueduct: However; it was indeed possible for-the Nacimiento-project to..
serve'San Luis Obispo City.and it was possible for the Coastal Branch Aqueduct.
to:.serve San Luis Obispo City, the south-county communities and the north
county communities, both =- valley and, coastal; -but -it had been-.estimated .that
either project would require five years from any decision- making-go..ahead date
to actual water delivery.
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For the Nacimiento.Project..to.proceed,_.voters within the cities and
water districts desiring Nacimiento water--must approve a bond issue to
finance-the design and-construction of the project. The County Board
of.Supervisors.formed Zone 10 as a county service-area-for this purpose
CITY_.COUNC.IL_MINUTES
FEBRUARY 259 1976
PAGE 2
in 1974. A bond election.-was held in..November.,.1974 involving the
communities'of..Paso Robles, Templeton,..Atascadero, Morro Bay-and Baywood-
Los Osos_ and._this..election..lost. by a _very narrow margin... _ At .that time
the City-of San Luis Obispo elected not to participate; however, it is
possible to expand Zone 10 to include San Luis Obispo or it would be
possible for San Luis Obispo to buy_surplus:water from Zone 10 until
such time as.enough source of water became available or iintil -Zone 10
members had.uses for the water themselves.
San Luis Obispo would have -to negotiate the amount of water it would wish. ,
in- concert with other Zone 10.members. Water would be-delivered to Whale
Rock.Reservoir and thence to the city's water treatment plant via the
the.Whale'Rock- transmission line. It.should be emphasized that the
Nacimiento-.Project'would be unable.to economically distribute water
for agriculture purposes in the Edna - Los -.Osos Valley or further south.
For the Coastal:: Aqueduct .Project'to..proceed,.only the Board of Supervisors
need approve. Bonds had already been approved during the - elections which
established the.State.Water Project. The otherwise simple decision-.was
made complicated however by.the fact -that San Luis Obispo County and Santa
Barbara County jointly contracted for the Coastal Branch Aqueduct. The
aqueduct was designed to-serve both.counties and it was obvious that the
aqueduct could be built-more cheaply if both counties participated, Santa
Barbara_had.already asked for two postponements of the previously - scheduled
starting dates -of project_engineering. and our County.Board- of.Supervisors
had concurred-in these-postponements. It.must be understood,.that the ,
Coastal Aqueduct time-schedule had reached-the point that should-one
county elect.to'.initiate the project, the other county must join and pro-
ceed or give up its-water entitlement.. In.other words, should Santa Barbara
elect to proceed and San Luis Obispo not.prepare& to proceed, San Luis
Obispo.Co"unty would loose its.25,000.acre feet entitlement. The.opposite
would -also be true. It is estimated that San Luis Obispo County's costs
would-increase 52% if.our County had to go it alone. On the other hand-, '
should.Santa- Barbara elect to-go and .San Luis Obispo decline,.the additional
cost to bring water into Santa Barbara would only,be.7 %.
More..than.any - other factor,..the..availability of water-will determine -the size
of San Luis Obispo•City:in the future. There is -6ne serious debate within
the.City regarding the-wisdom of importing basic resources: :Those who
favor living within. local resource'. limits. point to the calamity that would
befall.the city.if we were suddenly deprived,of life support resources
.beyond their-control. Those who-argue for importation of such..resources
cite the stagnation and depression.that results without the economic'.growth
that normally attends'•population growth.
However, it-is quite:valid.for.the City..and its citizens -to d"etermine.to what
further..degree,:if at all, water-should be imported. What were-the benefits
to'the community? What were the costs?
If the City elected-.not-to seek supplemental water,._then the-City will
have.to,plan for accommodating.a population of approximately 42,000. +.
If the-City-were to double its water supply, then the City would
plan.for-.approximately 84,000. Obviously, the San Luis Obispo'of 84,000
would be.different from the San.Luis Obispo that. - exists today.
The Mayor--stated-he saw= three.principal situations: l)-seek-no addi-
tional supplies. Such a.decision would have far-reaching-ramifications
upon the:.city. -Zoning densities presently in force allowed for a.popula-
tion�far: in excess _ of -.42',000:: Down.- zoning would.be required.and.serious
attention.given to the 'development rights of all who hold vacant buildable
properties within- .the.City. More important, one of the following options
would have to be selected immediately:
A. Set limits on-the number-of-new housing.units:(including conversions)
which-would be.permitted..in order.:to.distribute growth within the
existing-water supply limits over .some .period..of.time,.10, 20 or 50
years; and
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
FEBRUARY 25, 1976
PAGE 3
B. Set no limits on building permits and issue on a - first come - first
served basis until population matches water supply limits, thereafter
a moritorium would exist on all new building units and steady state
population iaoul3: exist: ° L"
Situation Iwo:" °1eeV lfacimieiito Water ' -
- r___DC= 7C_- - - -Tom_ 1TZ- -'r'�_ .�.
SRO: ' nr "'n- -i_c •r z -s7 i• -o:
Such a decision would seemingly delight Morro Bajt and tiort� c`bunty commun-
ities who see the addition of San Luis Obispo as making the Nacimiento
Project more economically feasible. Because of point of delivery, water
costs to San Luis Obispo would be greater than any other participant in
the project. A bond election would have to be held to gain voter approval.
It would appear that an allocation of 3000 -5000 acre feet might be feasible.
Combined with exiting supplies, this would yield a population of between
57,000 and 67,000. For those who believe San Luis Obispo should grow in
excess of 42,000 but no larger than 67,000, the Nacimiento Project becomes
the bet. For those who believe San Luis Obispo should keep its options
open to further growth, then the selection of the Nacimiento is risky at
best. As Nacimiento water had little prospect for agricultural use means
that the opportunity to improve the agriculture industry in the Edna
and Los Osos Valleys and thus stabilize land use and reduce land
fracturing is virtually eliminated.
Situation Three: Seek State Project Water
The importance of choosing the Coastal Branch Aqueduct at this time
would be the absolute assurance that San Luis Obispo County would have
a supplemental water supply totaling 40,000 acre feet with which to
intelligently plan future development. All communities which would be
served by the Nacimiento Project could also be served by the Coastal
Branch Aqueduct albeit costs would differ. The question of Santa Barbara
Coun,ty's.participation could be determined by San Luis Obispo County
wou-i`d be small'. -It. would seed that the proposed agreement with Lost Hills
Water District coulld sti7lr�e valid. S' t' wl�h or wi�h'out Santa Barbara
County, the Coastal `Branch I aja .a more uppo, itant advantage over.' Nacimiento
water arff that 'was -t- at quantities of water could be desi aced for agri-
cultural uses as well as for uroan uses. The- in-tensiiicatib of agriculture
would create a stronger economic base for the county and preserve open space
by making open space lands so agriculturally valuable that land fracturing
practices would be reduced. The Coastal Aqueduct Project would lend itself
to intensification of agriculture in the Shandon, Edna, Los Osos and Nipomo
areas. The idea of a protective greenbelt around San Luis Obispo could be
achieved using the tool of agriculture only water districts. To this supply
could be added the City's wastewater effluent thereby further conserving
water, lowering its cost to agriculture and permitting greater amounts of
land to be devoted to intensified agricultural use. The Nacimiento Project
could be brought on line at a later date when additional water was needed.
With the Coastal Branch Aqueduct in place, a series of trade -offs would
even allow south county communities to profit from the additional waters
of the Nacimiento Project if they would choose to do so.
A choice of action must be taken. At this critical time, even no action
would have to be considered as having made a choice. The Mayor felt that
the time had come for San Luis Obispo to consider a growth policy. He did
not believe that San Luis Obispo would be able to make a decision on the
matter of supplemental water without first establishing a growth policy.
If no choice on water
established. He felt
would be to adopt a 1
of the General Plan.
again as follows: 1)
3) State water.
was made, a very definite growth policy would have been
the wisest course for San Luis Obispo to follow
united growth policy and do so during the revisions
He felt that the choice was open to the Council
no supplemental water, 2) Nacimiento water; and
Which project? The choice of project was not in itself as important as
understanding the probable consequences of the conscious choice and
being willing to live with the consequences. Whatever the choice, the
City's plans could be adjusted to match the parameters which the choice
would establish for this City's future growth.
CITY.COUN_CIL,MINUTES
FEBRUARY 25, 1976
PAGE 4
The Mayor then suggested -that the ..City.Council adopt .a resolution of
intention -to place before -the voters of.San Luis Obispo during -the June
election a- series of questions which. would- allow. -the voters to state their
preferences on supplemental water alternatives and City growth policy.
Guidance received from voter.response would permit the City staff, Planning
Commission.-and City Council.to .refine- as_plann.ing.policies. .Should voter
response show_preference.for. Nacimiento.-.Prnject;.sufficient..lead time------
.would-remain- for..establishing_ membership .in..Zone..10.setting.a .bond election
for voter approval,-during the November ..elections.and.the;C.ity. /County would
then proceed on development of -that plan. .
The City Council discussed the points brought up in the Mayor's presentation
- discussing casts , -alternatives .and.proposals. ...
Clint Milne;. Assistant County-..Engineer, reviewed some of -.the statements -
made by the Mayor, correcting minor-points-.as to costs,. etc.
Councilman Norris stated he whole heartedly was.in support of the Nacimiento
Project with no .exception., He felt that the City should contract with the
other agencies in the proposed project.and.arrange the .contract so-that-they
all run out of..water.at the same time. He felt that the water was the
cheapest and to the best advantage from the Nacimiento Project. He.personnaly
did not see the State Project.ever going on the line. He felt that it was not
in the best interest of either San•Luis Obispo.County or Santa.Barbara.County.
Rob Strong, Community Development Director, felt that with.the.availability
of Nacimiento water that this was.the.way to go for the City, and not..worry
about some future possibilities of.use of.State water.projects. He said
that this was the only to go and this was.how the General.Plan.was being
structured.
Councilman. Gurnee. reviewed. some of the..£igures_ of .water -- availability' and.
use in the. City and the. implication. of, existing .water supply:.. He" felt
that there is-available to_the.City,.at .this -time, 8,100 acie feet -of
water and.with 6 persons.per.acre foot.of water..per-- _year,..that.this would
give the City a.population of 48,000 to 52,000 people. In general, he
does not support the Nacimiento Project but he would-like - the _voteis_of__
San Luis Obispo ;to decide and he would support their__decision_ whatever -.it
might be. He then submitted for the Council-'s..consideration.a resolution
for consideration by voters in..Novemher., 1976 of .importing water from the
Lake Nacimiento Project. - ,- .
1:55.p.m. _Councilman..Graham left the - meeting..
The City - Council continued their discussion on supplemental water.for. the
City of San Luis Obispo.
2. The City.Council. adjourned to Executive Session. On.motion of
Councilman Petterson, seconded by Councilman Gurnee, the meeting adjourned.
APPROVED: August 2, .1976
7 ..Fitzpatiick,.City Clerk
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