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ITEM: |
PUBLIC
HEARINGS |
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17. |
CONSIDER APPLICATION TO
CREATE “LONG RIDGE/WELL N-31 ADDITION” TO SANTA LUCIA PRESERVE WATER
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM; SANTA LUCIA COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT, APPLICANT;
MPWMD APPLICATION #20071107SLC; APN #239-131-015 THROUGH -026, -028 AND -030 |
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Meeting
Date: |
January 29, 2009
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Budgeted:
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N/A
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From: |
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Program/ |
N/A |
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General
Manager |
Line Item No.: N/A |
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Prepared
By: |
Henrietta
Stern |
Cost
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N/A |
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General Counsel Approval: Yes
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Committee Recommendation: N/A
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CEQA Compliance: The MPWMD, as a Responsible Agency for this
project, has considered previous environmental documents certified by the |
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SUMMARY: The Board will consider approval of the application by the Santa Lucia Community Services District (SLCSD) for the “Long Ridge/Well N-31 Addition” to the Santa Lucia Preserve Water Distribution System (SLPWDS). The application form and list of affected parcels are provided as Exhibit 17-A. A binder with supporting attachment that accompanied the application is available for review at the District office, upon request.
The
SLPWDS is a pre-existing system that is part of the Santa Lucia Preserve
Subdivision (SLP) approved by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors in
1996-1997. The 522-acre Long Ridge area
is one of several portions of the SLPWDS that is within the MPWMD. With
advances in information technology, it was discovered that two SLPWDS wells previously
believed to be outside the District boundary are actually within the District. Exhibit 17-B provides a general map of the
Santa Lucia Preserve, and shows the Long Ridge area roughly east of
The
District regulates only wells and property within its boundary. If
approved, this action will acknowledge the two Long Ridge wells within the
District boundary. The Board will set
system limits for Well N-31, drilled in year 2001, pursuant to District Rules
20-22. Had the District or the applicant
known Well N-31 was within its boundary in 2001, a permit process would have
occurred at that time. Well T-29 is
exempt from needing a WDS permit, based on the rules in place in 1992, when it
was drilled. Thus, this action focuses
only on Well N-31, located on parcel APN 239-131-022; it also affects 14 Long Ridge area parcels that are
partially or wholly within the District as listed in Exhibit 17-A. Three of these parcels are designated as Open
Space and 11 parcels are designated as residential lots.
Hydrogeologic tests indicate that Well N-31 could reliably produce an annual yield of 12.15 acre-feet per year (AFY). Most of the well production would serve 11 residential parcels that are partially or wholly within the District boundary in the Long Ridge area. The estimated water for the 11 parcels is 9.6 AFY, based on MPWMD worksheets and the applicant’s best estimate of the type of homes that may be built on these large lots. No adverse impacts to other well owners or the environment are anticipated, based on a hydrogeologic study for Well N-31 that was reviewed by District staff and consultants, and the County-certified EIR/Addendum for the Santa Lucia Preserve. It is noted that County zoning would allow two independent dwellings on each lot (e.g., main home and caretaker home), or potentially 22 residential connections. A 23rd connection would be a master connection for open space and/or interconnection to the larger SLPWDS.
The MPWMD serves as a Responsible Agency in this matter in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and relies on environmental documents certified by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors as part of its approval of the Santa Lucia Preserve. Pertinent sections of the EIR have been provided to the Board under separate cover, and are available for review at the District office or on the District website. All files associated with the application are available for review at the District office. Public notice of this hearing through a variety of means was provided in the manner required by the applicable District rules.
RECOMMENDATIONS: District staff recommends that the Board take the following actions:
1. Adopt the MPWMD Findings of Approval for Application #20071107SLC to Create the Long Ridge/Well N-31 Addition (Exhibit 17-D) with specific reference to Finding #21, District compliance with CEQA as a Responsible Agency.
2. Approve Application #20071107SLC and authorize issuance of MPWMD Permit #M09-02-L4 with the 30 Conditions of Approval specified in Exhibit 17-E, in compliance with MPWMD Rule 22-D. A production limit of 12.15 AFY would be set for Well N-31, and a connection limit would be 23 connections (i.e., two connections for each of the 11 residential parcels, and one master connection for irrigation and other uses).
3. Direct staff to file a Notice of Determination with the Monterey County Clerk in compliance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15096(i).
BACKGROUND: MPWMD Application #20071107SLC was submitted on November 17, 2007 and was deemed to be complete on December 7, 2007. This application was an outgrowth of a multi-month comprehensive effort by District and SLCSD staff to accurately locate Santa Lucia Preserve (SLP) wells and parcels that are located within the District. This effort was initiated when improvements in geographic information technology enabled staff to determine that certain wells and parcels thought to be outside the District are actually within the District. This action in 2009 does not entail any physical changes to the existing SLPWDS. Key application materials on file at the District office include:
Ø MPWMD Application #20071107SLC and Supplemental Questionnaire, including list of affected parcels, received November 7, 2007;
Ø Monterey County Health Department Well Permit #00-390 dated November 20, 2000;
Ø Summary Report—Drilling, Well Construction and Aquifer Testing for Santa Lucia Preserve Well N-31, dated August 22, 2001, prepared by Geoconsultants, Inc;
Ø Well N-31 water quality analysis dated July 12, 2005;
Ø Map of Long Ridge area showing well sites;
Ø Santa Lucia Preserve, Final EIR, Chapter 2 – Project Description (September 1995);
Ø Santa Lucia Preserve, Final EIR, Chapter 8 – Groundwater Hydrology (September 1995);
Ø Santa Lucia Preserve, EIR Addendum, Chapter 3 – Environmental Effects of Minor Modifications to Project (August 1997);
Ø Santa Lucia Preserve, Final EIR, Appendix A – Notice of Preparation (August 1994);
Ø Santa Lucia Preserve, Final EIR, Chapter 21 – Citations (September 1995);
Ø
Ø
DISCUSSION: The staff recommendations are based on the following information:
Findings and Conditions of Approval
The Findings of Approval (Exhibit 17-D) are based on evidence
provided in the application materials, including supporting documents on file
at the District office. Staff believes
the application meets the criteria and minimum standards for Approval set by
District Rules 22-B and C. Pertinent
information includes certified environmental documents, technical studies and
reports, technical memoranda and maps, correspondence between MPWMD staff and
the applicant, and previous approvals by other governmental entities. In its December 5, 2007 technical review (Exhibit 17-F),
the District consultant, Pueblo Water Resources, reviewed the August 2001 hydrogeology
report submitted by the applicant and concurred with its conclusions. Based on
the aforementioned certified EIR and Addendum for the Santa Lucia Preserve
project, and technical review of the subject well, MPWMD approval of the
application is not anticipated to result in a significant adverse effect to the
The referenced well N-31 is located wholly within the MPWMD. Because the SLPWDS is a complex system with dozens of interconnected wells, it is possible that water could be imported into or exported outside of the District, depending on the circumstances. If water needs within the Long Ridge area are greater than the capacity of Well N-31, water could be imported into the District to serve the 11 residential and three open space parcels. If excess water is available because the Long Ridge area demand is less than the capacity of Well N-31, water could be exported from the District. The total amount of export is constrained by the 12.15 AFY production limit set by Permit #M09-02-L4, and the water needs within the Long Ridge area (estimated at 9.6 AFY for the 11 residential lots). Thus, the amount of exported water is not expected to be greater than 2.55 AFY, on average (12.15 – 9.6 = 2.55), and would never exceed 12.15 AFY.
The Conditions of Approval (Exhibit 17-E) proposed for MPWMD Permit #M09-02-L4 for the Long Ridge/Well N-31 Addition are consistent with MPWMD Rule 22-D governing approval of water distribution systems. Conditions #1-4 define the Permitted System, including a system capacity (production) limit of 12.15 AFY for Well N-31, and an expansion capacity (connection) limit of 23 connections -- 22 associated with the 11 residential parcels and one master connection to the interconnected SLPWDS. Well N-31 may serve the 11 residential and three open space parcels in the Long Ridge area, and contribute to the overall SPWDS. There is no municipal allocation of CAW water associated with this action.
Conditions #5-23 reflect standard mandatory conditions of the MPWMD, including water quality, metering and annual reporting, conservation, system changes, required Indemnification Agreement and Deed Restriction, fee payments, etc. Other Conditions of Approval (Conditions #24-25) address water rights and the Endangered Species Act; these are not required by MPWMD rules, but are included in all WDS permits. Special Conditions #26-30 focus on annual reporting of water use within the Long Ridge area, copies of monitoring reports, access for inspections, and timely notice of pending or actual changes to the system or its ownership.
The District Board action must
comply with CEQA as well as MPWMD regulations.
In the review of this application, MPWMD has followed those guidelines
adopted by the State of
As required by CEQA Sections 15091, 15092 and 15093, the District Board, through Findings (and cited evidence) #21, 22 and 23 (Exhibit 17-D) has determined that: (a) the project will not have a significant effect on the environment, (b) mitigation measures are not required as part of the District’s action on this WDS permit, and (c) a Statement of Overriding Considerations was not adopted by the District Board for this action. If the application is approved by the Board, the District will file its own Notice of Determination in compliance with Section 15096(i).
Public notice has been provided
no later than 10 days prior to this public hearing in several ways, including:
(1) mailed notices to property owners within the District and 300 feet of the 14
subject parcels in the Long Ridge area; (2) posted notice at the District
office; (3) posting in the Long Ridge area and at the SLCSD office; (4) notice
of the public hearing to recipients of District agendas for the January 29,
2009 meeting; (5) notice of the January 29, 2009 public hearings in The
Herald; and (6) posting of this item on the District website.
EXHIBITS
17-A Application #20071107SLC to Create the Long
Ridge/Well N-31 Addition, including list of parcels
17-B Overview maps
of proposed system
17-C Detail map of Well N-31 and T-29
17-D Draft Findings of Approval for Application
#20071107SLC
17-E Draft Conditions of Approval for Application
#20071107SLC, Permit #M09-02-L4
17-F MPWMD consultant hydrogeologic review of
applicant’s Well Report
Provided to MPWMD Board under Separate Cover:
Santa Lucia Preserve, Final EIR, Chapter 2 – Project Description (September 1995);
Santa Lucia Preserve, Final EIR, Chapter 8 – Groundwater Hydrology (September 1995);
Santa Lucia Preserve, EIR Addendum, Chapter 3 – Environmental Effects of Minor Modifications to Project (August 1997)
H. Stern, 1/20/09
U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2009\20090129\PubHrgs\17\item17.doc