ITEM:		PUBLIC HEARING
14.	CONSIDER REQUEST FOR VARIANCE FOR RAINWATER SYSTEM IN MIXED USE BUILDING AT 537 ANTHONY STREET, MONTEREY, APN 001-712-010, APPLICANT: MONTEREY DESIGN COLLECTIVE, LLC
Meeting Date:			January 23, 2020	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Dave Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Stephanie Kister	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: This action does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15378.

SUMMARY: The Monterey Design Collective, LLC, represented by Matthew Kyler and Patrick McNeill, is requesting Board approval of a variance to allow a demand offset for the use of rainwater to flush toilets and wash clothes at 537 Anthony Street, Monterey (Exhibit 14-A). District Rule 90 allows the Board to consider variances “…from any provision of the standards incorporated into these Rules and Regulations whenever it finds: (a) that Special Circumstances exist in a particular case, and (b) that practical difficulties or Undue Hardship would result from the strict interpretation and enforcement of any such standard, and (c) that the granting of such a variance would not tend to defeat the purposes of these Rules and Regulations. The Board may place conditions upon such variances.”

The Board is considering a variance because Special Circumstances exist in this case as Rule 25.5 (Exhibit 14-B) allows Non-Residential Water Use Credits for Ultra-Low Consumption Technology, but the Rule does not address Water Credit for rainwater reuse in a Single-Family or Mixed-Use project. Adoption of Resolution 2020-01 on the January 23, 2020 Consent Calendar will create a Water Credit for rainwater reuse within a Residential use, but because the resolution will be considered earlier the same evening as this hearing, there is a possibility that the resolution will not be passed, and this variance will need to be considered on its own merits. If the resolution passes, this variance request does not need to be heard by the Board.

DISCUSSION: The Site currently consists of a 1,222 square-foot (sq ft) commercial warehouse building. The Water Use Capacity associated with the building is Group I use at 0.00007 AF/sqft totaling 0.086 Acre-Foot annually (AF). The project will convert the building into a “live-work” space with 611 sq ft office use in the front and approximately 611 sq ft two-Bathroom Residential unit in the rear. The amount of water required for this project is 0.144 AF, 0.058 AF short of what is available on Site. The roof area of the project Site has sufficient area to meet 140% of the project’s non-Potable Capacity.

Rule 25.5, Table 4: High Efficiency Appliance Credits was updated by Resolution 2019-09 in July 2019 to add a Water Credit for Rainwater/Graywater reuse systems in Multi-Family Dwellings. This credit is presently not available to single Dwelling Units.

The project will include a two-Bathroom apartment with one full-time resident and two half-time residents, and a 611 sq ft office with two full-time employees (40 hours a week), two half-time employees (20 hours a week), and two summer interns who work three months a year (40 hours a week). Rainwater storage would be required for an eight-month dry period, with periodic rainfall filling the tank during the remaining months. Assuming all 0.8 gallon-per-flush (GPF) toilets, toilet flushing would require approximately 3,433 gallons of water. A High Efficiency Clothes Washer at three loads per week would require 1,440 gallons over 8 months. Therefore, the 8,000-gallon tank proposed by the applicant would supply 140 percent of the demand.

All other water fixtures would be served by the Cal-Am Potable supply and were analyzed over a one-year period for the same occupancy rate listed above. Total water needed for showering, food prep/cleanup and handwashing is approximately 24,500 gallons or 0.075 AF. No landscaping will exist on the Site. This estimated use is less than the 0.086 AF of Water Credit associated with the Site.

Staff further reviewed the Water Use Capacity of the Site to see if the new estimated demand would fit within the current Site Capacity if a rainwater credit were applied. The Water Use Capacity associated with the building is Group I use at 0.00007 AF/sq ft totaling 0.086 Acre-Feet (AF). First, the Group 1 Water Use Factor may be reduced by 65 percent for the toilet water being supplied by rainwater. At 0.000024 AF/sq ft, the office space will use 0.015 AF per year for handwashing and food preparation. Applying all the possible High Efficiency Appliance Credits and applying a 75 percent reduction on the fixture unit value for toilets and clothes washing (consistent with the current credit for Multi-Family reuse), the Residential portion of the project will use 0.062 AF year. This brings the combined use to 0.077 AF per year, which is 0.009 AF less than the allocated Water Use Capacity for the Site.

RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the Variance and adoption of the Findings of Approval (Exhibit 14-C) to authorize a rainwater reuse system to flush toilets and wash clothes to offset the proposed increase in use with the following conditions of approval:

1) Install an 8,000-gallon rainwater tank and roof conveyance system by Feb 15, 2020, to allow for immediate rainwater collection during the rainy season.

2) Obtain permits for the rainwater system from the City of Monterey and the Monterey County Health Department as required.

3) Meter the potable back-up supply where it enters the rainwater tank.

4) Meter the rainwater supply line as it exits the tank.

5) Submit annual reporting on all meter reads.

6) A Limitation on Use of Water on Property deed restriction shall be recorded on the property title making the rainwater reuse system a permanent requirement unless the condition is eliminated by an amended Water Permit.

EXHIBITS

14-A Application for Variance

14-B Rule 25.5

14-C Findings of Approval

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