Santa Rosa Planning Commission Regular Meeting - October 14, 2021
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Santa Rosa Planning Commission Regular Meeting - October 14, 2021
The Santa Rosa Planning Commission met virtually on October 14, 2021, via Zoom webinar. The meeting included a study session on the Water Demand Offset (WDO) Policy and Fee Study, approval of minutes, public comments, department reports, and two public hearings: a conditional use permit for a cannabis retail dispensary and a modification of the Courtney Estates final map. Both public hearing items were approved unanimously on 6-0 votes, with Commissioner Vicki Duggan absent. Note: The agenda indicated a 4:30 p.m. start; the minutes record a 4:00 p.m. call to order.
Study Session – Water Demand Offset (WDO) Policy and Fee Study
- Colin Close (Senior Water Resources Planner) and Mark Hildebrand (consultant) presented an informational session on the proposed WDO Policy and Fee Study, which implement the City’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan requirement that new construction offset water demand during declared water shortage emergencies requiring rationing.
- The policy would apply only during severe shortages (greater than 25% supply reduction) when water allocations/rationing are in effect; it would require new development (projects subject to new or increased connection fees) to achieve a 100% offset of its projected water demand, with fees collected at occupancy only if rationing is in effect.
- The originally adopted plan had required offsets increasing from 1x to 4x across shortage stages 5 through 8; staff is proposing to simplify this to a flat 100% offset, to be brought before City Council.
- The fee study calculated costs based on past conservation programs: bathroom conversions (toilets, aerators, showerheads), clothes washer rebates, and turf removal. Proposed fees are shown by development type (single-family homes by size, multifamily, commercial/industrial/institutional on a per-thousand-gallon basis).
- Staff noted that the policy would meet the requirements of AB 602 (impact fee nexus law) even though not directly subject to it. They cited a 42% per-capita water use reduction between 1990 and 2010, replacement of more than 56,000 toilets, and removal of 3.5 million square feet of turf.
- Commissioner comments raised concerns about whether the fee reflects the most recent building codes (Commissioner Okrepkie), potential exemptions for fire rebuilds (Okrepkie), rainwater harvesting incentives (Holton), the proportion of urban vs. agricultural water use (Peterson), deferral/design credits and housing cost impacts (Carter), and possible developer self-selection to delay projects (Cisco). Staff responded to each, noting existing rebates, low-income housing considerations, and that no fees would have been collected in the past 30 years because rationing has never been declared.
- Next steps: City Council study session October 26, Board of Public Utilities November 4, and City Council public hearing November 30; a companion amendment to the shortage plan will be considered.
Approval of Minutes
- The September 23, 2021 draft minutes were approved as submitted.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Maureen G spoke during general public comment regarding agenda item 9.2 (Courtney Estates/Fox Meadow), expressing neighbor concerns about preserving a conservation easement, closing open spaces, construction activity and road construction on the west side, barriers to vehicle access, and potential impacts related to homeless encampments. Staff later confirmed these comments would be addressed in the item 9.2 presentation.
Department Reports
- Andrew Trippel, PC Liaison, reported on the recently approved Short-Term Vacation Rental Urgency Ordinance (approved by City Council October 12). The ordinance requires permits for each short-term rental property, notification to residents within 600 feet, and distinguishes “operators in good standing” (registered for TOT/BIA by October 27) who must apply by December 3, and new operators who may apply from December 4.
- Trippel also summarized recent state housing legislation: SB 8 extends SB 330 streamlining through 2030; SB 9 requires ministerial approval of lot splits and two-unit projects in single-family zones; SB 10 allows up to 10 units in transit-rich or urban infill areas via ordinance. Staff is working toward SB 9 compliance resources before January 1, 2022, and future zoning text amendments will come to the Planning Commission.
- Upcoming meetings: October 28 regular meeting canceled; November 16 joint session with City Council on General Plan Housing Element; November 18 special meeting.
Public Hearing – CR Santa Rosa, LLC (Cookies Retail) Conditional Use Permit (CUP21-013)
- Staff (Monet Sheikhali) presented the request for a Conditional Use Permit to operate a commercial cannabis retail (dispensary) and delivery use within an existing 4,475-square-foot building at 1937 Santa Rosa Avenue. The project is CEQA-exempt, complies with the 600-foot dispensary buffer, and includes a security plan. Three public comments opposed the project; late correspondence from the applicant offered to revise the building color scheme.
- Applicant representative Steve Jones (Cookies Retail) presented the company’s background, security standards, and willingness to adopt a muted color scheme and add bike parking.
- Commissioner discussion focused on signage and the ability to condition the alternative color scheme. Staff confirmed two amendments: condition 12 modified to require at least two bicycle parking spaces, and a new condition requiring the building color scheme as described in late correspondence received October 13, 2021.
- Motion by Commissioner Okrepkie, seconded by Commissioner Carter, to adopt Resolution No. 12070. Passed 6-0 (Commissioner Duggan absent).
Public Hearing – Modification to Courtney Estates Final Map (MOD21-002)
- Staff (Kristinae Toomians) presented the request to modify the Courtney Estates Final Map (recorded July 2007) for the 30.07-acre subdivision to adjust lot layouts and reconfigure easements to accommodate stormwater requirements. Changes include: maximum lot size reduced from 8,985 to 8,064 sq ft; minimum lot size from 4,046 to 4,043 sq ft; average lot size from 5,228 to 5,042 sq ft; the number of lots remains 50; Parcels A and B become stormwater treatment areas owned/maintained by the HOA; public utility easements resized generally to 5.5 feet with exceptions; affordable housing rental units consolidated onto lots 21 and 22; units per acre remain 2. A Mitigated Negative Declaration was recommended.
- Commissioner Carter sought clarification on the location of affordable units; staff explained the zoning administrator had approved consolidating the eight affordable rental units into two four-unit buildings on lots 21 and 22.
- Public comment (Maureen G) had raised concerns about construction activity, road work, and open space; staff noted the activity was related to the neighboring Fox Hollow subdivision, not Courtney Estates.
- Motion by Vice Chair Peterson, seconded by Commissioner Cisco, to adopt Resolution No. 12071. Passed 6-0 (Commissioner Duggan absent).
Key Outcomes
- Study session held; no formal action taken. Staff received Planning Commission input for consideration.
- Minutes approved.
- Resolution No. 12070 approved (CUP21-013) with amended conditions.
- Resolution No. 12071 approved (MOD21-002).
- The meeting adjourned at 6:17 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, uh Mike, we ready? Okay, so I see my fellow commissioners ready to go. So with that, I would like to call to order the October 14th, 2021 meeting of the Santa Rosa Planning Commission. Uh, before I start, I'd like to read the following statement. Due to the provisions of the governor's executive orders N-25-20 and N 29-20, which suspends certain requirements of the Brown Act and the order of the Health Officer of the County of Sonoma to Shelter in place to minimize the spread of COVID-19. The planning commissioners will be conducting today's meeting in a virtual setting using Zoom webinar. Commissioners and staff are participating from remote locations and are practicing appropriate social distancing. Members of the public may view and listen to the meeting as noted on the city's website and as noted on the agenda. Members of the public wishing to speak during item four public comment or during our public hearings tonight will be able to do so by raising their hand and will be given the ability to address the commission. So with that, I'd like to ask for a roll call. Thank you, Chair Weeks. Let the record reflect that all commissioners are present except Commissioner Dugan. Thank you. And with that, we'll go to item two, which is our study session tonight. It's the water demand offset policy and fee study. And Colin Close, Senior Water Resources Planner from Santa Rosa Water, is presenting. Welcome, Colin. Thank you very much, Chair Weeks, really appreciate that. I will share my screen so that you can view the presentation. And just want to make sure is that visible to all with just the uh title slide showing. Terrific. Thank you so much, Chair Weeks, for confirming that. So, yes, I'm Colin Close. I'm a senior water resources planner with the city's water department, Santa Rosa Water, and we're very pleased to be before you today to present information to you in a study session about the water demand offset policy and fee study. I also have with me today, Mark Hildebrand. He will be also presenting, uh he's a consultant that worked on the fee study with us. In addition, although she won't be presenting, uh, one of the key team members that we had is Katie Cole is present to uh potentially help answer questions as well. Katie is with Woodard and Curran. They're a consulting firm with expertise in the area of demand uh offsets, and uh we hired Woodard and Kern to help us in the development of the policy. So we have a team here for you to help uh address questions as well as some folks from legal. So just as a uh bit of information and background, the water demand offset policy is coming before you because it is a part of our uh urban water management planning effort. The state requires that we develop a long-range water supply plan. We do this every five years. We update it, we look out over a 25-year horizon. The law requires at least a 20-year horizon. We also need to put together a shortage plan. Our long-term uh horizon for water supply looks very good in normal years and even in years where we have a little bit below average rainfall. But when we have severely dry years and consecutive severely dry years as we're experiencing now, we certainly need to implement our water shortage plan. So the state asks that we have that plan prepared, and I'll be talking a little bit about that today because the offset policy is an instrument to allow us as a mechanism to implement part of that water shortage plan. The most recent versions of the urban water management plan and the water shortage plan were adopted by city council in June of this year. So they've just been recently updated. The water shortage contingency plan does have to meet certain regulatory requirements. So it is a standalone document. Years ago, it was part of the urban water management plan. Now it is a companion plan that stands alone next to the urban water management plan. We have to do a thorough analysis of what shortages mean, how we would address them, and have a very detailed operational plan for implementing during any stage of a water shortage, whether it's very mild or very severe. And because the urban water management plan and the water shortage contingency plan are considered CECA exempt under the water code, the policies and the implementation that follow from those documents are also CQ exempt. So this is not a project, the water demand offset policy and fee study, not a project under the CEQA regulations. The first shortage plan was adopted in 1992, so about 30 years ago. In that time, we've had a number of water shortages, whether they were related to infrastructure and Sonoma water being able to deliver enough water during peak summers while they're doing some infrastructure work, or whether it's due to long-term droughts, we've had probably six or seven different water shortage conditions that we have dealt with.
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