Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 27, 2008
5. Agencies, Programs, People
DELTA DEVELOPMENT:
Development in Delta up for debate; Scaled-down Clarksburg project could tell future of building in sensitive areas - Stockton Record
Controversial Sugar Mill housing project goes back to Delta panel - Sacramento Bee
WATER PROJECT UNDERWAY:
Council OKs $3.6 million basin project; Ponds will catch water; trails, rest areas added - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
LOCAL WATER PROJECT FUNDING:
Santa Margarita: USDA to offer grant, loans for water upgrades; nta Margarita residents could pay more for water services if projects for a storage tank and pipes are OK’d - San Luis Obispo Tribune
DELTA DEVELOPMENT:
Development in Delta up for debate; Scaled-down Clarksburg project could tell future of building in sensitive areas
Stockton Record – 3/27/08
By Alex Brietler, staff writer
THE DELTA - Just how much development should be allowed in the inner Delta will be argued again tonight as builders seek approval for a project that would roughly double the size of one tiny town.
Open land advocates and builders throughout the region are closely watching the proposal in Clarksburg, south of Sacramento, where a builder wants to plant 123 homes at the site of a defunct sugar mill.
Strict rules govern what, if anything, can be built in the area known as the "primary zone" of the Delta, about 780 square miles stretching from south San Joaquin County near Tracy almost to Sacramento.
Some fear that the Clarksburg project, if approved, could crack open the door to developers elsewhere in the estuary.
"As benign as a lot of these developments start, and for all their good intentions, just one development could really debase the standards and the integrity of the Delta," said Phillip Hoos, research associate for Earthjustice in Oakland.
The environmental law firm has appealed to block the project on behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Safeguarding the primary zone of the Delta is the responsibility of the little-known Delta Protection Commission, a 23-member board which last year blocked a larger-scale version of the sugar mill project.
Among other things, the commission's concerns include building homes in an area where flood protection may be substandard.
"There are some restrictions that I think are legitimate when it comes to public safety," said Stephen Dresser, a Lathrop City Council member who also serves on the commission.
"A lot of people are watching to see how the commission is going to come out on this one," he said.
Yolo County has approved the sugar mill project, which supporters say would create hundreds of new jobs and additional property tax revenue. The homes would be built on land that is zoned industrial and would not consume any Delta farmland.
After the commission's initial rejection, the county revised the project by scaling down the number of homes and increasing buffer zones between neighborhoods and nearby vineyards.
Nevertheless, commission staffers are recommending that the project again be blocked.
There's no evidence all those homes are really needed in this town of 300 people, they say. What's more, the levees protecting those homes may be substandard.
At the heart of the dispute is the Delta Protection Act of 1992, which says the Delta is inherently a flood-prone area that is best suited to agriculture, wildlife habitat and recreation.
The act established the Delta Protection Commission, which adopted specific rules about any proposed development.
In San Joaquin County, construction in west Lathrop and on Stewart Tract has been limited to the Delta's outer edges, or "secondary zone."
John Beckman, chief of the Building Industry Association of the Delta, said no urban building is proposed in San Joaquin's portion of the primary zone.
"That doesn't mean they're not thinking about it," he said.
Clarksburg's sugar mill project, if approved, would be "incredibly indicative to the people of San Joaquin County that the primary zone of the Delta can be developed," Beckman said. #
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080327/A_NEWS/803270330/-1/A_NEWS
Controversial Sugar Mill housing project goes back to Delta panel
Sacramento Bee – 3/27/08
By Mary Lynne Vellinga, staff writer
Yolo County plans to take another shot today at winning state approval for a controversial housing development in the protected rural heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta – but it still faces tough odds.
In its first such action ever, the 17-year-old Delta Protection Commission last year rejected an earlier version of the Sugar Mill housing plan proposed by developer John Carvalho Jr. for the tiny town of Clarksburg.
Yolo County has since downsized the project somewhat, but the commission's staff still contends that it violates policies to protect the rural core of the Delta.
Commissioners are slated to decide tonight. Their meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the city of West Sacramento Galleria, 1110 W. Capitol Ave.
Carvalho has received universal kudos for converting an old sugar beet factory next to the Sacramento River in Clarksburg into a winery and reception center. But his proposal to build houses on the site to help finance the rest of his plans has split Clarksburg area residents and attracted opposition from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Since being rebuffed by the Delta Protection Commission, Carvalho and Yolo County have agreed to scale back the number of planned houses from 162 to 123, elevate them above potential flood levels and increase the size of a buffer between the houses and a nearby vineyard.
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors voted earlier this month to approve the revised project and send it back to the Delta Protection Commission, which has jurisdiction over the Delta's core, known as the primary zone.
But the changes haven't won over the Delta Protection Commission staff, which has once again concluded that the proposed houses run afoul of the state's management plan for the Delta.
A staff report concludes that the Sugar Mill project remains inconsistent with state requirements that new development in the primary zone be supported by adequate flood protection.
The commission staff also cites "insufficient evidence" that the new housing is actually needed in Clarksburg, which had a grand total of 132 housing units as of 2001.
Several commission members declined to speak to The Bee on Wednesday, citing instructions from the state attorney general's office that they should not discuss the Sugar Mill matter publicly before today's hearing.
Commission Chairman Arne Simonsen, an Antioch city councilman, said he needs to be convinced that the new houses at the Sugar Mill will serve mainly local workers – perhaps those producing wine – rather than commuters from Sacramento.
"If this were farmworker housing, I don't think there would be any discussion," Simonsen said.
Simonsen said he also remains concerned about the flood safety implications of building new homes behind potentially substandard Delta levees.
One of his fellow commissioners, Yolo County Supervisor Mike McGowan, argued that the revisions should satisfy all of the commission's concerns. McGowan has been a leading backer of the Sugar Mill project.
McGowan said the project will serve local workers, retirees and young people. He noted that 20 percent of the units must be priced at an affordable level for low-income residents.
He doesn't think flooding is a significant issue, either. "I believe it's completely resolved by the requirement to raise the houses above whatever flood level there would be should there be a flood in that area," he said.
"In fact, we're setting a new standard for construction in the Delta. We're requiring this project to be built as if there were no levees." #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/815369.html
WATER PROJECT UNDERWAY:
Council OKs $3.6 million basin project; Ponds will catch water; trails, rest areas added
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin – 3/26/08
By Mona Shadia, staff writer
YUCAIPA - The City Council approved a contract for about $3.6 million to begin building the Oak Glen Creek Basins Project - a string of three holding ponds that will catch rainwater and improve the area's flood-drainage system.
The primary purpose of the project - near Bryant Street and Oak Glen Road - is to provide flood-control protection for residents near the area.
It will also add trails and rest areas for visitors.
Including design work, the cost to build the first phase of the project is estimated at $5.4 million, said Ray Casey, director of public works.
"With this project completed, the Dunlap area should be removed from the (Federal Emergency Management Agency) flood map," he said. "But the most important thing is it will prevent the flooding in Dunlap."
The project also provides another purpose - an eventual source of drinking water.
The retention basins are designed to collect rainwater runoff in three basins. The water will leach into the ground, flow into the aquifer, and eventually be tapped as a source of drinking water by the Yucaipa Valley Water District, Casey said.
Corona-based KEC Engineering is set to begin construction in mid-April.
Engineering and design work on the project was initiated three years ago.
"I'm thrilled," Councilman Tom Masner said. "I can't wait to have it complete."
In addition to the $3.6 million to build the first phase of the project, the council kicked in another $325,000 for city staff and to help with hidden costs that might crop up.
The project is a partnership between the city and several government agencies, including the San Bernardino County Flood Control District, Inland Empire Resource Conservation District, Environmental Protection Agency as well as the water district.
The first phase - which will include building the infrastructure for the three basins, a levy, spillway and piping system - is set to be completed by the end of the year.
Funds are available and bids will go out in the summer to build the second phase consisting of landscaping and irrigation, Casey said.
The final phases - which have not yet been funded - include making the hillside slopes along Bryant Street less susceptible to slides.
"I'm proud of the way (city) staff was able to work with all of the partners involved in such a complex project with the many benefits to the community," Casey said. #
http://www.dailybulletin.com/search/ci_8710749?IADID=Search-www.dailybulletin.com-www.dailybulletin.com
LOCAL WATER PROJECT FUNDING:
Santa Margarita: USDA to offer grant, loans for water upgrades; nta Margarita residents could pay more for water services if projects for a storage tank and pipes are OK’d
San Luis Obispo Tribune – 3/27/08
By Stephen Curran, staff writer
Santa Margarita could receive up to $3 million in federal funds for water infrastructure improvements, U. S. Department of Agriculture representatives are set to announce today.
The department’s Rural Development arm has committed a $1 million grant and $2 million in low-interest loans to pay for a new water storage tank, pipelines and fire hydrants.
State Rural Development Director Ben Higgins said the upgrades would help the North County community keep pace with needs for fire protection, water storage and drought preparedness. He and other officials are set to announce the awards at a news conference this morning.
Voters will decide later this year whether to approve the infrastructure improvements, which would mean higher water rates for residents and also would require the community to tap into state water, Higgins said.
Repaying the loan would add $15 to the average Santa Margarita water bill of $35, and the state water infrastructure would add $4.
Tapping into state water would give the community another source of drinking water in the event of a severe drought, he said.
“The need for the project is real,” Higgins said. “The infrastructure today doesn’t meet current demand and would be wholly inadequate in the event of a fire.”
County public works officials applied for the grant late last year, saying existing infrastructure left many of the rural parcels vulnerable to wildfires.
In a statement, Public Works Director Paavo Ogren said the awards would help local government make the needed improvements.
“These projects are identified in the community’s Water Master Plan as priority projects, and with USDA Rural Development offering favorable financing terms and a very large grant, it makes sense to implement these projects,” he said.
If approved by voters, the funds would be used to build a 487,750-gallon storage tank, replace water and fire flow pipelines, install 22 fire hydrants and connect Santa Margarita’s water system to a state pipeline.
The agency has allocated more than $50 million for improved water service geared toward rural communities, representatives said. #
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