Petaluma City Council to discuss building moratorium amid drought

On the heels of the governor’s executive order mandating more stringent water restrictions statewide, Petaluma City Council members are set to discuss a possible building moratorium to ease pressure on the water supply.

Added as a late item to Monday’s agenda by two council members, the council will first vote on whether to even discuss a moratorium during the meeting or postpone it until a more in-depth conversation can be held.

Mayor David Glass and Councilwoman Teresa Barrett sought to have the item added to the agenda, citing state water officials’ new demands for cities to reduce water use.

Last year, water agencies throughout the state were asked to seek 20 percent voluntary water-use reductions. While many jurisdictions succeeded, others actually used more water.

On Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed an executive order mandating 25 percent reductions from 2013 levels, saying the four-year statewide drought and record low snowpack had reached critical levels.

“The season in which we can logically expect rain is coming to a conclusion,” Glass wrote in an email. “There are a lot of folks in the community that are concerned about continued building as the effects of the drought become more severe. I think it is at the point where the City Council should have a discussion and possible action on a temporary building moratorium.”

Without temporarily freezing development approvals, it will be difficult to reach the state goals, he said.

He suggested a two-year temporary moratorium, which could stall several proposed projects already in the pipeline and delay any new building proposals.

One of the city’s heaviest water users, Lagunitas Brewery, has an expansion project in the works that would include, among other changes, 10 40-foot- tall fermentation tanks, a new parking lot and loading bays and introduction of wastewater treatment equipment to the 18-acre facility in north Petaluma.

Two housing developments and the Petaluma Health Care District’s proposed Walgreens drug store project are also pending.

Two years, or possibly less, Glass said, would give the city time to improve water storage capacity, improve conservation programs and “logically request” businesses and residents cut their water use.

Petaluma water customers reduced their average usage from 149 gallons per day in 2013 to 125 gallons a day in September, a 16 percent decrease.

Barrett said the city should also look at installing rain catchment systems on all city buildings and explore a water-recycling program for washing police and fire vehicles.

The item on Monday’s agenda is listed for possible action, meaning the council could legally take formal action toward a moratorium.

But that scenario would appear unlikely, given that it would need votes from six of seven council members and the legal legwork to write such an ordinance hasn’t been done, City Manager John Brown said.

The council could direct staff to analyze various options and return with suggested wording for an ordinance at a future meeting.

Councilman Mike Healy said he isn’t prepared to vote on a moratorium, but is interested in discussing the city’s possible options for water conservation, use reductions and water recycling efforts.

The governor’s executive order came after the annual snowpack measurement in the Sierra Nevada. Snowpack is the source of 30 percent of the state’s water for farms and cities. It is at an all-time low of 8 percent of normal, the only single-digit recording in 65 years of measuring.

The Sonoma County Water Agency, which provides Russian River water for 600,000 customers in Sonoma and Marin counties, is preparing to ask the state to renew permission to reduce water releases from Lake Mendocino, which supplies water for customers along the upper Russian River.

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.