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City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 10/12/2009 Item Number: A-1
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Introduction of an Ordinance Amending Chapter
5.03, Water Conservation, of the Culver City Municipal Code
Contact Person/Dept.: Helen Kerstein/PW Phone Number: (310) 253-5618
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: Agendas and Meetings – City Council (10/07/09); (E-Mail) Ongoing
Topics - Sustainability and Environmental Issues (10/07/09); (E-Mail) Homeowners
Associations - Downtown Neighborhood Association (10/07/09); (E-Mail) Homeowners
Associations - Fox Hills Neighborhood Association (10/07/09); (E-Mail) Homeowners
Associations - Gateway Neighborhood Association (10/07/09); (E-Mail) Chamber of
Commerce (10/07/09); (Advertisement) Culver City News (10/01/09, 10/08/09)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (09/30/09)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (09/04/09)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir ( by M. Noller) (09/08/09)
City Manager Approval:
Mark Scott (10/07/09)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council introduce an Ordinance amending Chapter
5.03, Water Conservation, of the Culver City Municipal Code.
BACKGROUND:
In 1990, in response to severe drought conditions, the City Council adopted Chapter
5.03, Water Conservation, of the Culver City Municipal Code (“CCMC”). This
Chapter outlines a variety of water use restrictions within the City. Despite proactive
steps on the part of the City, such as the adoption of these restrictions, water
shortages in Southern California have intensified as the region’s population has
increased and as conditions in the Sacramento River Delta (a significant supplier of
the Los Angeles Region’s water) have deteriorated, spurring limitations on water
provided to Southern California through the California Aqueduct.
At the beginning of this year, the water situation became critical. In the wake of
three drought years, state reservoirs reached dangerously low levels. In response,
in February of this year, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency
and urged quick and forceful steps to conserve water. Following the Governor’s
lead, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) called on its member agencies to
“achieve extraordinary conservation by adopting and enforcing drought ordinances,
accelerating public outreach and messaging, and developing additional local
supplies.” MWD also drafted a Model Water Ordinance outlining recommended
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policies and tied the receipt of certain grant funds to the passage of such an
ordinance as well as the creation of an accompanying implementation plan.
At a local level, West Basin Metropolitan Water District (West Basin), the MWD
member agency providing water to most of Culver City, required water retailers to
adhere to a water supply allocation plan or face financial penalties beginning July 1,
2009. In order to meet the requirements under this plan, Golden State Water
Company (Golden State), which serves most of Culver City, asked its customers to
voluntarily reduce their water usage by 10 percent compared to their historical usage
and implement specific water conservation measures or face possible fines or other
penalties. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), which also
serves a portion of Culver City (west of the I-405 Freeway), also took action to
encourage its customers to voluntarily reduce water consumption.
DISCUSSION:
Southern California relies heavily on water imported from Northern California and the
Colorado River. As the region grows, additional demands have been placed on
these already strained water resources. Not surprisingly, water conservation is
always essential in all of Southern California, including Culver City. However, water
conservation is especially critical in drought conditions like those we have faced over
the past several years.
The City’s existing Water Conservation Ordinance (“Existing Ordinance”) provides
an important tool to encourage water conservation. It sets forth a number of
restrictions on water use, including broad prohibitions against wasting water and
excessive watering as well as requirements for the prompt fixing of leaks. In
addition, it includes more specific restrictions on washing vehicles and paved
surfaces, using non-recirculated water for fountains, serving water at food
establishments except upon request, watering more than once every other day, and
watering between 10am and 4pm.
Despite its strengths, the Existing Ordinance has not been updated in nearly 20
years and does not contain additional restrictions that could further encourage water
conservation. For instance, it does not include rules that limit watering lengths,
prohibit single pass cooling systems, or require restaurants to use water-conserving
nozzles, hotels to offer guests the option of rejecting daily linen changing, and car
washes and commercial laundry systems to employ water re-circulation.
Furthermore, the Existing Ordinance employs a one-size fits all approach, rather
than allowing for increased restrictions as the severity of the drought increases (see
Attachment 2 for a comparison of the Existing Ordinance to the proposed
Ordinance).
The proposed Ordinance, which is modeled after the MWD Model Ordinance, will
bring the City’s rules up to date and ensure that they are comprehensive and flexible
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enough to accommodate the City’s current water conservation needs. It will also
create more consistency with other jurisdictions in the region that have adopted
ordinances that are modeled after or are similar to the MWD Model Ordinance,
including: Torrance, Glendale, Beverly Hills, Brea, Pasadena, Los Angeles, and
Manhattan Beach. This should help reduce confusion for residents.
Furthermore, when paired with the attached draft implementation plan, the proposed
Ordinance will ensure the City’s continued eligibility for grant opportunities through
MWD, including: the Public Sector II Grant, Enhanced Conservation Program, and
the Pilot Turf Removal Program. These grants are currently on hold due to the state
budget crisis, but it is important for the City to be able to access them when they
once again become available.
The proposed Ordinance will also complement the efforts taken by LADWP and
Golden State to reduce water use. Specifically, the City’s water conservation
requirements are similar to those specified by Golden State and will assist residents
and businesses in meeting the 10 percent water reduction target set by the
company. Additionally, the proposed Ordinance will work alongside the updated
Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (Landscape Ordinance) that the
California State Department of Water Resources (DWR) completed in September.
Culver City, like every other jurisdiction in the state, will have to pass this landscape-
focused ordinance or an ordinance at least as effective no later than January 1,
2010 or the provisions of the state law will prevail automatically.
Complying with the restrictions in the proposed Ordinance will require some
behavioral changes on the part of water users. Staff intends to conduct outreach, as
described in the draft implementation plan, to help inform the community about this
ordinance and encourage the necessary changes in water use habits (see
Attachment 3). Part of this outreach will be to share information about the wide
variety of rebates that are available through West Basin and other entities to help
everyone do their part to conserve water. For example, the City recently
collaborated with West Basin on a program to provide free water-efficient toilets.
Also, West Basin, in collaboration with local water companies, currently has a Green
Garden Program, which provides free landscape surveys and water-conserving
sprinklers.
The City has already begun its outreach efforts. Staff participated in a Water
Conservation Fair on August 13, 2009 to provide information to the public and to
solicit input on the proposed Ordinance. A survey was created and made available
to the public at this event. Furthermore, staff posted this survey on the City website
and sent it to the City’s environmental E-Mail address list. In total, approximately
130 responses to the survey were received. These responses are likely weighted
towards those with an interest in and commitment to environmental and water
conservation issues. With that said, the responses suggest that awareness of the
Existing Ordinance is relatively low, with only roughly half of respondents knowing
that Culver City currently has an ordinance requiring water conservation. The
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responses also indicate that there is substantial support for revising the Existing
Ordinance as proposed. Proposed changes such as increasing watering restriction
hours, limiting irrigation system watering to 15 minutes, and escalating water use
restrictions during more severe droughts received an average rating of between 8
and 10 on a scale from 0 (not supportive) to 10 (very supportive).
Staff discussed a draft of the proposed Ordinance with the Sustainable City
Subcommittee at their meeting on August 7, 2009 and the Subcommittee members
expressed their general support of the proposed Ordinance and recommended the
City Council introduce the proposed Ordinance.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
Many of the components of the proposed Ordinance are similar to the Existing
Ordinance and require little to no additional enforcement. Some of the components
are entirely new such as the limit on watering times, the requirement that restaurants
use water-conserving nozzles, the requirement that hotels offer guests the option to
reject daily linen changing, the prohibition on single pass cooling systems and the
requirement for re-circulation in car washes and commercial laundry systems. Staff
envisions that to the extent these provisions will be enforced, they will be enforced
along with existing codes and will not require significant additional resources.
While staff does not anticipate that the proposed Ordinance will require significant
additional expenditures, it could lead to somewhat lower tax revenues. Sewer
charges are based on water use and the Utility Users Tax is applied to water bills.
To the extent that this ordinance leads to lower water consumption, it will lead to
commensurate drops in these revenue sources, assuming no changes in sewer
charge or water rates. The amount of these changes is difficult to estimate at this
time.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Proposed Ordinance
2. Comparison of Existing and Proposed Water Conservation Ordinances
3. Draft Implementation Plan
MOTION:
That the City Council:
Introduce an Ordinance Amending Chapter 5.03, Water Conservation, of the Culver
City Municipal Code.
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