Memorandum
Date: July 27, 2021
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Bruno Sabatier, Chair and District 2 Supervisor
Subject: Consideration of an Urgency Ordinance Requiring Land Use Applicants to Provide Enhanced Water Analysis During a Declared Drought Emergency
Executive Summary: (include fiscal and staffing impact narrative):
The Planning Commission is given a difficult task to deal with many applications that have been working their way through a rigorous process to be considered eventually in their meetings. During these meetings, water has become, rightfully so, a more sensitive subject matter due to our drought conditions. The Planning Commission has requested the board's assistance verbally multiple times on direction and guidance during these hard and difficult times where economic development and the urgent need to conserve water seem to be clashing.
In the many planning commission meetings that I've observed, including the appeals that we have heard here at the Board of Supervisors, often times only well reports are provided. Well reports do not provide any scientific review on the impacts that the project may have and offer little to no information to allow our staff to analyze the cumulative impact these projects may have on the surrounding area.
I offer an urgency ordinance that provides guidance to our Community Development staff that a hydrology report is required for all projects during the duration of our drought emergency declaration and that the applicants draft a drought management plan on how to take part in our community in conserving water in comparison to pursue the full potential of their projects. This would impact all projects as water is part of all projects currently being reviewed.
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