The Relationship Between Land Use Planning Agencies and SGMA January 26, 2016 Cross Roads of GSAs and Local Land-use Planning Agencies Coming to an end of an Era Understanding Groundwater: Challenges to Water Management and Land-use Planning What do the consequences of groundwater resources mean for land-use and community planning? Groundwater Overdraft Seawater Intrusion Water Quality Threats Land Subsidence Ecological Impacts Group Discussion 1.How do you, as water agency and land-use agency staff, coordinate in your work today? 2.What are the benefits or advantages to water management land-use planning coordination? 3.What are its challenges? Objectives 1.Encourage collaboration and coordination between water agencies and land- use agencies during the GSA formation process early and often. 2.Breakdown the legislation specifically related to land-use, highlighting SGMA requirements for planning agencies. 3.Understand the implications of SGMA on land-use planning 4.Determine potential roles of specific land-use planning agencies in water management. Intent of Legislation: Allow for a relationship between land-use agencies and water agencies The Legislature finds and declares that it is vital that there be close coordination and consultation between Californias water supply or management agencies and Californias land use approval agencies to ensure that proper water supply and management planning occurs to accommodate projects that will result in increased demands on water supplies or impact water resource management. The intent of the Legislature to provide a standardized process for determining the adequacy of existing and planned future water supplies to meet existing and planned future demands on these water supplies and the impact of land use decisions on the management of Californias water supply resources. Intent of Legislation: Composition of GSAs Groundwater sustainability agency means one or more local agencies that implement the provisions of this part [Part 2.74]. Local Agencies: means a local public agency that has water supply, water management, or land-use responsibilities within a groundwater basin. Local Agencies can be Local Agencies can be GSAs (Cities, Counties, [some] Special Districts) Local Agencies can collaborate to form GSAs with other Local Agencies, Water Corporations and Native American Tribes through JPAs or MOUs Intent of Legislation: Composition of GSAs Water Code Section Presumption That County Will Manage Areas Not Covered By a Groundwater Sustainability Agency; Extraction Reporting to State Board if County Does Not Manage Those Areas (a) In the event that there is an area within a basin that is not within the management area of a groundwater sustainability agency, the county within which that unmanaged area lies will be presumed to be the groundwater sustainability agency for that area. Intent of Legislation: Land-use Planning Connection Government Code Section Review and Consideration of Groundwater Requirements Before the adoption or any substantial amendment of a city's or county's general plan, the planning agency shall review and consider all of the following: (a) An adoption of, or update to, a groundwater sustainability plan or groundwater management plan pursuant to Part 2.74 Government Code Section Referral of Proposed General Plan Updates to Other Agencies (a) Before a legislative body takes action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency shall refer the proposed action to all of the following entities: (8) Any groundwater sustainability agency that has adopted a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74 Intent of Legislation: Land-use Planning Connection GSA Statutory Provisions Consider interests of all beneficial uses and users, including local land-use planning agencies Notify cities and counties about GSP Take into account local general plan assumptions and describe consideration given Provide General Plan Agencies with water-related documents Include processes to review land use plans and efforts to coordinate with land use planning agencies Report on effect of General Plan changes on implementation of the GSP Be consistent with general plans if adopting any regulations on groundwater extraction, unless there is insufficient sustainable yield Intent of Legislation: Land-use Planning Connection Water Code Section Additional Authorities of Groundwater Sustainability Agency (a) A groundwater sustainability agency shall have the following additional authority and may regulate groundwater extraction using that authority: (1) To impose spacing requirements on new groundwater well construction and impose reasonable operating regulations on existing groundwater wells. (2) To control groundwater extractions by regulating, limiting, or suspending extractions from individual groundwater wells or extractions from groundwater wells in the aggregate, construction of new groundwater wells, enlargement of existing groundwater wells, or reactivation of abandoned groundwater wells, or otherwise establishing groundwater extraction allocations. Those actions shall be consistent with the applicable elements of the city or county general plan, unless there is insufficient sustainable yield in the basin to serve a land use designated in the city or county general plan. Group Discussion Get back in groups of 2-3 Pull out the sheet title Planning Perspective from your folders Well come back together in minutes Intersections of SGMA and Local Land-use Planning Long-term Planning: The Existing General Plan General Plans show the location and intensity of land uses, including land not slated for urban use Projections of future population and employment growth Existing general plan is a major driver for water management plans What is our current water demand? What kinds of land-use plans are already in place? Intersections of SGMA and Local Land-use Planning General Plans are internally consistent Balance a diverse set of goals Economic development, environmental quality, housing Determined after extensive community input and involvement Group Discussion How should GSAs interpret the General Plan? How closely can GSA and General Plan goals be aligned? Intersections of SGMA and Local Land-use Planning Amending the General Plan Government Code : Before the adoption of any substantial amendment of a citys or a countys General Plan, the planning agency shall review and consider the GSP. Groundwater Sustainability Plans will influence the planning process. Planning agencies will have to collaborate with GSAs to determine the role the General Plan can have in achieving groundwater sustainability. Intersections of SGMA and Local Land-use Planning Amending the General Plan: Integrating Land-use strategies to achieve groundwater sustainability Sustainable community design principles improve environmental resource management in numerous areas energy efficiency, climate change but also can work toward achieving groundwater sustainability. GSAs have an opportunity to advocate for policies supporting these principles in General Plan amendments and updates. Intersections of SGMA and Local Land-use Planning Amending the General Plan: Ahwahnee Water Principles 9 Community Design Principles, 5 Implementation Methods Suggest Multi-benefit, integrated strategies for water-management for land-use Water Supply agencies should be consulted early and often in the land-use decision making process regarding technology, demographics, and growth predictions City and county officials, the watershed council, LAFCO, special districts, and other stakeholders sharing watersheds should collaborate to take advantage of benefits and synergies of water resource planning at a watershed level Intersections of SGMA and Local Land-use Planning Amending the General Plan: Adding a Water Element or Including Water Considerations in Every Element All-water related policies in one place Better Accessibility Important way to ensure GSA/GSP goals are aligned with the General Plan Intersections of SGMA and Local Land-use Planning Amending the General Plan: Further Implications of Groundwater Management Housing Element Water suppliers must grant priority to housing projects that would help in the attainment of housing element goals for low income housing when allocating available and future water resources ( ) Land-use Intersections of SGMA and Local Planning Current Planning the Development Review Process GSP plan development is exempt from CEQA review Projects for preparation and adoption exempt Projects implementing subject to CEQA review Project and plan-level CEQA reviews may rely on GSPs for environmental baseline and impact assessment GSAs will likely comment on CEQA documents Step beyond SB221 and SB610, GSPs can apply to any project size Land-use Intersections of SGMA and Local Planning Current Planning the Development Review Process Opportunity to think about the role of GSAs in land-use planning What are the pros & cons of GSPs providing project-level conditions in support of GSPs? How might limitations on groundwater extractions imposed, as means to achieve sustainable groundwater goals, affect land-use decisions? The Role of Local Agencies in Securing Successful Sustainable Groundwater Management What other planning agencies interact with GSA that we havent considered? What does their involvement look like? LAFCOs Local Agency Formation Commission Sphere of influence updates, Annexations, and Municipal service reviews MPOs & COGs Metropolitan Planning Organization & Council of Governments Determine housing allocations and transportation funding, create sustainable communities strategies CDS Community Service District County accountability in unincorporated areas Group Discussion Pull out the Activity Sheet Role of Planning Agencies Get into groups of 3 groups Work through the questions for your specific planning agency, we will come back together to discuss in minutes. Closing Thoughts Water agencies and Land-use agencies are tangled together in SGMA. Theres no undoing the knot, theres only making it tighter. GSAs and GSPs could be very effective through land-use planning, but only if the coordination and a willingness to collaborate is there. Working together, GSAs and land-use agencies can achieve groundwater sustainability, and better management and allocation of resources. It takes early and frequent collaboration.