Water use increases; waste reports taken

Nothing irks Yorba Lindans more in this drought than seeing water wasted by negligent use.

Now, anyone observing gutters full of running water, errant sprinklers gushing water onto streets or other profligate acts, can pass on the information to a public agency that promises to “investigate and take action” on each report.

The Yorba Linda Water District – with 24,535 residential and business accounts serving 22 square miles and a 70,000 population – is taking reports of waste at the ylwd.com website.

Residents alerting the district to a wasteful practice need only to cite the address or location of the occurrence, and, if desired, add an explanatory note and/or attach a picture of the problem.

In addition to checking for waste, the district recently implemented the first stage of a water restriction process that calls for a 10 per cent reduction in usage.

After a two-year second stage alert ended in June 2011, local water use rose, from 18,684 acre-feet in 2011-12 to 22,343 in 2013-14. For 2014-15, officials have budgeted for 21,980. One acre-foot is 43,560 cubic feet or 325,853 gallons of water.

Increases are due to an “unusually dry winter and anticipation of a dry and hot summer,” noted the district's 2014-15 budget, which anticipates $937,000 more revenue from water sales. Last year's revenue was $1.5 million more than budgeted.

Depending on the weather, about 60-70 percent of residential water use is for outdoor irrigation. Most residents pay $2.70 per 750 gallons, a monthly $16.77 service charge and a $5.50 sewer fee, since the last of a three-year, phased-in 6.5 percent rate hike July 1.

The district's largest customer is the city, which paid $1.86 million for water 2013-14, up nearly $250,000 from the 2010-11 amount. The second largest customer is the school district, which paid $267,442 last year, down $10,252 from 2010-11, despite the price increases.

One positive note is probable savings by drawing more water from North County groundwater, managed by the Orange County Water District, than buying import water controlled by the Metropolitan Water District, which has a 3.7 percent rate hike set Jan. 1.

A recent annexation put the entire Yorba Linda district service area inside the Orange County district boundaries, so Yorba Linda will be able to pump a larger amount of lower-cost groundwater, once infrastructure is completed over the next three years.

Groundwater costs $294 per acre-foot, while import water costs nearly four times as much. Import supplies – about 40 percent of purchases – consume 67 percent of costs.

Local officials seek voluntary compliance to water restrictions, but penalties are available. A first offense brings a warning, a second a $100 fine, a third a $250 fine and four or more, $500 fines.

Also: “A water-flow restrictor and/or disconnection of service may be imposed at the discretion of the General Manager for willful violations of the ordinance.”  

Seven elected officials confront water decisions

Some tough decisions affecting Yorba Linda in upcoming years will be made by seven lesser-known elected officials who've represented the city for a combined total of 70 years on four public agencies with jurisdiction over water supplies.

The decisions involve the availability and pricing of water used throughout Southern California, with costs expected to rise even as less water is used during historic drought conditions.

Most familiar to city residents are the five directors of the Yorba Linda Water District serving most of Yorba Linda and parts of Placentia, Brea, Anaheim and some unincorporated areas.

A near $33 million budget for 2014-15 pays for the acquisition and delivery of water from the north county groundwater basin and imported from the Colorado River and Northern California, as well as operation and maintenance of the sewer system throughout Yorba Linda.

Three directors – Phil Hawkins, Bob Kiley and Gary Melton – took office in 2010 and were scheduled for the Nov. 4 ballot but nobody filed to run against them, so they'll be appointed to new terms, as were Mike Beverage and Ric Collett, first elected in 1992 and 2004, when they didn't draw opponents in 2012.

The directors have put the district in the first of a four-stage conservation process, calling for a 10 percent usage reduction. Earlier this year, some remaining district land was annexed to the groundwater basin, which offers a less expensive supply than imported water.

Managing groundwater for 21 cities is the Orange County Water District, with 11 directors and a $206 million budget. Representing Yorba Linda and all or parts of four other cities is Roger Yoh, a Buena Park resident and Caltrans engineer first elected in 2004. His seat will be on a 2016 ballot; nobody opposed him in 2008, but he beat a 2012 opponent.

The basin is primarily recharged from the Santa Ana River, which the district has managed since 1933. The district holds rights to all Santa Ana River flows that reach the Prado Dam.

Two agencies handle imported water, and Yorba Lindan Brett Barbre is the local rep on both: the Municipal Water District of Orange County (seven directors and $194 million budget) and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (37 appointed directors and close to $2 billion budget).

Barbre, a Yorba Linda director 1998-2000, won the Municipal elections in 2000 and 2002 but wasn't opposed in 2006 or 2010. He faces Brea attorney Greg Diamond in November. Barbre was named to the Metropolitan post in 2009.

Metropolitan wholesales water to 14 cities and 12 districts, including Municipal, and Municipal sells to 28 smaller retail agencies, including Yorba Linda.

Directors earn per-meeting pay ($232 for Barbre, $221 for Yoh and $150 in Yorba Linda) and benefits, with Barbre earning the most ($71,008) and Yoh second ($40,202), according to fig-ures supplied by the districts.  

Failed recall's long-lasting impacts

Despite the low turnout – nearly 7 out of 10 registered voters didn't bother to mail in a ballot or visit a polling place – the failed attempt to recall two City Council members will have several long-lasting impacts on Yorba Linda's political scene.

The most significant consequence of the campaign that grew more negative each week is that so many of the city's most active and prominent citizens won't consider seeking a council position, continuing a pattern that becomes more pronounced each election year.

Proven leaders from churches, youth sports and cultural groups, city commissions and school committees don't run for council seats because campaigns have become increasingly corrosive and largely dominated by political operatives well-versed in the tactics of vilification.

Today's council elections with only five or six candidates from a 65,000-plus population are a far cry from the city's origins in 1967, when the first election drew 27 contenders from 11,500 residents. And the 27 individuals were a veritable “who's who” of the citizenry.

Political cynics say negative campaigns are effective, but research suggests mud-slinging and smear tactics deter broad-based participation, both as candidates and voters. The even more pessimistic opine that a low turnout is an unspoken goal of those who wield the hatchets.

Another impact is the emergence of “independent expenditure committees” as a major force in council elections. These groups, whether union-run or business-oriented, can collect thou-sands of dollars of special interest cash to support candidates with like-minded philosophies.

Legally, the “independent” committees can't coordinate tactics with candidates or candidate-organized committees, but their mailers and automated phone calls have the same wording, and candidates never disown the groups' negative tactics or misrepresentations.

Local political action committees, such as Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Representation, will be less important in future elections. YLRRR endorsed eight winning and three losing candidates 2006 to 2012, but the failed recall could curtail the group's influence.

Expect even more negative campaigning as the same forces from the recall face off in the Nov. 4 election for two council positions and the balance of power on the five-member panel, especially since voter turnout easily could more than double that of the recall election.

The recall drew 12,783 ballots, 9,193 cast by mail and 3,590 at the polls, just 31.5 percent of 40,532 registered voters, with less than half of 21,230 mail-in ballots returned. The most recent mid-term election turnout was 28,533, or 65.3 percent in 2010.

Final official recall totals: 5,216 “yes” and 7,518 “no” for Lindsey; 5,234 “yes” and 7,457 “no” for Craig Young. Now-moot replacement tallies: Jeff Decker 5,101 and Matt Palmer 4,680 for Lindsey; J. Minton Brown 4,987 and Nancy Rikel 4,890 for Young. 

Skate and dog parks, equestrian and arts facilities --listed in new Parks and Recreation Master Plan

Several long-sought recreational amenities – skate and dog parks, an equestrian event and boarding facility and a visual and performing arts center, among others – are delineated in a new Parks and Recreation Master Plan for services and facilities through 2030 in Yorba Linda.

The plan identifies 19 projects and divides them into “need,” “demand” and “desire” categories.

For example, a skate park – sought by at least two generations of local youth – was placed in the “desire” bin with seven others, defined as “projects that the community desires if there is a way to fund them in the future.”

The skate park was “a top priority” of the city's Teen Action Committee, but a community survey, stakeholder interviews and focus groups indicated “a very low percentage of residents favor building a skate park.”

A “highly visible” and “easily accessible” park location “away from residential or commercial properties” doesn't exist, so a “recommended strategy” is to “remain aware...this is a desirable facility for a special interest group” to be pursued if a location and funding “presents itself.”

Other amenities in the “desire” category include a municipal pool complex, new senior center, new gymnasium, additional outdoor amphitheater, fitness center, tennis center and public art.

An equestrian event and boarding facility, off-lease dog park and visual and performing arts center are among five in the “demand” category, defined as “projects that community outreach and comparison studies show there is a demand for...if funding and resources can be obtained.”

Two dog parks could be supported, with the “ideal strategy” of providing them on the city's east- and west-ends, but if “a proper location cannot be secured in an existing park then strategies to acquire an adequate location(s) should be pursued.”

Three strategies were suggested for a visual and performing arts center: Include space in a future library or multipurpose community center or partner with arts organizations to develop a center or pursue a joint-use agreement for use of the new center at El Dorado High School.

Strategies for an equestrian facility include obtaining land dedicated through development agreements, outright land acquisition and possible leased-land options.

Also in the “demand” category are additional equestrian trails and splash/water play activities.

The “need” category is defined as “priority projects for funding and allocation of resources to meet current needs” and includes six projects areas, including additional land for local parks.

The biggest project suggested is “a community park with multipurpose lighted sports fields, a community center with classrooms, studios, preschool facilities and space for cultural arts activities,” probably situated on the eastside.

Also in the “need” category are walking trails, lighted fields, softball fields, outdoor basketball and volleyball courts and a balance of park types throughout the city.

Yorba Linda updates parks, recreation master plan

A two-year project to update Yorba Linda's 32-year-old Parks and Recreation Master Plan has resulted in a 330-page document that recently received 5-0 approval from the otherwise often- feuding City Council members.

The document – “a planning tool...for future facility improvements and...parks and recreation services” through 2030 – becomes part of a General Plan update that also started two years ago but continues, guided by a council-appointed advisory committee.

Led by a city-hired consultant, the master plan's overhaul involved city staff, the Parks and Recreation Commission and such stakeholders as youth, sports and business groups, service clubs, equestrian and arts organizations, senior citizens and the local school district.

Naturally, such a lengthy document can't be summarized in one newspaper column, but following are items I found especially noteworthy:

--The city exceeds a parkland standard of 15 acres per 1,000 residents with a 1,071-acre total because of three nearby regional parks, school fields and other joint-use recreational facilities and the 219-acre Black Gold Golf Club.

But the city is 101.2 acres deficient of a 260-acre standard for local parkland based on four acres per 1,000 residents. The city's total is 158.8 acres, including 86 acres in 14 neighbor-hood parks (up to five acres) and 72.8 acres in eight community parks (five-plus acres).

Earlier this year the council increased parkland dedication (or in-lieu fee payments) required from developers from two to three acres per 1,000 population and dropped a 50 percent credit previously allowed for private space devoted to parks and recreation.

And the council now allows fees to be used outside of the neighborhood of a development from which they were collected, which is consistent with recent changes in state law.

--A recommendation to “identify new sources of funding” that could include expanding mechanisms for gifts and donations; bonds, user fees, assessment districts “at a future date”; transferring an annual amount from the general fund; and voter-approved bonds or assessm-ents for specific facilities.

--Recommendations for a 20-year Capital Improvement Program include “current needs” for $5.3 million, “current demand” for $5.8 million and “community desired” for $60 million.

Current needs are on-going improvement and rehabilitation projects, lighted basketball courts at Bryant Ranch Park, Paxton Equestrian Center improvements, Rio Del Oro playground equ-ipment, Fairmont Knolls-Gun Club parkway design and Vista Del Verde I playground.

Current demand includes a dog park, Vista Del Verde II construction, Eastside Park phase III, Bryant Ranch Park phase II, Fairmont Knolls-Gun Club parkway construction and a Community Center wedding and events plaza.

Desired are a park-gym-sports complex, community-senior center with 200-seat theater, tennis center, competition pool complex, outdoor amphitheater, equestrian boarding and events center and athletic field and facility lighting.