Fill swimming pool? Not with Yorba Linda water!

Here's how the residential swimming pool situation stands in Yorba Linda: The city will continue to issue permits – and collect city-fixed fees – for new pool construction, but the water district won't allow new pools or outdoor spas to be filled with district-supplied water.

The same rules apply for residential pools and spas that are drained for repairs. The water district's Stage 3 conservation regulations don't allow refilling more than one foot of water, a rule that will be backed by enforcement and a schedule of fines.

Some companies can drain and store water from pools and spas undergoing refurbishment and return the water after repairs are completed. Owners can top off with up to one foot using the district's water.

But filling new pools is verboten, which can lead to unfortunate consequences for residents who acquire permits. A recent city staff report noted that “filling newly constructed pools immediately after plastering is necessary to ensure proper curing and prevent cracking.”

That's why staff suggested to City Council members a “temporary suspension” of permits for new or remodeled swimming pools or spas was warranted, but the council didn't adopt either of two draft moratorium ordinances submitted for consideration earlier this month.

Instead, council members proposed staff apprise pool permit seekers of the water district's regulations, with one member suggesting addresses of those granted permits be given the district. In 2014, 140 permits were issued for about $113,000 in revenue.

Of course, pools could still be filled with water from sources other than the Yorba Linda Water District, which is facing a state-mandated 36 percent cutback in water usage, since some other suppliers have lesser cutback requirements.

Other conservation news:

--As mentioned in a past column, officials are concerned about maintaining overall park conditions, especially high-use athletic fields. A three-year turf renovation program was suspended and alternative maintenance methods researched to extend turf life.

--The city will seek a water district waiver to allow park watering on two weekday nights, instead of either Friday or Saturday nights, to avoid wet parks for Saturday and Sunday morning activities.

--The city will add a new condition for projects that follows a state directive requiring drip or microspray systems to irrigate outside new homes and buildings.

--The two-day-per-week watering mandate is “not anticipated to significantly affect” compliance with a city zoning code provision requiring residents to maintain private landscaping in a “reasonable, healthy growing manner.”

--According to a 2009 water district ordinance, if the district moves from a Stage 3 to Stage 4 emergency, “no new water service will be provided and no new temporary meters or permanent meters will be provided, except as is necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare.”

New home buyers, renters to pay more for parks

Here's one of those good news, bad news scenarios that will affect the pocketbooks of many current and future Yorba Linda residents.

Good news for owners of unimproved residential land: Appraised value for each acre has jumped 54 percent in two years, from $1 million to a bit more than $1.8 million.

Bad news for buyers and renters of newly built dwellings: Sale prices and rents almost certainly will increase due to significant jumps in park fees developers must pay the city.

The two are tied because state law allows cities to collect more money from developers to pay for new parks and renovate existing facilities when the value of vacant land zoned for residential use increases.

Latest appraisal obtained by the city in April put the value of unimproved residential land at $1,851,250 per acre, up from a March 2013 appraisal of $1 million. The new figure is backed by a city-hired consultant's 68-page report detailing methods and market data.

The city used a state-allowed formula to fix a new fee of $16,716 for each new single-family home, up from $9,030, and $10,718 for each new multi-family unit, up from $5,790, with the difference due to the average number of people per unit – 3.01 for single-family and 1.93 for multi-family.

The hike comes in two stages: Half to be collected with building permits issued before July 1, 2016, and the total amount after that date. Developers who've already applied for subdivision maps or other entitlements will pay the old fee, with consumer price index escalators due as building permits are issued.

Included in the formula is the standard set by the city for the number of acres of parkland needed, which was recently increased from two to three acres per 1,000 residents and is identified in the city's General Plan.

To comply with the updated standard, “the city needs to provide more parks and recreation facilities than is currently in place as demand...increases with new residential development,” noted a report from the city attorney's office.

The cash collected from developers is considered an “impact” or “in lieu” fee that is paid instead of donating actual land for new parks and facilities.

The current “in lieu” fund balance is $888,341, including $414,487 in restricted funds for equestrian use, according to a report from Mike Kudron, parks and recreation superintendent.

Kudron noted the recently updated Parks and Recreation Master Plan “reemphasizes that the city is 101 acres deficient” in neighborhood and community parks, and the new fees could generate $5.8 million, based on the number of future anticipated developments.

The state allows cities to levy “in lieu” fees under the Quimby Act for residential development requiring a subdivision map and under the Mitigation Fee Act for other residential projects. The council is expected to add a CPI increase to the fees starting in 2017 and conduct new land appraisals every five years.

Town Center parking needs studied

Several factors will determine the level of success for Yorba Linda's new Town Center mix of restaurants, retail and office uses, with adequate parking among the key planning elements.

City Council members are currently grappling with the question of whether or not a parking structure will be built to provide sufficient spaces for new and existing businesses in the roughly 24 acres devoted to commercial and public uses in the long-awaited project.

Initially, Zelman Retail Partners, the council-chosen developer for Town Center, proposed only surface parking for the area, based on the city's required parking ratio of five spaces per 1,000 square feet of commercial use, according to a report from Pam Stoker, the city's economic development manager.

But concerns expressed by city staff, council members, local businesses and residents led the council to hire Irvine-based Urban Crossroads to prepare a parking analysis for the entire Town Center, Stoker reported.

The resulting analysis, presented to council members recently, says “additional parking strategies” are needed to address a deficiency in the current and proposed number of spaces, which “could be accomplished” by constructing “an on-site parking structure.” The report did not mention size or number of levels.

The deficiency, according to Urban Crossroads, is 316 spaces during the week and 245 spaces on the weekend, based on a formula developed for “shared parking” by businesses during different peak times of operation, with a total 1,122 spaces needed on weekdays and 1,039 on weekends.

“For example,” the Urban Crossroads report noted, “parking supply needed for office uses during the morning and mid-day hours could be utilized by the restaurant and retail uses in the evening hours and weekends when office demand is low.”

And importantly, the report emphasized, “A successful development combines sufficient parking opportunities where visitors park once and walk to multiple destinations.”

The shared parking figures do not include residential uses or those at the fire station or First Baptist Church, which are considered private. Also excluded is parking at the Stater Bros.-anchored center on the eastside of Lakeview Avenue.

Additionally, the Urban Crossroads report shared a famous observation from the Urban Land Institute, which has done other reports for the city: “...shared parking has been a fundamental principal of downtown parking from the earliest days of the automobile.”

Interestingly, the report predicted peak weekday parking demand would come during Decembers at 1 p.m., with peak weekend demand also coming in Decembers but at noon.

The parking needs were figured on Town Center's proposed uses with the following square-foot totals: 125,605 for the Zelman Shopping Center; 50,800 for other retail and commercial; 17,700 for general office; 14,000 for restaurants; and 6,800 for the Bank of America with drive-thru window.

City implements new conservation measures

A water conservation plan is being implemented for city-owned landscaping that should help the independently run Yorba Linda Water District meet a state-mandated 36 percent water use reduction requirement.

The water district is responsible for enforcing conservation measures, which jumped to Stage 3 rules June 1, but the city, as the district's largest water user, “understands the requirements put on the district by the state,” noted an extensive report from three top-level management officials.

The report from Public Works Director Mike Wolfe, Community Development Director Steve Harris and Parks and Recreation Superintendent Mike Kudron outlines new conservation measures that will have a huge impact on the city's longtime lush, green appearance.

Most affected will be more than a half-million square feet of ornamental turf in street medians, nearly all maintained by the city's cash-strapped Landscape Maintenance Assessment District and financed by fees collected with property taxes and subsidies from the city's general fund.

Turf in medians represents about 22 percent of the landscape district's total turf but only three percent of the land area, with landscape district operations consuming about 6.5 percent of the water district's entire annual production, the city report stated.

Replacing ornamental turf with California-friendly, drought-tolerant landscaping would cost $2.7 million for design and construction. Some of the landscape district's benefit zones have reserve funds that could cover $321,700 of the cost, leaving some $2.4 million to be found from other sources during upcoming budget discussions.

“Nearly all of the ornamental turf in public street medians is Kikuyu grass. It's possible that after the water is turned off, the grass can lie dormant for the summer and return to somewhat of its original form with a normal winter precipitation level,” the Wolfe-Harris-Kudron report stated.

But watering trees in medians needs to be addressed “to avoid future costs, if the trees cannot survive without irrigation,” according to the report. Also, “It should be noted that an increase in irrigation is needed during the establishment process of new landscaping, including California-friendly, drought-tolerant plants.”

Another change will be cutting irrigation after measurable rainfalls. The city had been adjusting more than 350 clocks to zero watering upon a high prediction of precipitation – “in the neighborhood of 80 percent.” That will drop to 50 percent for a clock change, noted the report.

With watering limited to two days per week during summer, park officials see problems for “proper maintenance and overall park conditions.” They noted, “Lack of sufficient watering combined with regular use of parks and athletic fields could lead to diminished fields and potentially unsafe conditions.”

Plans include identifying small turf areas to replace with drought-tolerant plants.