Yorba Linda City Council opposes state bills dealing with density in residential zones

 

Two bills under consideration in the state Senate that would seriously erode local control of housing development and densities in residential zones have drawn vigorous opposition by Yorba Linda's City Council members.

Senate Bill 9 would require cities to approve housing developments containing two residential units in single-family residential zoning and permit developers to convert existing single-family homes into duplexes and then add up to two accessory dwelling units to the same parcel.

The bill also would require cities to approve single-family lot splits and allow construction of a single-family home and up to two accessory dwelling units on each lot for a total of six units on parcels originally zoned for single-family homes, according to a report from Allison Estes, assistant to City Manager Mark Pulone.

A resolution opposing the bill was adopted at the March 2 council meeting after a Feb. 18 letter opposing the bill and suggesting several amendments to the bill that would “address our concerns and remove our opposition” was sent to bill sponsor Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego).

The letter, signed by Mayor Peggy Huang, stated, “Aside from the gross disregard of local control, this bill puts Yorba Linda residents in danger,” because “nearly 80% of the city's jurisdictional boundary are located within areas constrained by various natural hazards.”

One example cited in the letter is that a “significant number of Yorba Linda homes” are in a “very high fire hazard severity zone,” as designated by California's Department of Forestry.

Because topography severely limits egress in several areas, “quickly and safely evacuating the existing population would pose a significant challenge,” and “increased density as cont-emplated under SB9 would exacerbate this problem and could result in the significant loss of life and property.”

Among nine amendments the city proposed for the bill are to allow cities “to take into account local conditions, such as hillsides, lot dimensions, natural hazards, available infrastructure … when approving or denying housing project applications.”

Others: “Prohibit developers from using SB9 in very high fire hazard severity zones,” allow cities “to determine a range of lot sizes suitable for SB9 development projects” and “clarify that a property owner using SB9 is limited to constructing two residential units, not two residential units and additional accessory dwelling units on the same parcel.”

The March 2 resolution lists the reasons the city opposes the bill but doesn't mention any of the amendments suggested in the Feb. 18 letter. The resolution notes the bill “would violate principles of democratic process and local control ….”

The city also opposes SB10, which has a provision that would allow local governments to override voter-approved initiatives. Both bills are scheduled for a hearing today, March 18, before the Senate Housing Committee.

Yora Linda Water District directors to consider rate increases; former councilman Tom Lindsay appointed to board to replace Al Nederhood

 

The five Yorba Linda Water District board members – including newly appointed director Tom Lindsay, a former City Council member – are facing a vote to increase water and sewer rates as proposed in an $80,000 study presented by a district-hired consultant group.

Among the rate changes proposed in the study are increases in the monthly service charges based on the size of residential and commercial meters and in the monthly sewer service fee.

Most district ratepayers, including 18,049 connections in Yorba Linda and portions of Brea, Placentia and Anaheim, use a one-inch meter and pay a $37.18 per month service charge.

That would increase to $43.13 on July 1, under the proposal, with boosts each year to $60.91 in 2025. Charges for 5,602 connections with a 3/4-inch meter would increase from the current $22.26 to $39.05 by 2025, with similar increases for the 1,747 connections with six other sizes.

Of course, ratepayers will continue to pay an additional commodity charge, based on the cost of the amount of purchased water and power. Residential and commercial accounts now pay $8.10 per month for sewer service, which will rise to $9.55 on July 1 and to $15.05 by 2025.

Implementation of the new charges will be on July 1, after a state-mandated public hearing scheduled for May 25, if the proposals in the 148-page study are approved by the directors.

Another consultant will be paid $5,000 monthly for up to six months to inform customers about potential rate adjustments, with outreach to begin “by communicating the district's successes, quality infrastructure facilities, efficient planning and fiscally responsible leadership,” a district report stated.

Lindsay was named Jan. 12 to fill the remaining two years of the term vacated by Al Nederhood, who was elected in November to fill the two years remaining of the term vacated by Brett Barbre on the county Municipal Water District board.

Barbre served two years as a Yorba Linda district director before his 2000 election to the county board. He resigned that position upon his appointment as general manager of the Yorba Linda district last year.

Lindsay, a 36-year Yorba Linda resident, was elected to the council in 2010 and 2014. A Brigham Young University grad with a microbiology degree, he's senior vice president and national sales manager of Med One Group, a medical equipment sales, leasing and rental company.

Eight individuals submitted applications for the vacancy, with six selected for interviews by the board. Runner-up for the position was Mike Payne, a 35-year district employee who retired in 2003, after serving five years as general manager.

Lindsay becomes the 28^th director since the district became a public agency in 1959, following the first woman director, Trudi Kew DesRoches, appointed last year after nobody ran against her on the Nov. 3 ballot. She manages the Diemer water treatment plant in the hills above Yorba Linda.