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Mayor Thome said that two of the more prevalent questions are how this will affect those who are <br /> already conserving, which staff has answered several times, and how the city will address its own <br /> efforts that may not necessarily geared towards conservation. <br /> Mr. Smith said the city has been in a mandatory reduction stage since this was first brought to the <br /> community's attention. He acknowledged that some might wonder why parks are still being watered but <br /> noted that the city has taken several measures to conserve, including watering at night and reducing <br /> consumption 25%, and that the parks are in fact starting to brown. <br /> Councilmember Brown noted the city has two golf courses and asked whether staff has discussed <br /> taking water from the Livermore recycling facility for landscaping use at Ruby Hill. <br /> Mr. Smith explained that Calliope Preserve, which is under the same 25% restriction, met a 55% <br /> reduction in April. Staff has also worked with the fairgrounds to encourage their participation to reduce <br /> consumption at the course there. He explained that Ruby Hill is a bit different in that it is a Zone 7 <br /> customer, not the city's, but noted that they use non-potable wholesale water directly from the canal. <br /> Staff has approached Zone 7 about switching to recycled water there but cannot say whether they have <br /> approached Ruby Hill yet <br /> Councilmember Brown asked whether using water from Lake Del Valle or Lake I would be possible. <br /> Mr. Smith explained that the city is using water from Lake Del Valle, which serves as storage for the <br /> State Water Project. The Chain of Lakes, including Lake I and others, serve as recharge reservoirs for <br /> Zone 7. Zone 7 is currently constructing an emergency pipe between the two lakes to facilitate recharge <br /> and is considering putting a small package plant out there to treat water directly from the reservoir, <br /> though it is unlikely that could be operational this year. <br /> Councilmember Brown asked the same with respect to Shadow Cliffs, which is currently used for <br /> recreation. <br /> • <br /> Mr. Smith explained that Shadow Cliffs is part of East Bay.Regional Parks District, not Zone 7. <br /> Councilmember Brown said she received a number of emails and letters sharing concerns over how to <br /> reconcile growth management mandates through various agencies as well as recent development <br /> approvals in a time Where it is so difficult to provide a basic resource like water for existing residents. <br /> Mr. Smith said the city's Climate Action Plan contain a number of mitigations that address efficiency in <br /> new development as well as how to improve the efficiency of existing systems. <br /> Mr. Fialho said the question of what to do on a going forward basis is certainly a difficult one. The <br /> general thought at present is that the drought is short term and none of the utilities in the Zone 7 district <br /> have declared a moratorium on construction. With respect to recent rezoning and high density project <br /> approvals that resulted from the court order, each project has a development agreement that entitles <br /> them to pull permits when they are ready to construct. However, of the five that were approved only one <br /> is under construction and the remaining four do not appear to be actively .moving forward. In <br /> considering projects going forward, the availability of resources is something to be mindful of. Several <br /> projects, including one on tonight's agenda, clearly speak to economic development and benefit the <br /> community as a whole. He conceded that there is a challenge in balancing a moratorium against the <br /> natural laws of economics and a discussion to be had around encouraging conservation in future PUDs <br /> versus declaring a stop on construction.. He said the latter is quite extreme and likely not warranted by <br /> Stage 3, though a more aggressive Stage 4 would naturally lead to a discussion about what to do with <br /> building permits and things of that nature. <br /> City Council Minutes Page 8 of 20 May 6,2014 <br />