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were 450 years ago and announced they would be performing Taming of the Shrew this year. He invited the Council to join them on Friday June 27"' for a buffet dinner before the dress rehearsal. PUBLIC HEARINGS AND OTHER MATTERS 9. Update on Stage 3 water shortage; authorization of funding to conduct drought education and outreach; and introduce an ordinance to amend the Municipal Code §9.30 regarding outdoor irrigation restrictions and prohibition against decorative water features not recirculating water Director of Operation Services Smith presented the staff report. He first provided an update on relevant actions since he last reported to the Council on the drought. The California Department of Water Resources recently issued clarifying language that would seem to bolster the idea that the 5% allocation will be made available September 1, 2014. At the local level, Zone 7 staff has elected not to put forward a recommendation that its board institute a 15% drought surcharge on all water sales. Pleasanton, along with other local retailers and members of the public, felt there was not sufficient data to support the recommendation. Zone 7 also reported that its efforts to purchase or trade for new water sources have been unsuccessful to date. One preliminary deal with southern California's Metropolitan Water called for a one to three trade of the valley's water groundwater banks against Metropolitan Water's northern California stores, but was ultimately not supported by the agency's board. Mayor Thorne said he frequently hears comments and complaints regarding the city's aggressive approach, which calls for a fine structure rather than a tiered rate structure. Mr. Smith confirmed that the city has taken a different approach than other retailers in the valley, who have essentially increased the fees for all water in an effort to discourage use. Depending on the jurisdiction, this could be as much as a 50 to 100% increase over normal rates. Pleasanton elected to take a proactive approach and focus instead on helping people to conserve and fining only those who failed to make the required remedy. He acknowledged that some might find this unfair but reminded them that the alternative could lead to a shutdown of the entire system for fire protection purposes, which is still a possibility depending on temperatures this summer. He noted that Pleasanton has prohibitions just like any other jurisdiction, but has yet to issue any citations or apply penalties. He also noted that based on the current formula only a very small percentage of users (2.8% in one billing group) would have been eligible for a penalty when the mandatory conservation started, and most of those were in fact using more water than in 2013. He stressed that penalizing users for attempting to do their part is not the intent and reiterated that staffs ultimate goal is not to issue any penalties at all. Mayor Thome noted that whatever the approach, the city has been quite successful in its efforts. Councilmember Cook-Kallio reported that the savings in her own bill has been rather profound and, while her family is making a concerted effort, they are not suffering as a result of reduced consumption. She also stressed that those who have already demonstrated significant efforts to conserve are not even under consideration for a penalty, even if they cannot reduce their use further. Mr. Smith confirmed, reiterating that users who have already minimized their use significantly will not be penalized. He explained that when approached by someone with this concern, the first thing he does is review their history to see if and where any additional savings can be achieved. Councilmember Cook-Kallio asked if temporary anomalies that would increase usage, such as houseguests, is something the city takes into consideration. Mr. Smith said they could, but that outdoor irrigation is really likely to be the culprit in excessive usage. Mr. Smith provided a progress update on the city's conservation efforts. He noted that since first speaking to the Council about conservation, staff has modified its approach to use production data City Council Minutes Page 3 of 14 June 17,2014