THE DROUGHT HOUSING : Rationing Law May Be Eased to Help Project

The Ventura City Council is considering amending the city’s tough new water rationing law to clear the way for construction of 98 new condominiums despite a water shortage that has brought other new building projects to a halt.

Under the amendment, already tentatively approved, Weston Village would become the first developer in a pilot program that would require developers to save twice as much water elsewhere in the city as their new projects use.

Based on the city’s allotment of 196 gallons per day per condominium, the 98 condominiums would use about 18,000 gallons per day. In the pilot program, Weston would be required to refit enough Ventura homes or businesses elsewhere in the city with low-flow toilets and shower heads to save about 36,000 gallons a day.

“You get long-term benefits,” said Councilman Donald Villeneuve, who argued both sides of the issue Monday night. But he also worried about the public perception of any new development when residents are rationing their water.

Councilwoman Cathy Bean argued against the Weston project. Any retrofitting program should be sponsored by the city and not tied to new development, she said.

“New development has no track record of water use,” she said. And if the drought were to worsen, “there would simply be more people to use less water.”

The council voted 5 to 2, with Bean and Gary Tuttle dissenting, to direct city staff to prepare an amendment to the water rationing ordinance that would allow the Weston project. The amendment is scheduled to return to the council on June 18.

The city’s water rationing ordinance, the first of its kind in the county, limits families of up to four people to 294 gallons per day if they live in houses, and limits families of up to three people to 196 gallons per day if they live in apartments. Residents can apply to the city for increased allocations if they have more people than the specified number, if they have medical needs or have mature fruit trees. Before they can receive an increased allotment, however, residents must refit their homes with water-saving toilets and shower heads.

Penalties for excessive use range up to 10 times the normal water rate. The ordinance became effective on Thursday, but no penalties will be assessed until June.

The ordinance also includes a moratorium on new water hookups, a provision that essentially halted development that was not approved before Jan. 29.

Weston received special consideration from the council on Monday because the project was scheduled to go before the Planning Commission for approval in December. But Weston voluntarily agreed to postpone the date with the Planning Commission at the request of city staff.

“It’s a problem with equity since it was a staff request to postpone,” Villeneuve said.

A Weston representative, attorney Phil Cohen, agreed again Monday to the council’s postponement of approval for the project until June 18, after the water-rationing ordinance is amended.

As the staff researches and writes the amendment, it will recommend how to set up the water program for Weston.