Bills Tying Housing to Supply of Water OKd

Signaling a possible shift in how California manages its precarious water resources, the Assembly passed two bills Monday that would force builders of large new subdivisions to prove they can provide reliable water supplies even during lengthy droughts.

The complementary measures, written by state Sens. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) and Jim Costa (D-Fresno), return to the Senate for a vote on Assembly amendments and are a step away from the desk of Gov. Gray Davis.

“I won’t say it’s a deal yet, but when you get positive signals from the governor’s office, I would say that’s very good assurance,” Kuehl said. “For the first time this bill truly brings together land-use planning and water-use planning in California.”

She said she thinks Davis will sign the bill because after the winter energy crisis, the governor began to focus on other looming problems and a potential water shortage captured his attention.

Kuehl’s bill, passed by the Assembly 41 to 28, would require local governments to deny permits for housing projects of 500 units or more if builders cannot show guaranteed supplies of water.

Costa’s bill, approved unanimously earlier in the day, reflects Kuehl’s in many ways, but gives local government more latitude. It would allow city councils and county supervisors to approve projects without firm water guarantees if the local boards found “overriding considerations,” such as more jobs or a housing shortage, for doing so.

While Costa’s bill has sailed through the Legislature, Kuehl’s tougher measure has drawn fire from business and real estate interests, as well as water agencies. But two weeks ago, the state Building Industry Assn., Chamber of Commerce and Assn. of Realtors withdrew their opposition after Kuehl backed word changes that builders felt made the bill less ambiguous.

Tim Coyle, a vice president of the California Building Industry Assn., said what he liked most was Kuehl’s commitment to cooperate in finding more water for arid California.

“I think the most important thing here is that California needs to do something about water supply,” Coyle said, “and we have a commitment to work together with Sheila Kuehl on that next year. We’re finally to a point where we’re going to stop dancing around the issue of supply and make it happen.”

Kuehl has promised state help in creating larger supplies through more underground storage in water basins and in stretching supplies through conservation, he said.

The issue loomed large during debate over Newhall Ranch and Farming Co.’s 22,000-home Newhall Ranch project, the largest in Los Angeles County history. Plans stalled last year when a Superior Court judge concluded the developer had not proved it could supply enough water to support the new 70,000-resident community.

The Newhall Ranch project has already been approved and would not be affected by the new laws.