Joseph V. Aguirre, Crty Adminlstreiw Scott W. Nelson Troy L. Butzwf Constance Underhill Jeremy B. Yamaguchi*

R1

Each Orange County municipal planning agency, in cooperation with its respective water supply agency, should prepare for adoption by its city council, a dedicated Water Element to its General Plan in conjunction with a future update, not to exceed June 30, 2010. This document should include detailed implementation measures based on objective-based policies that match realistic projections of the County's water future supplies. These objectives, policies and implementation measures should address imported supply constraints, including catastrophic outages and incorporate the realistic availability and timing of "new" water sources such as desalination, contaminated groundwater reclamation and surface water recycling. Response to R.1: The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable. One of the seven required elements within a General Plan is a Conservation Element. This element addresses water conservation, water use and, in the City of Placentia's case, contains objectives, policies and implementation measures regarding water use and conservation. While water use and conservation are important policy issues, to require a separate element on water is an unnecessary on local agencies since these policy issues are already covered within the Conservation Element. Additionally, by definition, a General Plan is a general planning document and updates typically occur every ten years or more. Information contained in a conservation element must be general enough to survive over the years and should offer a clear direction. Specific information should be contained in policies, ordinances or other regulations that can be more readily acted upon or adapted as necessary. Finally, water issues involving constraints or disruptions are best addressed within a city's emergency operations manual and procedures or by legislative action of the City Council based on the circumstances. The City acknowledges the importance of water conservation and the need for cross-jurisdictional participation and communication; however, other avenues should be explored and implemented before mandating a new element to the City's General Plan. On behalf of the citizens of the City of Placentia, I appreciate the work of the Grand Jury on these issues and welcome the opportunity to provide these comments. Should you have any questions, or if you require additional information concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Ken Domer, Assistant City Administrator, at (714) 993-8242. Sincerely, Greg Sowards Mayor cc: OC Grand Jury