City of LOS Alamitos October 5, 2009 The Honorable Kim Dunning Presiding Judge of the Superior Court*

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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 future water 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. Each local jurisdiction is required by state law to include seven elements in their local General Plan. As a Charter City, we adhere to the state . . . . . standard and add additional elements as deemed necessary to address specific issues related to our jurisdiction. This recommendation exceeds the state law requirements for General Plans. In lieu of a suggested new Element in the General Plan the City of Los Alamitos has addressed water conservation and policy concerns in the following ways: Policies related to water resources, supplies and conservation are already included in the "Conservation Element." To further enforce conservation, the City of Los Alamitos will soon consider a new Water Conservation Ordinance proposed by the Metropolitan Water District of Orange County (MWDOC), as well as the proposed Landscape Ordinance suggested by MWDOC upon the finalization of their recommendation. Grand Jury Response - Paper Water Report Pursuant to state law, Golden State Water conducts analysis for water supply and availability for new development and significant redevelopment. Adding a new General Plan Element would duplicate processes that are already in place. There are new state mandates for landscape water conservation • that would address water consumption for exterior uses and related to existing and new development. The City of Los Alamitos will either adopt state mandates or local requirements that would include significant water saving measures related to landscape material selection and irrigation systems. The development of a General Plan Element would take at least two years, including the preparation of supplemental_Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The City budget for this fiscal year has already been adopted, and the associated cost for environmental consulting services could range from $50,000 to $75,000. The cost for preparing an optional Water Element that is not required by state law would be significant. Given the minimal potential for net effectiveness and the City fiscal concerns, the preparation of an optional Water Element is not supported. The City appreciates the opportunity to comment on the grand jury report. If you have any questions/comments, please contact Steven Mendoza, Community Development Director at (562) 431-3538, extension 300. Sincerely, CITY OF LOS ALAMITOS Troy D. Edgar Mayor James R. Pérez, Foreman CC: