Fifth District Update

By Bruce McPherson

Electrical Rate Redesignation Is Sought

I am working with the Valley Women’s Club on an important request to the California Public Utilities Commission to change the PG&E baseline designation for the San Lorenzo Valley. The goal is to reduce the cost of electricity and reduce air pollution from woodstove smoke. Currently, due to the high cost of electricity, many area San Lorenzo Valley residents use wood-burning stoves as their primary heat source, resulting in smoke particulate pollution.

The requested change in the electrical baseline designation would align San Lorenzo Valley with areas with similar average temperatures. It would also correct the mistaken designation made years ago which effectively locked our costs to almost double the surrounding areas, in spite of our extremes of severe cold in the winter and heat in the summer.

Water District Merger Moves Forward

San Lorenzo Valley Water District has resolved to move forward to merge with the Lompico Water District, a commitment that is good government, a good neighbor policy, and a critical step in the eventual solution to Lompico’s water problems. The SLV Water District recently voted 5-0 to recommit to merge based on the successful formation of a $2.75 million assessment district by current Lompico Water District customers.

I’m absolutely elated. I want to credit the two water districts for sticking with this to solve a critical issue. I can’t say enough about each of the boards and want to express my appreciation for their committed efforts to come up with this proposal.

The water districts submitted an application last year to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) that requires Lompico Water to make improvements to their water system before the merger. Lompico Water District conducted a vote to sell bonds to fund those capital improvements. That election fell short of the needed two-thirds approval by one vote and subsequently failed. Since then, the water districts and County officials have worked to find a different, acceptable funding mechanism for the $2.75 million, which is required as a component of the still pending LAFCO application.

It appears that the answer is to have Lompico form an assessment district to pay for capital projects identified in the LAFCO application. Current plans call for a ten-year assessment to be placed on the County tax roll for the “Lompico Assessment District.”

The proposed district will include all Lompico properties that will directly benefit from the improvements that will be built. A public hearing will be held to give Lompico property owners the opportunity to protest the formation of an Assessment District. It would take a negative vote of more than 50 percent to prevent the formation. If formation of the assessment district is successful, the merger could be complete as early as February of 2016.

Board Appoints Cannabis Cultivation Choices Committee

The Board of Supervisors has appointed a 13-member Cannabis Cultivation Choices Committee, also known as C4. The C4 group is charged with trying to shape a new marijuana cultivation law for the Board of Supervisors to review by December.

The committee includes marijuana industry leaders, a former County attorney, a former County Planning Director and community members. I appointed Eric Hammer as the Fifth District representative on the committee.

This most recent effort to draft a cultivation ordinance follows a successful petition drive to repeal the ordinance the Board of Supervisors approved in March. Leaders of a ballot initiative collected more than enough signatures to repeal the ordinance. Rather than go to a costly election, we have instead chosen to craft a new law with the help of C4.

While the C4 works to come up with consensus on a County policy, six bills are also moving through the State Legislature. In addition, it is expected that one or more proposals for legalizing recreational marijuana use by adults will be on the 2016 statewide ballot.

San Lorenzo Valley Traffic Update

Everyone in the valley knows by now that traffic on Graham Hill, Mount Hermon, and Highway 9 was much worse during the month of August. Caltrans, the San Lorenzo Valley Water District, and PG&E were completing infrastructure projects all at the same time, projects that – as beneficial as they are for the community – have caused daily frustration for drivers for months. The good news is that the SLV Water District anticipates wrapping up its intertie pipeline project, relieving traffic until the final paving at the end of September, which will close Graham Hill Road for two days.

PG&E has finished both projects involving Graham Hill Road. First, the Meyers Lane gas line project is complete. And the big PG&E gas line testing project, which involved trucks going in and out of the parking lot next to Roaring Camp, is done. The good news is that the gas pipe passed the tests; the extra good news is that the large project — the largest of its kind on the west coast — went very smoothly with very little disruption to traffic and residents. The most noticeable part of the project was the helicopter that flew over the gas line everyday to make sure that there was no unauthorized digging around the pipeline.

Caltrans has announced that the most recent target date for completing the Highway 9 project south of Felton is mid-October. As painful as the congestion has been for the entire valley, we may be seeing the light at the end of the back-up tunnel.

County Updates Permitting For Special Event Businesses

The Santa Cruz County Planning Department has been working for the past several years on modernizing and streamlining the permits for special event businesses, such as wedding venues and wine tasting rooms. The County is hosting several upcoming public meetings to present the draft updates, answer questions, and hear your comments and questions. A key part of the process is to engage affected business owners and interested residents so that the final regulations reflect the needs of the community.

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Community meetings are scheduled for September, including one for the San Lorenzo Valley from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 10, at the Zayante Fire Station Community Room, 7700 E. Zayante Road in Felton. If you are concerned about this issue, please come to the meeting to learn about this issue and provide your input.