Committee advances resolution to consider graywater systems as transit‑oriented development community benefits

The Committee on Planning, Infrastructure and Transportation on a motion from the chair recommended that Resolution 2551, which asks the Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) to examine amending the Land Use Ordinance to list graywater systems among possible community benefits for transit‑oriented development (TOD), be reported out for adoption; no objections were recorded.

Supporters said graywater — water recycled from sinks, showers and laundry for on‑site reuse — would conserve potable water and could lower household water bills. Director Don Apuna of the DPP told the committee graywater systems are “a sustainable system,” but cautioned listing them explicitly as a community benefit may not be the best fit because community benefits under TOD are intended to “directly benefit the surrounding neighborhood,” whereas graywater may primarily benefit the project’s occupants.

The resolution was introduced by Councilmember Weier and Committee Vice Chair Okimoto, who both said the goal is to encourage sustainable practices in new affordable housing and other TOD projects. Apuna described DPP’s current approach: graywater can be negotiated as a community benefit on a case‑by‑case basis and may not need explicit codification. “We currently are able to include graywater systems as a community benefit. We have that flexibility,” Apuna said.

The Board of Water Supply’s Kathy Mitchell told the committee BWS supports conserving potable water and “reusing water for irrigation purposes,” but agreed with DPP that quantifying the neighborhood benefit for TOD negotiations can be difficult. Public testifiers urged stronger measures: Claire Tamamoto said graywater “should be really a requirement of any project going forward,” and other speakers asked the council to consider a task force or clearer reporting on volumetric savings.

Members pressed DPP on the mechanics: Councilmember Tupole asked whether any recent projects used graywater and how much cost savings the systems produced for affordable projects; Apuna said he was aware of one early project and deferred to technical experts for cost data. DPP and members discussed using reporting requirements — for example, volumetric readings — so that negotiated community benefits could demonstrate measurable benefits to TOD neighborhoods.

Chair Cordero recommended the resolution be reported out for adoption so DPP can analyze the proposed amendment and, if appropriate, transmit recommendations to the Planning Commission and back to council. The committee recorded no objections and moved the measure forward.

Next steps: DPP will analyze how an ordinance amendment would relate to existing community benefit practice, whether an incentives or regulatory approach is more effective, and the report will go to the Planning Commission before returning to the council for a final decision.