Council adopts water-supply assessment for proposed large residential project

The Santa Rosa City Council approved a water-supply assessment (WSA) for a proposed multi-neighborhood development known in staff materials as the Wisman/Shane project, which staff said could reach a maximum of about 660 net residential units across three neighborhoods.

Clare Norday, planner in the Water Department, summarized the methodology used to project demand (including residential equivalency factors and an approximate average annual per-household use cited in the presentation) and compared demand to supply under three scenarios required by state law: normal-year, single-dry-year and multiple-dry-year scenarios. She said the department99s analysis shows sufficient projected supply under the modeled scenarios and recommended the council adopt the WSA as required by Senate BillA0 610 procedures.

Council members asked about baseline data and time horizons used in the analysis; Norday said the department used the most recent five-year plan available for demand estimates and that the plan is updated every five years. Several public commenters raised concerns about long-term supply, tribal allocations and potential infrastructure costs to maintain supply; one speaker described the WSA numbers as "extremely vague" and urged further review.

After discussion the council adopted the WSA resolution, with the recorded roll call showing seven affirmative votes. Staff noted that the WSA assesses supply sufficiency for the specific project and does not by itself approve development permits.

Next steps for the project remain governed by planning and environmental review processes; the WSA documents the water department99s professional conclusion about sufficiency for the purpose of development review.