Westlands Water District

Fresno, CA

Water Policy Committee (1-18-2022)

Notice

Notice is hereby given that a regular meeting of the Water Policy Committee of the Board of Directors of Westlands Water District will be held on January 18, 2022 at 11:00 a.m., at the District’s Fresno Office, 3130 N. Fresno Street, Fresno, California 93703.

Any member of the public may participate in the meeting through Zoom

Join the meeting from a computer, tablet or smartphone:

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Meeting ID: 831 3568 4013

Passcode: 3130

Dial-In Number: (253) 215-8782

Use the meeting id and passcode from above

After you join, please mute your line.

If you have problems using the Zoom prior to the start of the meeting, please contact the District’s IT staff at 559-224-1523 or itstaff@wwd.ca.gov.  Requests for assistance made during the meeting may not be responded to timely.

The California Department of Public Health is requiring masks to be worn in all indoor public settings, irrespective of vaccination status, through February 15, 2022. Unless exempt under the Department of Public Health mandate, masks will be required for all people attending the January committee and Board of Director meetings.

Public Comment – Any member of the public may address the Committee concerning any matter on the agenda before or during its consideration of that matter. Public comment is limited to three minutes per person and no more than fifteen minutes per topic. For good cause, the Committee Chair may waive these limitations.

Committee Members

Todd Neves, Chair
Jim Anderson
Ryan Ferguson
Ceil W. Howe, III

Agenda

  1. Call to Order
  2. Committee to Consider Corrections or Additions to the Agenda of Items, as authorized by Government Code Section 54950 et seq.
  3. Committee to Consider Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 21, 2021.
  4. Committee to Consider Recommendation that the Board of Directors Adopts Resolution No. 117-22, Considering the Environmental Impact Report and Adopting Findings of Fact as a Responsible Agency Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act for the Luna Valley Solar Project.
  5. Committee to Consider Recommendation that the Board of Directors Adopts Resolution No. 118-22, Approving and Adopting the Luna Valley Solar Project and Authorizing the General Manager or Designee to Execute an Amendment to the Option and Purchase Agreement with Luna Valley Solar 1, LLC., Extending its Term by 54 Months, for 1,283.62 acres in Sections 23, 24, 25 and 26 in Township 15S. Range 14E., M.D.B.&M.
  6. Committee to Consider Recommendation that the Board of Directors Authorizes the General Manager or Designee to Execute a Letter of Intent to Participate in the Sites Reservoir Project
  7. Committee to Consider Recommendation that the Board of Directors Adopts Resolution No. 1xx-22, Considering the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Adopting Findings of Fact as a Responsible Agency Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act for the Westlands Almond Solar Project.
  8. Committee to Consider Recommendation that the Board of Directors Adopts Resolution No. 1xx-22, Considering the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Adopting Findings of Fact as a Responsible Agency Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act for the Aquamarine Solar Project.
  9. Committee to Consider Recommendation that the Board of Directors Adopts Resolution No. 1xx-22, Approving and Adopting the Westlands Almond Solar and Aquamarine Projects and Designating Specified Parcels as Eligible Cropland Pursuant to Appendix A to Article 2 of the Westlands Water District Rules and Regulations.
  10. Committee to Receive Report on Past, Present, and Projected Water Supply and Use and Central Valley Project/State Water Project Operations.
  11. Committee to Consider Board of Directors January 18, 2022 Agenda Items:
    1. Item 9a- Consider Recommendation that the Board of Directors Adopts Resolution No. 117-22, Considering the Environmental Impact Report and Adopting Findings of Fact as a Responsible Agency Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act for the Luna Valley Solar Project.
    2. Item 9b- Consider Recommendation that the Board of Directors Adopts Resolution No. 118-22, Approving and Adopting the Luna Valley Solar Project and Authorizing the General Manager or Designee to Execute an Amendment to the Option and Purchase Agreement with Luna Valley Solar 1, LLC,, Extending its Term by 54 Months, for 1,283.62 acres in Sections 23, 24, 25 and 26 in Township 15S. Range 14E., M.D.B.&M.
  12. Public Comment – Any member of the public may address the Committee concerning any matter not on the agenda but within the Committee’s jurisdiction.  Public comment is limited to three minutes per person and no more than fifteen minutes per topic.  For good cause, the Committee Chairperson may waive these limitations.
  13. Closed Session – The Committee will meet in closed session pursuant to the Government Code section noted to discuss the following:
    1. Conference with Real Property Negotiators (Pursuant to Cal. Gov. Code section 54956.8)
      1. Property: Water Supply
        Agency Negotiator: General Manager or designee
        Negotiating Parties: To Be Determined
        Under Negotiation: Price and terms of payment
      2. Property: Water Supply associated with Fresno County APN:060-020-61S
        Agency Negotiator: General Manager or designee
        Negotiating Parties: DF2000 Trust
        Under Negotiation: Price and terms of payment
      3. Property: Up to 1,100 acres of District owned land, described as follows:
        1. Section 23 and 24 in T.16S., R.16E., M.D.B.&M
          Agency Negotiator: General Manager or designee
          Negotiating Parties: Longroad Land Holdings II, LLC.
          Under Negotiation: Price and terms of payment
      4. Property: Up to 8,500 acres of District owned land, described as follows:
        1. Sections 14, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 34, 35 and 36 in T.16S., R.16E., M.D.B.&M; and
        2. Section 32 in T.16S., R.17E., M.D.B.&M.; and
        3. Sections 2, 3, 4, 10 and 15 in T.17S., R.16E., M.D.B.&M.; and
        4. Sections 5, 6 and 7 T.17S., R.17E., M.D.B.&M.
          Agency Negotiator: General Manager or designee
          Negotiating Parties: IP Land Holdings, LLC
          Under Negotiation: Price and terms of payment
      5. Property: Up to 58,900 acres of District owned land shown on Figure 1- District Land, which is incorporated herein by this reference
        Agency Negotiator: General Manager or designee
        Negotiating Parties: Golden State Clean Energy, LLC
        Under Negotiation: Price and terms of payment
  14. Report from Closed Session, if any, Required by Government Code Section 54957.1.
  15. Committee to Consider Recommendation that the Board of Directors Authorizes the General Manager or Designee to Executes Option Agreements with Longroad Land Holdings II, LLC., on up to 1,100 acres of District Owned Land for Purchase in Sections 23 and 24 in T.16S., R.16E., M.D.B.&M.
  16. Committee to Consider Recommendation that the Board of Directors Authorizes the General Manager or Designee to Executes Option Agreements with IP Land Holdings, LLC., on up to 9,185 acres of District Owned Land in Sections 14, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 34, 35 and 36 in T.16S., R.16E., M.D.B.&M., Section 32 in T.16S., R.17E., M.D.B.&M., Sections 2, 3, 4, 10 and 15 in T.17S., R.16E., M.D.B.&M. and Sections 5, 6 and 7 T.17S., R.17E., M.D.B.&M..
  17. Adjournment

Order of Business

The order of business reflected in this Notice and Agenda is subject to change.

Remote Participation by Members of the Public

At this time, the District permits any member of the public to participate in meetings of its Board and Committees from any location by telephone or video, or both.  Remote participation by members of the public from any location is offered as a courtesy and is not required by law.  Telephone and internet access and reliability varies widely, and District staff may not be able to assist members of the public with technical difficulties.  To avoid issues that may arise from participating remotely by phone or video, members of the public who wish to provide public comment are encouraged to attend in person at a noticed location.

At the appropriate time to provide the comment, members of the public wishing to comment will be acknowledged by the Chair of the meeting.  Members of the public participating by video should use the “Raise Hand” tool located in Zoom meeting link when seeking to provide public comment on an item.

Accessibility

A person with a qualifying disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 may request the District provide a disability-related modification or accommodation in order to facilitate that person’s participation in any public meeting of the District.  Such assistance includes appropriate alternative formats for the agendas and agenda packets used for any public meetings of the District.  Requests for such assistance may be made in person at the District’s Fresno office, which is located at 3130 N. Fresno St., Fresno, California, by telephone (559-224-1523), facsimile (559-241-6277), or written correspondence addressed to Westlands Water District, Attn: Karen Clark, P.O. Box 6056, Fresno, California 93703.  Notifications of at least 48 hours prior to the meeting will assist staff in assuring that reasonable arrangements can be made.

Document Availability

Written material related to an item on this agenda that is distributed less than 72 hours prior to this meeting to at least a majority of the members of the legislative body will be available for inspection during normal business hours at the District’s Fresno office, which is located at 3130 N. Fresno St., Fresno, California.

Written material distributed during a public meeting will be available for public inspection at the meeting, if prepared by the local agency or a member of its legislative body, or after the meeting if prepared by some other person.