The letter that follows has three attachments. The letter mentions only two of them, "Exhibit A" and "Exhibit B". I am arbitrarily referring to the third attachment as "Exhibit "C".

Index to the web page below:
January 17,2002 Planning Director letter to CEC
Exhibit "A" Performance Standards and Conditions
Exhibit "B" CPAC COMMENTS (Community Counsel Referral)
Exhibit "C" CPAC and FPLLC: Community Meeting Comments, Concerns and Questions
 

January 17, 2002
 

Mr. Lance Shaw
State of California – The Resources Agency
California Energy Commission
1516 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA  95814-5512
 

Dear Mr. Shaw:

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment and input on the proposed Florida Power and Light Power Plant in the Elverta community.  It is the understanding of Sacramento County that the California Energy Commission has the sole authority to permit power plants that generate 50 MW or larger, including the proposed Florida Power and Light plant.  However, CEC staff have testified to the County Board of Supervisors that the CEC is soliciting input on the consistency of the project with local zoning, with the Rio Linda and Elverta Community Plan and with the Sacramento County General Plan.  Further, the CEC staff have indicated that while the California Energy Commission retains the authority to determine General Plan consistency, the Commission would give great weight to the opinion of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors with regard to their interpretation of the County’s regulations and policies.

The County Board of Supervisors has held three hearings regarding the proposed power plant.  This letter is provided based on these hearings.  The Board has concluded that the County’s zoning regulations would permit a public utility as a conditional use in either the M-1, Light Industrial zone or the IR, Industrial Reserve zone.  This means that if the State of California did not directly regulate such a power plant, Sacramento County would require that a conditional use permit be granted by the Project Planning Commission.  CEC staff has questioned the County regarding the prior zoning agreement for the SEPCO project based on testimony from residents at CEC Commission meetings.   The County concludes that regardless of the existence of that zoning agreement, a stand-alone power plant could be conditionally permitted on this property subject to the issuance of a use permit and review can proceed via the CEC permitting process.

The Board also determined that the cooling towers are exempt from the County’s height limits pursuant to Zoning Code Section 301-21.  The cooling towers are determined to be similar to “towers, penthouses and other roof structures for the purpose of shelter for mechanical equipment, cupolas, water tanks, church steeples, carillon towers, or radio television antennas” and meet the stated standards of being less that 15% than the area of the lot and do not exceed 1,600 square feet in area at the base.

The Board of Supervisors has not reached any conclusions regarding the consistency of the proposed project with applicable General Plan and Community Plan policies.  (We wish to emphasize this point because it differs subtly yet importantly from the conclusion reported to the Energy Commission in the December 5, 2001 memo from Lance Shaw.)  While County staff presented an initial review of the project against General Plan and Community Plan policies, the Board of Supervisors concluded that consistency with these policies could best be determined after preparation of the Final CEC staff analysis.  It is the County’s understanding that the Final CEC Staff Analysis would include the equivalent of an environmental document as well as proposed conditions or mitigation measures.

The Board also indicated that Supervisor Dickinson’s office, with assistance from other County staff, would take the lead in working with Florida Power and Light on the community’s input into any Community Benefit Package.

During the initial project review, several key issues were identified as well as numerous policies that should be considered as performance standards during the CEC staff analysis and subsequent review process.  The County, therefore, provides as Exhibit “A” to this letter a list of items developed from the County General Plan, the Rio Linda and Elverta Community Plan, performance standards developed from these policies, and additional suggested conditions of project approval from the County, the Rio Linda and Elverta Community Planning Advisory Council (CPAC) and outside agencies for consideration in the process.  Exhibit “B” is the full text of the comments from the CPAC.

Again, we appreciate the opportunity for this input and look forward to working with the Energy Commission and the CEC staff during the review process.  If you have any questions regarding the letter or the attachment, please contact Leighann Moffitt or Tricia Stevens at (916) 874-6141.

Sincerely,

   /s/

Thomas W. Hutchings,
Director

Attachments (3)

LCM:lcm:letter to CEC