Page 7 - Sanger Herald 7-26-18 E-edition

state's housing and community development website goes like this: "Since 1969, California has required that all local governments (cit- ies and counties) adequately plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community. California’s local governments meet this re- quirement by adopting housing plans as part of their “general plan” (also required by the state). General plans serve as the local gov- ernment’s "blueprint" for how the city and/
or county will grow and develop and include seven elements: land use, transportation, conservation, noise, open space, safety, and housing. The law mandating that housing be included as an element of each jurisdiction’s general plan is known as "housing-element
law."
"California’s housing-element law acknowl-
edges that, in order for the private market
to adequately address the housing needs and demand of Californians, local governments must adopt plans and regulatory systems that provide opportunities for (and do not unduly constrain), housing development. As a result, housing policy in California rests largely on the effective implementation of local general plans and, in particular, local housing ele- ments," the law says.
The map below shows some of the parcels the commission has been considering for rezoning.
Contributed
After a below-average year, Fresno Irriga- tion District’s (FID) water deliveries for the 2018 season will extend through the month of August this year, officially concluding water service and beginning the annual winter sys- tem shutdown on Aug. 31.
By the time the annual winter system shutdown begins, FID will have delivered approximately 440,000 acre-feet of water for the 2018 water year, which officially began on April 16 district-wide.
“Earlier this spring, there was some un- certainty of whether or not the District would be able to make water deliveries to our users after July due to this being a below-average year,” explained Bill Stretch, FID’s assistant general manager. “Through careful reservoir storage management and the availability
of additional Friant Central Valley Project water supplies, the FID Board of Directors was able to make the decision to extend the season through the end of August.
“Even after a near-record water supply last year, our farmers and cities are still feel-
ing the effects of the long-term drought, and being able to deliver water for 4.5 months and still utilize our groundwater recharge facilities in a below-normal year will greatly benefit the region,” stated Stretch. “Achiev- ing groundwater sustainability depends on taking advantage of all available surface water supplies, and we encourage all of our water users to irrigate with surface water this August.”
This year’s below-average water condi- tions (approximately 78 percent of average) resulted from having a dry winter except
for several storms during the months of February and March, which provided a Kings River natural run-off of approximately 900,000 acre-feet, compared to approximately 4.1 million acre-feet last year, according to Stretch.
District crews will use the off-season shut- down to conduct maintenance, repair, and construction projects that will enhance the water system’s infrastructure for the 2019 season. District water users are encouraged to contact their water system operator to coordinate their next irrigation.
SANGER HERALD 7A THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2018
PLANNING: '...local governments must adopt plans and regulatory systems that provide opportunities for (and do not unduly constrain), housing development.'
Continued from page 1A
Fresno Irrigation District’s water deliveries to extend to Aug. 31
Summer construction projects
Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
The work being done now on sidewalks, curbs and gutters on Church Avenue is part of one of four construction projects that were scheduled for the summer: new sidewalks as part of the Safe Routes to School program; an overlay on Church Avenue, from Bethel to Greenwood; reconstruction of I Street from 5th to 10th street; and reconstruction of Rawson and Dewitt from 14th to Hoag.