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County to Update Low Impact Development Handbook

Author: Public Works
Date: 3/30/2022 2:57 PM

The County’s Department of Public Works is teaming up with the Department of Planning and Building to update the County’s Low Impact Development Handbook.

The County’s Department of Public Works is teaming up with the Department of Planning & Building to update the County’s Low Impact Development Handbook. The Low Impact Development (LID) Handbook was first developed and published in 2014 to support project developers with integration of the Central Coast Post-Construction Stormwater Requirements (Resolution R3-2013-0032). The LID Handbook is frequently referenced by project designers and communicates the County’s expectations for post-construction stormwater management and reinforces practical strategies for meeting the design requirements.

Several years have passed since the Post-Construction Stormwater Requirements went into effect across the region. “Municipalities and developers across the Central Coast now have the benefit of our collective experience in designing, constructing, and maintaining Low Impact Development and stormwater management features,” said Ann Gillespie, County Stormwater Program Coordinator. “This update allows the County to incorporate more recently developed tools and strategies that can help streamline the design and permit review process for new projects.”

County staff will be supported by consultants from the Wallace Group in completing the update, which is expected to be completed over the next 12-18 months. Staff are kicking off the update process with a public User Survey to better understand the needs of the development community.

“We want this update to be valuable to the development community, and really encourage their participation in this process,” said JR Beard, Development Services Engineer. In addition to the public user survey, the County will be convening a volunteer Technical Focus Group for this project to solicit feedback on draft content. “We’re planning to incorporate content that improves alignment with other jurisdictions across the region, and will also be integrating feedback from the development community via the Technical Focus Group and User Survey”.

Those interested in participating in the volunteer Technical Focus Group are asked to email Matthew Welker at: [email protected].