REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: PAUL AMICO, PE, Director Department of Public Utilities BY: AHMED ALY, PE, Assistant Director Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning & Engineering SUBJECT ..Title Approve the First Amendment to the Copper River Transfer Agreement with Copper River Development Company, Inc., a California corporation, to extend the eligibility of Sewer Equivalent Dwelling Units to an additional 109 acres within the expanded Copper River Ranch Project Area, and authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to execute the First Amendment on behalf of the City of Fresno (Council District 6) ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that City Council approve the First Amendment to the Copper River Transfer Agreement to extend the eligibility of Sewer Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDUs) to an additional 109 acres within the expanded Copper River Ranch Project Area, and authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to execute the First Amendment on behalf of the City of Fresno (City). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City entered into a Transfer Agreement (Agreement) dated November 25, 2008, with Copper River Development Company, Inc., a California corporation (Developer) for the transfer to the City of Fresno of the North Fresno Wastewater Reclamation Facility (NFWRF). Pursuant to the Agreement, the NFRWF would reserve a treatment and disposal capacity of 0.83 million gallons per day (MGD) assuring wastewater service for up to Full Build Out of the Copper River Ranch Development (Project) up to 3,682 EDUs within the Project area. The Project area included approximately 760 acres located between Friant Road, Willow Avenue, Copper Avenue, and the alignment of Silaxo Avenue (Project Area). On December 9, 2021, The City certified a Subsequent Final EIR (SEIR) which analyzed an addition of 109 acres within the Project Area. The SEIR concluded that there were adequate sewer EDUs to serve full buildout of the Project with the inclusion of the additional 109 acres in the Project Area. The attached location map depicts the original acreage (unhatched) and added acreage (hatched) within the NFRWF Service Area. The First Amendment to the Agreement will expand the eligibility to utilize Sewer EDUs to the Project Area. BACKGROUND The Developer, as the anticipated primary developer of the Project, secured entitlements for the Project including but not limited to Master Conditional Use Permit No. C-04-153 (the Master CUP), Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 5205 (Tract Map), and Conditional Use Permit No. C-05-247 (CUP). The conditions of approval for the Tract Map and CUP (Conditions of Approval) set forth several requirements related to wastewater service. Pursuant to the Conditions of Approval, the Developer was required to design and construct the NFWRF on-site tertiary wastewater treatment facility to treat all flow from the Project. On November 25, 2008, after completion of the construction of the NFWRF, the City entered into a Transfer Agreement with the Developer for the transfer of the NFWRF to the City. Pursuant to the Agreement, the City would assure a reserved capacity of wastewater treatment and disposal of 0.83 MGDs for the wastewater service of 3,682 EDUs for the development of the project. At City's request, Developer designed and constructed the NFWRF to readily accommodate expansion from 0.83 MGD to a planned build out treatment capacity of 1.25 MGD, to allow for an additional 0.42MGD of Expansion Capacity to be used by the City to accommodate other development in the area. On December 9, 2021, the City certified a Subsequent Final EIR (encompassing the Draft EIR, all appendices, all responses to comments, and all revisions) for the Copper River Ranch Project analyzing certain land use changes and an addition of 109 acres to the Project Area. The 2021 Subsequent EIR concluded that, due to a reduction in commercial uses below what was previously anticipated, there are adequate sewer EDUs to serve full buildout of the Copper River Ranch Development, with the inclusion of the additional 109 acres analyzed by the Subsequent EIR. As of June 1, 2026, the City and Developer agree that exclusion of the additional 109 acres in the expanded area from eligibility for sewer EDUs is no longer necessary. This Amendment will expand the eligibility of Sewer EDUs to the Project Area. The City Attorney's Office has reviewed and approved as to form this First Amendment to the Agreement. Upon approval by the City Council, the transfer agreement will be executed by the Director of Public Utilities or designee. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS A Subsequent EIR (SCH No. 2000021003) was prepared for Plan Amendment and Rezone Application Nos. P21-01875, which amended the General Plan land use designations and zone districts within the Copper River Ranch project area, and added an additional 109 acres to the Copper River Ranch development beyond what was considered in the original 2003 EIR. The Subsequent EIR specifically concluded that there were sufficient sewer EDUs to accommodate the additional 109 acres assessed by the Subsequent EIR. The SEIR was certified by the Council on December 9, 2021. This approval amends the transfer agreement to enable projects to use sewer EDUs for the additional 109 acres consistent with the conclusions of the SEIR. An analysis has been performed pursuant CEQA Guidelines �15162 to determine whether subsequent environmental review is required for this approval. Based upon this analysis the following findings are made to support the determination that no subsequent environmental review is required: 1. No substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions to the SEIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. In this case, the underlying project assessed by the SEIR has not changed. This approval merely facilitates its implementation. 2. No substantial changes have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the project was undertaken which will require major revisions to the SEIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. 3. There is no new information, which was not known and could not have been known at the time of the previous SEIR showing that: a. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous SEIR; b. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous SEIR; c. Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found to be not feasible are now feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project. Based upon these findings, it has been determined that no further environmental documentation is required for this approval. LOCAL PREFERENCE Local preference was not implemented because this amendment does not include a bid, an award of a construction contract, or approval of a services contract. FISCAL IMPACT There is no financial obligation for the General Fund for this Agreement and entering into this Amendment will not impact the general fund. Attachments: First Amendment to Copper River Transfer Agreement Transfer Agreement Location Map Vicinity Map