You can put in a pool again, with some restrictions

The Laguna Beach City Council ended its short-lived moratorium on new projects that include swimming pools Tuesday night, while enacting rules geared toward water conservation.

In a unanimous vote, the council required that homeowners place covers on their pools when not in use and banned auto-fill devices that provide a continuous flow of water into a pool.

At the suggestion of pool industry representatives who spoke during the meeting, council members will allow auto-fill devices with set timers or weather-sensitive capabilities to control water flow.

The action comes less than a month after the council enacted a 45-day moratorium on approving new development projects with pools and/or spas in response to the drought.

A majority of the 16 speakers during Tuesday’s public comment period urged the council to halt the moratorium and allow projects with pools to move through.

Some residents argued that having a pool uses less water than a yard with a lawn and said the swimming pool issue should be part of a larger discussion on water conservation.

“We need to get people to voluntarily reduce water,” resident Jan Hobbs said. “[With a moratorium] you’re pointing fingers at a lifestyle of people who happen to like something you don’t like. That is not patriotic and not what we do here.”

John Norwood, president of the California Pool & Spa Assn., called an outright ban on pools discriminatory and said a pool can be part of a water-efficient yard.

“If you put a cover on [a pool], you will use half the water of drought-resistant landscaping,” Norwood said.

Cecil Frasier has installed pools for more than 30 years and said technology exists that allows a homeowner to set time limits on auto-fill devices depending on the time of year.

For example, a resident could set a 10-minute per day limit during summer months — when evaporation is more prevalent — and reduce the duration to three minutes a day during winter.

Not all speakers eschewed regulations, especially when it comes to pool filling.

Resident Alan Boinus said measures adopted by South Coast Water District, such as prohibiting filling and refilling of pools, are effective in cutting water waste.

Boinus cited data from the State Water Resources Control Board on Californians’ June water use.

South Coast, which serves areas of South Laguna, San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point, met its goal of a 24% reduction and then some compared to June 2013, cutting usage by 31%, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Laguna Beach County Water District customers, who don’t have the same prohibition on filling or refilling pools, cut consumption 18%, falling short of their required 24% goal.

It’s unclear what percentage of Laguna Beach County district’s total water consumption is due to pool filling.

“Why is staff only recommending temporary pool covers?” Boinus said. “We are dealing in the worst of two worlds: the drought and [a possible] El Niño. We can just imagine the picture of partially-excavated pools facing what has been mentioned on our hillsides and some of the worst mudslides that typically happen during El Niño conditions.

“How many of the current applications [for pools] are on hillsides and how many have geological reports done? Natural vegetation doesn’t use water but is removed for purpose of putting in a pool.”

As of July 14, when the council voted for the moratorium, the city had 54 pool-related applications awaiting Design Review Board discussion. With Tuesday’s vote, the board will be allowed to discuss and consider approving those projects.

Mayor Pro Tem Steve Dicterow said there was not convincing evidence to extend the moratorium.

“If we continue with the moratorium, we needed to have evidence that [having] no new pools will result in lower water usage or water conservation,” Dicterow said. “I didn’t see any hard facts.”

Pool owners will have 60 days from Tuesday’s vote to purchase and use pool covers before possibly incurring fines, Community Development Director Greg Pfost said.

Pfost said he would mail courtesy notices to residents by early next week alerting them to the new ordinance and giving them 30 days to begin using covers on their pools.

If after 30 days an inspector notices a pool without a cover, Pfost said he would mail a second notice advising the homeowner to comply with the rule in 30 days or face a citation.

The council’s vote also requires new projects with decorative water features, such as fountains, to use recirculated water.