Martin Tank to be enhanced with landscaping

The replacement of the Fallbrook Public Utility District’s Martin Tank will be complemented by additional landscaping.

A 5-0 FPUD board vote, July 27, approved an additional $45,000 for landscaping expenses. The full amount allows the planned landscaping to proceed if expenses exceed the estimated $38,974 for 19 trees and irrigation infrastructure.

“The board felt it was a reasonable step to invest in the landscaping,” Jack Bebee, general manager of FPUD, said.

The Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project will include conveying the Santa Margarita River water to the Gheen Zone east of Stage Coach Lane. The Gheen and Martin reservoirs will be used to balance supply and demand.

The work includes replacing the existing Martin Tank with a larger welded steel tank.

“The Martin Tank was inactive and it was not at the right elevation,” Bebee said.

In order for the Martin and Gheen tanks to function properly they must be at the same height. That will increase the size for the new Martin Tank compared to the existing one.

“It’s definitely taller,” Bebee said.

FPUD’s board certified the environmental impact report for the Conjunctive Use Project in September 2016. The district held hearings on the EIR and mailed notices to adjacent property owners before approving the EIR.

Those notices to adjacent property owners were to those who owned the property in 2016. None of those property owners expressed concerns about the aesthetics.

Such concerns likely would have led to the landscaping expenditure as part of the original project.

“We probably would have done it from the start,” Bebee said.

Construction on the replacement of the Martin Tank began in November 2019, and the shell has created concerns from three adjacent property owners.

“They continue to see impacts from the project,” Bebee said.

Change of ownership rather than a lack of understanding is the cause for the concerns expressed.

“All three did within the time that the environmental documents were out and the project was under construction,” Bebee said.

The new owners have requested additional landscaping, painting a mural on the tank, and additional paving of the private road. None of those were included in the project budget.

FPUD staff estimated costs of $60,000 to paint a mural on the tank, $25,000 for full repaving of the road, $6,200 for additional landscaping around the tank, $5,500 for replacement fencing and $2,700 for additional off-site landscaping improvements. Action on the Martin Tank visual mitigation was part of the June 22 FPUD board meeting, although no board action was taken.

“We had a discussion about the type of landscaping,” Bebee said.

The June 22 board discussion directed FPUD staff to work with the neighbors to develop a landscaping plan and to select a single paint color to address the neighbors’ concerns, and FPUD staff also visited local sites with effective screen tree installations.

“We put some time into it, and we’ll be able to get there,” Bebee said.

FPUD staff proposed the installation of a privacy screen comprised of 19 Indian laurel trees. The ficus trees will have a columnar canopy of 16-20 feet.

The residents selected two paint colors. The contractor will paint a sample of both on the tank so that the neighbors can make a final selection.

The State Water Resources Control Board has a State Revolving Fund loan program which provides water agencies with low-interest loans. In January the SWRCB approved a loan amount of $62,935,885 which includes a contingency of $5,440,000 as well as the construction, design and construction management costs. The tree privacy screen may or may not be eligible for the loan, and if the state funding cannot be used FPUD will utilize its capital budget for the visual improvements.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].