Time Set 10.
Planning Commission
- Meeting Date:
- 05/14/2026
Information
SUBJECT
ZF #2026-011: Hold a public hearing to consider a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to adopt an Ordinance approving and authorizing the execution of a Development Agreement between the County of Yolo and the Sites Project Authority regarding the Sites Reservoir Project. The Sites Project Authority certified a Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) (SCH #2001112009) on November 17, 2023, covering project alternatives, including the Dunnigan Pipeline. (Applicant: Jerry Brown, Executive Director, Sites Project Authority)(Planner: Jeff Anderson)
SUMMARY
| FILE # 2026-011: Sites Project Authority Development Agreement | |
| APPLICANT: Jerry Brown, Executive Director Sites Reservoir Authority PO Box 517 Maxwell, CA 95955 |
OWNER: Various |
| LOCATION: Various- near unincorporated community of Dunnigan GENERAL PLAN: Various ZONING: Various SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT: 5 (Supervisor Barajas) PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE: Published in Davis Enterprise on 05/03/26 |
SOILS: Various
FMMP: Various WILLIAMSON ACT: Various FLOOD ZONE: Various FIRE SEVERITY ZONE: Various
|
| ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: Final EIR/EIS certified by Sites Project Authority on November 17, 2023 (SCH #2001112009) (Sites Reservoir); Notice of Exemption (Development Agreement) | |
RECOMMENDED ACTION
That the Planning Commission:
- Hold a public hearing and receive public comment on the proposed Development Agreement between the County of Yolo (“County”) and the Sites Project Authority (“Authority”) regarding the Sites Reservoir Project;
- Recommend that the Board of Supervisors adopt a Notice of Exemption pursuant California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) (the “common sense” exemption) for the Development Agreement;
- Determine that the Development Agreement is in conformance with California Government Code Section 65864-65869.5 (the Development Agreement Act) and Yolo County Code Title 8, Chapter 5 (Development Agreements) (Attachment B); and
- Recommend that the Board of Supervisors adopt an Ordinance (Attachment C) approving and authorizing execution of the Development Agreement (Att. A to Attachment C).
REASONS FOR RECOMMENDED ACTIONS/BACKGROUND
The purpose of this item is to hold a public hearing and provide a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding the attached Development Agreement for the Sites Reservoir Project. The Planning Commission’s role is somewhat limited given the unique context of the Project, which itself is not before the County for approval. Instead, aside from various ministerial approvals that County departments are expected to issue during Project construction, the Development Agreement is the only action (and the only discretionary action) the County will take in connection with the Project. As explained further below, the Development Agreement provides the County certain assurances and public benefits in exchange for the County’s agreement not to change any local requirements that might increase construction costs or otherwise create unpredictability during the period of Project construction.
A. Project Background and Features
The Sites Project Authority (Authority), a Joint Powers Agency formed in 2010, is requesting the Development Agreement to ensure regulatory stability across the three affected counties—Colusa, Glenn, and Yolo—during Project construction. The Authority is leading the planning and construction of the Sites Reservoir, a 1.3 to 1.5 million acre-foot off-stream reservoir approximately ten miles west of the town of Maxwell, California. When completed, the Sites Reservoir will extend across portions of Colusa and Glenn Counties and provide water storage and supply for the entities that pay to participate and receive benefits. It will also provide public benefits, including environmental water supplies, recreation, and regional flood control benefits. Construction of the reservoir is scheduled to begin in late 2026/early 2027, and is anticipated to be operational by 2033.
Although the reservoir and major associated infrastructure will occur primarily in Colusa and Glenn Counties, the project includes a pipeline and related infrastructure in unincorporated Yolo County in the vicinity of the community of Dunnigan. During project operations, water released from Sites Reservoir would be conveyed south of the reservoir using the existing Tehama-Colusa Canal and a new Dunnigan Pipeline. The water would flow south approximately 40 miles to near the end of the Tehama-Colusa canal, where it would be diverted through a new intake to the Dunnigan Pipeline. The flows would be subsequently conveyed to the Colusa Basin Drain and ultimately reach the Sacramento River.
The Dunnigan Pipeline has the following key physical and operational characteristics:
- The pipeline will be approximately four miles in length, have a maximum depth of six feet below ground surface, and have an inner diameter of approximately nine feet.
- The pipeline will extend through existing agricultural lands and would also cross I-5, Road 99W and the railroad, and the Ritchie Brothers commercial auction yard between I-5 and Road 99W. The tunneled crossing at I-5 would be 300 feet long and that for Road 99W and the railroad would be 250 feet long.
- A Colusa Basin Drain outlet with an energy dissipation structure would be required at the downstream end of the pipeline to allow water to discharge into the Colusa Basin Drain.
- The conveyance through the Dunnigan Pipeline to the Colusa Basin Drain would use gravity (i.e., no pump station) and have a flow up to 1,000 cfs.
Graphics depicting the pipeline and its geographic context relative to the overall project are included as Attachment A and at pp. 32-33 of the Development Agreement before the Planning Commission for consideration today.
B. Project CEQA Review
The Authority issued a Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on November 12, 2021, and a Final EIR/EIS on November 2, 2023. On November 17, 2023, the Authority certified the Final EIR/EIS and approved Alternative 3, which includes the Dunnigan Pipeline through portions of unincorporated Yolo County. Governor Newsom certified the Sites Reservoir as a “critical infrastructure project” and, as a result, a later CEQA challenge to the adequacy of the Final EIR/EIS was streamlined and decided within a matter of months in favor of the Authority. An appellate court denied the appeal that followed on June 4, 2024.
C. Prior Yolo County Engagement
Shortly before the Authority approved the Project in 2023, the Board of Supervisors authorized County staff to sign an agreement providing certain assurances and community benefits (Attachment D) as a means of resolving concerns the Board had expressed regarding potential project impacts. The agreement mirrors many of the substantive community benefit provisions of the Development Agreement, as summarized below, and it recognized the likelihood that the parties would later negotiate and execute a Development Agreement—as is now the case.
D. Key Provisions of the Development Agreement
The proposed Development Agreement is similar in most respects to versions already approved by Colusa and Glenn Counties. It sets forth implementation commitments within Yolo County while recognizing the Authority’s lead-agency role for the project and the County’s reserved police powers under limited circumstances. The Development Agreement outlines County procedures and actions, purpose and applicability of the Agreement, best management practices, community benefits, assurances by both parties, impacts to county roads and crossing structures, default and general provisions.
Chapter 5, of Title 8 of the Yolo County Code of Ordinances establishes the procedures and requirements for the adoption of a development agreement in compliance with Government Code Section 65864 et seq. A development agreement provides assurances to an applicant (the Authority) of a development project that, upon approval, the project may proceed in accordance with the conditions placed upon it by the review authority, as well as with existing policies, rules, and regulations. The proposed Development Agreement meets the determinations and findings required by Section 8-5.301 of the Yolo County Code of Ordinances.
The designated approving authority for a development agreement within the County of Yolo is the Board of Supervisors, with review and recommendation by the Planning Commission. Approval of a development agreement is required to be by ordinance. Additionally, the Sites Project Authority also has a Board of Directors that has the authority to approve a development agreement within its jurisdiction.
As written, the Development Agreement includes standard development language (i.e., definitions, legal recitals, specified agreement and assurance provisions, review, and default provisions) and specific obligations of the Authority and the County. In exchange for the County’s commitment to allow portions of the project to be developed in unincorporated Yolo County, the developer agrees to the following:
- Commitment to implement five specific Best Management Practices (BMPs) in connection with work occurring within Yolo County, covering topsoil handling, drainage, construction traffic management, noise abatement, and fugitive dust control (BMPs 10, 15, 16, 22, and 28). The Authority retains the ability to modify these BMPs, subject to 30-day advance notice to the County and a meet-and-confer process before any material changes take effect. (Section 2)
- Commitment to consider and evaluate potential community benefit measures, programs, and projects proposed by any parties through the previously formed Local Community Working Group. (Section 3)
- Commitment to support and implement community benefit actions and create policies and programs that support local workforce training and development consistent with the Construction Workforce Policy. In the event of any conflict between Section 3 and the Parties' separate agreement dated December 19, 2023, the provision most favorable to the County shall prevail. (Section 3)
- Commitment to cooperate and identify and implement programs and projects within the communities of Dunnigan and Knights Landing, that satisfy the Authority’s obligations under Mitigation Measure GHG-1.1 to achieve net-zero emissions through a GHG reduction plan. The Authority’s GHG reduction plan shall consider the communities of Dunnigan, Knights Landing, and Yolo to be within the communities in the vicinity of the Project site. To the extent Mitigation Measures GHG-1.1 is satisfied through off-site measures at least 20% of such off-site measures shall be implemented in Yolo County unless the Authority reasonably determines that doing so would render compliance with Mitigation Measure GHG-1.1 infeasible due to significantly greater costs, delays, or other detriment. (Section 3)
Please note that the attached version of the Development Agreement includes a few minor drafting notes that will be removed before the document is presented to the Board of Supervisors.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) REVIEW
As described above, the Authority certified the Final EIR/EIS on November 17, 2023, covering project alternatives, including the Dunnigan Pipeline. The Final EIR/EIS can be accessed at https://sitesproject.org/environmental-review/. The approval of the Development Agreement relies on the Authority’s CEQA lead agency status and does not alter previously certified analysis. Like Glenn and Colusa Counties, staff propose that the Commission recommend that the Board of Supervisors adopt a Notice of Exemption for the Agreement under CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), which applies where it can be seen with certainty that a project (here, the Development Agreement) will not have a significant effect on the environment.
Also, it is worth noting that the Development Agreement anticipates a variety of later activities that may result in “projects” within the meaning of CEQA. As of the date of this Agreement, however, no such projects have been identified, explored, formulated, or proposed in any level of meaningful detail. For all of these reasons, environmental review of such projects is thus premature and not required by CEQA. The Parties shall conduct all appropriate environmental review, if necessary, at the time when such review is required, and before the approval or implementation of any project that may result from the activities anticipated in this Agreement. Responsibility for performing environmental review, including which entity will serve as the “lead agency,” will be determined at the appropriate time and in the legally required manner.
SUMMARY OF PUBLIC CORRESPONDENCE
A public hearing notice was published in the Davis Enterprise on May 3, 2026. No public comments were received prior to the publishing of this staff report. Any comments received after publication of the staff report will be provided to the Commission as correspondence.
COLLABORATIONS
Planning Division staff collaborated with the Office of County Counsel.
APPEALS
Any person who is dissatisfied with the decisions of this Planning Commission may appeal to the Board of Supervisors by filing a notice of appeal with the Clerk of the Board within fifteen (15) days from the date of the action. A Planning Commission Appeal Form and appeal fee immediately payable to “County of Yolo” must be submitted at the time of filing. The Board of Supervisors may sustain, modify or overrule this decision. The Planning Commission Appeal Form can be accessed at the following link: https://www.yolocounty.org/government/board-of-supervisors/clerk-of-the-board/planning-commission-appeal
Attachments
- Att. A. Location Map
- Att. B. Planning Commission Determination and Recommendation
- Att. C. Ordinance and Development Agreement
- Att. D. 2023 Agreement
Form Review
| Inbox | Reviewed By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Eric May | Eric May | 05/07/2026 02:15 PM |
| Stephanie Cormier | Evelyn Tamayo-Arias | 05/07/2026 02:18 PM |
- Form Started By:
- Jeff Anderson
- Started On:
- 05/06/2026 04:43 PM
- Final Approval Date:
- 05/07/2026