Hanford General Plan Update, EIR, Zoning Ordinance Update, Subdivision Ordinance Update & Infrastructure Master Plans

City of Hanford, CA

Hanford General Plan Update

Due in large part to the success of QK’s APA award-winning Hanford Downtown East Precise Plan and our team’s experience with the preparation of policy documents, the team of QK and Zumwalt-Hansen & Associates was selected to prepare a comprehensive General Plan (GP), Zoning Ordinance (ZO) and subdivision ordinance update, as well as the supporting environmental review/reports for the City of Hanford.

The purpose of a General Plan Update is to serve the City for the next 20 years, comply with state, local, and federal regulations, and provide the community with a vision for the City’s future, as well as guidelines for the way land will be developed and used. QK led the public outreach efforts and guided the discussion with the Citizen’s Advisory Committee and led several key discussions about the Citizens’ wants and needs for the GP. Those discussions led to actual policies in the GP.

Four important and distinctive features included:

  • Goals, objectives, policies, and programs for elements in land use and community design; transportation and circulation; open space, conservation, and recreation; health and safety; public facilities and services and environmental justice;
  • An extensive public engagement/outreach program including a city-wide bus tour and 14 meetings with the 20-person Citizen’s Advisory Committee;
  • Preparation of a program-level Environmental Impact Report (EIR);
  • A ZO update that reflected the City’s desire for a “Red Carpet, not Red Tape” approach.

Development of the GP and the ZO coincided with the construction phases for the California High-Speed Rail, recent State laws like Senate Bill 375, California’s Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act and regional planning efforts like the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint. The GP and the ZO reflect the new State laws as well as changes in housing preferences. The EIR was certified, and the General Plan and ZO were adopted by the City Council in April 2017.

As an extension of the GP/ZO update process, QK concurrently prepared the Infrastructure Master Plans for sanitary sewer, potable water, and storm drainage. By including these Master Plans into the scope of the overall project, infrastructure planning occurred simultaneously with the GP update process. This proactive strategy eliminated a problem that too often plagues cities; a GP update identifies areas for development, and then later it’s discovered that the City cannot efficiently provide services.

Throughout the project, QK also provided grant writing support in coordination with components of the GP. The grant writing team was successful in procuring nearly a quarter-million dollars of funding early in the process that helped reduce the need for using general funds to finance the GP update.

New Well, Tanks, Booster Pump Stations, and Pressure Sustaining Valves

City of Chowchilla, CA

New Well, Tanks, Booster Pump Stations & Pressure Sustaining Valves

The City of Chowchilla (City) faces challenges familiar to many California small and rural cities, which often serve disadvantaged communities with limited resources. City officials and staff in these communities put their hearts and souls into their service, and as we see here in the Valley every day, this type of leadership can lead to great advances that benefit the public far into the future.

Since a previous infrastructure analysis for the City showed significant deficiencies in its water system, the City knew it needed to make a big change. But thinking forward, it didn’t seem enough to the Council and Staff to simply put a band-aid on the structural problems. They didn’t want to just fix things that needed immediate repair. They wanted to commit to the delivery of energy-efficient infrastructure across the board so that their constituents would know that their contributions as ratepayers are being wisely invested in their long-term future, instead of short-term remedies.

It was this total commitment to water and energy efficiency that led City leaders to find Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI), which was then able to assist City staff not only in planning for a clean and green future but with the creative financing of that plan that included public funding. Since City Council and Staff know that water is the lifeblood of their community, it was determined that an initial major step on the City’s path to sustainability should be in its water system.

The City has several aging wells and an elevated water tank that is no longer in use. Many of the wells have old equipment and controls that require constant attention and adjustments based on the seasonal water demands. The growing population and water demand of the City have only exacerbated the existing issues of insufficient well capacity, inadequate storage for peak hour and fire flow conditions, and the inability to pressurize the entire system.

The City is divided into two zones – the east and west sides of town, with HWY 99 running through the middle. Because the east side of town is positioned at a higher elevation than the west, the City was inundated with citizen complaints regarding the lack of pressure on that side.

So, when one of the City’s main wells went down, the long-awaited need for an updated system became urgent. As a result, the project design included drilling a new well and installing a 750,000-gallon storage tank at the City’s existing corporation yard that could be filled at night and pumped out during the day. The new well is equipped with a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) which allows flexibility of speed at which the motor runs to adjust the flow rate of the well. A new booster station was also installed at this site, equipped with three VFD pumps that automatically adjust to meet the varying demand.

The design also included the installation of two Pressure Sustaining Valves (PSVs) – in the center of the two 12-inch main water lines that connect the east side to the west side. The PSVs only allow water to pass through in one direction unless certain pressure conditions are met. This ensures that the higher elevation side doesn’t lose pressure due to the water wanting to flow downhill.

Lastly, a solar panel array was installed on-site to not only provide power to the new facilities but some of the existing City buildings as well. In total, the combination of the new well, storage tank, booster pump station, PSVs, and solar panels ensure that the City’s water delivery system is operating efficiently, with the pressure necessary to satisfy the demands of its citizens, and the storage required to meet peak demands or to take the well offline for maintenance.

Cameron Creek Colony Emergency Water Supply Project

City of Farmersville, CA

Cameron Creek Colony Emergency Water Supply Project

The Cameron Creek Water project involved multiple agencies, groups, and individuals to get the project constructed without undue delay. It was a true team effort of the City of Farmersville, Tulare County Board of Supervisors, Tulare County Resource Management Agency, Tulare County Local Agency Formation Commission, Self Help Enterprises, Quad Knopf, Inc. (QK), and West Valley Construction. California State University Fresno and BSK provided additional support during the outreach and preliminary engineering, respectively.

QK provided the engineering design of 7,262 lineal feet of 8-inch water main, installation of 6 fire hydrants, 10 control valves, and 106 new water services to provide domestic water service to Cameron Creek Colony without an impact on Farmersville’s budget or without incurring a debt service that the severely disadvantaged community could not afford. Construction Management was also provided for the project.

Pump Station & Odor Control Facility

City of Atwater, CA

Pump Station & Odor Control Facility

The City of Atwater’s existing lift station and alternative site were analyzed to accommodate a short timeline for bidding, equipment delivery, and construction needed to meet a deadline imposed by the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB).

Ultimately, the existing wastewater treatment plant was replaced by a new tertiary treatment plant. This new treatment facility is located 5.7 miles to the south of the community and provides additional capacity for future growth. The new site location was chosen to provide avoidance from existing and future commercial development adjacent to the site and the new lift station was designed to handle the existing flows along with growth up to a flow of 12 million gallons per day (MGD).

The pump station and odor control facility was completed prior to the RWQCB’s deadline and within the funded budget, and our design strengthens the reliability of the facility by adding a generator, improved electrical service, and odor control facilities.

T-4 3MG Water Storage Tank & Booster Pump Station

City of Fresno, CA

T-4 3MG Water Storage Tank & Booster Pump Station

The City of Fresno designed its $10M T-4 3MG water storage tank and booster station to address water availability issues within the downtown area and increase water flow to accommodate future redevelopment needs. With extensive redevelopment projects planned for Downtown Fresno and existing land barriers limiting available water during peak times, the new water storage tank and pump station were needed to meet peak-hour demands.

QK worked with the City and stakeholders to design their water storage tank and booster pump station. Environmental permitting and final plans included a three-million-gallon (MG) water storage tank, an operations building, appurtenant exterior facilities including a surge tank and emergency generator, miscellaneous yard piping and site improvements, site landscaping, and architectural treatment of the new tank and operations building.

Water Systems Improvements Project

Frazier Park Public Utility District, Frazier Park, CA

Water Systems Improvements Project

QK assisted the Frazier Park Public Utility District as they applied for American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funding; prepared plans, specifications, and estimates; and provided construction management for water system improvements including new mains, water tanks, control valves, and motor control centers. We were also able to obtain an emergency permit from the US Forest Service (USFS) to begin construction while the district processed their regular operating permit. QK consulted throughout the project’s development and construction, primarily for engineering, funding, planning, and managing construction renovations.