Greenfield Moving forward with Building Moratorium
Problems with the wastewater treatment plant in greenfield is forcing the city to halt all new construction projects. The city now moving forward with a controversial building moratorium.
The wastewater treatment facility in greenfield processes about 1-point-2 million gallons every day… and public works says it is regularly pushed to capacity… creating hazards for health and the environment. The city is trying to upgrade the plant and almost double its capacity, but that’s a more than hundred-million-dollar project and it still has question marks regarding funding. So to stop a bad situation from turning dire - the council is pumping the brakes on city growth.
The city says it’s top two priorities are generating revenue… and health and safety… but health and safety takes the cake. California has regional housing mandates that need to be met by 2031. Greenfield is on the hook more than a thousand new units. The city's public works says a moratorium would delay or prevent the construction of these units, risking noncompliance with state law. HCD could impose sanctions such as withholding community development block grants or transportation funding, which are critical to infrastructure projects.
The council was in agreement that nobody wants a building moratorium, but they hardly have another choice. However, it will take a few more council meetings to actually draw up and approve the moratorium… at which point projects that already have building permits will be allowed to continue.
As for how long this will last - they plan to revisit the issue every 6 months to see where things are with the wastewater plant renovations… and they want to be able to lift the moratorium as soon as possible.
