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SR 11-14-2023 5N City Council Report City Council Meeting: November 14, 2023 Agenda Item: 5.N 1 of 1 To: Mayor and City Council From: Douglas Sloan, City Attorney, City Attorney's Office, Administration Subject: Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance to Amend Santa Monica Municipal Code 7.12.180 to Require Water Capacity Studies for New Developments Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached Ordinance. Executive Summary At its meeting on October 24, 2023, the City Council introduced for first reading an Ordinance to amend Santa Monica Municipal Code 7.12.180 to require water capacity studies for new developments. The ordinance is now presented to the City Council for adoption. Prepared By: Bradley Michaud, Principal Legal Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council Attachments: A. ORD-7.12.180 Water Capacity Study 5.N Packet Pg. 143 1 City Council Meeting November 14, 2023 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS) (City Council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SECTION 7.12.180 OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE TO REQUIRE WATER CAPACITY STUDIES FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS WHEREAS, the City’s Department of Public Works- Water Resources Division is a retail water agency that provides potable water for New Development, as well as landscape irrigation and fire protection; and WHEREAS, the City and its water infrastructure are largely built out, therefore, the domestic water supply infrastructure is already in place and generally fixed in nature; and WHEREAS, the City, to the extent practical, provides water service when sufficient water supply and distribution capacity is available to accommodate demand approved within the service area; and WHEREAS, the City’s Water Resources seeks to amend this section of code to require all New Development in the City to conduct a Water Capacity Study to confirm that the available water infrastructure (e.g., the size of the water service laterals directly serving the property or adjacent water mains) has sufficient capacity to deliver water to the New Development or does not adversely impact existing users; identify what additional infrastructure is needed to provide adequate service for the New Development; and ensure that the applicant for the New Development pays for the study as well as the additional infrastructure, if needed. 5.N.a Packet Pg. 144 Attachment: ORD-7.12.180 Water Capacity Study (6126 : 7,12,180 Water Capacity - Second Reading) 2 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 7.12.180 is hereby amended to read as follows: 7.12.180 Water Capacity Study Required for New Development. (a) Applicability. Except as provided in subparagraph (g), below, an applicant for New Development in the City shall conduct a Water Capacity Study to determine whether and to what extent additional local off-site water infrastructure improvements are necessary to serve the development. (b) Definitions. i. “New Development”. For the purposes of implementing this Section, New Development means any new construction with water fixtures; any increase in gross floor area of an existing development with new water fixtures; and any subdivision of land, including lot splits. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing definition, new development includes the addition of an accessory dwelling unit, as defined in Section 9.31.025, but does not include the addition of a junior accessory dwelling unit, as defined in Section 9.31.025; ii. “Adverse Impact” means the inability to provide adequate potable water service due to the size of the existing infrastructure compared with the demand for potable water service required to serve existing and/or New Development. iii. “Water Capacity Study” means a hydraulic analysis of the City’s water distribution system to determine if the existing infrastructure could maintain 5.N.a Packet Pg. 145 Attachment: ORD-7.12.180 Water Capacity Study (6126 : 7,12,180 Water Capacity - Second Reading) 3 reliable service to the New Development or if off-site improvements are required to serve the New Development. (c) Timing for Submittal of Study. i. The need to conduct a Water Capacity Study for the New Development shall be confirmed before the planning application, including but not limited to Administrative Approval Application or application for Development Review Permit, is deemed complete by the City. The Water Capacity Study, if required, shall be completed based upon the guidelines published by the City’s Water Resources Manager and posted on the Water Resources Division website. ii. If a Water Capacity Study is required for the New Development, the capacity study, findings of the capacity study, and the plans for any local off-site improvements required to serve the New Development shall be completed before building plans are submitted for Building Permit Plan Check. (d) Requirements for Off-Site Improvements. If the City’s Water Resources Manager or designee determines, based upon the Water Capacity Study results, that additional off-site infrastructure is required to satisfy the additional demand created by the New Development, then the applicant for the New Development shall be required to construct off-site infrastructure as necessary to accommodate the New Development. Required off-site improvements shall be confirmed at the time of Building Permit Plan Check. (e) The applicant for the New Development shall be responsible for paying all administrative fees (e.g., Water Study Review Fee) incurred by the City to review the Water Capacity Study. 5.N.a Packet Pg. 146 Attachment: ORD-7.12.180 Water Capacity Study (6126 : 7,12,180 Water Capacity - Second Reading) 4 (f) The Water Resources Manager may refuse water service in areas where the New Development will cause or contribute to creation of an Adverse Impact on the City’s water distribution infrastructure. (g) Exemptions. i. The City’s Director of Public Works may exempt an applicant or New Development from the requirements of this Section, upon showing by the applicant that the requirements of this Section would cause undue hardship. ii. For purposes herein, an “undue hardship” shall be found where imposition of the water capacity study and local off-site improvement requirements would deprive the applicant or New Development of all economically beneficial use of that site or otherwise be prohibited by applicable State or Federal law. iii. An undue hardship application shall include all information necessary for the Director to make a finding of undue hardship, including, but not limited to, documentation showing the factual support for the claimed undue hardship. iv. The Director may approve the undue hardship exemption application, in whole or in part, with or without conditions. v. Any exemption granted by the Director is effective immediately. SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance. 5.N.a Packet Pg. 147 Attachment: ORD-7.12.180 Water Capacity Study (6126 : 7,12,180 Water Capacity - Second Reading) 5 SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM: _________________________ Douglas Sloan, City Attorney 5.N.a Packet Pg. 148 Attachment: ORD-7.12.180 Water Capacity Study (6126 : 7,12,180 Water Capacity - Second Reading)