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O1667 CA:JLP:water4.1\wp5.1 City Council Meeting 2-9-93 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER 1667 (CCS) (City council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA ADDING SECTION 7.16.140 THROUGH SECTION 7.16.230 TO CHAPTER 7.16 OF ARTICLE VII OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH WATER CONSERVATION PLUMBING STANDARDS UPON CHANGE OF PROPERTY OWNERSHIP THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 7.16 of Article VII of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is amended to read as follows: SECTION 7.16.140. Findings. The City Council finds and declares: (a) Water is a precious natural resource that must be used judiciously in order to ensure the continued environmental and economic viability of the State of California. (b) The city of Santa Monica is concerned about the impact of unrestrained urban water demands on environmentally sensitive areas of California. (c) Retrofitting plumbing fixtures provides the most cost effective means of increasing the City'S available water supply. 1 (d) Uncontrolled future increases in the amount of wastewater entering the city's Hyperion Sewage Treatment System could overload the system, resulting in reduced treatment quality, pollution of the Santa Monica Bay, degradation of the beaches, and severe damage to the Hyperion System. (e) Reasonable measures to reduce water use will significantly reduce the amount of wastewater entering the Hyperion system, thereby safeguarding the Santa Monica Bay and ensuring the long-term viability of the Hyperion system. (f) An effective and efficient Hyperion Treatment System is necessary for the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Santa Monica and adjoining communities. SECTION 7.16.150. Purpose. The purpose of this Ordinance is to reduce wastewater flows and decrease the use of potable water in the City of Santa Monica by -, establishing water conservation plumbing standards which would be required upon Change of Ownership. 2 SECTION 7.16.160. Applicability. The provisions of this Ordinance shall apply to all residential, commercial, and industrial buildings in the City of Santa Monica that use water in showers, toilets, urinals, and faucets. The provisions of this Ordinance are effective upon Purchase or Change of Ownership. SECTION 7.16.170. Definitions. (a) Bay Saver Fixture Retrofit Program. A program sponsored by the City of Santa Monica which offers a financial incentive to water customers who replace an existing non- ultra-low flush toilet with an ultra-low flush toilet. (b) Existing Plumbing Fixture. Any toilet using more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush, urinal using more than 1.0 gallons of water per flush, showerhead with a flow capacity of more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute, faucet that emits more than 2.2 gallons of water per minute, or residential ., reverse osmosis system not equipped with shutoff valves. 3 (c) Existing structure. A structure currently available for use or occupancy which is equipped with one or more "Existing Plumbing Fixtures." (d) Purchase or Change of ownership. A purchase or change in ownership of real property, includes any purchase or change in ownership, except as follows: (1) The purchase or transfer of real property between spouses, including, but not limited to transfers to a trustee for the beneficial use of a spouse, or the surviving spouse of a deceased transferor, or by a trustee of such a trust to the spouse of the trustor; transfers to a spouse which take effect upon the death of a spouse; transfers to a spouse or former spouse in connection with a property settlement agreement or decree of dissolution of a marriage or legal separation; the creation, transfer, or termination, solely between spouses, of any co-owner's interest; and the distribution of a legal entity's property to a spouse or former spouse in exchange for the interest of the spouse in the legal entity in connection with a property settlement agreement or a 4 decree of dissolution of a marriage or legal separation. (2) The purchase or transfer of real property between parents and their children (as defined by Probate Code section 26), including both voluntary transfers and transfers resulting from a court order or judicial decree. (3) The purchase or transfer of real property pursuant to foreclosure proceedings under civil Code sections 2924 et ~ or Code of Civil Procedure Sections 725a et~ (e) Retrofit or Retrofitting. Replacement of Existing "Plumbing Fixtures" with "Water conserving Plumbing Fixtures." (f) Water conservation certificate. A form provided by the City verifying that installation of "Water Conserving Plumbing Fixtures" has been completed. (g) Water conserving Plumbing Fixtures. Any toilet using a maximum of 1.6 gallons of water per flush, urinals that use a maximum ., of 1.0 gallon of water per flush, showerheads with a maximum flow capacity of 2.5 gallons of water per minute, faucets that emit a 5 maximum of 2.2 gallons of water per minute, and shutoff valves for residential reverse osmosis systems. SECTION 7.16.180. Retrofit Requirement Upon Purchase or Change of ownership. No existing structure shall be sold or transferred unless all existing plumbing fixtures in the structure are retrofitted exclusively with Water Conserving Plumbing Fixtures. Compliance with this section shall be included as a condition of escrow. SECTION 7.16.190. Exemption from Retrofit Requirement. The Environmental Programs Division may grant an exemption from this Ordinance only in the following instances: (a) Unavailability of Water Conserving Plumbing Fixtures to match a well-defined historic architectural style (e.g., Victorian, Mission), fitted with authentic plumbing fixtures, in.a local, state or federally designated building of historic significance. 6 .... (b) When the Director of the General Services Department finds that the existing sewer grades are insufficient or incompatible with the ultra-low flush toilet grade specifications (i.e., areas where sewer lines have a relatively flat grade). SECTION 7.16.200. Verification of compliance. (a) Upon retrofitting with Water Conserving Plumbing Fixtures, the transferor, prior to a Change of Ownership, shall contact the Environmental Programs Division to request a Water Conservation certificate. (b) Water Conservation certificates shall be issued upon verification of participation in the Bay Saver Fixture Retrofit Program, upon presentation of satisfactory documentation of installation of Water Conserving Plumbing ~ixtures, or upon physical inspection of the building for which a certificate is requested. (c) Water Conservation certificates shall be maintained by the Environmental Programs Division in order to provide future 7 verification that Water Conserving Plumbing Fixtures have been installed. SECTION 7.16.210. Relationship to Bay Saver Fixture Retrofit program. Nothing in this Ordinance shall preclude a transferor, transferee, or title holder from participating in the Bay Saver Fixture Retrofit Program. SECTION 7.16.220. Penalties for Violation and Enforcement. (a) It is unlawful for any person, firm, partnership, association or corporation, to violate, to cause, or to maintain a violation of this Ordinance. (b) It is unlawful for any person, firm, partnership, association or corporation to remove, or to cause the removal of Water Conserving Plumbing Fixtures contrary to the provisions of this Ordinance. (c) In addition to any other remedy provided by the Santa Monica Municipal Code, any provision of this Ordinance may be enforced by injunction issued by the Superior 8 Court upon a suit brought by the City of Santa Monica. (d) In addition to any other remedy provided by the Santa Monica Municipal Code, any provision of this Ordinance may be enforced by an administrative order issued pursuant to anyone of the administrative processes set forth in the Santa Monica Municipal Code. (e) No liability shall arise, nor shall any action be brought or maintained against, any agent of any party to a transfer of title, including any person or entity acting in the capacity of an escrow officer, for any error, inaccuracy, or omission relating to compliance with this Ordinance. However, this section does not apply to a licensee, as defined in section 10011 of the California Business and Professions Code, where the licensee participates in the making of the certification required to be made pursuant to this Ordinance with actual knowledge of the falsity of the certification. Except as otherwise provided in this Ordinance, this section shall not be deemed to create or imply a duty upon a licensee, as defined in 9 Section 10011 of the California Business and Professions Code, or upon any agent of any party to a transfer of title, including any person or entity acting in the capacity of an escrow officer, to monitor or ensure compliance with this Ordinance, or to notify any person of requirements to comply with this ordinance. (f) Every person, firm, partnership, association or corporation that violates, causes or maintains a violation of any provision in this Ordinance is guilty of an misdeameanor and is subject to the penalties imposed by the Santa Monica Municipal Code.. (g) The Environmental Programs Division is authorized and empowered to enforce the provisions of this section. SECTION 7.16.230. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect on May 1, 1993, and applies to any escrow opened on or after April 15, 1993. 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, 10 are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to affect the provisions of this Ordinance. 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 any 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 on May 1, 1993. APPROVED AS TO FORM: ~~ JOS~H LAWRENCE Acting city Attorney 11 Adopted and approved this 9th day of February, 1993. ct APfa~r I hereby certify that the foregoing ordinance No. 1667(CCS) was duly and regularly introduced at a meeting of the city council on the 26th day of January 1993; that the said Ordinance was thereafter duly adopted at a meeting of the City council on the 9th day of February 1993 by the following Council vote: Ayes: Councilmembers: Abdo, Genser, Greenberg, Olsen, Rosenstein, Vazquez Noes: Councilmembers: None Abstain: Councilmembers: None Absent: Councilmembers: Holbrook ATTEST: ~f'4~ ---- ci ty Clerk {