SR-502-001-01
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SEP 2 6 1989
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Council Meeting: September 26, 1989
Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: city Staff
SUBJECT: Request to Direct City Attorney to Amend the Santa
Monica Municipal Code to Require Installation of
Individual Water Meters for Each Unit of New
Multi-family Residential Construction
Introduction
This reports requests that the City Council direct the City
Attorney to amend the Santa Monica Municipal Code to require
installation of individual water meters for each unit of new
mUlti-family residential construction.
Background
Typically, a mUlti-family building receives water through one
meter. Consumption on that meter reflects usage of all units in
the building, and often includes garden maintenance and laundry
facility usage as well.
The property owner typically bears
responsibility for payment of the composite bill.
There are
exceptions,
such as some condominiums which are metered
individually with an additional meter for landscaping which is
usually paid by the homeowners' association.
Presently, developers pay a water meter installation fee and a
water system connection fee prior to receiving their building
permit. The meter installation fee is based on the cost of the
purchase, installation and maintenance of the required meter.
The water system connection fee represents the infrastructure
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cost to the City to provide sufficient water supply for the
project.
Discussion
At the request of City Council, staff studied the feasibility of
requiring individual water meters for new multi-family
development. staff concluded that there were several advantages
to requiring individual water meters:
1. Water Conservation. Water consumption would be monitored
on the basis of individual users, making water conservation
programs more effective. Currently, if a multi-unit dwelling
has inordinately high consumption, there is no way of
pinpointing the consumption of each unit to determine where
the excessive water use is occurring. This would be
especially helpful in enforcing the new No Waste Water
Ordinance.
2. Delinquent Accounts. Pursuing delinquent accounts would
be easier, as the City would have recourse against individual
users. Currently, if a landlord is negligent in paying the
utility bill, the City cannot turn off the building's water
since it would deprive the tenants of an essential commOdity.
since the proposed requirement is for new construction only,
existing Rent Control regulations/restrictions will not apply.
staffing Requirements
An increased number of water meter installations can be absorbed
by current staff through increasing the length of time between
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the request for meter installation and the date of installation.
staff proposes to increase this waiting period from one month to
six weeks which should not significantly inconvenience a
developer.
In addition to increasing the workload of field personnel,
individual meters will require that billing staff open and
maintain an increased number of individual water accounts. The
increase in the workload for the billing staff is offset by the
addition of a Staff Assistant III position approved in the FY
1989-90 adopted budget.
BUdget/Financial Impact
Additional revenues will be generated from both meter
installation and bi-monthly meter fees. The following analysis
is based on an assumption of 46 new multi-family buildings per
year containing a total of 300 units. This assumption is based
on actual past experience in the city. The analysis shows that,
based on the current water fee structure, annual Water Fund
revenues can be expected to increase by approximately $166,167
per fiscal year as a result of requiring individual meters in all
new construction.
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Present
,(Master Meter)
New Construction charqes*
Proposed Requirement
(Individual Meters)
I" Meters
Meter Installation Fee
Water System Fee
$500
400
$900
3/4" Meters
Meter Installation Fee
Water System Fee
$395
300
$695
43 bldgs. x $900 =
$38,700
300 units x $695 = $208,500
2" Meters
Meter Installation Fee
Water System Fee
$ 995
1,500
$2,495
3 bldgs. x $2,495 =
$7,485
Annual Total:
$46,185
Annual Total:
$208,500
On-Going Annual Water Billing Rates (charged bi-monthly)
III Meters
2" Meters
43 x $5.00 =
3 x 14.40 =
Bi-monthly
$215
43
$258
3/4" Meters 300 x $3.00 = $900
Bi-monthly $900
Annual Total:
$1,548
Annual Total:
$5,400
GRAND TOTAL:
$47,733
GRAND TOTAL:
$213,900
NET ANNUAL INCREASE
N/A
$166,167
*
Assumes 93% of the buildings use 1 inch meters and 7% of the
buildings use 2 inch meters.
staff anticipates that the revised ordinance will become
effective by the end of the year. Therefore, revenues in Water
Account
No.
25-500-671-00000-0236-10000
will
increase
by
approximately $83,084 based on the above analysis for the last 6
months of the fiscal year.
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Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council:
1) Direct the City Attorney to amend the Santa Monica
Municipal Code to require installation of individual
water meters for each unit of new mUlti-family
residential construction; and
2) Increase the budget in Water Revenue Account No.
25-500-671-00000-0236-10000 for FY 1989-90 by $83,084.
Prepared by: Stan Scholl, Director of General Services
Byron Gaines, utilities Manager
Jean Stanley Higbee, Administrative Analyst
(srmeter)
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