SR-505-002 (6)
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CA:RMM:emdD12/hpw
City Council Meeting
605-=2- 8-B
JUL 26 1988
Santa Monica, California
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STAFF REPORT
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TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
City Attorney
SUBJECT:
Ordinance Adding Chapter 2B to Article VII of
the Santa Monica Municipal Code Restricting the
Amount of Wastewater Permitted to be Discharged
into the Santa Monica Sewer System and Declaring
the Presence of an Emergency
At its meeting on July 12, 1988, the City council directed
the City Attorney to prepare an emergency ordinance implementing
Staff recommendations regarding limiting the rate of of
wastewater increase within the City of Santa Monica. In
response to this direction, the accompanying emergency ordinance
has been prepared and is presented to the city council for its
consideration.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
The following is a section-by-section analysis of the
accompanying ordinance:
Section 7180.
This section sets forth the findings and
purposes of Chapter 2B of the Santa Monica Municipal Code and
declares the presence of an emergency.
section 7181. This section sets forth definitions of words
and phrases used throughout the Chapter.
Section 7182.
This section provides that no building
permits shall be issued unless a project has first received from
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the Director of General Services a sewer allocation permit or a
determination that the project does not require a permit.
Section 7183. This section provides that beginning July 1,
1988, the City shall limit the amount of wastewater entering the
Santa Monica sewer system to no more than 1.36% above the amount
generated in the period July 1, 1987 through June 30, 1988. This
1.36% increase shall be allocated over two six month periods. No
more than fifty percent (50%) of the increase shall be allocated
in the period from July 1, 1988 through December 31, 1988, and
the remaining amount shall be available for allocation in the
period from January 1, 1989 through June 30, 1989. In addition,
the Director of General Services shall ensure compliance with
those limitations through the issuance of sewer allocation
permits.
Section 7184. This section provides that sewer allocation
permi ts shall be allocated on a first come first served basis.
This section requires that before a permit will be issued, a
project must have received all other necessary city approvals and
permits, except for building permits. In addition, a sewer
allocation permit shall only be issued if there is sufficient
wastewater capacity available. If there is insufficient
wastewater capacity available, the project will be placed on a
waiting list in the order of date and time of day that the permit
application was accepted. In addition, ten percent (10%) of the
city's permitted annual wastewater allotment increase shall be
reserved for priority projects. The priority project reserve
amount shall be allocated over two five month periods. Fifty
percent (50%) of the reserve amount shall be allocated from July
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1, 1988 through November 30, 1988, and fifty percent from January
1, 1989 through May 31, 1989. In the period December 1, 1988
through December 30, 1988, and again in the period June 1, 1989
through June 30, 1989, any unal10cated reserve amount shall be
allocated for any projects. Furthermore, if the reserve amount
establiShed for priority projects is exhausted by such projects,
the Director shall place the project on a waiting list.
Section 7185. This Section provides that a projectls
projected net wastewater increase shall be calculated by using
utility and other records for the project's site for the period
July 1, 1987 through June 30, 1988. In addition, at the option
of the developer, a project with a complete set of building plans
on file by July 1, 1987, may have the Director calculate the
project's net wastewater increase by using the site1s estimated
wastewater flow for the period July 1, 1986 through June 30,
1987. Either of these amounts shall be subtracted from the
project1s estimated wastewater flow to determine the net
wastewater increase.
Section 7186. This Section establishes a zero net flow
option. By using this option, a project would not have to wait
for allocated wastewater flow to receive a sewer allocation
permit. To be considered for this option, a project must submit
proper documentation that due to either on-site treatment or
off-site retrofitting, or a combination of both, the project has
a zero net flow. In addition, the applicant has the burden of
providing the Director with access to all sites so that proper
inspections can be made to verify treatment or retrofitting. If,
as a result of a preliminary determination, the Director
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concludes that the project is likely to have a zero net flow, the
Director shall issue a permit. However, if as a result of final
inspections and calculations I the Director determines that the
project does not have a zero net flow, the project will be
required to take such steps as are necessary to achieve zero net
flow. No Certificate of Occupancy can be issued until the
Director finally certifies that a zero net flow is achieved.
Section 7187. This Section lists the types of priority
projects which are eligible for the 10% priority reserve amount.
section 7188. This Section provides that all projects
greater than 150,000 square feet in floor area shall install an
on-site wastewater treatment facility in accordance with
procedures as are established by resolution of the City Council.
Section 7189. This Section provides that certain projects
will be exempted from any of the requirements of this Ordinance.
Such projects include those that have received building permits
prior to the adoption of this Ordinance, any project that has a
complete set of building plans on file on or before April 19,
1988, as well as certain residential housing projects which have
tentative tract maps on file within the prescribed dates.
Section 7190. This Section provides that application
processing or permit fees shall be established by resolution of
the city council.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying
emergency ordinance be adopted.
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PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, City Attorney
Joseph Lawrence, Assistant City Attorney
Edward P. Manning, Deputy City Attorney
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CA:RMM:emd013jhpw
City council Meeting 7-26-88
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(city council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANTA MONICA ADDING CHAPTER 2B TO ARTICLE VII OF
THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE RESTRICTING THE
AMOUNT OF WASTEWATER PERMITTED TO BE DISCHARGED
INTO THE SANTA MONICA SEWER SYSTEM AND DECLARING
THE PRESENCE OF AN EMERGENCY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2B is added to Article VII of the Santa
Monica Municipal Code to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2B. WASTEWATER CONTROL.
SECTION 7180. Emergency. The city
Council finds and declares:
(a) The City of Santa Monica
currently operates a public sewer system
that directs wastewater within the City of
Santa Monica to the Hyperion Treatment
Plant, which is located in the city of Los
Angeles,
for treatment and ultimate
disposal.
(b) According to the city of Los
Angeles, the Hyperion Treatment Plant is
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operating at or near its current full
capacity.
(c) The city of Los Angeles
projects that the Hyperion Treatment Plant
will soon exceed its capacity if the rate
of increase in wastewater handled by the
plant is not slowed by all users of the
plant, including the city of Santa Monica.
(d) The city of Los Angeles has
adopted an emergency ordinance designed to
reduce the rate of increase in wastewater
handled by
additional
available.
(e) Uncontrolled increases in
wastewater to the Hyperion Treatment Plant
could result in catastrophic overloads to
the Hyperion Treatment Plant and could
lead to possible serious environmental
damage, including pollution of Santa
Monica Bay and beach areas located within
the City of santa Monica.
(f) The health and welfare of the
citizens of and visitors to the City of
Santa Monica would be endangered should
such uncontrolled wastewater increases
continue to occur.
its treatment
treatment
plants
capacity
until
is
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(g) As a result of uncontrolled
wastewater increases, an emergency exists
within the City of Santa Monica
necessitating regulation of the rate of
wastewater increase handled by the City's
sewer system.
(h) Regulation of the rate of
wastewater increase will preserve the
City's sewage handling and treatment
capability until additional treatment
facilities are available for city of Santa
Monica Use, thereby minimizing the
hardship caused to the general public to
the greatest extent possible.
SECTION 7181. Definitions. For
purposes of this Chapter, the following
words or phrases shall be defined as
follows:
(a) Community Service Facility.
Any building or structure constructed or
altered for sole occupancy by the City or
for organizations exempt from federal
taxation pursuant to 26 U. S . c. Section
501 (c) (3) whose principal purpose is to
provide social services.
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(b) Day Care Center. A facility
defined as a "day care centerll in Health
and Safety Code section 1596.78.
(c) Director. The Director of
General Services.
(d) Homeless Shelter. A
residential facility operated by a
government agency or private, nonprofit
organization other than a "community care
facility,1I as defined in Health and Safety
Code Section 1502, which provides
temporary accommodations to homeless
persons or families and which meets the
standards for shelters contained in Title
25, California Administrative Code,
Section 7972.
(e) Low or Moderate Income Housing
Project. Any new construction or
rehabilitation project subject to a
recorded regulatory agreement of a
duration of not less than thirty (30)
years, and which has been assisted by any
local state or federal housing assistance
program, wherein the regulatory agreement
requires one of the following:
(1) Forty percent (40%) of
the units be priced at levels affordable
and made available to households earning
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sixty percent (60%) of the Los Angeles
area median income or less, as determined
and amended by the Federal Department of
Housing and Urban Development and Sections
142 and 143 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2) Fifty-one percent (5l%)
of the uni ts be priced at levels
affordable and made available to
households earning eighty percent (80%) of
the Los Angeles area median income or
less, as determined and amended by the
Federal Department of Housing and urban
Oevelopment and Sections 142 and 143 of
the Internal Revenue Code.
(3) seventy-five percent
(75%) of the units be priced at levels
affordable and made available to
households earning between eighty percent
(80%) and one hundred twenty percent
(120%) of the Los Angeles area median
income, as detennined and amended by the
Federal Department of Housing and Urban
Development and Sections 142 and 143 of
the Internal Revenue Code.
(f) On-site Wastewater Treatment.
The treatment of wastewater at the project
site through a method approved by the
Director of General Services.
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(g) Project. The total or partial
erection, construction, alteration, or
change of use, of any building or
structure within the City of Santa Monica
which requires the receipt of a sewer
allocation permit under this Chapter.
(h) Public and Private Nonprofit
School. A public school, or a private
school operated as a tax-exempt
organization, which provides either
pre-school, elementary, secondary, or
post-secondary education and is properly
accredited by a nationally recognized
accrediting agency or by the state of
California Department of Education.
( i) Publ ic Restroom. A restroom
owned or operated by the City of Santa
Monica for public use.
(j) Residential Housing Project. A
project which consists of no more than
four units and which is designed,
occupied I or intended for occupancy, as
primary living quarters in a building or
portion thereof.
(k) Retrofit. To replace toilets
or urinals with ultra-low flush fixtures
as defined in Santa Monica Municipal Code
section 8909.7.
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(1) Santa Monica Sewer System. The
public sewer system operated by the city
of Santa Monica that carries sewage within
the City of Santa Monica for treatment and
disposal by the Hyperion Treatment Plant
or to any other sewage treatment plant.
em) Sewer Allocation Permit. A
permit issued by the Director of General
Services which allows for the disposal of
wastewater into the Santa Monica sewer
system under this Chapter.
(n) Wastewater. The spent or used
water from residences, commercial
buildings, industrial plants, or
institutions, which enters or should enter
the Ci ty of Santa Monica publ ic sewage
system.
SECTION 7182. Buildinq Permit. No
building permit shall be issued by the
City of Santa Monica for any project
unless the project has received a sewer
allocation permit issued by the Director
pursuant to this Chapter, or unless the
Director issues a written determination
that the project does not require a sewer
allocation permit.
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SECTION 7183. Wastewater Control.
(a) Effective July 1, 1988, the
cumulative amount of increase in
wastewater permitted to be discharged into
or carried by the Santa Monica sewer
system from projects obtaining building
permits in the period July 1, 1988 through
June 30, 1989, shall be no greater than
1.36% above the total amount of wastewater
discharged into or carried by the Santa
Monica sewer system during the period July
1, 1987 through June 30, 1988. No more
than fifty percent (50%) of the net
increase in wastewater shall be permitted
to occur in the period July 1, 1988
through December 31, 1988. The remainder
of the permitted increase may occur in the
period January 1, 1988 through June 30,
1989.
(b) The Director of General
Services shall ensure compliance with this
Section through the issuance of sewer
allocation permits that regulate the
amount of increased wastewater that
proj ects shall be permitted to discharge
into the Santa Monica sewer system.
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SECTION 7184.
Pend t .
(a) Sewer allocation permits shall
be provided on a first come first served
basis in accordance with the terms of this
Chapter. No application for a sewer
allocation permit shall be accepted for
filing or otherwise processed by the
Director unless the applicant provides
documentation on forms provided by the
Director that the project has received all
other city approvals or permits necessary
to commence the project, with the
exception of building and sewer allocation
permits.
Sewer Allocation
(b) A sewer allocation permit shall
be issued only if the Director determines
that the Santa Monica sewer system has
sufficient capacity as established by
Section 7183 to accommodate the net
increase in wastewater created by the
project.
(c) If the Director determines that
there is insufficient increased wastewater
capacity to accommodate a project, then at
the applicant's request, the Director
shall place the project on a waiting list
in order of the date and time of day that
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the permit application was accepted for
filing by the Director. Those projects
placed on the waiting list established for
the period July 1, 1988 through December
31, 1988, shall have first entitlement for
any increased sewage capacity allotted for
the period January 1, 1989 through June
30, 1989 in order of their place on the
waiting list.
(d) The Director shall reserve ten
percent (lot) of the permitted annual
wastewater increase established by section
7183 for the exclusive use of priority
projects as defined in section 7187.
priority projects shall be entitled to
utilize no more than fifty percent (50%)
of the reserved amount in the period July
1, 1988 through November 30, 1988, and no
more than fifty percent (50%) of the
reserved amount in the period January 1,
1989 through May 31, 1989. In the period
Oecember 1, 198a through December 31,
1988, any unallocated reserve from the
period July 1, 1988 through November 30,
1988, shall become available for
allocation to any project. In the period
June 1, 1989 through June 30, 1989, any
unallocated reserve from the period
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January 1, 1989 through May 31, 1989,
shall become available for allocation to
any project.
(e) If the reserve is completely
allocated to priority projects through
permits issued prior to December 1, 1988,
then at the applicant's request, the
Director shall place the project on a
waiting list in accordance with the terms
of subsection (e) above. Thereafter,
priority projects shall be permitted to
utilize the wastewater increase allocated
to nonpriority projects to the same extent
as such projects. Any priority project
placed on a waiting list that is unable to
obtain a permit by December 31, 1988,
shall have first entitlement to the
reserve allocated to priority projects for
the period January 1, 1989 through May 31,
1989, in order of its place in the waiting
list.
SECTION
Increase.
(a) In determining the amount of
wastewater increase from a proj ect, the
Director shall calculate the project's net
wastewater increase. In performing this
7185.
Net
Wastewater
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calculation, the Director shall determine
the estimated amount of wastewater from
the project site that occurred during the
period July 1, 1987 through June 30, 1988,
by using the City's utility records and
other appropriate information. The
Director shall subtract the estimated
amount of wastewater produced by the
existing site from the estimated amount of
wastewater which the Director determines
will be produced by the project with
reference to the project's intended size,
density, and uses. The resulting figure
shall be the project's net wastewater
increase which shall be subj ect to the
provisions of Section 7183.
(b) Any permit applicant subject to
this Chapter whose application for
development was deemed complete by the
Division of Planning and Zoning prior to
July 1, 1987, shall have the option to
have the Director calculate the project's
net wastewater increase by determining the
site's estimated. wastewater flow for
either of the following periods July 1,
1986 through June 30, 1987, by using the
City's utility records and other
appropriate information.
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SECTION 7186. Zero Net Flow option.
(a) The Director shall establish a
zero net flow option for proj ects . In
order to be considered for the zero net
flow option, permi t applicants must
provide documentation, on forms approved
by the Director, that demonstrates that
the project will not contribute any net
wastewater increase to the ci ty r s sewer
system due either to on-site wastewater
treatment, retrofitting of existing
urinals or flush fixtures within the City
of santa Monica, or a combination of both.
In addition to documentation, the
applicant shall provide the Director with
access to all sites so that the Director
can verify through inspection the methods
used to satisfy the zero net flow option.
The Director shall make a preliminary
determination as to whether, by using a
zero net flow option, a project will
discharge any additional net wastewater
into city's sewage system. If, as a
result of this preliminary determination,
the Director concludes that it is likely
that the project will not contribute any
net increase in wastewater, the Director
shall issue a sewer allocation permit.
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If, at the conclusion of the Director r s
investigation or inspection, the Director
determines that additional on-site
wastewater treatment or retrofitting is
necessary to obtain a zero net flow, the
Director shall so inform the applicant.
The applicant shall then take such action
as is necessary to achieve a zero net
flow. No Certificate of occupancy shall
be issued to the project until the
Director certifies in writing that the
project achieves a zero net flow.
(b) Projects that satisfy the zero
net flow requirements of this Section as
determined by the Director shall not be
subject to the wastewater control
provisions of Section 7183.
SECTION 7187. Priority Projects.
The following projects shall be considered
priority projects:
(a) Low or moderate income housing
projects.
(b) Homeless shelters.
(c) Child day care facilities.
(d) Public and private nonprofit
schools.
(e) Community service facilities.
(f) Residential housing projects.
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(g) Public restrooms.
SECTION 7188. On-Site Wastewater
Treatment. Any project that is greater
than 150,000 square feet in floor area
shall install an on-site wastewater
treatment facility in accordance with such
procedures as are estahl ished by
resolution of the City Council.
SECTION 7189. Exempt.ions. The
provisions of this Chapter shall not apply
to any of the following projects:
(a) Any project that has received a
building permit prior to the adoption of
this Chapter.
(b) Any project that has a complete
set of building plans on file by April 19,
1988, to which no changes are made
constituting more than a five percent (5%)
increase of the original scope of the
proj ect , For purposes of this exemption
only, a proj ect shall be considered to
have had a complete set of building plans
on file if the city received by April 19,
1988, all plans, documents, information,
reports, drawings, filing fees, and other
materials requested by the City as
necessary for the issuance or processing
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of all permits or approvals required in
order to permit construction to begin.
(c) Residential housing projects
within the city of Santa Monica for which
a tentative tract map has been approved
after April 19, 1980, but prior to April
19, 1988, provided that the tentative
tract map has not expired and that
construction commences prior to October
19, 1989, and provided that the total
average daily wastewater flow allocated
pursuant to this exemption shall not
exceed .07% of the average daily flow for
Santa Monica for the 1987-88 fiscal year.
SECTION 7190. Fees. The city
Council shall, by resolution, establish
fees for the filing, processing, or
approval of any application or permit
processed under this Chapter.
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, 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
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or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of the 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 this Ordinance would be subsequently declared
invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. This Ordinance is declared to be an emergency
measure adopted pursuant to the provisions of City Charter
Section 615 and is necessary for preserving pUblic peace, health
and safety. The urgency of its adoption is set forth in findings
above.
SECTION 5. 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
wi thin 15 days after its adoption.
Pursuant to City Charter
Section 619(d), this Ordinance shall take effect and be in full
force immediately after the passage and adoption thereof.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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ROBERT M. MYERS
City Attorney
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