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SR-505-002 (6) 1 CA:RMM:emdD12/hpw City Council Meeting 605-=2- 8-B JUL 26 1988 Santa Monica, California . STAFF REPORT r '. 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 - 1 - S~B 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 - 2 - 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 - 3 - 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. - 4 - PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, City Attorney Joseph Lawrence, Assistant City Attorney Edward P. Manning, Deputy City Attorney - 5 - 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 - 1 - 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 - 2 - (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. - 3 - (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 - 4 - 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. - 5 - (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. - 6 - (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. - 7 - 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. - a - 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 - 9 - 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 - 10 - 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 - ~l - 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. - 12 - 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. - 13 - 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. - 14 - (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 - 15 - 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 - 16 - 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: ~M..~ Q -. ROBERT M. MYERS City Attorney - 17 -