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SR-502-007 (6) ~ :;-02-0107 fi<ecJf~ g.. B MAY 2 2 1990 Santa Monica, California . CA:RMM:jld407b/hpc city Council Meeting 5-22-90 SUPPLEMENTAL STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor and City council FROM: City Attorney SUBJECT: Emergency Ordinance Amending the Provisions of Chapter 2A of Article VII of the Santa Monica Municipal Code Relating to Water Conservation Attached please find an amended version of the above-described ordinance. The previously transmitted ordinance contained a typographical error (i.e., one Section appeared two times in the ordinance) which has been corrected in the attached version. PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, City Attorney Joseph Lawrence, Assistant City Attorney Reo,' ~(' d HAY 2 2 1990 ~-B . . CA:RMM:jld406jhpc City Council Meeting 5-22-90 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER (City Council Series) AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING THE PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 2A OF ARTICLE VII OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO WATER CONSERVATION THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 2A of Article VII of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is amended to read as follows: SECTION 7241. water conservation Requirements. The following water conservation requirements shall apply to all persons within the city of Santa Monica: (a) waterinq Days. No lawn or landscape area shall be watered more frequently than twice ~urinq any seven (7) day period. (b) Watering Hours. No lawn or landscape area shall be watered between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on any day. This subsection shall not apply to any drip irrigation system approved by - 1 - . . the Director of General Services or if the Director of General Services approves an exemption for irrigation system maintenance, leak repair, or new planting and fertilization. (c) Anti-Waste Measures. No person shall use water or permit water to be used to: (1) Wash, clean, or clear walkways, patios, driveways, alleys, or parkinq areas, whether paved or unpaved. (2) Wash or clean any vehicle including, but not limited to, any automobile, truck, van, bus, motorcycle, boat or trailer, whether motorized or unmotorized, except by use of a hand held bucket or similar container or a hose equipped with a positive action quick release shut-off valve or nozzle. This subsection shall not apply to any commercial car washing facility. (3) Excessively water any lawn or landscape area and water shall not be permitted to run off lawns or landscape areas onto any gutters, streets, or alleys. - 2 - . . (4) Clean, fill, or maintain levels in decorative fountains, ponds, lakes, or displays unless a recycling system or sea water is used. (5) Fill any spa or permanent swimming or wadinq pool except for the first filling of a newly and lawfully installed or constructed spa, swimming or wading pool, or except to fill the spa or pool after it has been emptied to perform leak repair work. ( 6) Leak from any exterior or interior pipe, hose, or plumbing fixture of any kind whatsoever. Cd) Eatinq Establishments. All eating establishments of any kind whatsoever including, but not limited to, any restaurant, hotel, cafe, cafeteria, bar, or club, whether public or private, where food is served, shall~ (1) Provide drinking water to any person only upon receipt of an express request. ( 2) Place on each table placards or signs indicating that because of severe drought and water shortaqe conditions t drinkinq water will only be served upon customer or patron request. - 3 - . . (e) Exceptions. The provisions of this Section are not appl icable to the uses of water which are necessary to protect public health and safety or for essential governmental services, such as police, fire, and other similar emergency services. SECTION 7242. Penalties. The Water Division is authorized to enforce Section 7241 as follows: (a) For the first failure to comply with any provision of Section 7241, the Water Division shall issue to the affected customer a written notice of the fact of such failure to comply. The notice shall include the following information: (1) A statement specifying the violation committed. (2) A statement of the penalty for continued noncompliance. (b) For each subsequent failure to comply with any provision of Section 7241, the Water Division may levy a surcharge of Twenty Dollars ($20.00) or twenty percent (20%) of the customer's water bill for the previous billing - 4 - . . period, whichever is greater. Any statement informing a customer of the assessment of a surcharge shall include a notice setting forth the hearing rights provided in subdivision (c) below. (c) Any customer assessed a surcharge pursuant to subdivision (b) may dispute the surcharge by requesting a hearing within the time and manner set forth in Municipal Code section 6126, provided that no hearing request shall be deemed timely filed and no hearing shall be held unless, within the time period to request a hearing, the customer depos its with the City Treasurer money in the amount of any unpaid surcharge due under this section. If as a result of the hearing it is determined that the surcharge was wrongly assessed, the city shall refund any money deposited to the customer. The decision of the Hearing Examiner shall be final except for judicial review and shall not be appealable to the City Council. (d) It shall not be a defense to the assessment of any surcharge or to any other civil enforcement action provided for under this Section for a customer to - 5 - . . assert that any violation of Section 7241 was caused by the actions of a person other than the customer except if the violation was caused by the criminal or negligent action of a person who was not an agent, servant, employee, or family member of the customer. (e) Any surcharge provided for hereunder shall be added to subsequent water billings until paid and when collected by the Water Division shall be deposi ted in the Water Operating Fund as reimbursement for the Water Division's costs and expenses of administration and enforcement of this Chapter. (f) The violation of this Chapter shall constitute an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) . Each day that a violation occurs shall constitute a separate offense. (g) Pursuant to Penal Code Section 836.5, the Water Conservation Coordinator and Water Conservation Inspectors may arrest wi thout a warrant any person whenever the Coordinator or Inspector has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed an - 6 - . . infraction in his or her presence which is a violation of this Chapter. In any case in which a person is arrested pursuant to this section, and the person arrested does not demand to be taken before a magistrate, the Water conservation Coordinator or Water Conservation Inspeetor shall prepare a written notice to appear and shall release the arrested person on his or her promise to appear as provided for in Section 3606 of this Code. (h) A violation of any provision of this Chapter is declared to be a public nuisance and the City Attorney is authorized to abate such violation(s) by means of a civil action. ( i) The established by cumulative. penalties and remedies this Chapter shall be SECTION 7243. Relief from Compliance. The City Manager or his or her designated representative may, in writing, grant variances to persons who apply on forms suppl ied by the City for usages of water prohibited by section 7241 if it is found that such variance is - 7 - . . necessary to prevent an emergency condition relating to health and safety, or extreme economic hardship, or if the person seeking a variance has demonstrated that he or she has implemented water conservation measures in some other manner that achieves the objectives of this Chapter. SECTION 7244. Duration of Ordinance. The City Council may suspend any provision of this Chapter by declaring throuqh resolution that the emergency caused by the drought condition has ended. Any provision of this Chapter so suspended can be reimposed upon a finding by resolution of the city Council that emergency drought conditions have reoccurred. SECTION 7245. city of Banta Monica voluntary Water Conservation Plan. In addition to the water conservation requirements of section 7241, the city Manager or his or her designate is authorized to develop and promulgate a voluntary water conservation plan which shall be directed to achieve at least a ten percent (10%) reduction in water - 8 - . . consumption within the city of Santa Monica. The City Manager shall report the details of such a plan to the ci ty Council. 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 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, elause, 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 after 30 days from its adoption. SECTION 5. measure adopted This Ordinance is declared to be an emergency pursuant to the provisions of City Charter - 9 - . . Section 615 and is necessary for preserving the public peace, health, and safety. An emergency has been caused by the drought conditions within the State of California and within the City of Santa Monica, and there is a threatened water shortage within the city of Santa Monica. The enactment of a water reduction plan as an emergency measure is necessary in order to preserve the public peace, health, and safety. An emergency water conservation plan is necessary to minimize the effect of the shortage of water within the city of Santa Monica and that such a plan will significantly reduce the consumption of water, thereby extending the available water required by the City of Santa Monica while minimizing the hardship caused to the general public to the greatest extent possible. Pursuant to City Charter Section 619(d), this Ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect immediately after the passage and adoption thereof. APPROVED AS TO FORM: ~ ~ va-- ROBERT M. MYERS City Attorney - 10 -