SR-6-C (47)
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CA:JL:jld825jpcjct FEB 9 1993
City council Meeting 2-9-93 Santa Monica, California
STAFF REPORT
TO: Mayor and city council
FROM: city Attorney
SUBJECT: Ordinance 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
At its meeting on January 26, 1993, the City Council
introduced for first reading an ordinance 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
ordinance is now presented to the City Council for its adoption.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying
ordinance be adopted.
PREPARED BY: Joseph Lawrence, Acting City Attorney
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fEa 9 J993
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.
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(c) Retrofitting plumbing fixtures
provides the most cost effective means of
increasing the city's available water supply.
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(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 enterinq 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.
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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 Proqram.
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) Existinq Plu~~inq 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.
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(c) Existing structure. A structure
currently available for use or occupancy
which is equipped with one or more .'Existing
Plumbing Fixtures.tI
(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
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former spouse in exchange for the interest of
the spouse in the legal entity in connection
with a property settlement agreement or a
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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
seq. or Code of Civil Procedure Sections 725a
n seq.
(e) Retrofit or Retrofittinq.
Replacement of Existing npl1rmbing 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.
(q) Water conservinq Plumbinq 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
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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
existinq 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
Pll~~hing 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.
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(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 Plumb1ng 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 Fixtures, or upon
physical inspection of the building for which
a Certificate is requested.
(c) Water conservation Certificates
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shall be maintained by the Environmental
Programs Division in order to provide future
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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,
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any provision of this Ordinance may be
enforced by injunction issued by the Superior
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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
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otherwise provided in this Ordinance, this
section shall not be deemed to create or
imply a duty upon a licensee, as defined in
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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. B~fective Date. This
Ordinance shall take effect on May 1, 1993/
and applies to any escrow opened on or after
April 15, 1993.
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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,
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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:
C~~
JOSEP", LAWRENCE
Acting City Attorney
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Adopted and approved this 9th day of February, 1993.
44 W/'{,
-I/t- Mayor
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:
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