SR-9-A (82)
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Council Meeting: August 13, 1991
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Santa Monica, California
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To: Mayor and city council
From: city staff
Subj ect: Recommendation to Direct City Attorney to Draft Ordinance
Requiring Reduction in Urban Runoff from New Development
INTRODUCTION
Santa Monica Bay is a tremendous recreational resource and a
mainstay of tourism for the area's coastal communities. It is also
one of the most important ecological systems in our regional
environment. In order to better protect this natural resource from
pollution transported to the Bay via storm drains, this report
recommends that city council direct the City Attorney to draft an
ordinance requiring all new development in the city of Santa Monica
to achieve a 20 percent reduction in urban runoff from their site.
The proposed ordinance would allow, in certain circumstances, the
payment of an Urban Runoff Mitigation Fee in lieu of implementation
of specific mitigation measures at the project site itself. The
proposed ordinance would also require various "Good Housekeeping
Practices" to be adhered to by all properties in the City to reduce
the level of contaminants in the urban runoff from their sites.
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DISCUSSION
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Pollution from urban runoff is a major source of ocean and beach
contamination. The City already has in place and continues to
develop many programs to respond to the pollution problems
associated with urban runoff. Among these are a regular catch basin
cleaning program; aggressive enforcement actions against illegal
dischargers; restrictions on exterior water usage to decrease the
amount of dry weather runoff; a hazardous waste minimization
program to alleviate illegal dumping of toxic materials; a
hydrocarbon pollution sensor and alarm system (to be fully
installed by November 1991); construction of a plant to treat and
reclaim most of the Kenter Drain dry weather flows (to be designed
during FY 1991-92 and constructed during FY 1992-93); and, an
extensive public outreach and education program.
In order to build upon these programs and more effectively address
the problem of urban runoff pollution at its source i.e., at the
level of individual property sites from which most of the urban
runoff originates, it is recommended that an ordinance be drafted
to require reductions in the quantity and improvements in the
quality of urban runoff from these parcels. The objective of this
proposed ordinance, therefore, is to reduce not only the amount of
urban runoff entering the Bay, but the total pollutant load and
toxicity level in urban runoff from both new and existing
development.
By achieving these objectives, the City will protect the public
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health, enhance the attractiveness of Santa Monica to both
residents and visitors and enhance the viability of the Bay's
marine ecosystem. An important corollary benefit of the proposed
ordinance would be to reduce the magnitude of urban runoff in areas
of the City where the capacity of the storm drain lines is not
currently sufficient to handle the runoff from very large storms.
The proposed ordinance would contain three main provisions which
are described below. It should be noted that the research by city
staff to date has not yet identified a local government agency in
the United States which has adopted laws or regulations along the
lines of what is proposed in this report. This proposed ordinance
may therefore serve as a model for other cities facing the same
types of storm drain pollution issues.
Reduction in Urban Runoff From New Development
All new development 1n the City (to include any residential or
commercial project which entails a 50 percent or more increase in
the size of the existing improvements on a site) will be required
to submit an Urban Runoff Management Plan. This plan must indicate
the Best Management Practices (BMPs) which will be implemented to
achieve a 20 percent reduction in urban runoff from the standard
runoff factors which have been established by Los Angeles county.
Exhibit I contains a partial list of the types of BMPs which may
be utilized to achieve the goals of a site-specific Urban Runoff
Management Plan. In no case would runoff be allowed to flow over
roadways, parking lots or other impervious surfaces not designed
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as a part of the storm water conveyance system, or surfaces
contaminated with toxic or hazardous substances.
Presently, many development projects are required by the City to
install oil water separators to handle runoff from paved areas used
for vehicle parking. There are also several restrictions currently
in place with respect to the outdoor storage of hazardous
materials. In addition, larger projects in the city, such as the
Arboretum, Water Garden, and certain other hotel or office building
projects have been required to design and construct on-site
stormwater detention basins to collect runoff from the sites and
allow either percolation into the soil or delayed release back into
the storm drain after most sediments have settled out. The proposed
BMP regulations would go beyond these current requirements and
create a more consistent City approach to the storm drain pollution
issue.
At the time that an Urban Runoff Management Plan from a new
development is submitted to the General Services Department, a fee
will be charged to pay for the review and processing of the plan
by City staff as well as any inspection and enforcement costs which
must be borne by the city to implement the provisions of the
proposed ordinance. The amount of this application and processing
fee shall be set by resolution of the City Council.
Given the detailed and complex analysis which will need to be
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carried out by staff to craft a definitive ordinance covering the
recommendations of this report, the city Manager will form a staff
working group following approval of the proposed ordinance by
Council. This working group will be comprised of representatives
from the civil Engineering, Planning and Zoning, utilities, and
Environmental Programs divisions as well as the City Attorney's
Office. These staff representatives will establish the technical
assumptions which will be incorporated into the ordinance, will
formulate guidelines for the administration of the ordinance, and
will recommend a set of proposed fees to the City Manager for
ultimate approval by the City Council. The formulas and guidelines
which are developed will be flexible enough to apply to all types
of new development and will be distributed to architects and
engineers at their first point of contact with the City regarding
their proposed development.
In-Lieu Urban Runoff Mitiqation Fee
In those cases where it is not possible for new development
projects to achieve the reduction in urban runoff which is required
due to special circumstances such as physical site constraints or
the infeasibility of recommended BMPs, the City would allow the
payment of an in-lieu Urban Runoff Mitigation Fee. The funds
collected from this mitigation fee, which will be set by resolution
of the City Council and subject to restrictions as set forth in
state Assembly Bill 1600, will be used for urban runoff reduction
and pollution control projects at other locations in the City.
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These mitigation funds could be used, for example, to help offset
the construction and operation costs of the proposed treatment and
reclamation facility, to retrofit city property or other public
property in the City with various runoff control improvements, or
to provide financial assistance to existing properties for retrofit
projects, etc.
The in-lieu fee would be calculated based on the total percent of
runoff remaining to be mitigated (up to a maximum of 20%), the size
of the parcel in total square feet, and the type of use on the
property e.g., single family, multi-family, office building,
parking lot, etc. The actual cost factor to be used in this
equation to arrive at a fee level will be determined prior to the
implementation of the ordinance. The actual in-lieu fees will be
set by a resolution of the City Council at that time. The
anticipated in-lieu fee amounts which might be paid by a new
project will be commensurate with the cost which would have been
borne by the developer if the improvements could have been
installed on the site itself. The total magnitude of fees paid will
necessarily vary from site to site and from development type to
development type.
Good Housekeepinq Practices for New and Existinq Development
All properties in the City, whether new or existing, will be
required to adhere to various Good Housekeeping Practices. Some of
these Good Housekeeping Practices include:
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Diversion of urban runoff, to the maximum extent
practicable, from impermeable areas e.g., roof drains to
lawns rather than driveways or gutters;
Prohibition on outdoor storage of industrial chemicals;
Prohibition on outdoor storage of exposed vehicle motor
parts;
Timely removal and proper disposal of landscape debris,
construction debris, fuel and chemical residue or other
types of potentially harmful residue from areas
susceptible to urban runoff;
Prohibition on the outdoor storage of hazardous building
materials; and
Dur ing periods of rain or when water is used on a
construction site, runoff shall be diverted from areas
exposed by construction through the use of berms (sand
bags) or other such devices to minimize stormwater
contamination.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT
The adoption of this proposed ordinance will result in various city
administrative and enforcement costs which will be offset by
application and processing fees charged to developers who are
required to submit an Urban Runoff Management Plan. An as yet
undetermined amount of in-lieu Urban Runoff Mitigation Fees will
also be collected by the City from those projects which are unable,
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due to the physical constraints of their properties or other
eligible reasons, to implement adequate on-site mitigation
measures. The use of these in-lieu fees would be restricted, under
the provisions of AB1600, to City-financed proj ects at other
locations which achieve a commensurate reduction in urban runoff
flows and/or urban runoff pollution.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council direct the City Attorney
to draft an ordinance requiring a reduction in urban runoff from
new development and the implementation of various Good Housekeeping
Practices by both new development and existing properties to
decrease the overall amount of pollution entering Santa Monica Bay.
Prepared by:
Stanley Scholl, Director of General Services
Paul Berlant, Director of Land Use and
Transportation Management
Craig Perkins, Environmental Services Manager
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Exhibit I
METHODS OF ACHIEVING URBAN RUNOFF MANAGEMENT PLAN GOALS
The following is a partial list of Best Management Practices which
may be utilized to achieve the goals of a site-specific Urban
Runoff Management Plan. These BMPs are intended to be examples.
Actual implementation of specific BMPs will be determined by the
physical characteristics of each individual site and the design
parameters of each individual developer.
1. Natural depressions, swales and landscaped berms may be used
to contain runoff within a site.
2. Greenstrips, small landscaped areas designed to allow water
to flow into them, can help to reduce runoff, and the plants
can trap pollutants in the soil and break many of them down.
3. Rainwater may be collected, stored on-site, and later used
for landscape irrigation without allowing the water to flow
off-slte.
4. Parking lots and other impervious surfaces on-site can be
constructed out of porous paving materials, allowing some
water to percolate back into the ground.
5. Parking lots and other paved areas can also be built with
"french drains". (A french drain is an underground plpe with
holes in it laid in a bed of gravel. The runoff flows into the
pipe, through the gravel and into the ground.)
6. Where runoff must eventually leave the site, detention basins
may be used so that the runoff can be released in a controlled
manner after the sediments and many of the contaminants have
been allowed to settle out. When employing detention basins,
provisions must be made for their periodic cleaning and
maintenance.
7. Significant use of permeable surfaces in new landscaping,
recreation areas, walkways and parking areas may be adopted
to maximize infiltration (e.g., bark, gravel, other
groundcover, un-mortared brick, cobblestones, porous
pavement) .
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