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SR-9-A (82) ~ 9-A GS:CP:urbrun Council Meeting: August 13, 1991 ~\~ _ -'! 3 lS91 Santa Monica, California G r-. 'I 1,r\.91 AU ;:, '..: 'I. 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. 1 9-'A DISCUSSION f\Ub 1 J \991 {. 0 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 2 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 3 ~. 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 4 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. 5 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: 6 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, 7 , 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 .; 8 .. ~. .. "f. 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) . 9