SR-505-001-05 (7)
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City Council Report
City Council Meeting: July 25,2006
Agenda Item: 'f -B
To:
Mayor and City Council
From:
Craig Perkins, Director - Environmental and Public Works Management
Subject:
Public Hearing and Approval of the Stormwater Parcel Report Describing
Each Parcel in the City and the Amount of Each Parcel's Stormwater
Management User Fee for FY 2006-07
Recommended Action
It is recommended that the City Council hold a public hearing and approve the 2006
Stormwater Parcel Report pursuant to the California Health and Safety Code Section
5473.4 which describes each parcel in the City which receives a property tax bill from
the County of Los Angeles and details the amount of each parcel's Stormwater
Management User Fee. The fee levels remain unchanged.
Executive Summary
Each year, the City of Santa Monica produces a stormwater parcel fee report listing
each property and the amount of the stormwater fee to be paid by each property owner.
This information must be submitted by August 10 of each year to the County of Los
Angeles Tax Assessor so that these fees can be incorporated into the County parcel tax
bill, enabling the City to receive its stormwater fees in the coming fiscal year. The
Council has approved this annual report beginning with the year 1995. These fees
support the City's Urban Runoff Management Program.
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In order to meet the County's deadline, the Council is being asked to approve this
stormwater fee report. The report is generated by the City's GIS staff, using data from
the County and the formula from the City's Municipal Code SMMC 7.56, the ordir:'ance
that implemented the stormwater fee in 1995. The fees generate approximately $1.2
million, which are critical to the City's ongoing urban runoff program and enable the City
to meet the many Federal and State water quality regulations as well as support the
City's Sustainable City Plan. There is no cost to this action. It should also be noted that
the Stormwater Management User Fee is separate from and would not be impacted by
the proposed Clean Beaches and Ocean Special Tax that is currently being discussed
by City Council.
Discussion
The Stormwater Parcel Report lists all privately-owned parcels with their associated
Stormwater Management User Fee. The City must submit this report to the Los
Angeles County Auditor-Controller's Office by August 10, 2006, for inclusion on the
2006-07 tax rolls. A public hearing and Council approval are required prior to submittal
for billing. Notification regarding a public hearing was published in the Santa Monica
Daily Press on July 13 and July 20, 2006. The 2006-07 Parcel Report was made
available for public review with the City Clerk's office on June 21, 2006.
This report is based on the most accurate parcel database available for calculating the
number of Parcel Billing Units (PBU). The number of PBU's is calculated based on land
use and parcel size which are directly proportional to the amount of runoff generated by
a given parcel. The proposed 2006-07 Stormwater Parcel Fee is $36 per PBU, which is
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the same as the current year's rate. A summary of average Stormwater Management
User Fees by land use are provided in Table 1.
Table 1
Average Monthly Costs of Stormwater Management User Fee
land Use Avg.Sq.Ft. Avg. Monthly Cost FY 2006-07
Single-Family 7,584 $ 3.00
Condo (per unit) 1,158 $ 1.02
Multi-Family 8,053 $ 6.80
Commercial 15,479 $15.15
Backqround
On July 25, 1995, City Council adopted an ordinance establishing the Stormwater
Enterprise Fund, which includes Stormwater Management User Fee proceeds that fund
stormwater management activities. The Los Angeles County Tax Auditor-Controller's
Office is responsible for the collection of the annual fee, which is then forwarded to the
City.
The stormwater management program consists of (1) periodic upgrades and
replacement of the storm drain system, (2) enforcement of local, State and Federal
stormwater regulations, such as the Los Angeles County NPDES permit (National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) and the City's Urban Runoff Pollution
Prevention Ordinance, (3) implementation of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Plan,
and (4) a variety of cost-effective programs, such as Best Management Practices,
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aimed at reducing the volume and pollutant load of urban runoff flowing into Santa
Monica Bay.
Public Outreach
Copies of the stormwater fee report have been distributed to all City libraries and the
City Clerk office.
Budget/Financial Impact
The Stormwater Enterprise Operation is located in the Wastewater Division; the
Stormwater Fund via inter-fund transfer pays reimbursements for all designated
stormwater program costs. The total revenue estimate from the proposed fee FY 2006-
07 is approximately $1,200,000 and is included in the adopted FY 2006-07 budget.
Prepared by:
Neal Shapiro, Urban Runoff Management Coordinator
Forwarded to Council:
Craig Perki s
Director - nvironmental and Public
Works Management Department
Attachment: Parcel Report
(A hardcopy of the document is available for public review in
the City Clerk's office and all City libraries)
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