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City Council Meeting: June 27, 2023 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NUMBER 11538 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA ESTABLISHING THE RUNOFF REDUCTION FEE FOR FISCAL
YEARS 2023/24 THROUGH 2027/28 IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 7.10.090(u)
OF THE URBAN RUNOFF POLLUTION ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, the City has a commitment to the protection of our beaches and ocean
resources and to the protection of the health and safety of the millions of residents and
visitors who enjoy the Santa Monica beaches and oceanfront each year; and
WHEREAS, the City is authorized pursuant to Article XI, §5 and §7 of the State
Constitution to exercise the police power of the State by adopting regulations to promote
health, safety, and general welfare; and
WHEREAS, the City is authorized under the California Water Code to adopt and
enforce regulations imposing conditions, restrictions, and limitations with respect to any
activity which might degrade the quality of waters of the State; and
WHEREAS, the City’s watershed management program consists of operation and
maintenance of the City-owned stormwater system; compliance with Federal, State, and
local regulations including inspections, monitoring, and enforcement; implementation of
the Santa Monica Bay Jurisdictional Group 2 and 3 Watershed Program and the Ballona
Creek Watershed Program; and capital improvement projects to reduce and treat polluted
runoff; and
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WHEREAS, the City operates and maintains approximately 20 miles of storm
drains, 743 catch basins, four diversion structures, three stormwater harvesting tanks,
and other major storm drain and runoff harvesting infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, the City is responsible for the quality of the runoff and for all water
quality permitting and compliance related to storm drain discharges emanating from the
City and discharging to the Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek receiving water bodies;
and
WHEREAS, urbanization has increased impervious surface areas and thereby
increased runoff and the transport of pollutants to receiving waters and less percolation
to groundwater aquifers; and
WHEREAS, State and Federal agencies have implemented stringent regulatory
standards for broad categories of water pollutants and continue to enhance these
requirements; and
WHEREAS, these regulatory standards include mandatory City compliance with
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDLs) set forth by the State; and
WHEREAS, the TMDL standards for which the City is responsible are those related
to Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek watersheds; and
WHEREAS, the TMDL standards apply to both dry weather and wet weather
periods and cover multiple contaminants including bacteria, trash, toxics, metals,
pesticides and herbicides, and oil and grease; and
WHEREAS, these standards are in addition to the National Pollution Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements for all municipalities within Los Angeles
County which have been in place since 1995; and
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WHEREAS, in a dynamic regulatory environment that continues to be developed
by the Regional Board, established TMDLs are continuously revisited and updated, new
TMDLs may be established, and the City’s compliance responsibilities continue to change
over time; and
WHEREAS, the City has established a multi-faceted approach to stormwater and
runoff treatment and management; and
WHEREAS, in August 1992, the City adopted the Santa Monica Urban Runoff
Pollution Control Ordinance to reduce detrimental water quality impacts from urban runoff
to the Santa Monica Bay by requiring a runoff reduction of 20 percent for all new
development, implementing pollution control standards for construction sites, and setting
good housekeeping requirements for existing parcels; and
WHEREAS, in July 1995, the City created a Stormwater Enterprise Fund and
adopted a stormwater parcel fee to cover capital and operational costs associated with
the storm drainage system and the management and administration thereof; and
WHEREAS, in November 2000, in response to new Regional Board requirements,
the City revised the Urban Runoff Ordinance to establish an urban runoff retention or
treatment standard of the volume of runoff produced from a 0.75 inch storm event; and
WHEREAS, in November 2006, the Santa Monica voters approved the Clean
Beaches and Ocean Parcel Tax (Measure V) to raise revenues to implement the City's
Watershed Management Plan; and
WHEREAS, the City can mitigate the negative impacts of development and
urbanization by implementing new development/re-development performance criteria,
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known as Low Impact Development which is widely recognized as an appropriate
approach to watershed management; and
WHEREAS, the Measure V and Stormwater funds are not sufficient to meet all the
water quality standards that the City is required to comply with, but are used to address
urban runoff pollution generated from public and some private lands; and
WHEREAS, the City's Urban Runoff Ordinance has evolved over time to as Federal
and State permits changed, the current Ordinance still aligns with the objectives of the
Watershed Management Plans for Santa Monica Jurisdictional Groups 2 & 3 Watershed
and the Ballona Creek Watershed, and on Regional Board requirements included in the
current NPDES permit (Order No. R4-2021-0105, NPDES Permit No. CAS004004); and
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted revisions to City’s Urban Runoff Ordinance
on May 23, 2017, to align the ordinance with State and Federal permit requirements; and
WHEREAS, Section 7.10.090(t) of the Ordinance provides that an applicant may
pay a Runoff Reduction Fee (Fee) in accordance with a specified formula as an alternative
to designing and installing an authorized Best Management Practice (BMP) to treat the
Project Mitigation Volume; and
WHEREAS, Section 7.10.090(u) of the Ordinance provides that the City Council
shall by resolution establish the Unit Cost which constitutes the average cost per gallon
for the City to construct post-construction BMPs on City properties during a five (5) year
period prior to the adoption of the resolution; and
WHEREAS, the current Fee of $7.61 per gallon does not represent the actual cost
the City incurs building new stormwater infrastructure, which is $30.92 based on Public
Works stormwater projects completed during the previous five years; and
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WHEREAS, the purpose of this resolution is to establish the Unit Cost in
accordance with the requirements of the Urban Runoff Pollution Ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Runoff Reduction Fee shall for Fiscal Years 2023-24 through
2027-28 shall be as follows:
Year 1 (FY23-24) $12.27/gal
Year 2 (FY24-25) $16.93/gal
Year 3 (FY25-26) $21.60/gal
Year 4 (FY26-27) $26.26/gal
Year 5 (FY27-28) $30.92/gal
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and
thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_____________________________
Douglas Sloan, City Attorney
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Adopted and approved this 27th day of June 2023.
Gleam Davis, Mayor
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby
certify that Resolution No. 11538 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa
Monica City Council held on the 27th day of June 2023, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
Councilmembers de la Torre, Torosis, Brock, Parra, Zwick
Mayor Pro Tem Negrete, Mayor Davis
None
NoneABSENT:
ATTEST:
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk
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