HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-05-24 - ORDINANCES - STORMDRN SERVICE (2)ORDINANCE No. 94-7
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA,
CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE SANTA CLARITA MUNICIPAL CODE BY
ADDING CHAPTER 15.50 TO TITLE 15 ESTABLISHING STORM DRAINAGE
SERVICES AS AN UTILITY ENTERPRISE OF THE CITY.
The City Council of the City of Santa Clarita does hereby ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 15.50 of Title 15 of the City of Santa Clarita Municipal Code is
hereby added to read as follows:
CHAPTER 15.50
STORM DRAINAGE UTILITY ENTERPRISE FUND
SECTIONS
15 50.010 Findings and Intent
15.50.02 Definition of Terms
15 50.030 Storm Drainage Utility Enterprise Fund Created
.50 (4Q Setting of Fees and Charges
15. .05 Billing of User Charges
15.50.060 Collection of User Charges
15-50. Statutory Public Meeting
15.50.080 Provision of Data
15.50.090 Appeal to City Council
Section 15.50.010. Findings and Intent
(a) The City of Santa Clarita is faced with increasing costs for the operation,
maintenance, and improvement of water quality related to its storm drainage facilities.
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(b) The City is required to undertake an extensive program to improve the water
quality of its runoff in the near future under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination
System permitting process (NPDES).
(c) The City Council finds that current economic conditions will reduce funding for
storm drain maintenance, thereby subjecting property within the City to damage from the
storm and surface water runoff.
(d) An improperly maintained storm drainage system can create problems such as
increased risk of flooding, personal injury and property damage.
(e) All developed real property and, to a lesser extent, undeveloped property, benefits
from the existence of the City's storm drainage system because these categories of
property contribute storm and surface water runoff to the City's storm drainage system
as a result of the impervious and semi -impervious nature of the property.
(f) Existing City funds and funding sources are insufficient to fund the identified
needs for operation and maintenance of the storm drainage system.
(g) Municipalities are authorized under California Government Code SECTION 54300
gi sem. (the State Revenue Bond Law of 1941) to establish fees and charges for funding
storm drainage improvements and the operation and maintenance thereof. Fees for storm
" drainage maintenance and improvement are also authorized under the California Health
and Safety Code, SECTION 5471.
(h) The City Council finds that a need exists for additional funding for the storm and
surface water management program of the City and that the establishment of a storm
drainage utility enterprise with user fees and charges is the most equitable method of
providing this funding.
(i) The amount of the proposed storm drainage utility enterprise user fees shall not
exceed the reasonable cost of providing the services, facilities or regulatory activity for
which the fee is charged.
0) In order. to provide for the safety of the residents of the City and protect property
in the City from the damage associated with flooding and to meet the water quality
requirements of the NPDES permit issued to the City by the California Water Quality
Control Board, it is necessary to design, construct, operate, maintain, improve and
replace storm drainage facilities which collect storm and surface water runoff and convey
and treat such runoff in a safe manner to an acceptable point of discharge. In order to
properly fund such facilities and activities, the City Council has determined that it is
necessary to impose on all properties in the City a user charge for storm drainage
service.
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Section 15 50.020 Definition of Term
For purposes of this ordinance, the following terms shall have the ascribed meanings:
(a) "User" shall mean the person obligated to pay the Storm Drainage User Charge
or other fees.
(b) "C� shall mean the City of Santa Clarita.
(c) "Engineer" shall mean the City Engineer of the City of Santa Clarita or his or her
designee.
(d) "Developed Parcel" shall mean any lot or parcel of land which has been altered
from its natural state by the construction, creation, or addition of Impervious Area,
except public streets and highways.
(e) "Equivalent Drainage Residential Unit (DRLT)" shall mean the basic unit for the
computation of the Fee, and is based upon the average amount of Impervious Area of a
Single Family Residential Parcel.
(f) "Impervious Area" shall mean any part of any Parcel that has been modified by
the action of any person in a manner which reduces the land's natural ability to absorb
'^ and hold Storm and Surface Water. This includes the grading of the property and/or
creation of any hard surface area which either prevents or retards the entry of water into
the soil mantle, and/or the hardening of an existing surface which causes water to flow
at an increased rate. By way of example, common Impervious Areas include, but are
not limited to, roof tops, walk -ways, patios, driveways, parking lots or storage areas,
concrete or asphalt paving, gravel roads, or any cleared, graded, paved, graveled, or
compacted surface or paved earthen materials used for vehicular travel, or areas covered
with surfaces which similarly impede the natural infiltration of surface water into soil
mantle.
(g) "Multi -Family Re id Ana EM2=yj," shall mean all residentially zoned, Developed
Parcels contained two (2) or more dwelling units. This includes apartments,
condominiums,_ timeshares, hotels and motels.
(h) "Non -Residential Prooertv" shall mean all Developed Parcels zoned or used for
commercial, industrial, retail, governmental or institutional uses.
(i) "parcel" shall mean the smallest separately segregated lot, unit, or plot of land
having an identified owner, boundaries, and surface area which is documented for
property tax purposes and given an Assessors' parcel number by the Los Angeles County
Assessor.
(j) "Land Use Code" shall mean the land use code utilized by the Los Angeles
County Assessor for the purpose of identifying the existing land use for each "Parcel"
of land identified in the Assessor's property records.
(k) "Single -Family Residential Property shall include all Developed Parcels
developed with one single-family detached housing unit.
(1) "Storm and Surface Water" shall mean water occurring on the surface of the land
from natural conditions such as rainfall, regardless of whether such water is falling or
flowing onto the land in question.
(m) "Storm and Surface Water Control Facilities" shall mean all manmade structures or
natural watercourse facility improvements, developments, properties or interest therein,
which are or have been made, constructed or acquired for the conveyance of Storm and
Surface Water runoff to improve the quality of controlling, or protecting life or property
from any storm, flood, or surplus waters.
(n) "Storm Drainage Facilities" shall mean the Storm and Surface Water drainage
systems comprised of Storm and Surface Water Control Facilities and any other natural
features which store, control, treat, and/or convey Storm and Surface Water. Storm
Drainage Facilities shall include all natural and manmade elements used to convey storm
water from the first point of impact with the surface of the earth to a suitable receiving
body of water or location internal or external to the boundaries of the City. Storm
Drainage Facilities include all pipes, appurtenant features, culverts, streets, curbs,
gutters, pumping stations, channels, streams, ditches, wetlands, detention/retention
basins, ponds and other Storm and Surface Water conveyance and treatment facilities,
whether public or private.
(o) "Runoff Factor" shall mean the factor identified for each "Parcel" of land by the
Los Angeles County Flood Control District for purposes of assigning a degree of
imperviousness to said parcel.
Section 15,50-M Storm Draina a Utilityn=nr se Fund Created
(a) Pursuant_ to State law the City hereby declares its intention to designate the City's
storm drainage system as a utility, enterprise activity of the City to be supported all or
in part by the imposition of user charges on all parcels of property within the City which
discharge storm water to the City's storm drainage facilities or are otherwise served by
the City's storm drainage facilities.
(b) The City hereby establishes a special fund within the City's fiscal system to be
known as "The Storm Drainage Utility Enterprise Fund," herein after referred to as the
Fund.
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(c) All revenues from storm drainage user charges and other storm drainage related
fees and charges as may be adopted by Resolution shall be deposited to the Fund.
(d) Expenditures from the Fund shall be limited to those expenditures for the
improvement, repair, operation, maintenance and administration of the storm drainage
facility as defined by the City Engineer and pursuant to the terms of the City's NPDES
permit. Provided that, the Fund may transfer to the General Fund of the City, the cost
of the Storm Drainage Utility's reasonable and proportionate share of the cost of general
city government support of the utility not covered by direct payments from the Fund.
Section 15.50 040 Setting of Fees and Cham
(a) The City Council shall by resolution establish a system of user charges for all
parcels in the City.
(b) To the extent practicable, user charges shall be based on each parcel's expected
rate and volume of storm water runoff. The runoff factors established by the Los
Angeles County Flood Control District shall be an acceptable measure of the expected
rate and volume of storm water runoff from a parcel. Said fees shall not exceed the
reasonable cost of providing the services, facilities or regulatory activity for which the
fee is charged.
"^ (c) The City Council may by resolution establish a charge for the connection of any
parcel to the City's storm drainage facilities to reflect that parcel's fair share of the cost
of the existing City storm drainage facilities serving the parcel.
(d) The City Manager shall establish, in accordance with Chapter 3.32 of the Santa
Clarita Municipal Code, appropriate fees for the review and inspection of storm drainage
facilities proposed and constructed by private development.
(e) The City Council may by resolution establish a system of charges and fees for the
inspection of non-residential parcels for purposes of establishing compliance with the City
Code and NPDES requirements related to the protection of storm water quality and may
also establish a system of fines and/or penalties for the violation of the City's storm
water quality standards.
(a) The initial billing of storm drainage utility user charges shall be by means of the
Los Angeles County Treasurer -Tax Collector tax statement and shall be a single annual
charge based on the user charge for each parcel.
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" (b) The City Council may at anytime elect to bill all or part of the parcels in the City
on a City utility billing statement at such time and frequency as the City Council may
deem appropriate.
Section 15.50.060 Collection of User Chargee
(a) The storm drainage user charge shall be an obligation of the record owner of each
parcel billed for storm drainage service. The charges shall be due and payable on the
date the bill is issued, and shall be considered delinquent if payment is not received
within thirty (30) days of the date the payment is due and payable. The City shall
impose a ten percent (10%) non-payment penalty on all delinquent accounts. An
additional one percent (1 %) penalty shall be imposed for each additional thirty (30) day
period the amount remains unpaid. If the bill is not paid within sixty (60) days of the
date the payment is deemed delinquent, the amount owning shall constitute a lien against
the Parcel receiving the service, and the City shall include a statement on the bill
notifying the Assessee of the lien as provided for in Health and Safety Code Section
5473.11. The lien shall remain in effect for three (3) years unless extended, and shall
be released upon payment of the delinquent amount plus all penalties associated
therewith.
Provided that, so long as the City shall bill the storm drainage user charges on
- the Los Angeles County tax statement the date when payment is due shall correspond to
the due date of County tax payments.
Section 15.50,070, Stam+oiy Public Meeting,
Pursuant to California Government Code Section 66018, the City Clerk shall
cause notice to be provided as set out in Government Code Section 6062a, and the City
Council periodically, at least annually, shall receive at a regularly scheduled meeting oral
and written presentations concerning fees and charges proposed to be increased or added.
Such notice, oral and written presentation, and public meeting shall be provided prior to
the City Council taking any action on any new or increased fees or charges. At least one
such public hearing shall be held annually, in conjunction with the City annual budget
process and hearing.
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Section 15.50.080. Provision of Data,
Pursuant to the California Government Code, at least ten (10) days prior to the
required public hearing set out herein, the City Manager shall make available to the
public appropriate data indicating the cost, or estimated cost required to support the fees
and charges for which changes are proposed to be made or fees or charges imposed. The
City Manager also shall provide a summary of the present fee and charge schedules and
those proposed at such annual public hearing. A general explanation of such changes
also shall be published per the requirements of Government Code Section 6062a.
(a) Any person who feels that any fee or charge determined and set is in excess of
the costs reasonably to be borne by their property, or that such fee or charge has been
reviewed prior to or has not been reviewed within the review schedule as set out herein,
may appeal in writing to the City Council.
(b) Such appeal shall be placed on the agenda of the next available Council meeting
after receipt of such appeal and heard at the next regularly scheduled Council meeting.
Any changes to any fees or charges approved by the City Council shall take effect
immediately upon hearing by the City Council unless ordered otherwise by the City
Council.
SECTION 2 SEVERABH TTY If any portion of this Chapter is found to be
unconstitutional or invalid, the City Council hereby declares that it would have enacted
the remainder of this Chapter regardless of the absence of any such invalid part.
SECTION 3 FEES AND CHARM SUPERSF-DED,The fees and charges established
by this Chapter shall supersede all previously established fees or charges for the same
regulation, product or service, and all such previous fees and charges are superseded on
the effective date of the adoption of the Resolution of Fees and charges as provided in
Section 15.50.040 hereof.
SECTION 4. ATE This ordinance shall take effect and be in force
thirty (30) days after its passage.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this Ordinance and shall
cause the same to be published in the same manner prescribed by law.
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PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this )4th day of May ,1994.
I
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
-- STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
CITY OF LOS ANGELES )
I, nnnr2 M 6rinda�' , City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby
certify that the foregoing Ordinance N094 --Z was regularly introduced and placed upon its first
reading at a regular meeting of the City Council on the sot_ day of May , 19-24 That
thereafter, said Ordinance was duly adopted and passed at a regular meeting of the City Council
on the _24th— day of May , 19 94 , by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Darcy, Boyer, Heidt, Pederson
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Smyth
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
CITY LERK