Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-06-27 - RESOLUTIONS - STORMDRN 0TILITY SVCS FEES (2)RESOLUTION NO. 00-91 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA ESTABLISHING FEES AND CHARGES FOR STORM DRAINAGE UTILITY SERVICES WHEREAS, the City of Santa Clarita has had a study conducted by an outside consultant of the options available for funding the City's storm drainage program in light of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to the City by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board; and WHEREAS, the Consultant's report identifies a need for average annual expenditures to meet the NPDES permit requirements of $2,170,000; and WHEREAS, funds in this amount are not available to the City without drastically curtailing current City services for parks, public safety and other vital public services; and T WHEREAS, the Consultant's report indicated the feasibility and equity of funding the City's storm drainage program by the formation of a storm drainage utility supported by user charges against all property in the City; and WHEREAS, the City Council, after careful study of the Consultant's report, did hold hearings as required by Government Code Section 66018 and did, after due process, enact Ordinance No. 94-7, establishing the storm drainage activity of the City as a utility enterprise; and WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 94-7 directs that the user charges for storm drainage service be enacted by City Council resolution; and WHEREAS, the City Council intends that storm drainage user charges be in effect for fiscal year 2000-2001; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to have the storm drainage user charge included on the 2000- 2001 Los Angeles County tax statement; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code Section 54354.5, the specific fees to be charged for services must be adopted by the City Council by resolution, after providing notice and holding a public hearing; and WHEREAS, notice of public hearing has been provided per Government Code Section 54354.5, oral and written presentations made and received, and the required public hearing held; and WHEREAS, pursuant to California Government Code Section 54354.5 the notice of hearing contained a proposed copy of this resolution and was published as required; and WHEREAS, all applicable requirements of California Government Code Section 54354.5 are hereby found to have been complied with; and --- WHEREAS, the City intends by the enactment of the fees and charges set forth herein to fund compliance with the stormwater NPDES requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act therefore, the storm drainage user charge shall herein and henceforth be known as the "Storm Drainage Pollution Abatement Charge"; and WHEREAS, the charges proposed herein are not discriminatory or excessive and comply with the provisions of the State Revenue Bond Law of 1941 (Government Code Section 54300 et sec.) and the laws of the State of California. NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA DOES RESOLVE, DETERMINE, AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1: Storm Drainage Pollution Abatement Charge Adopted. A storm drainage pollution abatement charge shall be billed to all parcels of property in the City in accordance with the computation formulas set forth in this resolution. SECTION 2: Definitions. In addition to the definitions set forth in Ordinance No.94-7, incorporated herein by reference, the following definitions of terms shall apply: A. "Base Charge". The annual storm drainage pollution abatement charge to be paid by the average single-family residential parcel, hereinafter known as the Equivalent Drainage Residential Unit (1 DRU). B. "Basic Assessment Unit". The Equivalent Drainage Residential Unit is the Basic Assessment Unit for purposes of computing the Storm Drainage Pollution Abatement Charge for each parcel in the City. The Equivalent Drainage Residential Unit is defined as an impervious area per parcel of 2,777 square feet. SECTION 3: Computation of User Charges. All properties in the City are assumed to be responsible for paying their fair and equitable share of the cost of storm drainage pollution abatement based on the following formulas and computations: A. DRU Computation. The DRU on a parcel shall be computed by the following formula: DRU Count = [(Parcel Area in Square Feet) x (Parcel Runoff Factor)] / 2777 B. Parcel Area. The gross area of each parcel shall be determined from the data contained in the records of the Los Angeles County Assessor or by direct measurement, or by such other means as the City Engineer may select. C. Parcel Runoff Factor. To the extent practicable the runoff factor for each parcel shall be the same factor as determined by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District for the type of land use code listed for each parcel in the records of the Los Angeles County Assessor, provided that, the City Engineer shall determine the appropriate runoff factor for all tax exempt properties or other properties not listed by the Flood Control District. The City Engineer may adjust any parcel's runoff factor annually if said runoff factor is determined to not accurately represent the contribution of a specific parcel to stormwater runoff. D. After annual review of User Charges, as specified in Section 10, the City Council has determined a fee revision is warranted. The annual charge per DRU shall be reduced to $21. E. Computation of User Charge. The annual storm drainage pollution abatement charge to be billed to each parcel shall be based on the following formula: 1. Annual charge per DRU shall be $21.00. 2. Annual user charge per parcel shall be: Annual Charge = $21.00 x Number of DRU for Parcel SECTION 4: Billing of User Charge. The Storm Drainage Pollution Abatement Charge shall be billed on the property tax statement billed annually by the Los Angeles County Assessor. The Charge shall appear as a separate listing on the tax statement. SECTION 5: Collection and Enforcement. A. The Stormwater Pollution Abatement Charge for each parcel shall be collected by and be payable to the Los Angeles County Treasurer -Tax Collector for the 2000-2001 tax year along with the general taxes levied for City and County purposes and shall be subject to the same penalties and enforcement provision relating to general taxes. B. If any portion of the levy, collection or expenditure of the Stormwater Pollution Abatement Charge provided for herein is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining levy, collection or expenditure of the Stormwater Pollution Abatement Charge shall not be affected, but remain in full force and effect. SECTION 6: User Charge Limitation. The Storm Drainage Pollution Abatement Charge shall not exceed the reasonable cost of providing the services, facilities or regulatory activity for which the fee is charged. SECTION 7: User and Occupant Responsibility. In order to reduce the burden on the public regarding storm water pollution and disposal, each user and occupant is required to assume responsibility for preventing the discharge of toxic or hazardous substances and other unnecessary debris from their property to the stormwater drainage system. Violation of this policy will result in warnings being issued to the applicable property owner or occupant. Repeated violations will result in a surcharge being made against the offending property owner or occupant, as determined by the City Engineer of the City, consistent with the reasonable cost to the City of necessary clean up of such materials. SECTION 8: Postponement for Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens. The Storm Drainage Pollution Abatement Charge shall be postponed for residential Users who possess a certificate of eligibility issued pursuant to the Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens Property Tax Postponement Law (commencing at Revenue and Taxation Code Section 20581) contained in Part 10.5 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code and shall become a lien against the User's property following the procedure contained in Government Code Section 16182, except that the lien shall be issued in favor of the City of Santa Clarita instead of the State of California and shall be executed and administered by the Director of Finance, instead of the Controller. To obtain the postponement provided for in this section, the User must file the certificate of eligibility with the Director of Finance and the Director of Finance shall arrange to have the User Charge not appear on the tax bill and instead be made a line against the User's Property. SECTION 9: Adjustments and Appeals. If the owner of any parcel shall have reason to feel that the computation of the DRU count for his/her parcel is not correct, that person may file an appeal with the City Engineer in the manner prescribed by the City Engineer. The City Engineer will consider all data provided by the appellant and shall render a decision in writing. The decision of the City Engineer will be final with respect to City action on the appeal. SECTION 10: Annual Review of User Charges. It is the intention of the City Council to review the fees and charges as determined and set out herein based on the City's next Annual Budget and all storm drainage costs and, as and if warranted, to revise such fees and charges based thereon. SECTION 11: Constitutionality. If any portion of this Resolution is declared invalid or unconstitutional, then it is the intention of the City Council to have passed the entire resolution and all its component parts, and all other sections of this resolution shall remain in full force and affect. SECTION 12: Repealer. All resolutions and other actions of the City Council in conflict with the contents of this resolution are hereby repealed. SECTION 13: This resolution shall go into full force and effect upon its adoption, and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of Ordinance No.94-7. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 27th day of JUNE 2000. ATTEST: CITY CLERK STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss CITY OF SANTA CLARITA ) I, Sharon L. Dawson, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita at a regular meeting thereof, held on the 27th day of JUNE 2000 by the following vote of Council: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: WESTE, SMYTH, FERRY, KELLAR, DARCY NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE CITY CLERK S:\PBS\ENVSRVCS\COUNCR.\NPDES\CCNPDESG27.D0C