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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso - CC - 053-2003RESOLUTION 53-2003 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURLINGAME AFFIRMING SEWER BACKUP DAMAGE POLICY RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Burlingame: WHEREAS, the City has voluntarily assumed responsibility in most cases for sewer backups that occur in sewer laterals between a properly installed and maintained cleanout on public property and the sewer main; and WHEREAS, such a program encourages the installation and maintenance of proper cleanouts; and WHEREAS, this program should be conditioned on conformance to City standards and recommendations regarding backflow prevention, NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED: The Sewer Backup Damage Policy attached as Exhibit A is approved. MAYOR I, DORIS MORTENSEN, City Clerk of the City of Burlingame, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 5th day of May 2003, and was adopted thereafter by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: HAYLOCE, COFFEY, GALLIGAN, JANNEY, O'MAHONY NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE DEPUTY TY CLERK EXHIBIT A SEWER BACKUP DAMAGE POLICY When a backup in the sanitary sewer system occurs, property damage can also occur. If property damage does occur, it is proper for the City and its employees to take immediate steps to correct the problem and assist the property owner in cleanup. In order to coordinate the program, a policy is required. 1. General City responsibility. Responsibility for damage proximately caused by a backup of the sanitary sewer will generally be the City's, if the blockage occurs in the lateral sewer between the cleanout and the sewer main if- a) i a) The cleanout is on public property or at the sewer main itself, and b) The cleanout has been installed in accordance with City standard specifications; and c) The blockage was not caused by destructive or wrongful use of the sewer lateral by the affected property owner, the owner's predecessors, or a third party; and d) The cleanout has not been buried or built over by the affected property owner or the owner's predecessors; and e) Backflow prevention has been properly installed and maintained as required by the Burlingame Municipal Code. 2. Property owners are responsible for the proper installation and maintenance of building and lateral sewers and cleanouts, and are responsible for obtaining necessary construction and encroachment permits. In exceptional cases when personnel are available and authorized by the Director of Public Works, City personnel may be authorized to install a cleanout when excavation has been performed by the property owner and installation location on public property is readily accessible. 3. When a sewer backup occurs, the Director of Public Works may authorize City personnel to obtain the immediate services of a rehabilitation or containment service to minimize damage and provide emergency clean-up. City personnel will make clear that the cause of the back-up may determine that the property owner is responsible for payment of any services rendered by such a rehabilitation or containment service. Actual repair or construction work should be deferred to the property owner and determined through the normal claims process of the City.