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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 1995ORDINANCE NO. 1995 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BURLINGAME AMENDING CHAPTER 15.08 OF TITLE 15 OF THE BURLINGAME MUNICIPAL CODE TO UPDATE THE SEWER SYSTEM CAPACITY CHARGES (CEQA DETERMINATION: EXEMPT PURSUANT TO STATE CEQA GUIDELINES SECTION 15378,15601(B)(3)) WHEREAS, the existing "sewer connection fees" were governed by Ordinance No. 1235, which were adopted in November 1982; WHEREAS, the "sewer connection fees" have not been studied and updated since 1982, and need to be revised to reflect the current costs of sewer infrastructure. Therefore, staff conducted a study to update these fees to reflect the current conditions; and WHEREAS, on July 6, 2021, staff presented the proposed amendments to the existing sewer system connection fees; and WHEREAS, the terms "connection fee" and "connection charge" are amended to be referred to as "capacity charges" from here on; and WHEREAS, the sewer capacity charges are for buying into the available capacity of the existing sewer system. Whenever flows from a development exceeds available capacity, that particular development is required to pay for the upgrade of the sewer infrastructure, in addition to the sewer capacity charges; and WHEREAS, Capacity Charges or Development Impact Fees are governed by California Government Code Section 66000 et seq. This section of the Code was initially established by Assembly Bill 1600 and is commonly referred to as the Mitigation Fee Act. Pursuant to the Mitigation Fee Act, a development impact fee is not a tax or special assessment, but is, instead, a voluntary charge levied to defray the cost of public facilities needed to serve new development; and WHEREAS, Section 66013 of the Government Code specifically governs sewer capacity charges. This section defines a "capacity charge" to mean "a charge for public facilities in existence at the time a charge is imposed or charges for new public facilities to be acquired or constructed in the future that are of proportional benefit to the person or property being charged." This section distinguishes "capacity charges" from "connection fees" which are defined as fees for the physical facilities necessary to make a sewer connection, such as costs related to installation of meters and pipelines from a new building to a sewer main; and WHEREAS, a key provision of Government Code Section 66013 states that sewer capacity charges "shall not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for which the fee or charge is imposed' unless approved by a two-thirds vote. As such, the capacity charges calculated in this report are conservatively calculated to ensure the proposed charges do not exceed a reasonable level. Section 66013 does not detail any specific methodology for calculating capacity charges; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 66016 of the Code identifies the procedural requirements for adopting or increasing wastewater capacity charges. Government Code Section 66022 details the general parameters under which the charges can be legally challenged. Government Section 66023 describes an agency's responsibilities if a customer requests an audit of their charge; and WHEREAS, the City has retained the services of Bartle Wells Associates, an independent utility rate and finance consulting firm, to develop new water and sewer capacity charges. Bartle Wells Associates studied Burlingame's water and sewer systems capacity needs and developed the proposed capacity charges for new development and redevelopment projects. The proposed charges for Burlingame and a comparison of regional water and sewer capacity charges are presented in the 2021 Water and Sewer Capacity Charge Study (Draft Report). NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURLINGAME DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The recitals set forth above are true and correct and are hereby incorporated herein by this reference as if fully set forth in their entirety. Section 2. Section 15.08.010 of Chapter 15.08 of Title 15 of the Burlingame Municipal Code is amended as follows. Additions are reflected by underlined text and deletions with a 6tFike out teA 15.08.010 Application for sewer connection. Whenever sewer laterals are to be laid and connected to the sewer mains of the City, or whenever a property is converted to a more intensive use, the person, firm, or corporation desiring to lay and connect the same or change the use shall apply in writing to the City Engineer, through the building permit and development review process, stating the location of the premises effected. Upon receipt of the application, the City Engineer shall approve the necessary permits and collect such capacity charges and inspection fees as may be established by the City Council from time to time. Section 3. Section 15.08.020 of said Code is amended as follows. Additions are reflected by underlined text and deletions with a strike „, ,+ +o.,+ 15.08.020 Connertion rhaFge Capacity charges. (a) Any person requesting a connection to a sewer system shall, as a condition of the connection, pay a charge for each separate building site based upon the following schedule. Residential Type Capacity Charges Single Family $9,834 per dwelling unit Multi-FamL a) Two or more Bedrooms $6,808 per dwelling unit b) Studio and One Bedroom $4,623 per dwelling unit c) Detached Accessory Dwelling 150 square feet Unit (ADU), > $4.10 per square foot Non -Residential Water Meter Size AWWA Meter Capacity Ratio Capacity Charge Per Connection 3/ -inch 1.00 18 912 1 -inch 1.67 JL1,5211 1 -1/2 -inch 3.33 JgL3 041 2 -inch 5.33 100 866 3 -inch 10.00 11agj24 4 -inch 16.67 U15,206 .._ 721 Z r . . P.__ ON. wo M... -- ft -27 .0i . lil loll ■ (b) Capacity charges for residential connections are applied per subsection (a) of this section. For existing single-family residential connections, no additional capacity charges would apply to a home remodeling or expansion project, even if the project results in the need to increase the water meter size whether for fire flow or other purposes. For existing multi -family connections, capacity charges will apply for new units per subsection (a) based on number and type and will be credited for existing units, if any, per subsection (a) based on number and type. (c) Capacity charges for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are applied based on square footage in compliance with the requirements of Government Code 65852.2 with the exception that no capacity charges may be levied on ADUs built within the existing living area of a primary residence and if the total expansion itself is less than 150 square feet. Capacity charges for detached ADUs and ADUs that are an expansion of more than 150 square feet to the primary residence shall be as per the fees presented under subsection (a) of this section and these charges will be applied to the entire square footage of the expansion. (d) Capacity charges for non-residential sewer connections are applied based on the water meter size of each new connection, which serves as a reasonable proxy for sewer system demand. Any land use category that does not fall into residential will be considered non-residential. For existing non-residential connections, whenever an upsize of water meter is required, the property owner is required to pay capacity charges for the incremental increase in sewer demand generated by this upsize. Sewer demands are determined utilizing meter capacity ratios based on American Water Works Association (AWWA) standard meter capacities. Sewer capacity charges should not be levied on irrigation meters or on new private fire service connections. (e) For a meter size that is not presented in the above table, the costs will be calculated utilizing the AWWA standard meter capacity of proposed water meter size, using the costs set forth in subsection (a) of this section for scheduled fees. (f) These capacity charges do not exempt a developer from having to fund the upsizing of infrastructure in cases where the existing infrastructure is inadequate to meet the sewer demands of the project. (g) Capacity charges for standard connections are shown above. Connections with higher levels of estimated wastewater discharge than assumed for each customer class maybe assessed higher charges than shown based on the Sewer Capacity Charge per gallons per day multiplied by the estimated volume of wastewater discharge of the new or expanded connection as determined by the City. (h) The schedule listed in subsection (a) of this section shall be adjusted annually to conform to the latest Engineering News Record Construction Cost Index for the city of San Francisco using thirteen thousand, seven hundred and sixty-two (13,762) as the base index as of July 2021. The capacity charges listed in subsection (a) of this section shall therefore be multiplied by the Engineering News Record Construction Cost Index for the city of San Francisco in effect on January 1, and the result divided by thirteen thousand, seven hundred and sixty-two (13,762) to obtain the capacity charge to be implemented. Section . Section 15.08.110 of Chapter 15.08 of Title 15 of the Burlingame Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows. Additions are reflected by underlined text and deletions with a stFike out text. 15.08.110 Sewer Fental-fund Enterprise Fund. All moneys received from the collection of the sewer rental charges and the sewer capacity charges as authorized shall be deposited with the city treasurer who shall keep a separate and distinct fund and account to be known as "the sewer rental enterprise fund." This fund shall be used, when appropriated by the council, for the management, maintenance, operation and repair of the sewage system, sewage pumping, treatment and disposal works and for the planning, extension and enlargement of the works. Section 5. This Ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a "project" within the meaning of Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines, since there is no potential of the ordinance to result in direct or indirect physical change to the environment. In addition, the ordinance is not subject to CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility the Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment. Section 6. This Ordinance shall go into effect after 30 days following its adoption. Section 7. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion or sections of the Ordinance. The City Council of the City of Burlingame hereby declares that it would have adopted the Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared unconstitutional. Section 8. The City Clerk is directed to publish this ordinance in a manner required by law. Section 9. Sections 2, 3, and 4 of this Ordinance shall be codified in the Burlingame Municipal Code. Sections 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 shall not be so codified. a a,ze�� Ann O'Brien Keigh n, Mayor I, Meaghan Hassel -Shearer, City Clerk of the City of Burlingame, certify that the foregoing ordinance was introduced at a public hearing at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 16' day of August, 2021, and adopted thereafter at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 7th day of September, 2021, by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers: BEACH, BROWNRIGG, COLSON, O'BRIEN KEIGHRAN, ORTIZ NOES: Councilmembers: NONE ABSENT: Councilmembers: NONE Meagh a sel-Shearer, City Clerk