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
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721 Z
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P.__ ON. wo M...
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(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.
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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