East Palo Alto Municipal Code Art. I Opening and Connecting With Sewers Under City Control

The city council appoints the duly qualified city engineer to be engineer of all special districts or city service areas engaged in sanitary sewage collection, treatment and/or disposal, now formed or hereafter to be formed. Where the city council is the governing council thereof as used in this article, "district" means any of such agencies.

(Prior code § 11-2.101)

It shall be the duty of the city engineer to organize and employ such employees as he/she shall from time to time find necessary for the proper maintenance of such districts under his/her jurisdiction. The employees shall receive as compensation wages set forth in the wage scale as adopted by the city council, such compensation to be paid out of the maintenance funds of the district in which the work is performed.

(Prior code § 11-2.102)

As to all sewers maintained by a district, it is unlawful to open or make any connection with such sewers except as authorized by the city engineer and in accordance with the specifications set forth by the city engineer. A connection shall be construed to mean all work done between the cleanout and the sewer maintained by the district.

(Prior code § 11-2.103)

Any person seeking to annex any property to a district shall as a condition of application for such annexation pay the nonrefundable fee of four hundred dollars ($400.00). Such fee shall be deposited with the district concerned prior to commencement on the proposed annexation and shall be utilized to defray engineering, legal, drafting and publication costs incurred by the city in processing the annexation request including the preparation of appropriate maps as may be required by the State Board of Equalization.

(Prior code § 11-2.104)

Any person within a district requesting a connection to a sewer shall, as a condition of such connection, pay a connection charge for each separate building site based upon the following schedule:

The above schedule shall be adjusted to conform to the latest Engineering News Record construction cost index for the city of San Francisco using 2,500 as the base index. The above connection charges shall therefore be multiplied by the Engineering News Record construction cost index for the city of San Francisco in effect on January 1st and the result divided by 2,500 to obtain the true connection charge for the subsequent calendar year.

A. Residential Units. The following residential establishments shall be deemed to have the following number of residential units:

1. Single residential dwelling, designed for occupancy by one family only, which is not occupied by more than one family: one residential unit;

2. Duplex, triplex, apartment house, or other multi-residential establishment, designed for occupancy for living purposes by more than one family, which is divided into separate housekeeping units each of which is designed for occupancy by one family: Each housekeeping unit shall be deemed to be a separate residential unit;

3. Auto court, trailer court, trailer park and other like establishments, divided into separate living units, auto spaces or trailer spaces, with or without housekeeping facilities: Each room or suite of rooms, or each auto or retailer space, which is designed to be occupied for living purposes by persons living separately from others, shall be deemed to be a separate residential unit;

4. Lodging house, rooming house, dormitory, rest home or other establishment, other than those specified in subsections A, B and C of this section, which is occupied, or designed, intended or arranged for occupancy, for residential purposes, by one or more persons to whom rooms are rented or otherwise made available for sleeping purposes, without separate housekeeping facilities for each room or suite of rooms: Each six beds, or part of six, shall be deemed to be a separate residential unit (for which purpose a double bed shall be deemed to be two beds). If separate housekeeping facilities are accorded any room or suite of rooms, each such room or suite of rooms shall be deemed a separate residential unit.

B. Residential Unit Equivalents. A parcel of land which is designed, intended or used for commercial, public or industrial purposes (including motels and hotels) shall be deemed to have the following number of residential unit equivalents: Each five number of plumbing fixtures, or a portion of such number, installed in a parcel of land shall be deemed to be one residential unit equivalent. As used in this chapter, "plumbing fixture" means and includes a toilet, urinal, a shower, a tub, a sink, a basin, a lavatory, an automatic washing machine, and any other water or sewage receptor or facility, which is connected, directly or indirectly, to a sanitary sewer line or system and from which water or sewage can be or is drained, directly or indirectly into a sanitary sewer line or system.

C. Existing Building Sites. Those properties within a district as of December 17, 1968, shall not be charged the initial five hundred dollars ($500.00) of the connection charge specified above.

Prior to the signing of a building permit and/or issuance of a connection charge receipt for the construction and/or connection to a sanitary sewer within a district, the city engineer shall determine that all charges due under this section have been paid.

(Prior code § 11-2.105)

If at any time after payment of a connection charge there is a change in land use resulting in an increase in residential units, the owner shall, prior to the receipt of a building permit for construction of the additional units, pay to the district connection charges for the additional units. Such charges shall be the difference between the amount of all previous connection charges and the amount set forth in Section 13.08.050 for the entire building as increased.

(Prior code § 11-2.106)

A fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be collected by the city engineer for the issuance of an inspection permit and inspection of each facility to be installed within a district. In the event any part of the side sewer is installed and connected without the issuance of such permit or without the inspection of such sewer line construction and connection, a fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be collected by the city engineer for the issuance of such permit and/or the inspection of such installation.

(Prior code § 11-2.107)

All sewer construction work shall be inspected by an inspector acting for the city engineer to insure compliance with all requirements of the city engineer. The permittee shall be furnished, by the city engineer in written form, a copy of such requirements.

(Prior code § 11-2.108)

No permit shall be issued until all connection charges or service charges properly chargeable to the property sought to be connected (which have not heretofore been paid or for which bonds have not been issued), shall first be paid to the city for the benefit of the sewer maintenance fund of the district in which such property is situated. This section shall be deemed to apply to, and shall include, property bordering upon a sewer, in cases where, through special arrangement, the inclusion of a service or connection charge shall have been deferred until actual connection of the sewer with the property.

(Prior code § 11-2.109)

Any person or firm requesting a permit to construct or install a sewer connection or lateral shall deposit with the city engineer at the time of securing such permit such amount as the city engineer estimates will be required to cover the cost of repairing and/or repaving that portion of the road or street damaged by the construction or installation of such sewer connection or lateral. Such deposit shall be deposited with the treasurer of the city and any balance of the deposit remaining after the work has been completed in accordance with the city engineer's specifications shall be repaid to the person or firm making such deposit. If the cost of such work exceeds the city engineer's original estimate the additional amount shall be paid to the city engineer.

(Prior code § 11-2.110)

Cleanouts shall be installed and the location of such cleanouts shall be as follows:

When a main sewer is located in a street, alley or easement there must be provided a cleanout brought up flush with sidewalks level next to curb, and if no curb or sidewalk exists then cleanout must be located inside of lot line. Cleanout shall be of cast iron the same size as the drain it serves brought up to level of ground by a "Y" and branch fittings and top of same be provided with a regulation cleanout. If the sidewalk space mentioned is entirely concrete, then a cast iron sidewalk box, with loose cover, fitted with brass screws shall be installed. Where location of cleanout has not been definitely settled, the location of such cleanout shall be determined by the city engineer.

(Prior code § 11-2.111)

It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to use or permit to be used for human habitation any building situated upon lands which abut upon a street, road, avenue, place or easement in which there is a sewer maintained by any such maintenance district or by any city sanitation district as to areas thereof which lie outside of any incorporated city, and which building is erected after the acceptance of the sewer by the city council unless the building is connected with the sewer as provided in this chapter.

Whenever the city council finds that public health and sanitation require it, the council may require any such situated building erected before the acceptance of the sewer by the council be connected with the sewer as provided in this chapter, and it is unlawful for the owner of the building to fail or refuse to do so.

(Prior code § 11-2.112)

On or after ninety (90) days after the acceptance of any such sewer by the city council, it is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to have upon any lands which abut upon a street, road, avenue, place or easement in which there is a sewer maintained by any such maintenance district, any outside toilets, excepting a temporary one used during construction of buildings.

(Prior code § 11-2.113)