East Palo Alto Municipal Code Art. II Fees for Certain Businesses and Activities

As used in this chapter:

"Apartment house" means and includes all dwellings classified as "apartment houses" for purposes of Part 1.5 of Division 13 of the California Health and Safety Code except that for fee purposes only such buildings with four or more dwelling units on a parcel of land shall be required to pay the listed fees. Any owner occupied dwelling unit shall be exempt from the fees. The term "complex" as used in subsection B1, apartment house, of Section 8.04.080, Fee schedule, means apartment buildings located on contiguous parcels of land owned by the same person, firm or corporation.

"Backflow prevention device tester" means a person who is certified by the city health officer in writing as competent to test backflow prevention devices.

"Bakery" means the same as that defined in Section 28190 of the California Health and Safety Code.

"Chemical toilet agency" means and includes all companies which install, lease, rent or service chemical toilets.

"Confectionary" means and includes places or establishments used or operated for the retail sale of candy, chewing gum, peanuts, nuts, or similar confectionary, whether in bulk, canned, wrapped, bottled, packaged, or in any other form.

"Cross connection" means the same as defined in Section 7588 of Title 17 of the California Administrative Code. It is any physical connection or arrangement between two otherwise separate piping systems, one of which contains potable water and the other water of unknown or questionable safety, whereby water may flow from one system to the other, the direction of flow depending on the pressure differential between the two systems.

"Food salvager" means and includes any person or company segregating foodstuffs from retail food premises after a flood, fire or other disaster for relabeling and resale at a discount.

"Hot tub" means and include all tubs constructed of wood, fiberglass or plastic, containing a device to circulate hot water, designed for immersion of human beings and open on a regular basis to the public upon payment of a fee.

"Hotel" means and includes all dwellings classified as "hotels" for purposes of Part 1.5 of Division 13 of the California Health and Safety Code.

"Licensed health facility" means and includes hospitals as defined in Title 22, Section 70003 of the California Administrative Code and "skilled nursing facilities" as defined in Title 22, Section 72095, of the California Administrative Code.

"Motel" means and includes all dwellings classified as "motels" for purposes of Part 1.5 of Division 13 of the California Health and Safety Code.

Organized Camp. The term "public swimming area" shall include all "public swimming pools" as defined in Section 24100 of the California Health and Safety Code.

"Public swimming area means and includes all "public swimming pools" as defined in Section 24100 of the California Health and Safety Code.

"Restaurant" means the same as that defined in Section 23522 of the California Health and Safety Code.

"Retail food production and marketing establishment" means the same as that defined in Section 25302 of the California Health and Safety Code.

"Retail food vehicle" means and includes all "vehicles," as defined in Section 23524 of the California Health and Safety Code, and all "itinerant restaurants," as defined in Section 23523 of the California Health and Safety Code.

"Rodent bait station" means a designated location where a specified quantity of rodenticide is placed and maintained under the direction of the city health officer for the purpose of controlling rodents. The term includes, but is not limited to, designated areas of municipal sanitary and storm sewer systems, natural drainage creeks, tidelands, solid waste disposal sites, waste water treatment plants, and other locations determined by the health officer to require rodent baiting.

"Septic tank, cesspool, chemical toilet and sewage seepage pit cleaning and pumping vehicle" means and includes all vehicles to which Chapter 6 of Division 20 of the California Health and Safety Code applies and which are used for cleaning and pumping waste material from septic tanks, cesspools, chemical toilets, and sewage seepage pits.

"Small water system" means and includes all "public water systems" as defined in Section 4010.1(e) of the California Health and Safety Code which have fewer than two hundred (200) service connections.

"Vending machine" means and includes the same as that defined in Section 28525 of the California Health and Safety Code, but shall not include machines exclusively dispensing bottled or canned drinks, chewing gum, candy, or other food which is not readily perishable if the city health officer has determined that such machines do not require routine inspection for the protection of the public health.

"Wholesale food processing establishment" means the same meaning as that defined in Section 28280.1 of the California Health and Safety Code, but the term does not include retail businesses or activities elsewhere specifically defined in this chapter.

(Prior code § 6-11.201)

A. Generally. Any person who conducts or engages in a business or activity as defined in Section 8.04.060 of this chapter, which business or activity is within the geographical area under the jurisdiction of the city health officer, shall be liable to pay the environmental health inspection fee set out in Section 8.04.080 for that business or activity within thirty (30) days from the date of billing therefor. Such fee shall be payable annually and shall cover a period of one year from the date of payment, unless otherwise specified by the city health officer.

B. Closing or Termination of Business. The city health officer may, in the case of closing or termination of a business, refund, not to exceed fifty (50) percent of the fee, when the activity was in business for less than six months of the billing year.

C. Seasonal Business. A seasonal activity which is in business for six months or less shall be obligated to pay fifty (50) percent of the fee.

D. Exemptions From Fee. The following shall be exempt from payment of fees imposed by this chapter:

1. Rodent bait stations where valid, renewable agreements from pest control operators and cities, sanitary or sanitation districts are enforced until the new agreement is prepared and negotiated;

2. Any business or activity operated by a blind person who has a certificate issued by the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation of the state;

3. Any state-registered or tax exempt person or organization operating, exclusively for a charitable purpose, a business or activity defined in Section 8.04.060 where no person benefits through the distribution of profits or other compensation.

4. Any person or organization which is wholly supported by tax revenues.

E. Any person may appeal the amount of the fee, in writing, to the director of environmental health who shall determine the correctness of the amount of the fee assessed.

(Prior code § 6-11.202)

The following environmental health inspection fees shall be charged:

A. Upon review of plans for new construction, renovation or remodeling of the business and activities listed in subsections B3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 20 provided that the work required a building permit; and

B. Annually for inspection of all of the business and activities listed in this section.

For inspection of all cross-connections within the service area of a water purveyor, that sum which represents that portion of the total cost to the city of its cross-connection in inspection program that the number of water connections within the service area of a water purveyor bears to the number of water connections in the service areas of all water purveyors participating in the inspection program. As used in this section the term "water purveyor" includes city water utilities, private water companies and water districts.

Those water purveyors with a demonstrated light workload as determined by the health officer from field examination, shall be required to pay only fifty (50) percent of their computed fee to cover minimum basic services. The cumulative remaining difference caused by such reduction in fees shall be distributed among the other participating water purveyors in direct proportion to the number of water connections in the service area of each purveyor.

A water purveyor has a light workload if it has few or none of the following within its service area: Plating plants, sewage systems and pumping stations, cooling towers, industrial fluid systems, fire fighting systems, steam generating facilities, irrigation and fertilizing systems, hospitals, plumbing hazards, multi-storied buildings, photo processing, petroleum processing, paper processing, canneries and food manufacturing and auxiliary water systems.

(Prior code § 6-11.203)

Where a person engages in, conducts, manages or carries on at the same time within the same structure more than one of the activities for which an inspection fee is charged by this chapter, he shall be liable to pay the larger fee in its entirety for that business or activity, but only fifty (50) percent of any other fee listed in this chapter for another business or activity in the same structure.

(Prior code § 6-11.204)

If a fee is paid under this chapter by a partnership which subsequently is changed by the addition or reduction of partners, credit for the payment of such fee may be given to the new partnership upon its application for such credit accompanied by payment of a transfer fee of two dollars ($2.00) to the city department of public health.

(Prior code § 6-11.205)