Fontana Municipal Code Art. III Sewer Connections; on-Site Waste Treatment Systems

Footnotes:

--- (4) ---

Editor's note— Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), adopted March 10, 2026, amended Art. III in its entirety, in effect repealing and reenacting said Art. III to read as set out herein. The former Art. III, §§ 23-251—262, pertained to building sewers and connections and derived from Code 1968, §§ 26-26—26-30; and Ord. No. 1060, §§ 1—7, adopted Sept. 15, 1992.

(a) Connection of existing structures. The owner of any premises with an existing structure in or from which sewage is generated must connect the structure directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this chapter as follows:

(1) The owner of any building occupied by humans situated within the city and abutting on any street or easement in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sewer of the city which will serve the building is hereby required, at the owner's expense, to connect the building directly with the proper public sewer, within 90 days after the date of official notice to do so, provided the public sewer is within 200 feet of the nearest point of the building. For purposes of this section, the house connection sewer shall be considered a portion of the public sewer.

(2) The owner of any property which is served by an OWTS must connect any structure served by that OWTS to the public sewer or obtain a permit to operate that OWTS from the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Board if any of the following are true:

a. The OWTS receives a flow of more than 10,000 gallons per day;

b. The OWTS receives wastewater other than domestic wastewater from residential or commercial buildings; or

c. The OWTS receives high-strength wastewater from commercial food service buildings that exceed 900 mg/L for biological oxygen demand or does not have a properly sized and functioning oil/grease interceptor (a.k.a. grease trap);

d. The OWTS requires supplemental treatment under tier 3 of the OWTS policy;

e. The OWTS requires and cannot comply with the corrective actions under tier 4 of the OWTS policy; or

f. The OWTS consists of a cesspool.

(b) Connection of new structures. The owner of any property on which a new structure is proposed for construction must connect the structure to the public sewer if sewage will be generated in or from the structure, unless all of the following are satisfied:

(1) The public sewer is not available. For purposes of this section, the public sewer is not available when the property boundary is more than 200 feet away from the public sewer; and

(2) The lot size is more than one-half acre (average gross) in size, or the owner obtains an exemption from this requirement from the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board; and

(3) The new structure will be served by an OWTS that satisfies the tier 1 or Tier 3 standards under the OWTS policy; and

(4) If the new structure is a detached accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit or increases the size of an existing OWTS, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board reviews and approves the proposed OWTS.

(c) Permit required. In accordance with article IV of this chapter, no person shall connect to the sewer system or construct OTWS without first obtaining a written permit from the city and paying all fees and connection charges as required therein.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

(a) No owners of separate properties shall be permitted to join in the use of the same building sewer or house connection sewer. Every property on which structures are situated and are to be connected with a public sewer shall be separately connected except as provided in this section.

(b) Adjacent properties owned by the same property owner may be served by the same house connection sewer or building sewer so long as the properties remain under the ownership of the same property owner. If a property owner sells a portion of his property and any buildings on the property sold are not separately connected with a public sewer, they shall be so connected at no expense to the city. Following the sale of a portion of a property owner's property it shall be unlawful for the owner of the portion sold or the original property owner to continue to use or maintain a common building sewer or a connection to a common house connection sewer.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

Cleanouts in building sewers shall be provided where the building sewer joins the house connection sewer and in accordance with the rules, regulations and ordinances of the city. Two-way clean outs in conjunction with gravity separation interceptor are to be installed between the building and interceptor, and downstream of sample box.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

If any building sewer is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, wastewater carried by such building sewer shall be lifted by artificial means approved by the building official and discharged to the public sewer at the expense of the owner.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

(a) If a public sewer is available in a street adjoining the property to be served, the connection of the house connection sewer to the public sewer shall be made at the public sewer main. The property owner shall construct one house connection sewer from the existing public sewer main to the property to be connected. The property owner shall obtain proper excavation permits and work is to be completed by a properly licensed contractor.

(b) The house connection sewer shall be constructed in accordance with the standard specifications of the city which are in effect at the time of construction. If the applicant desires or requires an additional house connection sewer or any special construction, he shall pay for the cost of the additional sewer connection or additional cost of the special construction in accordance with city specifications, at no cost to the city.

(c) If a public sewer is not available as described in section 23-251, the owner shall either construct an OWTS in accordance with this article or shall extend the existing sewer system in accordance with article VI of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

(a) Any stub-out and, following connection by the property owner to the sewer system, the house connection sewer shall be maintained and repaired by the city from the point of connection with the sewer main line to the property line closest to the sewer main; provided, however, it shall be the property owner's responsibility to repair such house connection sewer which is damaged as a result of the negligent or intentional acts of the property owner, its tenants, lessees, subcontractors, agents, or employees.

(b) The property owner shall defend, indemnify, save and hold harmless the city, its elected officials, officers, employees, agents and subcontractors from any and all fines, attorneys' fees, claims for loss, damage or personal injury, including wrongful death, which arise out of the city's maintenance and repair of the house connection sewer pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

The city may, in its absolute discretion, construct a local system, which shall be placed, designed, and constructed in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the public works director. At the time that a property owner elects to connect to the city's sewer system, the property owner shall be required to use the stub-out constructed as part of the local system for connection to the city's sewer system unless the public works director, or his designee, determines in his reasonable discretion that connection to the city's sewer system may be made by alternate means.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

At the time of the construction of any addition to or extension of the city's sewer system, the city may, in its absolute discretion, construct a stub-out, which shall be placed, designed, and constructed in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the public works director. At the time that a property owner elects to connect to the sewer system, the property owner shall be required to use the stub-out constructed by the city for connection to the sewer system unless the public works director, or his designee, determines in his reasonable discretion that connection to the sewer system may be made by alternate means.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

The city shall keep a record of the costs of construction for a local system constructed pursuant to section 23-257 and shall identify such record with each parcel of property to be served by such system. Costs of construction shall include, without limitation, the costs of construction directly attributable to the construction of the local system and the amount of indirect engineering, design and administrative costs, all of which shall be proportionally attributed to the property to be served in a manner determined in the reasonable discretion by the public works director. The city shall maintain such records until such time as the property owner reimburses the city for such costs in accordance with section 23-261.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

The city shall keep a record of the costs of construction for each stub-out constructed pursuant to section 23-258 and shall identify such record with each parcel of property to be served by such stub-out. Costs of construction shall include, without limitation, the costs of construction directly attributable to the construction of the sub-out and the amount of indirect engineering, design and administrative costs proportionally attributed to the property to be serviced, as determined in the reasonable discretion by the public works director. The city shall maintain such records until such time as the property owner reimburses the city for such costs in accordance with section 23-262.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

(a) If the property owner connects to the city's sewer system at any time within one year following the city's completion of a local system serving that particular property, the property owner shall pay the amount determined pursuant to section 23-259. If the property owner connects to such system at a point past one year following the completion of the system serving that particular property, the owner shall pay an additional amount over and above the amount determined pursuant to section 23-259. The additional reimbursement shall be a percentage of the construction costs determined pursuant to section 23-259, which percentage reflects the change in the engineering news record construction cost index between the time that local system construction is completed for the particular property to be served and the date that the property owner applies to the city for a permit to connect to the city's sewer system. If the engineering news record construction cost index ceases to be published, the city may, in its reasonable discretion, use a similar construction cost index to ascertain the additional reimbursement required.

(b) The reimbursement required by this section shall be in addition to all other fees and charges imposed by this chapter.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

(a) If the property owner connects to the city's sewer system at any time within one year following the city's completion of the stub-out for that particular property to be served, the property owner shall pay the amount determined pursuant to section 23-260. If the property owner connects to the city's sewer system at a point past one year following the completion of the stub-out for the particular property to be served, the owner shall pay an additional amount over and above the amount determined pursuant to section 23-260. The additional reimbursement shall be a percentage of the construction costs determined pursuant to section 23-260, which percentage reflects the change in the engineering news record construction cost index between the time that stub-out construction is completed for the particular property to be served and the date that the property owner applies to the city for a permit to connect to the city's sewer system. If the engineering news record construction cost index ceases to be published, the city may, in its reasonable discretion, use a similar construction cost index to ascertain the additional reimbursement required.

(b) The reimbursement required by this section shall be in addition to all other fees and charges imposed by this chapter.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)

(a) The owner of any property served by an OWTS must submit an application to replace that OWTS in accordance with section 23-288 and may, after receiving a permit, replace the OWTS when the following conditions are met:

(1) The existing OWTS is failing and must be replaced to meet the tier 1 or tier 3 OWTS standards or standards established in this Code. Under this condition, the owner must comply with the tier 4 standards in the OWTS policy for correcting or replacing the OWTS.

(2) The replacement OWTS will satisfy the requirements for tier 1 or tier 3 OWTS in the OWTS policy.

(3) The size of the replacement OWTS must not be larger than the OWTS subject to replacement unless approved by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1) of this section, replacement of the OWTS is proposed to allow additional flows resulting from additions to an existing single-family residential dwelling unit without any increase in size to the OWTS. This subsection does not include any free-standing additional structures subject to subsection 23-251(b)(4). An existing development on land zoned single-family residential will be considered as a new development if the addition of any free-standing structures which result in additional wastewater flows to the septic system is proposed. Commercial and industrial developments will be considered as new development if an addition to an existing structure is proposed which will result in additional wastewater flows to the OWTS.

(Ord. No. 1984, § 2(Exh. A), 3-10-26)