Pacifica Municipal Code Art. 6 Regulation of Sewer Laterals

The following definitions apply to this article:

(a) "Cleanout" shall mean a pipe fitting and associated piping connected to a sewer lateral that provides access to the sewer lateral for purposes of flushing, rodding, cleaning, and other maintenance and diagnostic purposes.

(b) "Compliance certificate" shall mean a certificate issued by the City indicating that the sewer lateral has passed a verification test.

(c) "Emergency" emergencies may include, but are not limited to: power outages, equipment failure, storms, flood, fire, earthquake, riots, and any City event that requires a short-term change to the requirements of this article.

(d) "Escrow account" shall mean a real estate transaction account into which an applicant deposits funds to obtain a one-hundred-eighty-day time extension, pursuant to this article, to complete the required work on the sewer lateral(s).

(e) "Exemption certificate" shall mean a certificate issued by the City to property owners who can demonstrate that work on the lateral has been completed in accordance with local ordinance requirements within ten (10) years of the effective date of the ordinance.

(f) "Infiltration and inflow" (I/I) shall mean the groundwater and rainwater that enters a sanitary sewer system intended for wastewater flows. "Infiltration" is water that enters the sewer system through openings in the joints or walls of pipes and manholes. "Inflow" is water that enters the sewer system through direct connections such as uncapped lateral cleanouts, openings in manhole covers, and illicit connections including area drains, catch basins, foundation drains, and roof drains.

(g) "Sewer lateral " shall mean the upper and lower sections of sewer pipe that carry sewage and liquid waste from the building or structure served, up to and including the connection to the public sewer; or a sewer pipe coming from a private development with connections to the public sewer at one or more locations.

(h) "Non-sanitary sewer connection" shall mean anything that directly or indirectly conveys stormwater, surface water, roof runoff, groundwater or subsurface drainage into sanitary sewers, including, but not limited to, downspouts, yard drains, sump pumps, or other sources of stormwater, runoff, or groundwater.

(i) "Remodel" shall mean any significant modification of an existing building or structure, the cost of which is estimated to be greater than Fifty Thousand and no/100 ($50,000.00) Dollars.

(j) "Repair" and "replacement" shall mean construction activities performed by a contractor to bring a sewer lateral into compliance with City requirements. "Repair" means a correction of an isolated defect of the sewer lateral while "replacement" applies to the complete length of the sewer lateral.

(k) "Sanitary sewer" shall mean a sewer that conveys wastewater from a structure and to which stormwater or surface water is not intentionally admitted.

(l) "Sewer main" shall mean a publicly-owned sanitary sewer pipe.

(m) "Structure" shall mean any building that is required to be provided with public sewer service.

(n) "Time extension certificate" shall mean a document issued by the City to the eligible property owner for title transfer transactions, that allows the time to be extended up to one hundred eighty (180) days after the date of certificate issuance to repair and/or replace the sewer lateral in compliance with City requirements.

(o) "Title transfer" shall mean the sale or transfer of an entire real property estate or the fee interest in that real property estate and does not include the sale or transfer of partial interest, including a leasehold. In addition, the following shall not be included: (1) transfer by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent's estates, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust, (2) transfers from one co-owner to one or more other co-owners, or from one or more co-owners into or from a revocable trust, if the trust is for the benefit of the grantor or grantors, (3) transfers made by a trustor to fund an inter vivios trust, (4) transfers made to a spouse, to a registered domestic partner as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code, or to a person or persons in the lineal line of consanguinity of one or more of the transferors, (5) transfers between spouses or registered domestic partners resulting from a decree of dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership, or a decree of legal separation or from a property settlement agreement incidental to a decree, (6) transfers from property owners to any financial institution as a result of a foreclosure or similar process.

(p) "Verification test" shall mean a test to be witnessed by the City's authorized representative(s) to verify that the sewer lateral is in compliance with City requirements.

(q) "Waiver" shall mean a document issued by the City to a property owner to relieve the property owner from the requirement to perform work on the lower sewer lateral under certain approved conditions.

(§ 1(Exh. A), Ord. 784 C.S., eff. December 28, 2011)

It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to perform all required maintenance, repairs and replacement of the sewer lateral in accordance with the following requirements:

(a) The sewer lateral shall be kept free from roots, grease deposits, and other solids, which may impede or obstruct the flow.

(b) All joints shall be watertight and all pipes shall be sound.

(c) The sewer lateral pipe shall be free of any structural defects such as fractures, cracks, breaks, openings, or missing portions.

(d) All cleanouts shall be securely sealed with a proper cap or approved overflow device at all times.

(e) There shall be no non-sanitary sewer connections to the sewer lateral or to any plumbing that connects to the sewer lateral.

(f) All maintenance, repair or replacement shall conform to current City standards and specifications.

(§ 1(Exh. A), Ord. 784 C.S., eff. December 28, 2011)

(a) Title transfer. Prior to transferring title associated with the sale of any real property that contains any structure with a sewer lateral within the City's wastewater service area, the transferor property owner shall disclose the requirements of this article. The transferor property owner or transferee shall obtain a compliance certificate pursuant to Section 6-13.604, and provide a copy of a valid compliance certificate to: (1) the transferor property owner's real estate broker, if any, (2) the transferee, (3) the transferee's real estate broker, if any, (4) the escrow holder, if any.

(b) Construction or remodeling. Whenever a property owner applies for any permit or other approval needed for construction, remodeling, modification or alteration of any structure with a sewer lateral, the property owner shall obtain a compliance certificate pursuant to Section 6-13.604 prior to obtaining a final permit or approval from the permitting authority. This paragraph shall apply where the cost of the proposed work, in combination with the cost of any other construction, remodeling, modification, or alteration at the property within the previous twelve (12) months, is estimated to exceed Fifty Thousand and no/100ths ($50,000.00) Dollars.

(c) Addition of drain or fixture. Whenever a property owner applies for any permit or other approval needed to add one or more drains or plumbing fixtures to any structure with a sewer lateral within the City's wastewater service area, the property owner shall obtain a compliance certificate pursuant to Section 6-13.604 prior to obtaining a final permit or approval from the permitting authority.

(d) Change in water services. Whenever a property owner within the City's service area applies for any permit or other approval from the City or local water agency for an increase or decrease in size of the owner's water meter, or for an additional water meter, the property owner shall obtain a compliance certificate, pursuant to Section 6-13.604, prior to obtaining a final permit or approval.

(e) An individually-owned unit in a multi-unit structure served by a single lateral or shared laterals such as a condominium or other common interest development. Within ten (10) years of the effective date of this chapter (December 28, 2016), the homeowners' association or a responsible party for this type of multi-unit structure shall determine if the sewer lateral(s) is (are) in compliance with Sections 6-13.602 and 6-13.604 and perform any necessary repair or replacement work to achieve compliance. After the work is completed, re-certification of the sewer lateral shall occur at twenty-year intervals.

(f) Property developments other than those specified in "d" above with sewer laterals totaling greater than one thousand (1,000′) feet in length. Within five (5) years of the effective date of this chapter (December 28, 2016) property owners or responsible parties for property developments with sewer laterals totaling greater than one thousand (1,000′) feet in length, shall submit for City approval, a condition assessment plan with a schedule to perform testing to assess the condition of all of the sewer laterals on the property to determine compliance with Section 6-13.602. Within ten (10) years of the effective date of this chapter, property owners or responsible parties shall complete all condition assessment testing and submit a corrective action work plan for District approval. Corrective action work plans shall include information about the quantity and schedule of work to be performed to bring the property's sewer laterals into compliance with the requirements of this chapter. After the work is completed, re-certification of the sewer laterals shall occur at twenty-year intervals.

(g) Exception. A property with a dated approved building/sewer permit from the City indicating that the sewer lateral was replaced in total within ten (10) years of the effective date of this chapter (December 28, 2016) may submit the information to the District along with a request for an exemption certificate. Upon review and approval, an exemption certificate will be issued.

(§ 1(Exh. A), Ord. 784 C.S., eff. December 28, 2011, § 2(Exh. A), Ord 811-C.S., eff. January 12, 2017)

Whenever a compliance certificate is required under this article, a property owner who does not hold a valid compliance certificate shall do the following at the property owner's expense.

(a) Repair or replacement. The property owner shall determine whether the sewer lateral is in compliance with City requirements. If the sewer lateral is not in compliance, the property owner shall perform any and all repair and replacement work needed to bring the sewer lateral into compliance. If the City has issued a waiver for the lower sewer lateral, then work is only required on the upper sewer lateral, in conformance with subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Verification testing. After the property owner determines (through any combination of inspection, repair and/or replacement) that the sewer lateral is in compliance with City requirements, and upon payment of the required fee established pursuant to this title, the property owner shall perform verification testing in accordance with the City's procedures in the presence of the City's authorized representative. If the City's authorized representative determines that the verification testing confirms that the sewer lateral is in compliance with City requirements, the City will issue a compliance certificate.

(c) Procedures for verification testing for sewer laterals. The City will maintain written procedures for verification testing. The procedures shall be made available upon request.

(§ 1(Exh. A), Ord. 784 C.S., eff. December 28, 2011)

When the compliance certificate is obtained as a result of complete replacement of the sewer lateral, the compliance certificate shall be valid for twenty (20) years from the date of issuance. Complete replacement, for these purposes, includes replacing the complete length of the sewer lateral. When the compliance certificate is obtained without complete replacement, e.g., as a result of repair work or testing without repair, the compliance certificate shall be valid for seven (7) years from the date of issuance.

(§ 1(Exh. A), Ord. 784 C.S., eff. December 28, 2011)

The requirement to obtain a compliance certificate prior to transfer of title in no way affects the legality of the transfer of title in the underlying property transaction. If the City's compliance certificate can not be obtained prior to title transfer, the property owner may request a time extension of one hundred eighty (180) days in which to perform the repairs or replacement required in conjunction with the transfer of property by applying to the City for a time extension certificate.

The time extension certificate request shall be submitted to the City with the required fee established pursuant to this article. Upon issuance of the time extension certificate, funds in the amount of Five Thousand and no/100 ($5,000.00) Dollars are to be posted into escrow. However, if the sewer lateral is longer than fifty (50′) feet, the Director may require funds in excess of Five Thousand and no/100 ($5,000.00) Dollars to be deposited in escrow. The Director shall determine the deposit amount for sewer laterals longer than fifty (50′) feet based on estimates received from licensed contractors to replace the entire length of the sewer lateral. Property owners are responsible for the full cost of lateral compliance with City requirements, which may exceed the deposit amount. Once the upper sewer lateral passes a verification test, funds will be released in accordance with escrow instructions.

If the work is not completed within one hundred eighty (180) days of issuance of the time extension certificate, or does not meet the conditions required by this article, the escrow funds may be forfeited following a hearing, as appropriate, and the current property owner is subject to an enforcement action set forth in this article. The City will take possession of the forfeited escrow funds and the current property owner must demonstrate the compliance of their upper sewer lateral with this article prior to requesting that the City consider release of the forfeited funds, less the City's costs. After close of escrow, the current property owner shall be responsible for all costs associated with the lateral compliance.

(§ 1(Exh. A), Ord. 784 C.S., eff. December 28, 2011)

The City Council may establish fees by resolution for administration of this title.

(§ 1(Exh. A), Ord. 784 C.S., eff. December 28, 2011)

(a) Requests for relief. Any person or entity who is unable to comply with the requirements of this article may file with the Director, a written request for relief within fifteen (15) days of becoming aware of their inability to comply, setting forth in detail the facts supporting the request. The request shall be acted upon by the Director within ten (10) days from the receipt of the request. The Director's decision shall be final.

(b) Requests for reconsideration. Within thirty (30) days after the mailing of written notice of any decision, action or determination related to this article, any person or entity affected by the decision may file with the Director a written request for reconsideration, setting forth in detail the facts supporting the request. The request for reconsideration shall be acted upon by the Director within ten (10) days from the receipt of the request for reconsideration. The decision, action, or determination shall remain in effect during such period of review by the Director. The Director's decision shall be final.

(§ 1(Exh. A), Ord. 784 C.S., eff. December 28, 2011)

The Director shall enforce the provisions of this article as provided herein.

(a) Violations of this article include, but are not limited to:

(1) Failure to obtain a compliance certificate when one is required;

(2) Failure to post the required funds into an escrow account and perform the required work after receiving a time extension certificate;

(3) Failure to comply with the City's requirements for repair and replacement testing;

(4) Falsifying facts to obtain an exemption or compliance certificate; and/or

(5) Presenting a false compliance certificate.

(b) Enforcement.

(1) When the Director finds that a person violates or threatens to violate the provisions of this article, the Director may notify the person in writing. The person will be required within thirty (30) days of the notification mailing date to submit for approval by the Director a detailed time schedule of specific action the person shall take in order to correct or prevent a violation of this article. The actions must be taken within sixty (60) days of submittal of the time schedule.

(2) The Director has the authority to take enforcement actions against a person who violates the provisions of this article and fails to perform any act required in this article including, but not limited to imposing administrative fees, filing an injunction requiring the work to be done, and/or terminating water service, as provided for in Article 5 of this chapter.

(§ 1(Exh. A), Ord. 784 C.S., eff. December 28, 2011)

In the event of an emergency, City staff shall have the authority to temporarily suspend the requirements of this article until the next regular or special meeting of the City Council at which time a report shall be made.

(§ 1(Exh. A), Ord. 784 C.S., eff. December 28, 2011)