Chapter 13.16 — UTILITY LATERALS CONNECTION2

This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "lateral ordinance."

(Ord. 3470 § 1, 1939)

The following terms when used in this chapter shall have the meaning attached to them by this section:

A.

"Board" means board of directors of the city of Pasadena.

B.

"City" means the city of Pasadena.

C.

"Connect" means to cause to be installed sewer, light, telephone or gas connections between a main in the street and the property line, or to cause to be installed water connections between a main in the street and the curb line in front of real property abutting thereon, in accordance with the resolution of intention provided for in this ordinance.

D.

"Connection or lateral connection" means the sewer, light, telephone or gas pipe or conduit extending from the main in the street to the property line, or the water pipe or conduit extending from the main in the street to the curb line in front of the real property abutting thereon.

E.

"Engineer" means city engineer and superintendent of streets of the city of Pasadena.

F.

"Improvement" means the grading, regrading, paving, repaving, macadamizing, remacadamizing, oiling or reoiling of any street as herein defined.

G.

"Main" means the principal sewer, light, telephone, gas or water pipe or conduit in the street to which lateral connections are made.

H.

"Person" means any person, firm, corporation or association of individuals.

I.

"Street" means any street, lane, alley, court or other public place.

(Ord. 3470 § 2, 1939)

Whenever any improvement is about to be made in any street in the city, the board may adopt a resolution of intention to require the owners of real property fronting on the portion or portions of such street or streets intended to be improved to cause their several premises so fronting on such street or streets to be connected as provided in this chapter with the sewer main, light main, telephone main, gas main and water main, if any, in said street or streets or with such of said mains as are in or about to be laid in the street or streets and thereupon shall order the engineer to give notice thereof as provided in this chapter. Such resolution of intention shall specify the number, approximate location, size and kind of connections to be made and the kind of material to be used. Such resolution of intention shall fix the day, hour and place when and where any and all persons having any objections to such connections being made may appear before the board and show cause why the connections should not be made. Said time shall be not less than 20 days after the passage of the resolution. Upon the adoption of such resolution of intention, the engineer shall give notice as herein provided to all owners of real property proposed to be connected to cause their several premises so fronting on such street or streets to be connected with the sewer main, light main, telephone main, gas main and water main, if any, in said street or streets or with such of the mains as are in or about to be laid in said street or streets as provided in this chapter. The notice shall also specify the number, approximate location, size and kind of connections to be made and the kind of material to be used. The notice shall state

the fact of the passage of the resolution of intention, and shall state that unless the owners thereof cause said premises to be connected with the main or mains in the manner provided herein, the city will cause said premises to be so connected at the expense of the owner of the property as hereinafter provided. The notice shall state the day, hour and place when and where any and all persons having any objections to such connections being made may appear before the board and show cause why the connections should not be made, and shall state that written protest must be filed not later than the day prior to the day set for hearing.

(Ord. 3470 § 3(a), 1939)

The engineer shall cause the notice required in Section 13.16.030 to be published not less than once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city and the publication shall be completed not less than 15 days prior to the time set for the hearing of protests. The notice shall also be posted by the engineer in a conspicuous place upon each parcel of real property proposed to be connected. The engineer shall mail such notices by postcard to all persons owning real property proposed to be connected, whose names and addresses appear on the last equalized assessment roll for city taxes prior thereto. The posting and mailing of notices shall be completed before the expiration of the time for publication herein required. Personal service of the notice upon the owner or occupant of any property affected shall dispense with the necessity of posting such property. Service of the notice required by Section 13.16.030 shall also be made upon the person, firm or corporation maintaining a gas main or a telephone main in a street or portion thereof intended to be improved. The notice shall be served by delivering a copy of the same to the manager or any clerk employed in the office of said person, firm or corporation.

(Ord. 3470 § 3(b), 1939)

The affidavit of the proprietor, foreman or clerk of the newspaper publishing the notice showing such publication, and the affidavit of the person or persons posting and making said personal service of the notices shall be filed in the office of the engineer and shall be prima facie evidence of due and proper publication, posting and service of the notice.

(Ord. 3470 § 3(c), 1939)

Neither the proceedings taken hereunder nor the liens established in accordance with the provisions hereof shall be invalidated by any error in a name or address in a notice herein required to be served, mailed or posted nor by a failure or neglect to mail or post the notice nor by a failure to receive a copy of the notice.

(Ord. 3470 § 3(d), 1939)

At any time prior to the day set for hearing objections to such connections being made, any owner of property liable to be assessed for the connections may make written protest against being required to make the connection or connections required of him. The protest must be in writing and must contain a description of the property in which each signer thereof is interested, sufficient to identify the same, and be delivered to the city clerk, and no other protests or objections shall be considered. At the time set for hearing protests, the board shall proceed to hear and pass upon all protests so made. At the time of such hearing or at any meeting held thereafter to which such hearing is continued, the board may sustain or overrule such protest or protests and may order that the proceedings to cause connections to be made be terminated, or may order that connections be made in accordance with the resolution of intention or may order the connections to be made of different number, approximate location, size or kind or of a different kind of material from that specified in the resolution of intention and may fix times other than those herein specified within which the owners of abutting property shall cause such connections to be commenced and completed. The determination of the board shall be evidenced by motion. Such determination shall be final and conclusive. In the event no protest is so filed, the board by motion shall make a finding to

that effect and order the property owners to cause the work of making the connections to be commenced in accordance with the resolution of intention. A copy of such motion shall be posted for 2 days in a conspicuous place on or near the council chamber door. At any time, by motion, the board may extend the time for commencing and completing such connections.

(Ord. 3499 § 1, 1939; Ord. 3470 § 4, 1939)

A.

At the time of the adoption of the resolution of intention, the board of directors may fix a day, hour and place for a public hearing to be held by the board, which hearing may be immediately before the hearing on protests to be conducted pursuant to Section 13.16.070.

B.

In such case the engineer shall cause notice of such hearing to be given by publishing a notice thereof not less than once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, and the publication shall be completed not less than 15 days prior to the time set for the hearing. The notice shall also be posted by the engineer in a conspicuous place upon each parcel of real property proposed to be connected. The posting of notices shall be completed before the expiration of the time for publication herein required. The notice shall state the day, hour and place when and where the hearing shall be held, and shall state that the hearing shall be held pursuant to Section 17 of Article XIII of the California Constitution to determine whether the public convenience and necessity require such improvement. The notice may be a part of the notice given pursuant to Sections 13.16.030 and 13.16.040.

C.

If after the holding of such public hearing the board of directors by a 4/5 vote of all members thereof finds and determines that the public convenience and necessity require the improvement provided for by the resolution of intention, the proceedings pursuant thereto may be completed.

(Ord. 3572 § 1, 1941: Ord. 3470 § 4-1/2, 1939)

Within 10 days after the passage of the motion provided for in Section 13.16.070, or within such further time as may be fixed by the board, it shall be the duty of each owner of real property, required to be connected, fronting on a street affected by proceedings taken hereunder, to cause the work of making the connections herein required to be commenced and thereafter prosecuted diligently to completion.

(Ord. 3470 § 5, 1939)

At the expiration of the period within which the owners must cause the work of making connections to be commenced, the city shall make or cause to be made each and every connection regularly required to be made as herein provided, work upon which has not been commenced and diligently prosecuted within the time herein fixed. The board may direct that the work or any portion or portions thereof be done by the engineer or by the water department or by the municipal light and power department of the city, or may contract to have the work done by any person, firm or corporation. The work so done shall be at the expense of the owner of the property connected.

(Ord. 3470 § 6, 1939)

All expense incurred by the city in making lateral connections pursuant to the provisions hereof, shall be paid upon demands approved, audited and allowed as are other demands against the city.

(Ord. 3470 § 7, 1939)

The engineer shall provide a suitable record book entitled "Liens for Lateral Service Connections." The book shall have appropriate headings where may be entered the name of each street in which lateral connections shall be made in pursuance of this chapter. Under such headings columns shall be provided in which may be entered the number of the assessment, the name of the owner of the property with which connection is made, if known, a description of such property, the connection or connections made, the date of completion of each such connection, the cost of making or causing to be made each such connection, the date of the entry of the charges in such book, the date of delinquency, the penalty for delinquency and the date and amount of payment. When lateral connections are made as herein provided, the engineer shall enter in the book under the name of the street where such work was done, the number of the assessment, the name of each owner of real property with which connection is made, if known, and if not known he shall enter under such heading the words "unknown owner," a brief description of the property connected, the connection or connections made, the date of completion of each such connection, the cost of making or causing to be made each such connection, the date of the entry of the charges in the book, the date of delinquency, the penalty for delinquency, and the date and amount of payment. No error in the name of the property owner and no error in the description of the property shall affect the validity of the lien provided for in this chapter if the description is such that the property referred to may be identified therefrom. The charges entered in the book against each parcel of property shall become a lien against such property as of the date of entry of the charges in such book.

(Ord. 3470 § 8, 1939)

Immediately after the entry of such charges, the engineer shall mail to each person owning such real property, whose name and address appears on the last equalized assessment roll for city taxes prior thereto, a statement setting forth a description of the property connected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter sufficient to identify the same, the connection or connections made and the cost thereof, but a failure or neglect to mail the statement shall not invalidate the lien established in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 3470 § 9, 1939)

A.

The notice shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, and shall further contain a statement that payment on account of charges made for lateral connections pursuant to the provisions of this chapter will be delinquent from and after 5 p.m. on the 5th day of February next succeeding the date of publication of the notice, and that a penalty will be thereafter imposed for nonpayment of such charges after hearing and adjustment by the board of all appeals.

B.

Unless the charges constituting the lien provided in Section 13.16.120 are paid in full before 5 p.m. on the 5th day of February next succeeding the date of publication of the aforesaid notice, a penalty of 10 percent of such charges shall be added to said charges and become a part of the lien.

(Ord. 3959 §§ 1, 2, 1947: Ord. 3572 § 2, 1941: Ord. 3470 § 10, 1939)

Defects in description or defects in form or clerical errors or omissions in any record provided for hereunder, when it can be ascertained from the record book, or from other books, papers or records in the office of the engineer what was intended, or what should have been assessed, may, with the written consent of the city attorney, be supplied or corrected by the engineer at any time after the assessment is made, prior to the delivery to the city controller of the abstract of liens hereinafter in this chapter provided for; provided, that where the change will decrease the amount charged against the property owner by reason of said assessment, the consent of the board shall also be necessary to the change; and provided, further, that where the change will increase the amount charged against the property owner by reason of said assessment, the person so charged shall be given at least 5 days' notice in writing of the time when the matter will be heard by the board and he may at such time present any objections he may have to such change to the board and its decision in the matter shall be conclusive. The date and nature of every such correction shall be entered on the record book opposite the assessment and the written authority therefor shall be filed by the engineer with the city controller and preserved by the city controller as a public record, and he shall make the proper charges or credits in his account with the engineer. When the defect, error or omission has been carried into any publication, the publication or the portion thereof affected by the defect, error or omission may be published as amended, or notice of the correction may be given in a supplemental publication to be made in the same manner as in the original publication.

(Ord. 3470 § 11, 1939)

Any assessment, or any portion of an assessment, or costs thereon, levied pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, which shall be paid more than once, erroneously or illegally collected, or paid upon an assessment in excess of the amount chargeable, or upon an assessment not chargeable to the person or the property of the person paying the same, under the provisions of this chapter, by reason of a clerical error of the employees or officers of the City of Pasadena, may be refunded by order of the Board in the same manner, to the same extent, and under the same conditions as now or hereafter provided by the laws of the city of Pasadena for refund of payments of general taxes.

(Ord. 3470 § 12, 1939)

On or before the 15th day of August of each year the engineer shall deliver to the city controller an abstract of all unpaid entries in the record book herein provided to be kept for the preceding 12 months' period ending November 30th. Such abstract shall show the property affected and the amount charged against the same pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. The city controller shall thereupon note the amount of each such lien on the assessment books for the city taxes against the respective parcels of property charged, and thereafter the amount of each such lien shall be collected and enforced in the same manner and by the same persons and at the same time and with the same penalties and interest as general city taxes; and all laws and ordinances applicable to the collection, enforcement and refund of general city taxes are hereby made applicable to said charges. Such charges shall be collected and enforced together with, and not separately from, general city taxes. Any and all charges made hereunder against any parcel of land which shall have been paid prior to the delivery to the city controller of such abstract shall be shown by an appropriate entry made in the record book by the engineer showing that such charge has been paid.

(Ord. 3470 § 13, 1939)

No error or informality in any acts or proceedings taken hereunder which does not substantially affect the rights of property owners shall invalidate the proceedings taken hereunder or the liens established in accordance with the provisions hereof. Whenever in this chapter matters and things are required to be performed or done by the engineer or the board within a certain time, such provisions respecting time shall be construed to be directory and not mandatory.

(Ord. 3470 § 14, 1939)

The provisions of all ordinances of the city requiring the payment of fees, charges or deposits in connection with any work of the type done pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall apply to all such work regardless of who performs such work, and such fees, charges and deposits shall be deemed a portion of the cost of such work.

(Ord. 3470 § 15, 1939)