Redwood City Municipal Code Art. III Connection, Capacity and User Fees

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 2533, § 3A.(Exh. B), adopted Jan. 22, 2024, amended the title of Art. III to read as herein set out. The former Art. III title pertained to connection fees.

A. Every application for installation of a water service meter only shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount set by ordinance or resolution of the City Council.

B. The charge for a manifold meter installation shall be the sum of the applicable individual charges for each such installation.

C. Dedicated Irrigation Meter Fee: Every application for installation of a separate irrigation water service meter shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount set by ordinance or resolution of the City Council, to recoup the costs of City staff to map landscaped areas and for utility account administration for a separate irrigation water service meter.

(Ord. No. 1402, § 5, 5-19-69; Ord. No. 1562, § 1, 4-9-73; Ord. No. 1599, § 4, 6-3-74; Ord. No. 1850, § 1, 11-16-81; Ord. No. 1868, § 2, 6-20-83; Ord. No. 2146, § 2, 7-6-98)

(Ord. No. 2438, § 5, 7-24-17; Ord. No. 2533, § 3A.(Exh. B), 1-22-24)

The City shall perform all tapping work required to connect a water line to a water main. Every application for such tapping work shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount set by ordinance or resolution of the City Council. The City may perform work required to install a service line connecting a water line to the water main at the request of the property owner or the property owner's designated representative. Every application for the City to install such a service line shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount set by ordinance or resolution of the City Council.

(Ord. No. 1402, § 5, 5-19-69)

(Ord. No. 2438, § 5, 7-24-17; Ord. No. 2533, § 3A.(Exh. B), 1-22-24)

Every application for a connection for water service to serve property located in water service Areas 2 and 4 shall, in addition to all other fees, pay all time and materials costs, which shall be refundable to the person making the payment (upon request therefor made within one (1) year after the date of annexation) if the property for which the connection is applied for is annexed to the City within two (2) years after the installation of the water service connection. The payments required by this Section shall not be applicable to connections serving property located in incorporated territory of another city.

(Ord. No. 1402, § 5, 5-19-69; Ord. No. 1599, § 4, 6-3-74)

(Ord. No. 2533, § 3A.(Exh. B), 1-22-24)

Editor's note— Ord. No 2533, § 3A.(Exh. B), adopted Jan. 22, 2024, repealed § 38.11 and renumbered the former § 38.12 as § 3.11 as set out herein. Former § 38.11 pertained to additional fees; exceptions, and derived from Ord. No. 1402, § 5, adopted May 19, 1969.

A. Established: Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, persons applying for new or expanded water service shall pay a water capacity fee in an amount established by ordinance or resolution of the City Council in accordance with a nexus study that demonstrates that the fees do not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for which the fees are imposed. Said fee shall be collected concurrently with the connection fees specified in Section 38.10 of this Article and shall be in addition to all other fees and charges specified in this Chapter or otherwise provided for the use of the City's water system.

B. Purpose: The purpose of the water capacity fees is to fund a proportionate share of the costs of existing and future water system facilities and assets that are reasonably necessary to provide potable and recycled water capacity for new development. For the purposes of this Section, "new development" means all new building construction, conversion to a new use, or additional use within an existing building that creates a need for additional water capacity. The purposes of the water capacity fee include the purposes of the former water facilities fee and the former water capacity charge.

C. Determination of Required Fees:

1. The City Engineer or their designee shall be responsible for determining the fees required by this Section. This determination shall be made at the time of application for increased water service.

2. The water capacity fee shall automatically increase starting on July 1, 2025, and in each year thereafter, in accordance with any changes in regional construction costs. Specifically, the amount of the adjustment shall be based on May over May construction cost changes according to the "Construction Cost Index" for the San Francisco Bay Area, as reported monthly in the Engineering News Record. This adjustment shall not require any action of the City Council.

D. Water Capacity Fee Account: The revenues from the water capacity fee shall be deposited in a segregated water capacity fee account for the purpose of funding public facilities reasonably necessary to provide water capacity service to new or expanded connections to the City's water system.

E. Fee Adjustments:

1. Any person subject to a fee required by this Section may apply to the City Engineer for a reduction, adjustment or waiver of that fee based upon the absence of a reasonable relationship between the impact of that applicant's development project on water capacity in the City's water system and the amount of the fee charged.

a. Application: An applicant shall file a written request to adjust fees with the City Engineer not later than ten (10) days after the City notifies the developer of the amount of the fee to be charged. The application shall provide evidence illustrating that the payment of the fee authorized by this Section and imposed by implementing ordinance or resolution bears no reasonable relationship or nexus with the impact of the development on the need for water capacity in the City's water system and shall state in detail the factual basis for the request for reduction, adjustment or waiver. If an applicant desires to obtain the new or increased water connection prior to completion of the appeal process, the applicant shall deposit the fee being appealed with the application. Such fee or portion thereof will be refunded if the appeal is successful.

b. Decision of the City Engineer: The City Engineer shall issue a decision on the application within thirty (30) days after the application is filed. The City Engineer's decision shall state their determination regarding the amount of the water capacity fee that may reasonably be imposed on the new development and include a brief description of the basis for the City Engineer's decision.

c. Appeal of the Decision of the City Engineer: Decisions of the City Engineer may be appealed to the City Manager or their designee. Appeals must be filed within ten (10) days of the City Engineer's decision. The City Manager or their designee shall review the application and evidence presented to the City Engineer and issue a decision within fifteen (15) days. The City Manager may reverse, affirm, or modify in any respect the determination of the City Engineer.

F. Fee Credits for Improvements Extra to the Project: An applicant for additional water service may be entitled to a reduction in the amount of the water capacity fees required by this Section, in an amount to be determined by the City Engineer, if that development project was required to construct specific water system improvements which are extra to the project. The City Engineer's determination of the amount of reduction required pursuant to this subsection shall be based upon the actual costs reasonably incurred for the construction of the water improvements.

(Ord. No. 2533, § 3A.(Exh. B), 1-22-24)

Editor's note— Ord. No 2533, § 3A.(Exh. B), adopted Jan. 22, 2024, repealed former §§ 38.13—38.15 and enacted new §§ 38.12 and 38.13 as set out herein. Former §§ 38.13—38.15 pertained to prohibited water connection permits; exception, facilities fee, and water capacity charge, and derived from Ord. No. 1402, § 5, adopted May 19, 1969; Ord. No. 1599, § 5, adopted June 3, 1974; Ord. No. 2072, § 2, adopted Sept. 27, 1993; Ord. No. 2109, § 2, adopted June 24, 1996; and Ord. No. 2312, § 1, adopted June 25, 2007.

A. After-Hours Water Re-Connection Fee: The fee for direct costs associated with reconnecting or turning on water meters or classes of water meters during non-business hours of the Public Works Department shall be in an amount set by ordinance or resolution of the City Council. When after-hour reconnection or turn on is requested by a user, this fee shall be charged and collected on the user's next ensuing utility bill.

B. Cut Lock Fee: Where a connection does not have an active customer account, or water services have been disconnected due to delinquency or because of some other violation of City Code or resolution, water services will be disconnected and locked at the meter. Persons found to have cut locks will be charged the Cut Lock Penalty Fee. The Cut Lock Penalty Fee shall be established by ordinance or resolution of the City Council.

C. Recycled Water Fill Station Fees: Residential customers of the City electing to participate in the Residential Recycled Water Fill Station Program shall pay a fee to receive a Recycled Water Fill Station Access Card, in an amount to be established by ordinance or resolution of the City Council. Participants will also pay the Recycled Water Fill Stations Consumption Charge for each gallon of recycled water taken from the fill station, in an amount to be established by ordinance or resolution of the City Council. These fees and charges will be added as separate line item on the customer's utility bill.

D. Service Through Fire Hydrants: Temporary service for construction purposes shall be furnished at fire hydrants through hydrant construction meters supplied by the City on the following conditions:

1. As security for returning City property in similar working conditions as when issued and for the payment of the service and use charges the customer shall, upon receipt of a meter, deposit with the City a Construction Meter Deposit for each hydrant construction meter, in an amount to be established by ordinance or resolution of the City Council. Immediately upon completion of the construction project, the customer shall return all meters to the City and the City shall refund the deposits less all charges.

2. The customer shall pay the City a monthly service charge based on the size of the meter in accordance with Commercial water rates in effect at the time of billing for each month, or fraction of a month, the meter is in the possession of the customer.

3. The customer shall report readings of the meter to the City every thirty (30) days for billing purposes. If the customer fails to do so, the customer shall pay to the City a Construction Meter Reading Fee, in an amount to be established by ordinance or resolution of the City Council, for the costs incurred for City staff to contact the customer in order to obtain a reading for monthly billing.

4. The customer shall return the meter to the City on demand.

5. The customer shall pay the City its actual costs to replace or repair a meter that is lost or damaged while in the possession of the customer.

E. Fire Flow Testing Fee: Persons seeking to test for adequate fire flow shall pay a Fire Flow Testing Fee in an amount to be established by ordinance or resolution of the City Council. This fee recoups the cost of City staff time and water expensed to ensure the customer's system meets water system demand requirements. Complex requests that would likely exceed normal staff time and water may be charged actual cost instead.

F. Unauthorized Water Use from Fire Hydrants, Water Meters, and other City Water System Infrastructure and Appurtenances: Persons found using water from a fire hydrant, water meters, and other City infrastructure and appurtenances without a hydrant construction meter issued by the City in violation of California Penal Code [Section] 498 shall be subject to the following:

1. First offense—Written warning with payment required for water taken as determined by the City.

2. Second offense—Penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) in addition to payment for water taken, as may be determined by the City.

3. Third offense—Penalty of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) in addition to payment for water taken, as may be determined by the City.

4. All subsequent offenses—Penalty of three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) in addition to payment for water taken, as may be determined by the City.

5. Each day in which persons are found to be using water from a fire hydrant, water meters, and other City infrastructure shall be considered a separate offense.

6. Persons may be defined as individuals, businesses, property owners, and City issued permit holders.

(Ord. No. 2533, § 3A.(Exh. B), 1-22-24)

Note— See editor's note at § 38.12.