San Fernando Municipal Code Div. 2 Rates and Charges

(a) Schedule. The following schedule of capital facility charges imposed pursuant to section 94-29 of this article is adopted:

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(1) L. A. bills by average process flow.

(2) Car wash area is the tunnel area and restaurant area is the gross customer area.

(3) Calculated separately as motel and restaurant.

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(b) Purpose. The purpose of this fee is for sewage treatment; the collected fee shall be used to increase treatment capacity and lines for city residents. There is a direct relationship between the use of the fee and the type of development described above and between the need for the facility and the type of project in that houses and commercial and industrial facilities need sewage treatment. The relationship between the amount of the fee and the cost of the portion of the facility attributed to the development as described above is set forth in the Wastewater Rate Study dated June 28, 2004 prepared by the public works director which was based on the September 14, 1999 Wastewater Rate Study prepared by Black & Veatch Corporation, Consulting Engineers, and which is on file in the office of the city engineer.

(c) Rate adjustment. The fees for sewage treatment are significantly based on fees payable to the City of Los Angeles per the contract between that city and the City of San Fernando. The City of San Fernando portion of capital facilities charges is calculated to be 34.79% above the payable amount due to the City of Los Angeles. Therefore, the Schedule of capital facilities charges for sewer connections detailed in subsection (a) should be adjusted to reflect any annual or other increase in payment due to the City of Los Angeles. This adjustment is independent and may be applied in addition to any other applicable adjustment.

(Code 1957, § 22A.4.1; Ord. No. 1511, § 1, 11-1-1999; Ord. No. 1550, § 1, 7-19-2004; Ord. No. 1570, § 1, 1-17-2006)

No person shall discharge or allow the discharge of sewage or other waste material into the city sanitary sewer system without having a valid and unrevoked permit from the public works director and city engineer therefor, as provided in division 1 of this article, and then only upon the payment of the sewer service and use fees and charges as set forth in this division, as such fees and charges may be amended and modified from time to time by amendments or by resolutions adopted by the city council.

(Code 1957, § 22A.6)

No facilities or services of the sanitary sewer system shall be furnished to any premises or to any owner or other person free of charge.

(Code 1957, § 22A.7)

The owner of any premises is and shall be responsible for payment of any and all sewer service and use charges applicable to premises owned by him. It shall be the duty of each such owner to ascertain from the city clerk the amount and due date of any such charge applicable to the premises owned by him and to pay such charge when due and payable. It also shall be the duty of every owner of premises to inform the city clerk immediately of all circumstances and of any change in any circumstances which will in any way affect the applicability of any charge to premises owned by him or the amount of any such charge. In particular, but not by way of limitation, an owner of any premises shall immediately inform the city clerk of any sale or transfer of such premises by or to such owner.

(Code 1957, § 22A.8)

If any premises shall become vacant, the applicable sewer service fees and charges shall continue to be charged to and collected from the owner of such premises until the public works director and city engineer receive written request from such owner to disconnect such premises from the sanitary sewer system. If such request for disconnection is made, the owner of the premises shall pay a sewer disconnection fee equal to the actual cost to the city of such disconnection and upon reconnection shall pay a sewer reconnection fee equal to the actual cost to the city of such reconnection.

(Code 1957, § 22A.9)

The following sewer service and use charges are established and shall be charged and collected by the city for all services furnished in connection with its sanitary sewer system. Such sewer service and use charges shall be applied to or for each premises which is connected, directly or indirectly, to the sanitary sewer system or any part thereof for each premises from which any sewage is conveyed or discharged directly or indirectly into the sanitary sewer system. The amount of sewer service and use charges for each premises shall be the sum of the base fee and the unit cost per 100 cubic feet of water used as follows:

Unit Cost for ($/HCF) Water Used

1 Charge per student (ADA).

Sources: City of San Fernando; Willdan Financial Services.

(Code 1957, § 22A.10; Ord. No. 1511, § 2, 11-1-1999; Ord. No. 1524, § 1, 8-20-2001; Ord. No. 1550, § 2, 7-19-2004; Ord. No. 1614, § 1, 5-7-2012)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 1614, § 1, adopted May 7, 2012, changed the title of § 94-66 from sewer service charges generally to sewer service and use charges.

(a) The following groups are established for general business classification for the purposes of rated calculation per wastewater strength. The uses cited in connection with the listing of the following groups are examples of the types of business classifications applicable for each such group. These examples are not intended as an exclusive listing of uses for each such group:

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(b) Wastewater strength data is calculated based on the state water resources control board's (SWRCB) "Revenue Program Guidelines for Wastewater Agencies."

(Code 1957, § 22A.10.1)

The sewer service and use charges as established in this division may be modified and amended from time to time by ordinance adopted by the city council.

(Code 1957, § 22A.11)

(a) On July 1, 1993 and on July 1 of each year thereafter, the charges imposed under section 94-61 shall automatically increase by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers for Los Angeles—Anaheim—Riverside (1982-84 equals 100) as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics ("index"), rounded to the nearest cent. The increases shall be cumulative. In determining the percentage increase, the index for the month of May immediately preceding the adjustment date shall be compared with the index for the like month of the previous year. In no event, however, shall the rates imposed be adjusted downward to reflect a percentage decrease in the index.

(b) Commencing on July 1, 2015 and on July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017, the charges imposed under this article, section 94-66, shall automatically increase by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers for Los Angeles—Anaheim—Riverside (1982-84 equals 100) as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics ("index"), rounded to the nearest cent. The increases shall be cumulative. In determining the percentage increase, the index for the month of May immediately preceding the adjustment date shall be compared with the index for the like month of the previous year. In no event, however, shall the rates imposed be adjusted downward to reflect a percentage decrease in the index.

(Code 1957, § 22A.11.1; Ord. No. 1614, § 2, 5-7-2012)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 1614, § 2, adopted May 7, 2012, changed the title of § 94-66 from annual amendment to charges based on consumer price index to annual increase.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in division 1 of this article or this division, all sewer service and use charges shall be due and payable on the first day of the next succeeding month following the month in which the charges were incurred and shall become delinquent at 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the month.

(b) If the billing by the city is bimonthly, such sewer service charges shall become due on the first day of the first month following the bimonthly period for which the charges are billed, and the charges shall become delinquent at 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the month.

(c) Payments for such service charges made by the United States mail, where the envelopes containing such payments are properly addressed, bear sufficient postage, and are postmarked at any time prior to 12:00 midnight of the day on which such charges would otherwise become delinquent, shall be accepted as payment before delinquency. If the day on which the payment of charges would otherwise be delinquent falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday, the next full business day thereafter shall be considered as the day on which the delinquency occurs.

(Code 1957, § 22A.13)

Except as otherwise provided in division 1 of this article or this division, the city clerk shall ascertain the amount of each sewer service and use charge applicable to each premises in the city and shall mail to the owner of each premises in the city, immediately following the date any sewer service and use charges become due and payable, a bill for the sewer service and use charges which are then due and payable. Such bill shall be mailed to the person listed as the owner on the last equalized assessment roll of the county at the address shown on such assessment roll or to the address of such owner on file with the city clerk or to the successor in interest of such owner if the name and address of such successor in interest is known to the city clerk. The failure of the city clerk to mail any such bill or the failure of any owner to receive any such bill shall not excuse the owner of any premises from the obligation of paying any sewer service and use charge for any premises owned by him.

(Code 1957, § 22A.14)

So long as water service is connected to the premises liable for sewer and use charges and water is delivered to such premises by the city and bills are rendered by the city therefor, it shall be presumed that the sewer service and use have been rendered by the city to and for the premises and the person in whose name the water service is charged on the city's records. The sewer service and use charge shall be billed by the city with the water bills rendered by the city. Payment of the charge shall be made at the same time and in the same manner as water bills are paid, and all rules and regulations governing the collection of water bills shall apply in every particular to the collection of bills for the sewer service and use charges; provided, however, that the city clerk shall bill and collect all special charges for sewer service and use and all charges which are billed to a person other than the person in whose name the water meter is connected.

(Code 1957, § 22A.15)

It is the intent of this division, in establishing different sewer service and use charges for different classes of premises, to establish higher charges for those classes of premises which derive greater benefit from or impose greater burdens upon the sanitary sewer system because of the quality, quantity, or rate of flow of sewage which may be or is discharged by such class of premises into the sewer system, giving full consideration to other fees or taxes which may be paid by owners of the premises for the operation, maintenance, expansion, extension, or development of the sewer system. If, with respect to any of such premises, the city council should find that the charge applicable thereto is unfair and inequitable, the council may, by resolution, agreement, or otherwise, establish a special sewer service and use charge for such premises, different from those provided in this division and having a closer relationship to the benefit received or burden placed by such premises from or upon the sanitary sewer system, giving due consideration to other fees or taxes paid by such premises for the sewer system. However, any such agreement and any such special sewer service charge may at any time be revoked or changed by resolution of the council whenever it finds that continuance of the charge would be unfair or inequitable under the circumstances.

(Code 1957, § 22A.16)