San Mateo Municipal Code Ch. 3.54 Sewer Service Charges and Connection Fees

The purpose and intent of this chapter is to provide for service charges and connection fees to be assessed, according to use, upon each and every parcel of land within the City connected to the sanitary sewer system for the privilege of the use of the system. The revenues generated by these fees shall finance the sewer service fund to be used for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and operation of sanitation or sewerage facilities per Section 3.54.080.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

(a) "BOD" means biochemical oxygen demand. It is a measure of the oxygen used by microorganisms to decompose waste. The larger the quantity of organic waste in the water supply, the greater the demand for oxygen due to greater bacteria so the BOD level will be high.

(b) "Commercial" means all uses other than residential.

(c) "Connection" means each separate residential, lodging, or commercial and industrial, and institutional unit connected to an internal plumbing drainage system or external sewer lateral.

(d) "Customer class" means or represents the structure or designation by which a user is classified based on industry wastewater standards for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solids (SS). There are five customer classes, one for residential and four for commercial customers. Customer classes are further defined as shown below.

(1) Class A – Standard Strength. All residential users including, but not limited to, single-family dwelling units, duplex units, and multi-family dwelling units.

(2) Class B – Standard Strength. Commercial users, including, but not limited to, offices, retail establishments, hotel and motels without restaurants, mixed uses (high strength comprises < 25% of flow).

(3) Class C – Moderate Strength. Commercial users, including, but not limited to, hotels and motels with restaurants, industrial laundries, mixed use (high strength comprises 25% to 75% of flow), supermarkets with food preparation, bakeries, meat or seafood counters.

(4) Class D – High Strength. Commercial users, including, but not limited to, restaurants, wholesale bakeries, mortuaries, mixed use (high strength comprises >75% of flow).

(5) Class E – Special. Commercial users that may require a determination on a case by case basis as prescribed by Section 3.54.030(e).

(e) "Director of Public Work" means Director of Public Works or designee.

(f) "Fixture unit" means a unit of measurement for computing waste flow volumes for each plumbing fixture as set forth in the Uniform Plumbing Code as then adopted by the City in Title 23 of this code.

(g) "Inordinately high" means usage in one month that exceeds usage by 150% of the five months of average usage. An example follows. Usage for November is 37, December is 76, January is 20, February is 16, and March is 17. The five month average is 33.20. Usage in any one month in excess of 49.8 (i.e., 150% of 33.2) would be considered inordinately high. Therefore December would be found to be inordinately high and dropped from the calculation as required in Section 3.54.030.

(h) "Institutional" means uses by churches, clubs, hospitals, lodges, community care facilities, schools, and public buildings, whether privately or publicly owned, and whether profit or nonprofit in operation. Such entities shall be considered commercial.

(i) "Residential" means a place designed or used for residence or dwelling, whether permanent or temporary in nature. Residential does not include hotels or motels.

(j) "Restaurant" means restaurant, fast-food, and drive-in establishments, as defined in the Zoning Code.

(k) "SS" means suspended solids. They are the solids which can be removed from the wastewater by physical or mechanical means, such as sedimentation or filtration.

(l) "Strength" means the level of BOD and SS in the wastewater.

(m) "User" means any person or persons, a legal entity, or a business, commercial or manufacturing enterprise, which uses the sewer system and disposal facilities of the City in any manner, and whether a property owner or tenant.

The Council by ordinance will establish the annual charge to be assessed per 100 cubic feet of water used, upon the users thereof, for the privilege of the use of the sewer system and disposal facilities of the City for each fiscal year, to be effective 30 days after adoption.Each user will be assigned to one of the five customer classes as determined by the Director of Public Works in accordance with the principal activity conducted upon the premises, or in accordance with the use of the premises. Users with the same principal activity will receive the same customer classification. The five customer classes are hereby established as defined in Section 3.54.020(d) Definitions, and will be assessed a sewer service charge as described below. The purpose of the classification is to establish a sewer service charge system based upon flow and waste strength that will insure an equitable recovery of capital and operating costs.The sewer service charge is based on a rate and annual water usage. The total revenue raised will be determined based on winter water consumption. The "base sewer service charge rate" is established by adopting a rate based on the fund's financial plan and will be per 100 cubic feet of annual water used except as qualified as follows:

(a) For Class C – Moderate strength users, the base rate multiplied by 1.48.

(b) For Class D – High strength users, the base rate multiplied by 2.24.

(c) For greenhouse or nursery users, the base rate multiplied by 0.50.

(d) The annual charge for each user shall be the sewer service user fee computed pursuant to this section or a minimum charge based on an average 2.5 CCF per month times the base rate, whichever is greater. The minimum charge will apply to all parcels with usage greater than zero during the year. In determining the usage, in cases where the five-month average is not representative of the actual average sewer use during the year, then the entire fiscal year water use record may be considered in determining the yearly usage.

(e) The City may enter into service contracts for establishment of an annual user charge that is different from the charge calculated pursuant to this section with other governmental entities or with users whose operations are determined to have unusual or unique circumstances related to return of water to the sewer system. Such a contract shall be subject to approval by the Director of Public Works and may be proposed at any time during the year.

Annual water usage, for the purpose of establishing this charge, shall be determined by computing the average monthly metered flow billed to each parcel, to the nearest 10 cubic feet, during the immediately past five months of November, December, January, February, and March, and multiplying this monthly average by 12, the total months in a year. The metered flow data billed for those months shall be that contained in the official records of the California Water Service Company, Estero Municipal Improvement District, Belmont Water District, or any entity or successor that provides water service to that particular parcel.In the event that billings show no water usage during any one or more of the specified five months, the average shall be computed by using the remaining months' usage and number that do show water usage.In the event that one month of the five specified months shows an inordinately high or low usage, that month shall be dropped from the calculation and the remaining four months' usage shall be averaged and multiplied by 12 to establish the charge.The water usage for each user shall be determined after March 31st of each year, but sufficiently prior to the Council's review pursuant to Section 3.54.070, to allow for public and Council study prior to the review.

The sewer service charges provided for in this chapter shall be collected on tax rolls in the same manner and by the same persons and at the same time as, together with and not separately from, City general property taxes as provided in Chapter 3.38. Irrigation meters shall be exempt from the sewer service charge. In addition, the City may, by agreement, provide that individual charges for specified parcels shall be collected apart from the tax roll when unusual circumstances warrant such a collection process.

The amount of the sewer service charge shall constitute a lien against the lot or parcel of land against which the charge has been imposed as of noon on the first Monday in March immediately preceding the date of the levy. Thereafter, unless otherwise provided by agreement pursuant to Section 3.54.040, the amount of the charges shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner and by the same persons as, together with and not separately from, the general taxes on the property, and shall be delinquent at the same time and thereafter be subject to the same delinquency penalties.

Before making a connection to the sanitary sewer system, a permit shall be obtained from the Building Official. No connection permit shall be issued except upon payment of the applicable sewer connection charge. The sewer connection charge shall be set by resolution of the City Council.

(a) Annually, the Council shall meet to hear protests relating to sewer service charges. The Council shall meet to adjust and equalize sewer service rates, based upon water usage as calculated pursuant to Section 3.54.030, adjust and equalize rates for the same or similar sewer connections, and set the annual base rate to be charged per 100 cubic feet of water used, all as required to raise the revenues for the sewer service fund.

(b) All protests and requests for adjustment of rates, customer classification, or for equalization based upon sewer usage or sewer connections shall be in writing and state the facts supporting the protest or request. Adjustments are limited to current and preceding fiscal year.

(c) At the Council meeting at which it adjusts and equalizes the sewer service rates, the Council may decrease rates for entry upon the tax rolls for that fiscal year.

(a) Application for an equitable adjustment in the sewer service charge may be made at any other time during the year. Such an application shall be supported by documented factual information; and shall be filed with the Director of Public Works.

(b) An application for an equitable adjustment in the sewer service charge may be approved by the Director of Public Works if the Director finds that the application conclusively demonstrates by written documentation that:

(1) The applicant's water system was ruptured;

(2) The rupture caused the reported water flow for one or more of the months designated in Section 3.54.030 to be abnormally high; and

(3) The applicant effected repairs that corrected the rupture within a reasonable period of time; or

(4) The applicant became the owner and occupant of the residential property after the consumption period used to calculate the charge in Section 3.54.030 and the average water consumption during the following year for the period used to calculate the charge is lower than the previous year's consumption period by at least 25 percent; or

(5) The applicant's customer classification is incorrect. Such applicant will be required to provide a written request documenting the basis for the change in customer classification. The request must be supported by proof that the current classification is incorrect. Such proof may require a supporting study of the claimant's business operations including water use, return of water to sewer system, water diverted for irrigation and/or any other information required to support the basis for a change in classification. A study will not be required if a clear mistake in classification has occurred.

(c) Any refund granted due to an equitable adjustment as provided in subsection (e) and such refund is processed through the County shall be subject to the transaction fee charged by the County of San Mateo in effect at the time the adjustment is granted.

(d) If an adjustment is approved by the Director of Public Works after the roll has been closed and collection made from the applicant for the adjustment, the City shall make the adjustment by refunding the amount of the adjustment to the applicant.

(e) The decision of the Director of Public Works may be appealed to the City Manager. The decision of the City Manager shall be final.

There is established the "Sewer Service Fund" to which the Finance Director shall transfer all sewer service charges and connection fees collected. This fund shall only be used for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and operation of sanitation or sewerage facilities, including both direct and indirect costs, to repay principal and interest on bonds issued for the construction or reconstruction of such sanitation or sewerage facilities and to repay Federal or State loans or advances made to the City for the construction or reconstruction of sanitation or sewerage facilities, and for accumulation of a depreciation reserve fund for such purposes in an amount as the Council may determine is appropriate.

(a) As of March 1, 2008, there is hereby imposed on all development, whether new development or redevelopment, in the South Trunk Sewer Area (generally that area extending south from the Dale Avenue Pump Station utility corridor parallel to Highway 101, and upstream in or parallel to East 16th Avenue, South Delaware Street through the Bay Meadows area, and Railroad Avenue and South El Camino Real, and extending up Borel Avenue, West Hillsdale Boulevard, and Saratoga Drive but excluding Bay Meadows Phase I and Phase II) a sewer area development impact fee for each type of sewer connection.

(b) The impact fee shall be collected at the same time the sewer connection charge imposed under this chapter is collected and shall be placed in the sewer service fund established pursuant to this chapter.

(c) The amount of impact fee charged shall be established by resolution of the City Council and based upon dwelling unit equivalents as follows: