Signal Hill Municipal Code Ch. 21.44 Water System Impact Fee

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a mechanism by which the city can finance the reasonable costs of constructing new water system facilities made necessary by development projects, through the imposition of water system connection charges. This fee shall be known as the water system connection charge.

(Ord. 91-06-1100 § 1 (part))

The applicant for any development project which consists totally or in part of commercial/industrial property shall be required to pay a water system connection charge of one dollar eighty-five cents per square foot of chargeable space on the commercial/industrial portion at the time an application for utility service is received by the city. This charge represents the reasonable pro rata share on a per square foot basis of additional water system facilities, and replacement water system facilities required as a result of new commercial/industrial development projects and the cost of obtaining additional water rights to service new commercial/industrial development.

(Ord. 91-06-1100 § 1 (part))

A. The applicant for any development project which includes any residential dwelling units shall be required to pay a water system connection charge thereof at the time an application for utility service is received by the city. This charge shall be based upon meter size and capacity, calculated from a proportionate share of the total additional water system facilities attributable to new residential development. This residential connection charge is calculated on the pro rata basis of the cost of providing new water system facilities, the proportionate share of replacement water system facilities caused by new residential development projects, and the cost of obtaining additional water rights to service new residential development.

B. The specific amount of the water connection charge shall be as follows:

Meter Size Connection Charge

5/8"--3/4" $ 6,200

1" 10,400

1 1/2" 20,600

2" 33,000

3" 66,100

4" 103,400

6" 206,600

8" 330,600

(Ord. 91-06-1100 § 1 (part))

On an annual basis, and in connection with the preparation and review of the city's annual budget, the commercial/industrial connection charge and the residential connection charge shall be increased by any annual increase in the Construction Cost Index for Los Angeles or the surrounding area as published in the Engineering News Record. Any further or other adjustments to either the commercial/ industrial connection charge or residential connection charge shall require an engineer's report, public hearing, and findings pursuant to Section 21.18.030.

(Ord. 91-06-1100 § 1 (part))

In addition to those exemptions stated in Sections 21.04.050 and 21.40.040, the following exemptions to the water system connection charges in Section 21.44.030(B) shall apply:

A. Affordable Housing Exemption. The water system connection charge shall not apply to new construction of residences which are sold and leased to very low and low income persons and which are sold or leased at rates affordable to very low and low income persons. To qualify for this exemption, the applicant must submit an agreement in a form acceptable to the city attorney binding the development project to a guarantee that the unit to be exempted from the charge shall remain affordable to very low and low income persons for a period of not less than twenty years, and making the city a party to the covenant such that the restriction is enforceable by the city. The agreement shall be executed by the owner of the property upon which the development project is situated, and shall be recorded against the property in the office of the county recorder.

B. Residential Fire Sprinkler and Submeter Exemptions. Where the installation of a fire sprinkler system or a water submeter in a residential use causes an increase in the connection charge, the following exemptions shall apply to Section 21.44.030, solely for the purposes of calculating applicable fees:

1. Where fire sprinklers are required by the California Building Code for new single family dwellings and duplexes, the water connection charge shall be based on the meter size determined by the fixture count instead of the meter size required due to the additional fire sprinkler flow.

2. Where the installation of submeters alone causes head losses that increases the water meter size, the water connection charge listed in Section 21.44.030 shall be based on sizing without the submeter losses. This exemption shall not reduce the fee where other factors, other than the submeter losses, cause a larger meter size to be required.

(Ord. 2012-08-1450, § 1, 2012; Ord. 91-06-1100 § 1 (part))