St. Helena Municipal Code Ch. 13.20 Sewer Service System

Property owner’s obligation to maintain, repair and replace private sewer laterals. 13.20.080 Details and specifications adopted by resolution.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

“Car wash” means a business whose principal activity involves motor vehicle washing, including automatic and self-service washing.

“Garage and repair shop facilities” means any garage/repair facility that performs minor or major repairs on automobiles, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, and/or boats. These establishments may be combined with automotive dealers or gasoline service stations. Gasoline stations and gasoline stations combined with other activities, such as convenience stores, are considered general commercial unless there is on-site food preparation; then it is classified as mixed retail with food.

“General commercial and office” means all businesses, offices, and similar users not otherwise included in another user category.

“Grocery” means all businesses whose principal activity involves retail sale of groceries and which have on-site preparation of fresh fruits and vegetables; fresh and prepared meats, fish, and/or poultry; baked goods; and similar items.

“Hotel/motel with food” means a full service facility having rooms, restaurant(s), and/or a bar serving food attached to the same water meter. Also included in this category are bed and breakfasts serving food prepared on site, and any visitor-serving structure, which contains facilities for cooking and eating.

“Hotel/motel without food” means all living units of a transient nature, including hotel and motel rental room units, which do not contain any kitchen facilities, and bed and breakfast units that only serve continental breakfasts where baked goods and similar items are prepared off site. Excluded from this category are full service hotels.

“Laundromat/laundry” means all self-service clothes washing establishments or an establishment which is primarily engaged in supplying residences and/or businesses with laundered shirts, pants, household linens, and similar items on an over-the-counter basis. This does not include commercial or industrial laundries. Dry cleaners without on-site cleaning facilities are general commercial.

“Mixed retail with food” means all establishments where more than one retail business is attached to a water meter and the primary water use on that meter is from a business or businesses as defined in the restaurant category.

“Nonresidential properties” means, for the purposes of the wastewater service system and wastewater rates, all properties in which the primary purpose is not residential. Hotels and motels are considered nonresidential.

“Private sewage disposal system” means a septic tank with the effluent discharging into a subsurface disposal field or such other facilities as may be permitted under Napa County Code Chapters 13.20 through 13.56.

“Private sewer” or “lateral” means a sewer, whether constructed on public or private property, that serves a single private parcel, residence and/or business and conveys sewage to a public sewer, on-site sewage disposal system, private sewage disposal system, or other privately owned point of disposal.

“Public sewage disposal system” means a public sewer system owned, controlled and/or maintained by the city which collects sewage from public or private sewers and conveys it to the St. Helena wastewater treatment plant.

“Public sewer” means a common sewer solely owned and/or controlled by the city and is located in public right-ofway or is located within a public utilities easement to which the city is a party.

“Religious place/community center” means establishments of religious organizations operated for worship, religious training or study. Other establishments maintained by religious organizations, such as educational institutions, hospitals, social services, and secondhand stores are classified according to their primary activity.

“Residential” refers to all living or dwelling units (as defined by the Uniform Building Code) of a permanent, rather than a transient nature, including but not limited to single-family residences, apartments, mobile homes, manufactured homes, duplexes, townhouses, apartment buildings and condominiums. A dwelling unit shall be defined as any structure containing sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation facilities.

“Restaurant” means all establishments whose principal activity involves on-premises preparation of meals and food, including fast food restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, juice bars, delicatessens, and bakeries. Excluded from this category are establishments serving food prepared off site (general commercial category), bars without onsite food preparation (general commercial category), restaurants on the same water meter as a hotel/motel (hotel/ motel with restaurant category), and restaurants that are on the same water meter as other general commercial users (mixed retail with food category).

“Sanitation facilities and sewage facilities” means all devices and structures for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.

“School” means an educational facility in which instruction takes place, including public, private and religious schools and colleges.

“Sewage” means a combination of water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface and storm waters as may be present.

“Sewer” means a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

“Shared private sewer” means a sewer, whether constructed on public or private property, that serves multiple private parcels, residences and/or businesses, traverses more than one parcel prior to entering the public sewer or is located in an utilities easement to which the city is not a party. (Ord. 24-3 § 2; Ord. 16-13 § 5 (Att. 6); Ord. 00-6 § 1; prior code § 12.1)

A. Charges Imposed. Owners of property shall pay to the city a charge based on user categories for the connection of the property to the public sewage system in the amounts set forth by council resolution for every month or any fraction thereof. Properties which are susceptible to classification under two or more user categories shall be subject to charges of the higher classification.

• B. Collection and Billing Generally.

  1. Sewer charges to occupants of property not billed for water service by the municipal water department shall be billed directly for such sewer charges at the same time interval as bills for water charges.

  2. All other sewer charges shall be collected from the occupants with the charges for water of the municipal water department of the city and shall be billed upon the same bill.

C. Failure to Pay Bill. Bills are due and payable upon presentation and delinquent after twenty-one (21) days. Upon failure of any consumer billed or the owner of any premises to pay a sewer charge prior to the delinquency, the following action or actions shall be taken by the city to enforce such payment after such bill becomes delinquent for at least forty-five (45) days:

1. Impose a penalty for delinquency of ten percent (10%) of the amount then delinquent;

2. Assess interest in the amount of one percent per month or fraction thereof on the amount delinquent from the date on which the bill first became delinquent until paid;

3. At the city’s election, cause an action at law to be brought on behalf of the city against the person responsible for payment of such bill to recover the amount of such bill and the cost of such action, including reasonable attorney fees incurred in an amount fixed by the court.

4. Any person wishing to appeal penalties and interest imposed in this section shall adhere to provisions in accordance with Section 13.04.180, Appeals.

D. Delinquencies. In addition and as an alternative to any other remedy for the enforcement and collection of sewer charges, all delinquent sewer charges shall become a lien upon the real property upon which sewage is furnished or supplied, prior to all other liens, encumbrances or exemptions, other than state and county taxes, and shall have the force and effect of a tax lien, and shall be enforced as follows: on or about September 1st of each year the city clerk shall note the amount of all delinquent sewer charges upon the assessment of such real property as shown upon the assessment roll of the city for the current fiscal year, and shall add the amount of such delinquent sewer charges to the tax assessed against such real property and the amount shall be collected with such taxes in the same manner and at the same time as city taxes, and, if not so paid, the same penalties shall be added as are now, or may thereafter be, added to delinquent taxes, and thereafter the real property upon which it is a lien shall be sold and be subject to redemption in the same manner as real property is now, or may hereafter be, sold for delinquent taxes.

E. Hardship Agreements. City finance department may in its discretion offer hardship agreements which create payment plans for delinquent bills. Such agreements are available at the finance department. All requests for hardship agreements and payment plans must be submitted in writing. Hardship agreements may be approved at the discretion of the finance director based on amount owed and payment history. (Ord. 25-5 § 3; Ord. 19-9 § 2 (Exh. B); Ord. 16-13 § 5 (Att. 6); Ord. 11-4 § 3; Ord. 08-1 § 1; Ord. 04-9 § 2; Ord. 00-6 § 2; prior code § 12.3)

A. Revenues derived under the provisions of this chapter shall be used only for the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, maintenance and operation of sanitation or sewage facilities, to repay principal and interest on bonds issued for the construction or reconstruction of such sanitary or sewage facilities and to repay federal or state loans or advances made to the city for the construction or reconstruction of sanitary or sewage facilities; provided, however, such revenues shall not be used for the acquisition or construction of new local street sewers or laterals as distinguished from main trunk, interceptor and outfall sewers.

B. There is established and created a fund of the city entitled “wastewater fund” and all revenues derived under this chapter shall be deposited in such fund, subject to withdrawal as allowed by the provisions hereof. (Ord. 16-13 § 5 (Att. 6); prior code § 12.4)

A. The owner(s) of any property to be annexed to the St. Helena Municipal Sewer District No. 1 shall pay to the city at the time of initiating the annexation proceedings a filing fee in an amount set by resolution, the amount of the fee that the city is required to pay to the State Board of Equalization to file statements pursuant to Government Code Section 54900 and following, and the amount of the fee that the city is required to pay to the Napa County assessor’s office for mapping services.

B. All applications for annexations shall be approved by the city council pursuant to the requirements of state law. (Ord. 16-13 § 5 (Att. 6); Ord. 00-9; prior code § 12.5)

A. In addition to the usual costs of a sewer service connection as provided in this chapter, a special extension prorate charge shall be required and collected from applicants for sewer service and those property owners compelled to connect pursuant to Section 13.20.070 in those instances where the present or past owners of the premises to be served have not participated in the cost of installing the main fronting their premises and which main was installed within a period of ten (10) years prior to the date of granting the application for the sewer service connection or compelling connection under Section 13.20.070, but after the effective date of this section. The charge shall be determined by multiplying the footage of the premises lying along and which may be served directly from the main extension by one-half of the lineal per-foot cost of the main extension, but not to exceed the cost of an eight-inch main if installed by the department. The charge shall not be applied more than once to any premises. The charge shall be estimated and fixed by the director of public works subject to the approval of the city council and shall be payable prior to the installation of sewer service. The charge against each premises shall be reduced by ten percent (10%) of the total charge fixed for each full calendar year that passes after the effective date specified in subsection C of this section in which the subject premises have not obtained approval of an application for sewer connection nor qualified for compulsory connection to the city sewer under Section 13.20.070.

B. Exemptions. Except in unusual circumstances as determined by the city council, premises already served by the department at the date of installation of the main extension will be exempt from the payment of the special extension prorate charge.

• C. When Effective. The special extension prorate charge shall be in effect for a period of twenty (20) years from:

  1. The date of execution of the main-extension agreement, if the main extension is financed by property owners; or

  2. The date of official completion of the main extension, if financed by the city.

D. Rights of Applicant Financing Main Extension. The applicant who has financed the main extension shall be entitled to the special extension prorate charges collected by the department as a part of the service connection costs. The amounts collected shall be refunded to the applicant in accordance with the terms of the mainextension agreement between the city and the applicant. The refunds shall be made within ninety (90) days following the date of collection thereof by the city. No refunds of the extension prorate charges shall be made after ten (10) years from the date of execution of the main-extension agreement.

E. Effective Date. All provisions of this section as effective prior to the effective date of the amending ordinance codified in this section shall remain in effect unmodified with respect to all sewer main extensions installed and main-extension agreements executed prior to the effective date of such amending ordinance.

F. Public Hearing. A public hearing shall be held by the city council prior to fixing and approving the special extension prorate charge in the manner described in subsection A of this section and prior to executing any sewer main extension refund agreement. Written notice of such hearings and of the charges estimated and fixed by the director of public works shall be mailed by certified mail to all owners of all properties upon which the charges are or could be prorated at least thirty (30) days prior to such hearings. The written notice shall be mailed to the property owners as determined by the latest county assessor’s records at the property owner’s address shown on the latest county assessor’s records, and if any owner’s address is different than the address of the property to which charges are or could be prorated, a further copy shall be mailed to the owner at such address of the property subject to the proration charges. The director of public works shall maintain his or her papers and calculations supporting his or her estimation and fixing of charges in a file available for public inspection in the city offices during the city’s regular business hours from the time of mailing such public hearing notices until conclusion of the public hearings. (Ord. 16-13 § 5 (Att. 6); prior code § 12.6)

In no event shall a sewer service connection be installed unless a sewer main of adequate capacity extends in a public street or public right-of-way across the entire frontage of the premises to be served; provided, however, that if, under particular circumstances, it is determined by the city council that no public purpose would be served to require the sewer main to extend across the entire frontage, such as, without limitation, those cases involving dead-end streets or cul-de-sacs, the council may determine a lesser distance to which it is necessary to extend the sewer main across the frontage to serve the public purpose. (Ord. 16-13 § 5 (Att. 6); prior code § 12.7)

When the city’s public sewer is available, every building or other permanent structure which has plumbing fixtures shall connect to the city’s public sewer at the time of the occurrence of any one or more of the following events:

A. Approval by the city of any use permit or variance applied for by or with the consent of the owner of the parcel on which the building or structure is located;

B. Approval by the city for recordation of any final parcel map, subdivision map or lot line adjustment affecting any portion of the parcel upon which said building or structure is located, in which case the prorated charge under Section 13.20.050 shall be paid for the entire parcel as constituted prior to recordation of any such parcel or subdivision map or documents affecting the lot adjustment;

C. Issuance of a building permit or permits for any parcel on which the building or improvements are located for improvements totaling more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) in value within any continuous sixty (60) month period or for improvements which comprise replacement, relocation, or substantial reconstruction of an existing discrete sewage disposal system serving the parcel;

D. Determination by the city’s health officer or city engineer that the existing discrete sewage disposal system serving a parcel on which the building or structure is located, or the nonexistence of such a discrete disposal system, constitutes a public health hazard. (Ord. 16-13 § 5 (Att. 6); prior code § 12.8)

A. Each property owner shall, at the property owner’s expense, inspect, maintain in good working order, repair and replace, as necessary, the private sewer lateral, including any portions that may lie within the public right-ofway, so that it does not cause or contribute to any sewer overflow from either the private sewer lateral or the public sewer service system. The private sewer lateral shall be free of displaced joints, open joints, root intrusion, substantial deterioration of the line, cracks, leaks, inflow, infiltration of extraneous water, fats, oils and grease, sediment deposits or any other similar conditions, defects or obstructions likely to cause or contribute to blockage of the sewer lateral or the public sewer service system.

B. Private Sewer Laterals Not Part of Public Sewer Service System. The private sewer laterals are the property of the property owner and are not part of the public sewer service system. Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted as changing the private nature of the private sewer laterals or incorporating them into the public sewer service system.

C. Each property owner is responsible for obtaining encroachment permits necessary to maintain, repair, or replace any portion of their private sewer lateral within the public right-of-way.

D. Each property owner shall maintain, repair, and replace their private sewer lateral up to but excluding the connection fitting installed in the public sewer. Replacement of a private sewer constructed on public property shall comply with the standards set forth in the St. Helena standard sewer construction details and specifications. (Ord. 24-3 § 4)

Standard sewer construction details and specifications shall be adopted by resolution by the city council and made a part of this chapter by reference. (Ord. 16-13 § 5 (Att. 6); prior code § 12.18)