Walnut Municipal Code Ch. 5.04 Sewers and Sewage Disposal

A. Adopted.

1. There is hereby adopted as a sanitary sewer and industrial waste ordinance of the City, except as it is hereinafter amended, Division 2 of Title 20 of the Los Angeles County Code as contained in Ordinance No. 90-0067, as amended, and in full force and effect on May 24, 1990, known as the "Sanitary Sewer and Industrial Waste Ordinance."

2. Three copies of Division 2 of Title 20 of the Los Angeles County Code as contained in Los Angeles County Ordinance No. 90-0067, as amended, have been deposited with the City Clerk and shall be at all times maintained by the City Clerk for use and examination by the public.

B. Jurisdiction. Whenever in Division 2 of Title 20 of the Los Angeles County Code reference is made to the unincorporated area of the County of Los Angeles, such area shall be deemed to include in its true geographical location the area of the City.

C. Definitions. Whenever any of the following names or terms are used in Division 2 of Title 20 of the Los Angeles County Code, each such name or term shall be deemed and construed to have the meaning ascribed to it in this section as follows:

"Board"

means the City Council.

"County Engineer"

means the City Engineer.

"County Health Officer"

means the City Health Officer.

"County of Los Angeles"

means the City of Walnut, except in such circumstances where the County of Los Angeles is a correct notation due to circumstances.

"County Sewer Maintenance District"

means the County Sewer Maintenance District except in the instance where the territory concerned either is not within or has been withdrawn from a County Sewer Maintenance District. In any such instance "County Sewer Maintenance District" shall mean the City.

"Ordinance"

means an ordinance of the City except in such instances where the reference is to a stated ordinance of the County.

"Public sewer"

means all sanitary sewers and appurtenances thereto, lying within streets or easements dedicated to the City, which are under the sole jurisdiction of the City.

"Trunk sewer"

means a sewer under the jurisdiction of a public entity other than the City.

D. Amendments, Deletions, etc. Division 2 of Title 20 of the Los Angeles County Code, adopted by Section 5.04.010(A), is hereby amended as follows:

1. Section 20.28.050 is amended to read as follows:

The City Engineer may recommend that the Council approve an agreement to reimburse or agree to reimburse a subdivider, school district, an improvement district formed under special assessment procedures, or person for the cost of constructing sanitary sewers for public use where such sewers can or will be used by areas outside of the proposed development; and to establish a reimbursement district and collection rates as described in the agreement under the provisions of this chapter.

2. Section 20.28.020 is amended to read as follows:

The City Treasurer shall keep a permanent record of all applications and a permanent and accurate account of all payments received under Sections 20.32.130 and 20.32.140.

3. Section 20.32.690 is amended by adding the following paragraph:

In the event the damaged public sewer is not in a sewer maintenance district, the violator shall reimburse the City within 30 days after the City Engineer shall render an invoice for the same. The amount when paid shall be deposited in the City Treasury.

4. Section 20.36.260 is amended by deleting reference to waste disposal from the permit and inspection fee classes (Table I). All fees associated with waste disposal facilities are hereby deleted.

5. Section 20.32.130 is amended to read as follows:

A. No Permit shall be issued for the direct connection of any lot to a public sewer which has been constructed at no cost to such lot, or to a trunk sewer in which capacity has been assigned by the owner thereof to the County of Los Angeles until, in addition to any other fees required by this Division 2 and by the Plumbing Code set out in Title 28, there has been paid a connection charge as follows:

1. For the area identified as Phases I, II and III as shown on a map entitled Gartel/Fuerte Sanitary Sewers - 1995 on file in the office of the City Clerk, the connection charge for each single family residence shall be $4,900.00 which includes $70.00 for annexation to Los Angeles County Sanitation District No. 21 and $80.00 for annexation to Los Angeles Consolidated Sewer Maintenance District.

2. For the area identified as Bridle Trail Et Al as shown on a map entitled Gartel/Fuerte Sanitary Sewers - 1995 on file on the office of the City Clerk the connection charge for each single family residence shall be $3,779.45 which includes $70.00 for annexation to Los Angeles County Sanitation District No. 21 and $39.63 for annexation to Los Angeles County Consolidated Sewer Maintenance District.

3. For all other areas not identified in either 1 or 2 above the charge shall be in an amount equal to $12.00 per front foot of the lot sought to be connected if said lot is rectangular and has an average depth of 100 feet or more. If the shape of lot is other than the usual rectangular shape or unusual in area and the strict adherence to the abovementioned provision would require payment of an amount not commensurate with the benefits to be received the provisions of this section as to the amount to be charged may be modified as determined by the County Engineer. In no case shall the charge be less than $300.00 unless reduced by the charges of another public entity as provided in Section 20.32.160.

B. Property owned by a public entity and being used by such entity in the performance of a governmental function is exempt from the requirements of this section.

C. The sewer connection charges referred to in Subparagraphs A.1, A.2, and A.3 of this section may, at the option of the property owner, be paid over a period of 10 years. If the property owner opts to pay the charge over a period of 10 years, the property owner must enter into a payment agreement with the City which will include the following:

1. Provision for a $25.00 annual service fee.

2. Provision for recordation of the agreement with the County Recorder.

3. Provision that the charge will become a lien upon the real property and shall be collected with property taxes in accordance with California Health & Safety Code Section 5474 et seq. at the same time as other property taxes.

4. The amount of the connection charge shall be divided into 10 equal amounts plus the service fee, payable each year at the times and in the same manner as other property taxes on the assessment roll.

All fees and charges prescribed and set forth in Section 20.36.230, application fee for industrial waste disposal permit, and Section 20.36.250, annual inspection fee, are hereby modified by increasing the amount of each and all such fees and charges to an amount equal to twice the amount charged for the same services and permits by the County. In the event such fees and charges shall be increased by the County at any future date, the comparable fee or charge levied by the City shall also increase so that the fee or charges shall remain equal to twice the amounts charged by the County for such services and permits.

A. Defined. As used in this chapter, "reimbursement agreement" means a contract entered into between the City and any other person, firm, corporation, political subdivision, school district or other public or private entity, hereinafter called "contractor," providing for the construction of sanitary sewer facilities by contractor and for the collection by the City of a fee or charge for the connection with such sanitary sewer facilities by any other person, firm or corporation, and for reimbursement to the contractor out of the proceeds of such charges.

B. Entering Into by City. Whenever a person, firm, corporation, political subdivision, school district or other public or private entity has been required by the City to install off-site sanitary sewer facilities as a condition precedent to the issuance of a building permit, or as a condition precedent to the approval of a tentative or final subdivision map, and such person has at his or her own expense constructed such facilities in accordance with the requirements of the City, and it is found by the City Council that such facilities will be for the benefit of or usable by other persons or properties in the City, the City Council may enter into a reimbursement agreement with such person whereby the City will collect from any other person using or connecting with such facilities within a period of 20 years from the dedication of such facilities to the City for public use, a charge for making such connection. The amount of the charge made shall be the amount set forth in such reimbursement agreement. No such contract may be entered into unless the other contracting party agrees thereby to dedicate the sanitary sewer facilities to the City for public use.

Upon the execution of such a contract, there shall be established a reimbursement district consisting of those properties that the City Council finds will be benefited by such facilities. Charges shall be made only to those persons desiring to connect to the sewer facilities with property lying in whole or in part within the district. A map of the district shall be maintained in the office of the City Clerk for examination by the public. There shall be indicated thereon the amounts or charges necessary to make connection with the sewer facilities and a reference to the contract establishing such charge.

After the execution of a reimbursement agreement and the filing of the necessary reimbursement district map, no other person shall connect to the sewer facilities indicated thereon without payment of the charges provided for in such agreement. No sewer connection permit shall be issued by any City or County department, officer or employee until the City Clerk has certified that the payment has been made as required; provided, that no charge may be made unless and until such facilities have been dedicated to the City for public use; and provided further, that no such charge shall be made after 10 years from the dedication of such facilities to the City for public use have elapsed.

There is hereby created a sewer reimbursement fund in the City Treasury and all charges made and received in accordance with a reimbursement agreement shall be deposited in the fund to be transferred semiannually to the contractor, together with a description of properties for which the payments have been made.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring the City to enter into any such reimbursement agreement even though it may have required the installation of off-site sanitary facilities, nor shall the City be liable for reimbursement of the cost of such facilities except from the proceeds of such charges.