[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Sylvan
Beach: Art. I, 2-11-1980 as L.L. No. 1-1980;
Art. II, 1-10-1994 as L.L. No. 1-1994.
Section 130-18 amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I. Other amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-11-1980 as L.L. No. 1-1980]
Whereas Chapter 103, Sewers, of the Code of the Village of Sylvan Beach, which regulates the use of public and private sewers within the village, provides that the sewer use charge for commercial buildings is to be one unit or flow, whichever is higher, and in the interest of justice and fairness, the Village Board of the Village of Sylvan Beach does adopt and enact the following chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any and all buildings, structures, establishments, etc., in which
the owner, lessee or occupant engages in a business, barter or trade, whether
retail, wholesale or otherwise, and shall include but not be limited to stores,
restaurants, laundromats and schools. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence,
nothing herein shall apply so as to include within the definition of a "commercial
user" any buildings, structures, establishments, etc., whose primary function
is the rental of living space to persons other than the property owner. Such
excluded property shall include but not be limited to trailer parks, campsites,
rental cottages, motels and hotels.
All sewer services to each and every commercial user located within
the limits of the Village of Sylvan Beach are required to be metered. For
the purposes of this chapter, the required meters shall be water meters installed
such that all water used and discharged as sewage by said commercial establishments
is measured and metered.
All meters and meter connections shall be purchased by the Village of
Sylvan Beach, as hereinafter provided, and shall be furnished by the Village
of Sylvan Beach to the commercial user at reasonable rental charges to be
determined by resolution of the Village Board. All meters and meter connections
shall remain the property of the village.
Specifications for water meters to be purchased by the Village of Sylvan
Beach shall be drawn by a professional engineer licensed to practice engineering
in the State of New York.
Upon receipt of the specifications so drawn, the Village Clerk is authorized
to advertise for sealed bids for water meters in accordance with the General
Municipal Law.
All applications for meters shall be made on forms furnished by the
Village Clerk and must be signed by the commercial user or his authorized
agent. On acceptance by the Village Board, the application shall constitute
a contract between the village and the applicant.
Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, all costs of materials
and installation shall be borne by the commercial user.
The installation of the meters shall be done by a plumber, licensed
by the Village of Sylvan Beach, or subject to inspection and approval by the
Superintendent of the treatment plant.
All meters must be so installed as to be readily accessible for reading
or removing or setting or testing and must not be covered with rubbish, fuel
or other materials that might cause delay, injury or inconvenience to agents
or employees of the Village of Sylvan Beach in the performance of their work
and duties.
All meters shall be located in a horizontal position with the meter
dial facing upward and completely visible and shall be located in such a manner
that they will not be subject to freezing or, in the case of seasonally occupied
and utilized structures, where they can be drained to prevent freezing.
The village shall have the authority to inspect the location of said meters to conform to § 130-11 of this chapter.
Where compliance with § 130-11 of this chapter would be impractical or cause undue hardship, the consumer may apply to the Village Board for a waiver of said location.
Employees and/or agents of the Village of Sylvan Beach, upon presentation
of proper identification, may enter and must be permitted to enter upon the
premises of the commercial user at all reasonable hours for the purpose of
examining the meter, its connections, all work in connection with the service
and determining the quantity of water used.
In addition to the hours when the commercial user is open for business,
the hours between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. shall be considered reasonable hours
for this purpose.
No person shall interfere with, remove or tamper with any water meter
from any service.
All meters must be sealed, and no seal placed by the Village of Sylvan
Beach for the protection of any meter, valve, fitting or other water connection
shall be tampered with or defaced. It shall not be broken, except on written
authorization from the Village Board. Where the seal is broken, the Village
of Sylvan Beach reserves the right to order the meter removed for testing
at the expense of the consumer.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be
guilty of a violation and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by
a fine not exceeding $250 for each offense or imprisonment not exceeding 15
days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
A.
Where repairs to meters are necessitated by the normal
deterioration of the meters through use, the costs of repairing such meters
shall be borne by the Village of Sylvan Beach.
B.
Where repairs to meters are necessitated by neglect or
misuse on the part of the consumer, such as damage done by freezing or by
hot water backing through the meter or actual breakage, the consumer shall
be charged for the cost of the repair work; such cost, however, shall not
exceed the cost of purchasing a new meter.
The Village of Sylvan Beach reserves the right to make periodic tests
of all meters and, where necessary, remove and recalibrate said meters without
charge to the consumer. There shall be, however, no obligation upon the village
to make these tests, nor shall the failure to do so give rise to the assumption
that the meters are out of order or incorrectly regulating.
Upon request of the owner of the premises, a water meter may be removed
for testing upon the making of a deposit of $5. If, upon testing, the meter
is found to over-register at the rated capacity for the meter, the amount
of the deposit will be returned and a properly registering meter installed
without charge. Should the meter be found to register correctly or to under-register,
the amount of the deposit will be retained by the village to cover the cost
of testing.
If, upon testing, the meter is found to have inaccurately registered
the amount of water used, the consumer will be charged the estimated probable
usage as determined by the Village Board, based on previous usage and other
knowledge pertinent to the probable use.
[Adopted 1-10-1994 as L.L. No. 1-1994]
At present, the Village of Sylvan Beach is charged by the Onondaga County
Water Authority for each gallon of water supplied to properties located within
the service area, in bulk, without regard to the amount of water used by each
property owner or person in control thereof. It is the purpose of this Article
to prevent the misuse of the water supply by property owners and/or persons
in control thereof, whose premises are not yet metered or whose premises are
metered but not yet read, by restricting and limiting the unattended use thereof.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any property owner, or person
in control thereof, to allow, or cause to be allowed, the unattended trickling,
running or flowing of potable water through any pipe, hose, spigot, cock,
faucet or any other outlet, whether to prevent freeze-up of their water lines
during the winter months or otherwise; provided, however, that any property
owner, or person in control thereof, may make application to the Board of
Trustees to allow, or cause to be allowed, such unattended use, upon payment
to the Board of a daily fee, the amount of which shall be set by said Board.
B.
"Unattended use" shall be defined as any flowing, trickling
or running of potable water upon property where there is/are no person/persons
in residence or person/persons conducting business thereon or any flowing,
trickling or running of potable water by any person or business for any person
or business for any reason other than normal household or business use, specifically
including but not limited to the flowing, trickling or running of potable
water to prevent pipe freeze-up.
C.
It shall be presumptive evidence of an intent to violate this Article upon the discovery of any unattended use not allowed by the Board as provided in Subsection A herein. Such violation shall be punishable as provided hereafter.
D.
Neither the Board of Trustees nor the Village of Sylvan
Beach shall be liable to any property owner, or person in control thereof,
for any damage to such person's plumbing or premises resulting from the
enforcement of this Article.
A.
Any property owner found to have violated this Article
shall be subject to a fine of not more than $250 per day for each day of continuing
violation and not more than $250 per day for each day of unattended usage.
B.
The fine as herein imposed shall constitute a lien on
the property on which it is imposed if not paid within 10 days of imposition.
