The city council finds and determines that there is a need to raise additional revenues to be used for the purpose of contributing financial support to assist in defraying the operating and capital improvement costs of providing sanitary sewers and sewage treatment facilities.
The city council, in enacting the following sewer service charge is acting pursuant to the authority contained in Section 38902 of the California Government Code.
(Ord. 716 § 1, 1972)
An annual sewer service charge is imposed upon each parcel of real property in the city as shown on any subdivision tract map, parcel map, record of survey or on the county tax roll. The service charge shall not be applicable to property which has been determined to be exempt from such service charge pursuant to Section 17.25.050 hereof.
The amount of said service charge shall be determined by resolution of the city council. The city council may provide in said resolution for schedules varying such charge according to the land uses and the degree of availability of or quantity of use of such sewer service to the affected lands.
The city council shall determine in what proportion the revenues received from said annual sewer service charge shall be allocated between operating and capital improvement costs of the sewer system.
(Ord. 716 § 1, 1972)
The annual sewer service charge shall be collected on the tax roll in the same manner as the general taxes of the city.
(Ord. 716 § 1, 1972; Ord. 1029 § 6, 1982; Ord. 1046 § 1, 1983)
(a) 
Report. The director of finance shall annually prepare a report setting forth a description of all parcels of property and the amount of service charges owed for each such parcel.
(b) 
Public Hearing. Said report shall be presented to the city council and the council shall then set a public hearing to consider the report. For the first year only, each property owner who is affected by said report shall be sent a notice advising him or her of the date, time and place of the hearing. The notice shall be sent by mail, postage prepaid and addressed to the property owner as such person's name and address appear on the last equalized assessment roll. The clerk shall cause notice of the filing of said report and of a time and place of hearing thereon to be published once a week for two successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation.
(c) 
Resolution Assessing Lien. The city council shall consider the report at the time set for hearing, together with any objections or protests by any interested parties. At the conclusion of the hearing, the city council shall either approve the report as submitted or may modify or correct it. The amounts so approved shall be liens upon the respective parcels. The city council shall adopt a resolution assessing said amounts as liens upon the respective parcels of land as shown on the latest available assessment roll.
(d) 
Filing with County Auditor. After confirmation of the report by the city council, a certified copy shall be filed with the Orange County auditor on or before August 10th of each year and the auditor shall be requested to enter the amounts of the respective assessments on the county tax roll opposite each parcel of land.
(e) 
Manner of Collection. The amount of said assessments shall be collected at the time and in the manner of city property taxes. If delinquent, the amount of said assessments shall be subject to the same penalties and procedure for foreclosure and sale as in the case of city property taxes.
(f) 
Refunds. The city council may order refunded all or part of an assessment paid pursuant to this section if it finds that all or part of the assessment has been erroneously levied. The claim shall be verified by the person who paid the assessment, or authorized agent, conservator, guardian, executor or administrator.
(Ord. 716 § 1, 1972; Ord. 1046 § 2, 1983)
(a) 
The owner of any parcel of unimproved real property which is not developable by reason of lack of road access, difficulty of the terrain, unstable soil conditions, insufficient lot size, unusual shape or other substantial cause, or the owner of any property whether improved or not to which sewer service is not available, may file a verified application for exemption from the sewer service charge with the city manager, setting forth the reasons for the requested exemption. The city manager shall refer such application to the director of community development for investigation. If the director of community development determines that the parcel of real property is in fact not developable, or that sewer service is not available to the property, and that there are good grounds for granting the requested exemption, the city manager shall grant the exemption and the owner shall be relieved of liability to pay the sewer charge on the parcel of property described in the application for exemption.
(b) 
Any person who is dissatisfied with any decision of the city manager denying an application for an exemption may appeal such decision to the city council by filing a written statement of appeal with the city clerk within fifteen days after receiving notice of the city manager's decision denying the application. The city council shall hear the appeal and shall either affirm or overrule the decision of the city manager.
(c) 
If due to changed circumstances, the city manager determines that a parcel of property previously exempted is no longer qualified for an exemption, he or she may revoke the exemption and shall notify the owner of said parcel of property in writing of such revocation and the reasons therefor. Upon such revocation, the property owner shall be liable to pay the sewer service charge on such parcel for such prior years as the property was exempted but did not qualify for exemption, not to exceed a period of ten years; and the property owner shall thereafter be liable to pay future sewer service charges on the parcel. The property owner shall have the right to appeal a decision of the city manager revoking an exemption to the city council by filing a written statement of appeal with the city clerk within fifteen days after receiving notice of the decision of the city manager.
(d) 
In the event that the owner of unimproved property which is not developable, which is not a legal building site pursuant to this chapter, and which has been exempted from the sewer service charge makes application to determine such parcel to constitute a legal building site, including, but not limited to, a subdivision application, and in the further event that such application is approved, then in addition to any other conditions of approval that may be imposed, the property owner shall be liable to pay a fee equal to the sewer service charges that would have been levied on the parcel for the prior ten year period had the parcel not been exempted from the sewer service charge, and the property owner shall thereafter be liable to pay future sewer service charges on the parcel.
(Ord. 716 § 1, 1972; Ord. 1374 § 1, 2001)