Note: Prior history: Prior code §§ 20.3 through 20.16 and 20.18 as amended by Ords. 2305, 2413, 2484, 2505, 2577, 2653, 2667, 2757 and 3032.
(A) 
No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connection with or opening into, or use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenances thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Director of Utilities and any other appropriate permits required to comply with this title.
(B) 
If the City has previously installed a sewer service lateral, the City may charge the applicant for the actual cost of the existing lateral in lieu of requiring the applicant to install a service lateral.
(C) 
All construction of public sanitary sewers, or of sewers to become public sanitary sewers, or of sewer service laterals shall conform to the design criteria and the standard plans and specifications, as adopted by the City, and shall be subject to inspection and testing for sanitary sewers in accordance with current City standards.
(D) 
No connection to a sewer interceptor or to the sewer treatment plant of the Santa Rosa subregional system shall be permitted except by a user agency or the City in accordance with the provisions of the agreements between the user agencies and the City.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)
No person shall make connection of roof downspouts, areaway drains, foundation drains, or other sources of surface water runoff or groundwater to a sewer service lateral which in turn is connected, directly or indirectly, to a public sanitary sewer.
(A) 
As part of its periodic construction and maintenance of sewer mains or laterals, the City may discover illegal connections of roof downspouts, areaway drains, foundation drains or other sources of surface water runoff or groundwater. The City may order the property owner to remove the illegal connection and inspect, repair or replace any lateral or portion of the lateral that has been affected by the illegal connection.
(B) 
In the absence of a specific deadline established by the Director of Utilities, all repair or removal work to eliminate the illegal connection shall be completed within 60 days of notification by the City that an illegal connection has been discovered.
(C) 
The City may impose civil administrative penalties or take other enforcement actions against a property owner who fails to perform any act required in this section.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)
(A) 
Connection may be made to the City's sewer trunk line systems in locations approved by and subject to the regulations of the Board of Public Utilities and City Council, upon payment to the City of the demand fees specified below and the other specifications hereinafter indicated. The Board of Public Utilities shall have the authority to define and determine what constitutes a sewer connection. Additional requirements or conditions for connection to the various sewer lines within the City's sewer service systems are specified below.
(B) 
The sewer demand fees shall be as follows:
(1) 
Residential:
Type of Connection
Demand Fee
Very Large Lot SFD (over 1 acre)
$7,040.00
Large/Medium Lot SFD (6,000 sf to 1 acre)
$5,957.00
Small Lot SFD (under 6,000 sf)
$5,776.00
Duplex and Triplex Units
$5,054.00
Multifamily Condominiums, Apartments, Mobile Homes
$5,054.00
Large ADUs, SROs, Senior Housing, and Small, High-Density Apartment Units
$3,971.00
(2) 
The sewer demand fee for nonresidential and industrial customers shall be based on:
(a) 
A nonresidential wastewater demand fee rate of $1,805.00 per thousand gallons per month (TGM); and
(b) 
The estimated monthly sewer flow quantity for the type of use based upon the factors in Table 15-1: Nonresidential or Industrial Demand Factors–Typical Parameters, with the following requirements: the minimum flow quantity that must be purchased for nonresidential uses is 1,000 TGM, and purchases must be made in increments of 1,000 TGM. The Director of Utilities/City Engineer may periodically review the water/sewer usage of nonresidential and industrial customers. If the actual usage (flow quantity) exceeds the capacity purchased, the payment of additional demand fees at the rates currently in effect will be required.
Effective January 1, 2008 and continuing thereafter, demand fees shall be adjusted as follows: The dollar amounts shown in subsection B of this section shall be increased (or decreased) on January 1 of each calendar year by a percentage equal to the percentage change in the Engineering News-Record's 20-City Construction Cost Index for the 12-month period ending November 30 of the prior calendar year.
(3) 
The fee per thousand gallons per month shall be adjusted annually on January 1 of each year based on the Engineering News-Record's 20-City Construction Cost Index, excepting that the fee per thousand gallons per month will be reviewed at approximately every five years and be increased or decreased to take actual changes in the City's General Plan or Department Master Plans into consideration.
Table 15-1: Nonresidential or Industrial Demand Factors—Typical Parameters
Category
Type of Uses**
Average Monthly Flow (gallons per month per 1,000 square feet)
1
Warehouse
130
2
Retail; Schools; Office; Church; Playhouses; Gym without shower; Self-Service Frozen Yogurt
730
3
Auto Repair
670
4
Dental Office
2,950
5
Auto Sales
1,540
6
Halls
1,440
7
Movie Theaters
1,700
8
Surgery Centers
4,400
9
Convenience Store; Grocery without food preparation; Gas Station (car wash calculated separately)
2,730
10
Barber/Beauty salon
3,970
11
Bakery
2,890
12
Deli; Grocery with food preparation
5,160
13
Veterinary Clinic
5,210
14
Motels; Hotels (restaurant and conference center areas calculated separately)
7,350
15
Gym with showers
8,250
16
Hospital
11,840 gallons per month per bed
17
Bar
6,940
18
Coffee Shop
9,460
19
Restaurant
9,900
20
Skill Nursing; Assisted Living; Residential Care
2,307 gallons per month, per bed
21
Commercial Laundry
70% of water use based on comparable operations
22
Car Wash
40% of water use based on comparable operations
Notes:
**
The usage for categories not shown in this table, such as coin laundry facilities, wineries, breweries and distilleries, will be determined based on comparable uses and data submitted by applicant.
(C) 
Except as provided below, the demand fees to be paid for a sewer connection shall be as set forth in this title and shall be calculated and paid at or before the time a building permit is issued by the City, or no later than the time of final inspection per the terms of a written agreement with the City, or per the terms of a fee deferral agreement made pursuant to Chapter 21-01 of this code.
(D) 
Demand fees may not be prepaid (credited as paid in full) for more than two years in advance of the actual commencement of permanent sewer service. The two-year period shall begin to run on (and shall include) the day on which payment of the demand fees is received and shall expire at midnight on that day of the second calendar year which immediately precedes the second anniversary date of the payment. If the two-year period expires without permanent sewer service having commenced, all fees received shall be considered as a credit against the actual fees that will have to be paid to acquire sewer service. Alternatively, an expired prepayment of fees will be refunded upon the written request of the person making the payment.
For applications made for which payments were received prior to July 1, 1981, the two-year period shall not apply and fees paid will be good until connected, provided no changes in size or other recalculations are required. If changes in size or other recalculations are required, the demand fee due shall be recalculated based upon the demand fees currently in effect and the fee due shall be the difference between the prepaid fee and the current demand fee in effect for the size connection required; this provision shall remain in effect until the Council establishes a specific date terminating said grandfather provision. Should questions arise under this title the City's Director of Utilities shall make the determination as to whether permanent sewer service has or has not commenced to a structure as of any given date.
Notwithstanding the two-year period under this section, once a building permit is issued within the two year expiration period for a project for which: (1) the appropriate sewer demand fees have been paid, and (2) building construction above the foundation has commenced on the project; no additional sewer demand fees will be due for the project irrespective of the date of completion of the project and the date that permanent sewer service is established.
(E) 
Demand fees shall only be collected for specific connections to the sewer system and shall be valid only when the location and type of connection are described on an engineering drawing or other documentation approved by the City Engineer. Connection approvals are not transferable to any other property. Connection approvals cannot be transferred by sale, assignment or hypothecation to a new owner of the property to which they relate without the written consent of the City.
(F) 
Persons or entities paying demand fees for a sewer connection during the time period beginning on August 7, 2014, and ending on November 15, 2014, may apply to the Director of Utilities for an administrative adjustment of the fees paid to be recalculated in accordance with the fees established by the adopted ordinance codified in this section. Any such application must be made in writing and received by the Director of Utilities no later than February 7, 2015.
(Ord. 3047 § 1, 1993; Ord. 3225 § 10, 1995; Ord. 3248 § 1, 1996; Ord. 3313 § 3, 1997; Ord. 3355 § 1, 1998; Ord. 3367 § 3, 1998; Ord. 3386 § 1, 1998; Ord. 3453 § 1, 1999; Ord. 3617 § 1, 2003; Ord. 3663 § 1, 2004; Ord. 3707 § 5, 2005; Ord. 3757 § 1, 2005; Ord. 3824 § 1, 2007; Ord. 3829 § 1, 2007; Ord. 4034 § 1, 2014; Ord. 4036 § 1, 2015; Ord. 2021-005 § 1)
The schedules of connection charges set out in Section 15-16.030 may be varied from as to connection fees for major users at the discretion of the Board of Public Utilities. The Board of Public Utilities may consider and make such change in the connection fees provided for such major users upon its own initiative or upon petition of the Director of Utilities or the major user if in the Board's opinion, in view of the facts of the particular case, the result of application of the schedules set out in Section 15-16.030 is inequitable to either the City or the major user.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)
All fees set forth in Section 15-16.030 shall be computed by the Director of Utilities and shall be paid prior to the actual issuance of the building permit for the structure, work or improvement proposed to be connected to the sewer system, or no later than the time of final inspection per the terms of a written agreement with the City, or per the terms of a fee deferral agreement made pursuant to Chapter 21-01 of this code. For the purposes of this section, a mobile home is a structure.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008; Ord. 4034 § 2, 2014)
Sanitary sewer lines proposed for construction by individuals or groups shall be the size necessary to handle sewage from the entire area tributary to the line when that area is developed to ultimate population density, as determined by the Director of Utilities.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)
(A) 
The description of the property to be served by a collecting sewer line extension, owned by any person contributing to the cost of the extension or causing construction or extension of the collecting sewer line, as shown in a sewer line extension agreement with the City, will be made a part of the records of the Board of Public Utilities of the City. The benefit conveyed to the property by reason of such contribution shall run to the property.
(B) 
If, within five years, or within such longer period as authorized by the Board of Public Utilities, of the date the collection sewer line has been accepted by the City, the contributor whose name appears on the sewer line extension agreement certifies to the City in writing that the owner or owners of other properties which can be served by the collecting sewer line extension have contributed to the cost of such extension, the property of those owners will likewise receive the benefit of such contribution
(C) 
If, within 10 years after the collecting sewer line has been accepted by the City, or such longer period as authorized by the Board of Public Utilities, the contributor whose name appears in the sewer line extension agreement certifies in writing to the City that he or she has acquired additional property or properties which can be served by the collecting sewer line extension will likewise receive the benefit of such contribution.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)
No person owning or controlling real property situated without the City or situated partly within and partly without the City shall maintain any private sewer line connection serving such property without the City to any part of the sewer system of the City, without first entering into a written agreement with the City on a form approved by the Board of Public Utilities to pay an annual rent to the City for such connection in accordance with the rates set forth in this chapter. The rate to be charged for each connection, and included in such agreement, shall be determined by the Board of Public Utilities upon the survey or inspection of the property.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this chapter, the City reserves the right to terminate any agreement under this chapter upon six months' written notice to the owner of the property at his or her last known address, or at his or her address stated on such agreement, or to the occupant of the premises served.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)
Any person having or obtaining a sewer connection outside the City after the date of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall comply with all present and future provisions of this code and other ordinances and regulations of the City relating to sewer connections and the use thereof, to the same extent and manner as if such sewer connection were located within the City.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)
Each new applicant for sewer service shall establish and maintain credit to the satisfaction of the Board of Public Utilities by a cash guarantee deposit or otherwise before service will be rendered. The Board of Public Utilities may adopt reasonable rules and regulations relative to the amount of a guarantee deposit required, the length of time it will be required, the terms and conditions under which it will be held by the City, the terms and conditions under which it will be returned to the depositor and the terms and conditions under which it may be applied against a delinquent account, reinstated or otherwise appropriated by the City.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)
When the use of a nonresidential or industrial premises that is connected to the sanitary sewer system changes or is expanded in square footage, the total demand fee for the new or expanded use shall be determined using the methodology described in Section 15-16.030(B)(2). Credit for previously paid demand fees shall be determined as follows:
(1) 
If there is a valid utility service agreement for the property, the credit will equal the amount identified in the agreement as "maximum gallons per month allowed."
(2) 
If there is no valid utility service agreement, and the previous demand fee was paid after 1995 according to estimated wastewater flow and/or strength methodology specified in the City Code, the credit shall equal the amount purchased at that time, or subsequently purchased, for the property in terms of "ESUs" (equivalent single-family units); for each ESU purchased for the property, the property will be credited 5,500 gallons per month per ESU.
(3) 
If there is no valid utility service agreement, and the previous demand fee was paid prior to 1996 according to water meter size or other methodology, the credit will be calculated based on prior type of use and square footage based on the current Table 15-1: Nonresidential or Industrial Demand Factors—Typical Parameters.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)
The City Council may adopt, and from time to time amend, a resolution which sets forth the special circumstances and other factors and criteria under which Council-specified projects and uses, by types and/or by locations, with regard to wastewater demand fees, would be eligible for the nonresidential/multifamily residential payment plan provisions of the "Guide to Water and Wastewater Policy" as adopted by the Board of Public Utilities.
(Ord. 3895 § 6, 2008)