The purpose of this chapter is to help assure the continued
protection of the high quality of water resources available in the
city by requiring all properties on which there exist septic tanks,
seepage pits and/or cesspools to abandon such facilities and connect
to the available public sanitary sewer prior to time of sale of such
properties.
This chapter shall apply to any property that is sold after
the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter.
(Ord. 773 § 1, 2002)
For the purposes of this chapter the terms below shall be defined
as follows:
means the city building official or his/her designee.
means the document that is recorded on property that releases
the certificate of requirement, and stipulates that the property has
been lawfully connected to the public sanitary sewer.
means the document that is recorded on property indicating
that prior to sale of the property, it shall be lawfully connected
to the public sanitary sewer.
means the document that is recorded on property that temporarily releases the certificate of requirement and stipulates that the property has been excepted pursuant to Section 8.60.060.
means the sanitary sewer owned and operated by the Coachella
Valley water district and located within the sanitary sewer easement.
(Ord. 773 § 1, 2002)
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, whenever a public
sanitary sewer is extended to within two hundred feet of any building
being served by a private sewage disposal system, the owner of the
property on which the building is located shall abandon the private
sewage disposal system in accordance with the requirements of this
code, and shall connect the building(s) on the property to the public
sanitary sewer system. The abandonment of the private sanitary sewer
system and the connection to the public sanitary sewer shall be completed
prior to the sale of the property upon which the building is located.
(Ord. 773 § 1, 2002)
To provide notice of the requirements of this chapter, the building
official is directed to prepare and record with the Riverside County
recorders office a certification of this requirement on each parcel
on which there exists a building being served by a private sewage
disposal system as of the effective date of the ordinance establishing
this chapter.
(Ord. 773 § 1, 2002)
A.
The
property owner or owners authorized agent, at their option, may personally
review official files located in the division of building and safety
and obtain a copy of the sanitary sewer connection permit if issued
on the property. Such sanitary sewer connection permit shall have
a final inspection sign-off by a duly authorized city building inspector
and shall not be revoked or expired. If the building official confirms
and approves the sanitary sewer connection permit, the building official
shall execute and authorize the recordation of a certificate of compliance
with the Riverside County recorders office.
The owner or owners authorized agent shall pay a thirty-five
dollar fee to cover the administrative costs for the preparation and
recordation of the certificate of compliance.
B.
If the
property owner or owners authorized agent does not wish to personally
research the official file located in the division of building and
safety, upon the completion of the appropriate application form and
payment to the city of a forty-five dollar nonrefundable research
fee, the city staff shall research, locate and copy any such sewer
connection permit, if issued or available on record. If staff locates
a sanitary sewer connection permit, the building official shall review
the copy of the sanitary sewer connection permit as the above paragraph
stipulates and if acceptable, shall execute and authorize the recordation
of a certificate of compliance with the Riverside County recorders
office. The thirty-five dollar certificate of compliance fee shall
be paid to the city at that time.
C.
If the
property is not connected to the public sanitary sewer or connected
without the required permits and inspections required elsewhere in
this code, the owner or owners authorized contractor, licensed as
required by this code, shall pay the necessary Coachella Valley water
district fees and obtain a sanitary sewer connection permit from the
division of building and safety and schedule all required inspections
accordingly.
Upon acceptance of final inspection, the building official shall
execute and authorize the recordation of a certificate of compliance
with the Riverside County recorders office. The owner or owners authorized
agent shall pay to the city a thirty-five dollar fee for the preparation
and recording of the certificate of compliance.
D.
If it
is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the building official that
the property is legally connected to the public sanitary sewer and
a certificate of requirement has been recorded in error on the property,
the building official is hereby authorized to execute and record a
certificate of compliance on the property at no charge to the property
owner.
(Ord. 773 § 1, 2002)
Where it is deemed unfeasible to connect to the public sewer,
the building official may grant relief and authorize the recordation
of a certificate of temporary exception with the Riverside County
recorders office.
If granted, such certificate of temporary exception shall allow
for the sale of the property, even though the property is not connected
to a public sanitary sewer.
A certificate of temporary exception shall only be issued when,
in the opinion of the building official, due to special circumstances,
the cost of connecting the building(s) to the public sanitary sewer
would constitute an undue hardship on the property owner. A certificate
of temporary exception shall only authorize one sale. Thereafter,
the purchaser must obtain either a certificate of compliance or another
certificate of temporary exception before selling the property again.
The building officials decision on an application for a certificate
of exception may be appealed to the city council. Decisions of the
city council shall be final.
(Ord. 773 § 1, 2002)
It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter. Any person violating any provision of this chapter or failing to comply with any of the requirements is deemed guilty of a misdemeanor in accordance with Title 14 of this Municipal Code.
(Ord. 773 § 1, 2002; Ord. 928 § 2, 2006)
If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this chapter,
or the application thereof to any person, establishment, or circumstances,
shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other
provisions of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid
provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this
chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
(Ord. 773 § 1, 2002)
The use of the term shall in describing the actions to be taken
by the building official under this chapter is directory, and is not
intended to impose mandatory duty liability or criminal liability
on the building official for failure to act as directed by this chapter.
(Ord. 773 § 1, 2002)
