City of Carlsbad, CA BUILDING PERMIT MORATORIUM

The city, by contract, owns certain capacity rights in the Encina Water Pollution Control Facility. The City Council has received a series of reports indicating that after taking into account the amount of sewer capacity required for building permits in process, governmental projects, certain city contractual obligations, and other matters, the city had reached its capacity rights in the Encina facility. It is not possible for the city to exceed that capacity without violating provisions of federal and state law and its contractual obligations to the other members of the joint facility. Since sewer service, in most cases, is unavailable to serve potential building in the city, the City Council has no alternative but to impose a building moratorium until such time as there is some change in the situation. In the absence of such moratorium, buildings could be constructed in the city without adequate provisions for the disposition of sewage which is a situation of considerable danger to the public health, safety and welfare.

In the event additional amounts of capacity do become available, it is also the purpose of this chapter to provide authority for the adoption by resolution of a means of allocating that capacity among the competing demands.

(Ord. 8073 § 1, 1977)

Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the contrary, no building permit shall be issued nor shall any application therefor be accepted in the city except as follows:

Building permits for work in that portion of the city within the service territory of the San Marcos or Leucadia County Water Districts shall be processed in accordance with this subsection. The City Manager shall monitor the sewage treatment capacity of said districts. If the City Manager determines that capacity is available, he or she may authorize the Community and Economic Development Director to accept applications for building permits. If the City Manager determines that the amount of sewer capacity necessary to service the projects in plan check would exceed the available supply, he or she shall have authority to order that no additional applications be accepted. The City Manager shall have authority to lift or reimpose such order as he or she determines appropriate, based on the availability of sewer capacity in such districts. The determinations by the City Manager pursuant to this subsection are for the administrative convenience of the city and do not indicate that sewer service will or will not in fact be available for a particular project nor that the building permit will issue. Building permits shall not be issued until the applicant presents a valid sewer connection permit for the project from said district. The Community and Economic Development Director shall verify that the sewer permit is valid prior to issuance of the building permit.

Building permits may be processed and issued when the City Manager determines, pursuant to provisions of this code, that no new sewer connection permit would be necessary in connection with the work. The City Manager's determination may be appealed to the City Council whose decision shall be final.

Structures existing within the city's sewer service area as of the date of the ordinance codified in this section, being served by septic tanks, may obtain a sewer connection permit if the city's public health officer certifies that the septic tank has failed and constitutes a health hazard.

Permits for construction for the Plaza Camino Real expansion pursuant to the contract between the Plaza Camino Real, the city and the Carlsbad parking authority dated November 5, 1975, may be processed and issued.

Building permits may be processed and issued for any public project undertaken by the city.

Building permits may be processed and issued where this code provides for an alternate method of sewage disposal.

The City Council may grant exceptions for projects of other governmental agencies if the City Council in its sole discretion determines that the project is necessary and in the public interest.

Building permits may issue for all those projects for which applications for building permits were on file in the Carlsbad building department as of 5:00 p.m. on April 19, 1977.

Building permits may be processed and issued for development within the boundaries of subdivision CT 74-6.

The City Council may grant exceptions for certain private projects involving building permits for work within existing structures where the council in its sole discretion finds that:

The building permit is for work to be performed within the exterior walls and roof of an existing structure;

Said structure was constructed pursuant to a building permit issued prior to April 19, 1977;

Those portions of the structure for which the building permit would be issued pursuant to this subsection have not been previously occupied;

The purpose of the building permit is to make internal modifications to the structure as necessary to accommodate occupancy by a first user of the space.

The City Council may approve the transfer of sewer connection permits from one building site to another building site in accordance with the provisions of this section. Such a transfer may only be approved if the council finds that the sewer permit is being transferred to a similar type of structure to be built on a lot located within the same development as the original lot.

The application for a transfer of a sewer permit pursuant to this section shall constitute an offer by the developer to surrender the building permit for which the sewer permit was originally issued. Upon City Council approval of the transfer, the original building permit shall be void and of no further force and effect. If construction has commenced pursuant to the original building permit, such construction shall be removed and the site restored to the satisfaction of the Utilities Director.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 13.08.080, the transferred sewer permit shall remain valid and it may be made available for issuance in connection with a new building permit as approved by the City Council as part of the transfer. City Council approval of a transfer shall constitute authority on the part of the City Manager to determine that sewer service is available, to issue the new building permit and to transfer the sewer permit.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 13.08.080, a sewer permit transferred pursuant to this section shall be void and of no further force or effect unless the building permit is obtained and construction is commenced within 120 days of the City Council's approval of the transfer. After commencement of construction, pursuant to the building permit, the validity of the building permit and sewer permit shall be determined in accordance with Section 13.08.080 and the Uniform Building Code.

(Ord. 8073 § 1, 1977; Ord. 8074 § 1, 1977; Ord. 8075 § 1, 1977; Ord. 8076 § 1, 1977; Ord. 1261 § 18, 1983; Ord. NS-676 § 7, 2003; Ord. CS-164 §§ 3, 14, 2011)