ORD 378U ORDINANCE NO. 378U
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
REGARDING STORM WATER AND URBAN RUNOFF POLLUTION
CONTROL, AMENDING CHAPTER 13.10 OF TITLE 13 OF
THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE,
AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF.
WHEREAS, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes ("City") is a permittee under the
"Waste Discharge Requirements for Municipal Storm Water and Urban Runoff Discharges
Within the County of Los Angeles, and the Incorporated Cities Therein, Except the City of
Long Beach" (Order No. 01-182), NPDES Permit No. CAS00401), dated December 13,
2001, issued by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board -- Los Angeles
Region (the "Municipal MPDES Permit"), which serves as a National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System ("NPDES") permit under the Federal Clean Water Act; and
WHEREAS, in 1996, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes adopted
Ordinance No. 318 regulating waste discharge for municipal storm water and urban runoff;
and
WHEREAS, on December 6, 2000, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes adopted Ordinance No. 361, entitled "An Ordinance Of The City Of Rancho Palos
Verdes Amending The Storm Water And Urban Runoff Pollution Control Ordinance To
Provide Storm Water Pollution Control For Planning And Construction Of New
Development And Redevelopment Projects And Amending The Rancho Palos Verdes
Municipal Code" (the SUSMP Ordinance"); and
WHEREAS, the Municipal NPDES Permit requires the City, as a permittee, to
make specified amendments to its SUSMP Ordinance by August 1, 2002, to take effect by
September 2, 2002;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Findings.
This ordinance will work to preserve and improve water quality and aquatic life. In
enacting this ordinance, the City is acting as a regulatory agency to assure the
maintenance, restoration, enhancement, and protection of natural resources and the
environment in response to the order of the Regional Water Quality Control Board-Los
Angeles Region. Specifically, the ordinance will impose additional restrictions on storm
water runoff from construction sites, require Standard Urban Storm Water Mitigation Plans
and Site Specific Mitigation Plans for additional projects, and authorize inspections to
verify compliance with the discharge limitations. Consequently, the enactment of this
ordinance is categorically exempt from CEQA under CEQA Guidelines §§ 15307 and
15308.
Section 2. The first paragraph of Section 13.10.030 of Chapter 13.10 of Title
13 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Except as specifically provided herein, any term used in this Chapter shall be
defined as that term is defined in the current Municipal NPDES Permit, or in the current
version of the Standard Urban Storm Water Mitigation Plan ("SUSMP") approved by the
Regional Water Quality Control Board-Los Angeles Region, or if it is not specifically
defined in either the Municipal NPDES Permit or the SUSMP, then as such term is defined
in the Federal Clean Water Act, as amended, and/or the regulations promulgated
hereunder. If the definition of any term contained in the current Municipal NPDES Permit
conflicts with the definition contained in the current version of the SUSMP, then the
definition contained in the Municipal NPDES Permit shall govern. The following words
and phrases shall have the following meanings when used in this Chapter:"
Section 3. Section 13.10.030 of Chapter 13.10 of Title 13 of the Municipal
Code is further amended by amending paragraphs C, D, F, K, P, V, X, and Z to substitute
the following definitions for and in place of the existing definitions, as follows:
"C. "Automotive Service Facilities" means a facility that is categorized in any one
of the following Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes: 5013, 5014, 5541, 7532-
7534, or 7536-7539 (as amended).
D. "Best Management Practices (BMP's)" means activities, practices, facilities,
and/or procedures that when implemented to their maximum efficiency will prevent or
reduce pollutants in discharges and any program, technology, process, siting criteria,
operational methods or measures, or engineered systems, which when implemented
prevent, control, remove, or reduce pollution. Examples of BMP's may include public
education and outreach, proper planning of development projects, proper cleaning of
catch basin inlets, and proper sludge- or waste handling and disposal, among others.
F. "Commercial Development" means any development on private land that is not
heavy industrial or residential. The category includes, but is not limited to: hospitals,
laboratories and other medical facilities, educational institutions, recreational facilities,
plant nurseries, car wash facilities, mini-malls and other business complexes, shopping
malls, hotels, office buildings, public warehouses and other light industrial complexes.
K. "Hillside" means property located in an area with known erosive soil conditions,
where the development contemplates grading on any natural slope that is twenty-five
percent or greater and where grading contemplates cut or fill slopes.
P. "Municipal NPDES Permit" means the "Waste Discharge Requirements for
Municipal Storm Water and Urban Runoff Discharges Within the County of Los Angeles,
and the Incorporated Cities Therein, Except the City of Long Beach" (Order No. 01-182,
NPDES Permit No. CAS00401), dated December 13, 2001, issued by the California
Regional Water Quality Control Board -- Los Angeles Region, and any successor permit
to that permit.
V. "Parking Lot" means land area or a facility for the parking or storage of motor
vehicles used for businesses, commerce, industry or personal use with a lot size of five
thousand (5,000) square feet or more of surface area, or with twenty-five (25) or more
parking spaces.
X. "Redevelopment" means land-disturbing activity that results in the creation,
addition or replacement of at least five thousand (5,000) square feet of impervious surface
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area on an already developed site. Redevelopment includes, but is not limited to, the
following activities that meet the minimum standards set forth in this definition: (1) the
expansion of a building footprint; (2) the addition or replacement of a structure; (3) the
replacement of an impervious surface that is not part of a routine maintenance activity;
and (4) land disturbing activities related to structural or impervious surfaces.
Redevelopment does not include routine maintenance activities that are conducted to
maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, original purpose of facility or an
emergency redevelopment activity that is required to protect public health and safety.
Z. "Restaurant" means a facility that sells prepared foods and drinks for
consumption, including stationary lunch counters and refreshment stands selling prepared
foods and drinks for immediate consumption. (Standard Industrial Classification ["SIC"]
Code 5812).
Section 4. Section 13.10.030 of Chapter 13.10 of Title 3 of the Rancho Palos
Verdes Municipal Code is further amended to add the following new definitions in
appropriate alphabetical sequence:
"Construction" means constructing, clearing, grading, or excavation that results in
soil disturbance. Construction includes structure teardown. It does not include routine
maintenance to maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, or original purpose of
a facility; emergency construction activities required to immediately protect public health
and safety; interior remodeling with no outside exposure of construction material or
construction waste to storm water; mechanical permit work; or sign permit work.
"Control" means to minimize, reduce, eliminate, or prohibit by technological, legal,
contractual or other means, the discharge of pollutants from an activity or activities.
"Development" means any construction, rehabilitation, redevelopment or
reconstruction of any public or private residential project (whether single-family, multi-unit
or planned unit development); industrial, commercial, retail and other non-residential
projects, including public agency projects; or mass grading for future construction. It does
not include routine maintenance to maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, or
original purpose of a facility, nor does it include emergency construction activities required
to immediately protect public health and safety.
"Directly Adjacent" means situated within 200 feet of the contiguous zone required
for the continued maintenance, function, and structural stability of an environmentally
sensitive area.
"Discharge," when used without further qualification of the term, means the
"discharge of a pollutant."
"Discharging Directly" means outflow from a drainage conveyance system that is
composed entirely or predominantly of flows from the subject, property, development,
subdivision, or industrial facility, and not commingled with the flows from adjacent lands.
"Discharge of a Pollutant" means any addition of any "pollutant" or combination of
pollutants to "waters of the United States" from any "point source" or, any addition of any
pollutant or combination of pollutants to the waters of the "contiguous zone" or the ocean
from any point source other than a vessel or other floating craft that is being used as a
Ordinance No. 378U
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means of transportation. The term "discharge of a pollutant" includes additions of
pollutants into waters of the United States from surface runoff that is collected or
channeled by man; discharges through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances owned by a
State, municipality, or other person that do not lead to a treatment works; and discharges
through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances, leading into privately owned treatment
works.
"Disturbed Area" means an area that is altered as a result of clearing, grading,
and/or excavation.
"Environmentally Sensitive Area" ("ESA") means an area in which plant or animal
life or their habitats are either rare or especially valuable because of their special nature or
role in an ecosystem and which would be easily disturbed or degraded by human activities
and developments (California Public Resources Code § 30107.5). Areas subject to storm
water mitigation requirements are areas designated as Significant Ecological Areas by the
County of Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Significant Areas Study, Los Angeles County
Department of Regional Planning (1976) and amendments); an area designated as a
Significant Natural Area by the California Department of Fish and Game's Significant
Natural Areas Program, provided that area has been field verified by the Department of
Fish and Game; an area listed in the Basin Plan as supporting the Rare, Threatened, or
Endangered Species (RARE)" beneficial use; and an area identified by the City as
environmentally sensitive as reflected on the map which is on file in the City's Department
of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement.
"Planning Priority Projects" mean those projects that are required to incorporate
appropriate storm water mitigation measures into the design plan for their respective
project, including:
1. Ten (10) or more unit homes (includes single family homes,
multifamily homes, condominiums, and apartments);
2. One Hundred-Thousand (100,000) or more square feet of
impervious surface area industrial/ commercial development;
3. Automotive service facilities (SIC 5013, 5014, 5541, 7532-7534,
and 7536-7539);
4. Retail gasoline outlets;
5. Restaurants (SIC 5812);
6. Parking lots Five Thousand (5,000) square feet or more of surface
area or with 25 or more parking spaces;
7. Redevelopment projects in subject categories that meet
Redevelopment thresholds;
8. Projects located in or directly adjacent to or discharging directly to
an ESA, which meet the thresholds described herein; and
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9. Those projects that require the implementation of a site-specific
plan to mitigate post-development storm water for new development not requiring a
SUSMP but which may potentially have adverse impacts on post-development storm
water quality, where the following project characteristics exist:
a. Vehicle or equipment fueling areas;
b. Vehicle or equipment maintenance areas, including washing
and repair;
c. Commercial or industrial waste handling or storage;
d. Outdoor handling or storage of hazardous materials;
e. Outdoor manufacturing areas;
f. Outdoor food handling or processing;
g. Outdoor animal care, confinement, or slaughter; or
h. Outdoor horticulture activities."
"Project" means all development, redevelopment, and land disturbing activities.
"Runoff' means any runoff including storm water and dry weather flows from a
drainage area that reaches a receiving water body or subsurface. During dry weather it is
typically comprised of base flow either contaminated with pollutants or uncontaminated,
and nuisance flows.
"Significant Redevelopment" means land-disturbing activity that results in the
creation or addition or replacement of 5,000 square feet or more of impervious surface
area on an already developed site."
"Site" means the land or water area where any "facility or activity" is physically
located or conducted, including adjacent land used in connection with the facility or
activity.
Section 5. Section 13.10.065 of Chapter 13.10 of Title 3 of the Rancho Palos
Verdes Municipal Code is hereby amended by amending paragraphs A, B and C thereof
to read, as follows:
"A. Projects Requiring a SUSMP. The following projects for New Development
and Redevelopment, if subject to Discretionary Project approval in Title 17 of the Rancho
Palos Verdes Municipal Code, shall require a Storm Water Mitigation Plan that complies
with the most recent SUSMP and the current Municipal NPDES Permit:
1. Ten or more unit homes (includes developments of single family
homes, condominiums and apartments);
2. One Hundred Thousand (100,00) or more square feet of impervious
surface area of industrial/commercial development;
Ordinance No. 378U
Page 5 of 9
3. Automotive Service facilities (SIC 5013, 5014, 5542, 7532-7534 and
7536-7539);
4. Retail gasoline outlets;
5. Restaurants (SIC 5812);
6. Parking lots Five Thousand (5,000) square feet or more of surface
area or with twenty-five (25) or more parking spaces;
7. Redevelopment projects in subject categories that meet
Redevelopment thresholds;
8. Any New Development or Redevelopment project located in or
directly adjacent to or discharging directly into an Environmentally Sensitive Area (as
defined in this Chapter), where the Development will:
a. Discharge storm water and urban runoff that is likely to
impact a sensitive biological species or habitat; and
b. Create 2,500 square feet or more of impervious surface
area.
B. Incorporation of SUSMP into Project Plans.
1. An applicant for a New Development or a Redevelopment Project
identified in paragraph A of this Section shall incorporate into the applicant's project plans
a Storm Water Mitigation Plan ("SWMP"), which includes those Best Management
Practices necessary to control storm water pollution from construction activities and facility
operations, as set forth in the SUSMP applicable to the applicant's project. Structural or
Treatment Control BMP's (including, as applicable, post-construction Treatment Control
BMP's) set forth in project plans shall meet the design standards set forth in the SUSMP
and the current Municipal NPDES Permit.
2. If a Project applicant has included or is required to include
Structural or Treatment Control BMP's in project plans, the applicant shall provide
verification of maintenance provisions. The verification shall include the applicant's
signed statement, as part of its project application, accepting responsibility for all
structural and treatment control BMP maintenance until such time, if any, the property is
transferred.
3. A new single-family hillside home Development shall include
mitigation measures to:
a. Conserve natural areas;
b. Protect slopes and channels;
c. Provide storm drain system stenciling and signage on site;
Ordinance No. 378U
Page 6 of 9
d. Divert roof runoff to vegetated areas before discharge
unless the diversion would result in slope instability; and
e. Direct surface flow to vegetated areas before discharge,
unless the diversion would result in slope instability.
4. The following categories of Planning Priority Projects (as defined in
this Chapter) shall be designed to implement post-construction Treatment Controls, which
meet the standards set forth in the SUSMP and the current Municipal NPDES Permit, to
mitigate storm water pollution:
a. New single-family hillside residential Developments of one
(1) acre or more of surface area;
b. Housing Developments (including single-family homes,
multifamily homes, condominiums, and apartments) of ten (10) units or more;
c. 100,000 square feet or more impervious surface area of
industrial/commercial development;
d. Automotive service facilities (SIC 5013, 5014, 5541, 7532-
7534 and 7536-7539) [5,000 square feet or more of surface area];
e. Retail gasoline outlets (5,000 square feet or more of
impervious surface area and with projected Average Daily Traffic (ADT) of 100 or more
vehicles). [Subsurface Treatment Control BMP's which may endanger public safety (i.e.,
create an explosive environment) are considered not appropriate];
f. Restaurants (SIC 5812) [5,000 square feet or more of
surface area];
g. Parking lots with 5,000 square feet or more of surface area
or with 25 or more parking spaces;
h. Projects located in, adjacent to or discharging directly to an
Environmentally Sensitive Area that meet threshold conditions identified herein; and
i. Redevelopment projects in subject categories that meet
Redevelopment thresholds as defined herein.
5. The following categories of Projects which otherwise do not require
a SUSMP, but which may potentially have adverse impacts on post-development storm
water quality, shall be designed to include post-construction Treatment Controls to
mitigate storm water pollution and the implementation of a site-specific plan to mitigate
post-development storm water for New Development and Redevelopment Projects where
one or more of the following Project characteristics exist:
a. Vehicle or equipment fueling areas;
b. Vehicle or equipment maintenance areas, including washing
and repair;
Ordinance No. 378U
Page 7 of 9
c. Commercial or industrial waste handling or storage;
d. Outdoor handling or storage of hazardous materials;
e. Outdoor manufacturing areas;
f. Outdoor food handling or processing;
g. Outdoor animal care, confinement, or slaughter; or
h. Outdoor horticulture activities.
6. A SUSMP, or site-specific requirements, including post-construction
storm water mitigation, shall be required for all Planning Priority Projects (as defined in
this Chapter) that undergo Significant Redevelopment (as defined in this Chapter) in their
respective categories.
7. Existing single family structures are exempt from the
Redevelopment requirements set forth in this Chapter."
C. Issuance of Discretionary Permits. No discretionary permit may be issued
for any New Development or Redevelopment Project identified in paragraph A of this
Section until the Authorized Enforcement Officer confirms that either: (1) the Project plans
comply with the applicable SUSMP requirements, or (2) compliance with the applicable
SUSMP requirements is impracticable for one or more of the reasons set forth in
paragraph E regarding issuance of waivers. Where Redevelopment results in an alteration
to more than fifty percent (50%) of impervious surfaces of a previously existing
development, and the existing development was not subject to post-development storm
water quality control requirements, the entire Project must be mitigated. Where
Redevelopment results in an alteration to less than fifty percent (50%) of impervious
surfaces of a previously existing development, and the existing development was not
subject to post -development storm water quality control requirements, only the alteration
must be mitigated, and not the entire development."
Section 6. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, portion,
or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a
decision of any court of any competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, portions, or phrases of
this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this
Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, portion, or phrase
without regard to whether any other section, subsection, sentence, clause, portion, or
phrase of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 7. Notice of Exemption. The City Clerk is directed to file a Notice of
Exemption with the Clerk of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, providing a
brief description of the ordinance, and stating that the Council has found that this
ordinance is exempt from CEQA under CEQA Guidelines §§ 15307, and 15308, for the
reasons set forth in Section 1 above.
Ordinance No. 378U
Page 8 of 9
Section 8. Urgency Findings. The Los Angeles Board has required that all
permittees adopt ordinances that implement these changes, which are in effect by
September 2, 2002. The Cities of Los Angeles and Arcadia petitioned the State Water
Resources Control Board (the "State Board")for a stay of the order. However, on April
25, 2002, the State Board issued Order WQO 2002-0007 denying the stay. Given the
City's legal obligation to comply with the Los Angeles Board's Order, and the pressing
need to ensure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, and protection of water
quality and aquatic life, this Ordinance must become effective immediately to preserve the
public peace, health and safety.
Based on these facts constituting the urgency, and passed by a four-fifths vote of
this City Council, this Ordinance is adopted immediately upon introduction pursuant to
Government Code Section 36934 and shall take effect immediately upon its adoption
pursuant to Government Code Section 36937(b).
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 6th day of August, 2002.
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ATTEST:
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City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES )
I, JO PURCELL, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes do hereby certify that the
whole number of members of the City Council of said City is five; that the foregoing
Ordinance No. 378U was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of said City at a
regular meeting thereof held on August 6, 2002, and that the same was passed and
adopted by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Clark, Ferraro, Gardiner, Stern, and Mayor McTaggart
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
,/,7)
City Clerk
Ordinance No. 378U
Page 9 of 9
E
RANCHO PALOS VERDES
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES)
The undersigned, being first duly sworn, deposes and says:
That at all times herein mentioned, she was and now is the appointed City Clerk
of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes;
That on August 8, 2002, she caused to be posted the following document
entitled:
Ordinance No. 378U — Regarding Storm Water and Urban Runoff Pollution Control, a
copy of which is attached hereto, in the following locations:
City Hall Ladera Linda Community Center
30940 Hawthorne Blvd. 32201 Forrestal Drive
Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes
Ryan Park Hesse Park
30359 Hawthorne Blvd. 29301 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes
I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is a true and correct affidavit of
posting.
L Al L
City Clerk
W:\Ordinances\affidavits\Ordinance 378U-NPDES Storm Drain Runoff.doc