ORD 379 ORDINANCE NO. 379
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
REGARDING STORM WATER AND URBAN RUNOFF POLLUTION
CONTROL AND AMENDING CHAPTER 13.10 OF TITLE 13 OF
THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE
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, citing 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 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.
Ordinance No. 379
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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 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
Ordinance No. 379
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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
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;
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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;
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
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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;
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).
Ordinance No. 379
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[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;
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
Ordinance No. 379
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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.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 28th day of August 2002.
i .,
MA Sir,
ATTEST:
`�► c
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. 379
passed first reading on August 6, 2002, was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of
said City at a regular meeting thereof held on August 28, 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: one
CITY CLERK
Ordinance No. 379
Page 8 of 8
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 September 5, 2002, she caused to be posted the following document
entitled:
Ordinance No. 379 — 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.
a . i / /
L ._2L
City Clerk