CC SR 20201020 E - Abalone Cove Fees Ordinance
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 10/20/2020
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to adopt Ordinance No. 639 amending Section
13.06.030 (Charges Levied) of Chapter 13.06 (Sewer Service Charges – Abalone Cove
Landslide Abatement District) of Title 13 (Public Services) of the Rancho Palos Verdes
Municipal Code relating to sewer service charges for the Abalone Cove Sewer System.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
1) Adopt Ordinance No. 639, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES AMENDING SECTION 13.06.030 OF CHAPTER 13.06 (SEWER
SERVICE CHARGES – ABALONE COVE LANDSLIDE ABATEMENT DISTRICT)
OF TITLE 13 (PUBLIC SERVICES) OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES
MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO ANNUAL SEWER SERVICE CHARGES.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: James O'Neill, Project Manager
REVIEWED BY: Ron Dragoo, PE, Principal Engineer
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Ordinance No. 639 (page A-1)
To view the October 6, 2020 City Council meeting staff report, click on the following link:
https://rpv.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=5&clip_id=3738&meta_id=86867
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
On October 6, 2020, Ordinance No.639 (Attachment A) was introduced by the City
Council. The Ordinace amends Section 13.06.030 (Sewer Service Charges – Abalone
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Cove Landslide Abatement District) of Title 13 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal
Code (RPVMC) by replacing the discontinued Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County
Consumer Price Index (CPI) with the current Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) as shown below (new text in
bold italics, deletions in strikethrough) and in the draft ordinance (Attachment A):
The sewer service charge may be increased annually by an amount equal to the
annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Metropolitan Area (the “CPI-U”)
Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers for the Los Angeles-Riverside-
Orange County Areas (the "CPI"), or its successor index, including all items as
published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of March 1 of each year, not
to exceed a maximum increase of seven percent per year. For any fiscal year that
the sewer service charge is not increased by the allowable increase in the CPI-U
CPI for that year, the city may add the increase for that year to the CPI-U CPI
increase in subsequent years.
As the proposed code amendment only replaces the discontinued CPI with the current
CPI-U, Proposition 218 requirements are not triggered because no increased sewer
service charges are being imposed. However, every year around June, Staff presents
an annual engineer’s report that assesses the estimated maintenance costs for the
coming fiscal year. In accordance with the requirement of Prop. 218, Staff will provide at
least 45 days’ notice to residents of any proposed rate increase.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends the City Council adopt Ordinance No. 639 amending RPVMC
Section 13.06.030 relating to annual sewer service charges for the Abalone Cove
Sewer System.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Do not adopt Ordinance No. 639.
2. Direct Staff to revise Ordinance No. 639 for re-introduction and/or second
reading at a future City Council Meeting
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ORDINANCE NO. 639
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
AMENDING SECTION 13.06.030 (CHARGES LEVIED) OF
CHAPTER 13.06 (SEWER SERVICE CHARGES – ABALONE
COVE LANDSLIDE ABATEMENT DISTRICT) OF TITLE 13
(PUBLIC SERVICES) OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES
MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO ANNUAL SEWER SERVICE
CHARGES
WHEREAS, on August 7, 2001, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes
(“City”) adopted Ordinance No. 368, which established sewer maintenance fees for the
Abalone Cove Sewer System as set forth in Chapter 13.06 (Sewer Service Charges –
Abalone Cove Landslide Abatement District) of Title 13 (Public Services) of the Rancho
Palos Verdes Municipal Code (“RPVMC”); and
WHEREAS, the Abalone Cove Sewer System is owned, operated, and maintained
by the City; and
WHEREAS, RPVMC Section 13.06.030 provides that the annual sewer service
charge may be increased annually by an amount equal to the annual increase in the
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange
County Areas (the “CPI”), including all items as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics as of March 1 of each year; and
WHEREAS, in December 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics discontinued the
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CPI as a result of the introduction of the Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Metropolitan
Area (the “CPI-U”); and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend RPVMC Section 13.06.030 by
replacing the discontinued CPI with the current CPI -U to allow for future increases to the
annual sewer service charge as a measure of inflation; and
WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Section 5471 and Government Code Section
54344 authorize the City Council to prescribe, revise and collect , fees and charges for
services and facilities furnished by the City in connection with the Abalone Cove Sewer
System.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES, CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein
by this reference.
Section 2. Section 13.06.030 (Charges levied) of Chapter 13.06 (Sewer Service
Charges – Abalone Cove Landslide Abatement District) of Title 13 (Public Services) of
the RPVMC is hereby amended as follows, with the remaining portions of Section
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13.06.030 remaining unchanged (new text in bold italics, deletions in strikethrough):
“13.06.030 – Charges levied.
An annual sewer service charge is levied upon each parcel of real property in
the district, as shown on the map adopted by the city council on January 6, 1981,
attached as Exhibit A to Resolution No. 81-4 on file with the city clerk, and connected
to the sanitary sewer system. The annual sewer service charge is necessary to pay
for the cost for services and facilities furnished by the city beginning October 2001.
The amount of the sewer service charge shall be computed by multiplying the
Equivalent Residential Units ("ERUs") for the current land use on the parcel, as of
the 1st day of March of each year, as shown on Table B set out in Section 13.06.060,
by the maximum annual charge per ERU for the applicable zone as shown in Table
C, set out in Section 13.06.070. For the purposes of this chapter, the land uses for
the parcels in the district have been assigned sewer flow rates, expressed in ERUs,
based on the Los Angeles County Sanitation District standards, as set forth in the
"Master Service Charge Ordinance of South Bay Cities Sanitation District of Los
Angeles County" as adopted March 18, 1998. The flow rates for the Abalone Cove
Beach property are based on information provided by the city of Los Angeles Bureau
of Sanitation. The sewer service charge may be increased annually by an amount
equal to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Metropolitan Area (the
“CPI-U”) Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers for the Los Angeles -
Riverside-Orange County Areas (the "CPI"), or its successor index, including all
items as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of March 1 of each year,
not to exceed a maximum increase of seven percent per year. For any fiscal year
that the sewer service charge is not increased by the allowable increase in the CPI-
U CPI for that year, the city may add the increase for that year to the CPI-U CPI
increase in subsequent years.
Section 3. This ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality
Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Section 15273 and Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines
because (a) the annual sewer service charges are for the purpose of meeting operational
and maintenance expenses for services and facilities furnished by the City; and (b) the
annual sewer service charges constitute a government funding mechanism or other
government fiscal activity which does not involve any commitment to any specific project
which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment.
Section 4. If any Section, subsection, sentence, clause, 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
portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this ordinance, and each and every Section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase
thereof not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of
the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 5. The City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be posted in 3 public
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places in the City within 15 days after its passage, in accordance with the provisions of
Section 36933 of the Government Code. The City Clerk shall further certify to the adoption
and posting of this Ordinance, and shall cause this Ordinance and its certification,
together with proof of posting, to be entered in the Book of Ordinances of the Council of
this City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
Section 6. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall go into effect on the 31st day
after its passage.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this ___ day of _____, 2020.
John Cruikshank, Mayor
Attest:
City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )ss
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES )
I, Emily Colborn, 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. 639 passed first reading on October 6, 2020, was duly adopted by the City
Council of said City at a regular meeting thereof held on ________, 20 20, and that the
same was passed and adopted by the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
______________________
Emily Colborn, City Clerk
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