City of Corona
Staff Report
400 S. Vicentia Ave.
Corona, CA 92882
File #: 22-0259
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
DATE: 04/06/2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
SUBJECT:
Ordinance No. 3346 amending chapters 13.08, 13.12, 13.14, and 13.28 of the Corona Municipal Code relating to water and sewer regulations; Resolution No. 2022-023 amending Resolution No. 2021-102 relating to electric energy rules and regulation; and Resolution 2022-024 amending the Administrative Penalties Schedule.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
During the City reorganization in August 2021, the Department of Water and Power’s name was changed to the Utilities Department. This name change also resulted in title changes for management. Amendments to the Corona Municipal Code and Electric Energy Rules and Regulations (Resolution 2021-102) are required to update the department name and titles. Additionally, clarifying changes are being made to Corona Municipal Code Sections 13.08, 13.12, 13.14, 13.28 and Resolution 2021-102 to address various sections, many of which relate to the recent Citywide Fee Study. Resolution 2022-024 will add water theft penalties included in Corona Municipal Code Section
13.14.170 and public sewerage system waste penalties included in Section 13.08 to the Administrative Penalties Schedule.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the:
a. City Council introduce, by title only, and waive full reading of Ordinance No. 3346, first reading of an ordinance to amend chapters 13.08, 13.12, 13.14, and 13.28 of the Corona Municipal Code to authorize implementation and enforcement by the Utilities Department and the Director of Utilities of these sections and to clarify existing sections of the code. b. City Council adopt Resolution No. 2022-023 amending Resolution 2021-102 relating to electric energy rules and regulations to authorize implementation and enforcement by the Utilities City of Corona Page 1 of 5 Printed on 4/6/2022
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File #: 22-0259
energy rules and regulations to authorize implementation and enforcement by the Utilities Department and the Director of Utilities of these sections and to clarify existing sections of the Resolution.
c. City Council adopt Resolution No. 2022-024 to amend the Administrative Penalties Schedule to include water theft penalties and public sewerage system waste penalties established by Ordinance No. 3346 in chapters 13.14.170 and 13.08 respectively. d. Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct that the City Council take the above action.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
On August 2, 2021, several services were realigned across City departments. This reorganization was intended to level the workload across the organization, create better alignment with strategic priorities, and foster new synergy among teams. As a part of the reorganization, the Maintenance Services Department, which was previously overseen by the General Manager of the Department of Water and Power, was reassigned to various departments. The only Maintenance Services division that remained with the Department of Water and Power was Refuse and Recycling. With this change, the department was renamed from the Department of Water and Power to the Utilities Department. In addition, the General Manager’s title was changed to the Director of Utilities. The Corona Municipal Code (CMC) and Electric Energy Rules and Regulations (Resolution 2021-102) require an amendment to update both the department name and the title of the director due to these changes.
The Citywide Master Fee Study was approved by City Council on March 16, 2022. The new Citywide Master Fee Recovery Schedule includes both updated and new fees for the Utilities Department.
Many of these fees are referenced in the CMC and in Resolution 2021-102. The proposed amendments to CMC chapters 13.08, 13.12, 13.14, 13.28, and Resolution 2021-102 will align the CMC and Electric Energy Rules and Regulations with the updated Citywide Master Fee Recovery Schedule.
In addition to these changes, two new sections are proposed to be added to the CMC, 13.14.170 Water Theft and 13.08.495 Administrative Penalties. During the review of the CMC, it was discovered that water theft was not addressed to provide recourse against offenders if water is stolen. Therefore Section 13.14.170 was added to prohibit water theft and authorize the implementation of administrative penalties for violations related to this section. This section will also address the misdemeanor penalty associated with water theft, removal of theft devices, and the availability of a hardship waiver per Government Code Section 53069.45. Section 13.08.495 provides clarity relating to administrative citations for public sewerage system waste regulation violations. This section ties the procedures for citations back to Chapter 1.08 of the code for consistency.
Chapter 13 of the CMC and the Electric Energy Rules and Regulations have been updated multiple times over the years. The most recent amendment to Chapter 13 of the code occurred in 2015. The most recent amendment to the Electric Energy Rules and Regulations occurred in 2021. The proposed changes will also provide clarity in certain sections of the code and Resolution No. 2021- City of Corona Page 2 of 5 Printed on 4/6/2022
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File #: 22-0259
102 in areas where processes have changed.
ANALYSIS:
Ordinance No. 3346 proposes to amend chapters 13.08, 13.12, 13.14 and 13.28 of the CMC. A redline draft of the proposed changes to the CMC is provided in Exhibits 1 - 4, and a summary of the proposed changes are as follows:
· Chapter 13.08 Public Sewerage System Waste Regulations o Department name change from the Department of Water and Power to the Utilities Department
o Title change from the General Manager to the Director of Utilities o Name change of the “SARI” (Santa Ana Regional Interceptor) line to the “Inland Empire Brine Line”
o Provide Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority (WRCRWA) inspection, review, and sampling authority now that the department discharges waste to their facilities
o Include the Citywide Master Fee Recovery Schedule as a referenced fee schedule o Allow fees to be updated by either ordinance or resolution o Remove the list of fees and unnecessary definitions from the appendix of this section. (Fees will be updated on the referenced fee schedules rather than directly in the CMC.) o Minor clarifying corrections that do not change the intentions of the code · Chapter 13.12 Sewer Connections
o Department name change from the Department of Water and Power to the Utilities Department
o Title change from the General Manager to the Director of Utilities o Update the name and definition of the Water Reclamation Capacity Fund, including its allowed uses
o Include a section of the code related to Interim Sewer Capacity. This section was previously included in Ordinance No. 3212. This amendment will add the language to the code.
o Allow fees to be updated by either ordinance or resolution o Minor clarifying corrections that do not change the intentions of the code · Chapter 13.14 Water and Sewer Regulations
o Department name change from the Department of Water and Power to the Utilities Department
o Title change from the General Manager to the Director of Utilities o Update fee names and descriptions to match the Citywide Master Fee Recovery Schedule
o Add new fees included on the Citywide Master Fee Recovery Schedule o Include the Citywide Master Fee Recovery Schedule as a referenced fee schedule o Align fee and fee schedule names across all sources
o Allow fees to be updated by either ordinance or resolution o Add language relating to Water Theft and associated penalties City of Corona Page 3 of 5 Printed on 4/6/2022
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o Add clarifying language to the “Line Size and Refund Agreements” section o Update order of utility payment application based on current procedures o Minor clarifying corrections that do not change the intentions of the code · Chapter 13.28 Recycled Water
o Change “Recycled Water” to “Reclaimed Water” to be consistent with current terminology
o Department name change from the Department of Water and Power to the Utilities Department
o Title change from the General Manager to the Director of Utilities o Update fee names and descriptions to match the Citywide Master Fee Recovery Schedule
o Remove language that conflicts with the new set up of fees approved on the Citywide Master Fee Recovery Schedule.
o Minor clarifying corrections that do not change the intentions of the code Resolution No. 2022-023 proposes to amend Resolution No. 2021-102 Electric Energy Rules and Regulations as follows:
· Department name change from the Department of Water and Power to the Utilities Department
· Title change from the General Manager to the Director of Utilities · Align fee and fee schedule names across all sources
· Include the Citywide Master Fee Recovery Schedule as a referenced fee schedule · Align procedures for set up of new accounts, related deposits, and after hours turn-ons to match language in the Water and Sewer sections of the CMC and current procedures Resolution No. 2022-024 proposes to amend the Administrative Penalties Schedule as follows:
· Water Theft
o First occurrence of water theft violation $130
o Second occurrence of water theft violation within twelve months $700 o Each additional occurrence of water theft violation within a twelve- month period $1,300
· Public Sewerage System Waste Regulations
o First occurrence of violation $1,000
o Second occurrence of violation $2,000
o Each additional occurrence of violation within a twelve-month period $5,000 FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Revenue increases/decreases related to fee changes were identified with the Citywide Master Fee Study at the March 16, 2022 City Council meeting and will be included in the Proposed Fiscal Year 2023 Budget. All other changes have no financial impact ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is City of Corona Page 4 of 5 Printed on 4/6/2022
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Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action is to approve changes to the Corona Municipal Code and Electric Energy Rules and Regulations, and there is no possibility that approving this Amendment will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: ERIN KUNKLE, BUSINESS SUPERVISOR
REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Redline of CMC 13.08
2. Exhibit 2 - Redline of CMC 13.12
3. Exhibit 3 - Redline of CMC 13.14
4. Exhibit 4 - Redline of CMC 13.28
5. Exhibit 5 - Ordinance No. 3346
6. Exhibit 6 - Resolution No. 2022-023
7. Exhibit 7 - Resolution No. 2022-024
City of Corona Page 5 of 5 Printed on 4/6/2022
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