RESOLUTION NO. 2022-053
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF FONTANA, CALIFORNIA APPROVING AN INCREASE TO THE CAPITAL CAPACITY REIMBURSEMENT FEE FOR CAPITAL EXPANSION OF THE REGIONAL SEWER SYSTEM CAPACITY IN ACCORDANCE WITH YEARLY INCREASES IMPOSED BY THE INLAND EMPIRE UTILITIES AGENCY FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022/23.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code Sections 66013 and 66016, and the certain Chino Basin Regional Sewage Service Contract (“Contract”) and amendments thereto (“Regional Sewage Service Contract” or “Contract”) between the City of Fontana and the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (“IEUA”) by which IEUA provides contract services in the Contract; and WHEREAS, the fees charged by IEUA under the Contract are related to capital improvements made by IEUA pursuant to its Capital Improvement Plan (“CIP”), and the Contract requires the City to collect and provide the fees to IEUA upon request; and WHEREAS, the current IEUA Capital Capacity Reimbursement Fee, which has been in place since July 2021, is $7,379 per Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU); and WHEREAS, on May 18, 2022, the IEUA Board of Directors adopted Resolution No. 2022-5-2 authorizing an increase to the Capital Capacity Reimbursement Fee from $7,379 to $7,600 per EDU effective July 1, 2022; and WHEREAS, the $221 increase represents a three percent increase for FY 2022/23 to cover inflation WHEREAS, the City may impose and increase a Capital Capacity Reimbursement Fee for development projects in the City, provided that such fee and increase thereto do not exceed the estimated cost of providing the facilities or service for which the fee is imposed; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code Sections 66016, a duly noticed public meeting was conducted by the City Council of the City of Fontana, on June 14, 2022, and no less than ten (10) days prior to such meeting, data was made available to the public indicating the amount of cost, or estimated cost, required to provide sewage collection and treatment facilities and service, as well as the revenue sources anticipated to provide such service; and WHEREAS the publicly disclosed data as provided by IEUA demonstrates that the Capital Capacity Reimbursement Fee does not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing sewage collection and treatment facilities and service, and that the amount of the Capital Capacity Reimbursement Fee reflects new or increased public facilities and services that are of proportional benefit to the persons or property being charged.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FONTANA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AND FINDS AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are true and correct.
Section 2. The City Council of Fontana hereby finds as follows:
The purpose of the Capital Capacity Reimbursement Fee is to supplement ad valorem taxes to finance wastewater interceptor, treatment and disposal facilities within the service area as defined by the Contract.
The Capital Capacity Fee complies with the requirements of Government Code section 66013 and does not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the facilities or services for which the charge is imposed.
The Capital Capacity Reimbursement Fee paid to IEUA, pursuant to the Regional Sewage Service Contract and the Ten-Year Program, shall be deposited into a distinct capital facilities fund and shall be used to finance only debts identified in the Ten-Year Program.
The Ten-Year CIP has been reviewed and approved by the IEUA’s Regional Technical Committee and Regional Policy Committee.
Section 3. The
the Capital Capacity Fee shall be $7,600 per EDU effective July 1, 2022. The capacity charges will be imposed on any person requesting a new, additional, or expanded connection to the sewer system, as the case may be, and shall be due at the time an application for such connection is made and paid prior to making such connection.
Section 4. The establishment and increase of capacity charges is statutorily and categorically exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). First, the capacity charges fit within the statutory exemptions for local agency decisions involving rates, tolls, or other charges pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080(b)(8) Second, the capacity charges, in and of themselves, do not have the potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and therefore are not considered a “project” under CEQA. (Pub. Resources Code, § 21065, 14 Cal. Code Regs., § 15378, subd. (a).) Second, the capacity charges are covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment; here, there is no possibility that the capacity charges, in and of themselves, may have a significant effect on the environment. (14 Cal. Code Regs., § 15061, subd. (b)(3).) And third, the capacity charges are considered a government funding mechanism that do not involve any commitment on behalf of the City to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment. (14 Cal. Code Regs., § 15378, subd. (b)(4).) City staff are therefore directed to prepare and file a Notice of Exemption, under the California Environmental Quality Act, within five (5) working days of approval of this Resolution.
Section 5. The City Council has considered any comments received at the public meeting on June 14, 2022, prior to adoption of this Resolution. The determination that the capacity charges are not subject to CEQA review reflects the City Council’s independent judgment and analysis. The documents and materials that constitute the record of proceedings on which these findings have been based are located at 8353 Sierra Avenue, Fontana, CA 92335. The custodian for these records is the City Clerk.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 14th day of June 2022.
I, Germaine McClellan Key, City Clerk of the City of Fontana, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is the actual resolution duly and regularly adopted by the City Council at a regular meeting on the 14th day of June 2022, by the following vote to-wit:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
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City Clerk of the City of Fontana
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Mayor of the City of Fontana
ATTEST:
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City Clerk
Resolution No. 2022-__