Pasadena Municipal Code Ch. 4.52 Sewer Use Fee and Storm

4.52.010 - Short title.¶

This chapter shall be known as the "sewer use charge ordinance."

(Ord. 4829 § 1, 1967)

4.52.020 - Sanitation sewer use rates.¶

A. Every customer served by the sanitary sewerage system of the city is subject to charges at the following rates per account:

Customer	Rate	Fiscal Year 2025	Fiscal Year 2026	Fiscal Year 2027	Fiscal Year 2028	Fiscal Year 2029
Residential (3 residential units or fewer)	Monthly Fixed Rate	$6.00	$6.96	$7.24	$7.53	$7.83
Residential (3 residential units or fewer)	Volumetric rate ($/hcf) (capped at 26 hcf bi-monthly)	$0.63	$0.73	$0.76	$0.79	$0.82
Commercial (including 4 or more residential units)	Monthly Fixed Rate	$6.00	$6.96	$7.24	$7.53	$7.83
Commercial (including 4 or more residential units)	Volumetric rate ($/hcf) (billed at 90% of water use)	$1.21	$1.40	$1.45	$1.51	$1.57

B. The city council may, from time to time, amend fees for sanitary sewerage system service by resolution.

C. All water introduced into the city sewers from customers not subject to the water rate ordinance will be estimated and subject to this same charge.

(Ord. No. 7427, § 1, 6-17-2024; Ord. 6376, § 2, 1990; Ord. 5370, § 1, 1978; Ord. 4829, § 2, 1967)

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4.52.025 - Storm drain sewer use rates.¶

Every property from which stormwater discharges and enters a city storm drain sewer or other stormwater drainage facility will be subject to a charge based on the following formula:

RUNOFF QUANTITY (area of property [acres] × runoff factor)	= Number of X units used
BASIC UNIT (0.15 acre × 0.23)	= Number of X units used

Unit charge of $18.51 per unit, effective July 1, 1990, and increased annually thereafter by the Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles/Ana-heim/Riverside area = Storm drain sewer use charge

The runoff factor shall be determined by reference to the land usage of the property for which the charge is being applied as set forth below:

Land Use	Run-Off Factor
Residential
Single	0.23
Double, duplex, or two-unit	0.23
Three-unit (any combination)	0.45
Four-unit (any combination)	0.45
Five or more apartments or units	0.53
Roominghouses	0.53
Commercial
Vacant land	0.005
Stores	0.53
Store combinations (with office or residential)	0.53
Department stores	0.70
Supermarkets	0.70
Shopping centers (neighborhood community)	0.70
Shopping centers (regional)	0.70
Office buildings	0.65
Motels and hotels	0.60
Professional buildings	0.65
Restaurants, cocktail lounges	0.70
Wholesale and manufacturing outlets	0.70
Bank, savings and loans	0.70
Service shops	0.70
Service stations	0.90
Auto, recreation equipment, construction equipment	0.90
Parking lots (commercial use properties)	0.90
Animal kennels	0.53
Nurseries or greenhouses	0.53
Industrial
Vacant land	0.005
Light manufacturing	0.90
Heavy manufacturing	0.90
Warehousing, distribution, storage	0.90
Food processing plants	0.75
Motion picture, radio, and television	0.80
Lumberyards	0.80
Mineral processing	0.53
Parking lots (industrial use properties)	0.90
Open storage	0.53
Recreational
Theaters	0.65
Bowling alleys	0.65
Clubs, lodge halls, fraternal organizations	0.70
Athletic and amusement facilities	0.65
Golf courses	0.025
Camps	0.025
Skating rinks	0.65
Institutional Properties
Churches	0.60
Schools	0.53
Colleges, universities	0.60
Hospitals	0.65
Homes for the aged	0.65
Mausoleums and mortuaries	0.53
Miscellaneous
Utility	0.53
Petroleum and gas	0.025
Rights-of-way	0.025

No charge shall be made or collected where no portion of stormwater on the property drains into a city storm drain sewer or stormwater drainage facility.

(Ord. 6376 § 3, 1990; Ord. 5592 § 1(c), 1983)

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4.52.030 - Billing.¶

The sanitary sewer fee imposed by this chapter shall be collected by adding the same to the utility bills. The charges shall be for the period covered by the utility bills and shall be payable at the same time and in the same manner.

The storm drain sewer fee imposed by this chapter shall be collected by adding the same to the Los Angeles County tax bill. The charges shall be for the period covered by the tax bill and shall be payable at the same time and in the same manner.

(Ord. 6376 § 4, 1990: Ord. 4829 § 3, 1967)

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4.52.040 - Civil debt.¶

Any fee or charge imposed by this chapter shall be a civil debt owing to the city from both the occupant and the owner of the property.

(Ord. 6376 § 5, 1990; Ord. 5582 § 1(d), 1983: Ord. 4829 § 4, 1967)

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4.52.050 - Fund created.¶

The city controller is authorized and directed to create a special activity fund for sanitary and storm drain sewer maintenance, repair and construction, and is directed to deposit the receipts hereunder into said fund.

(Ord. 5592 § 1(e), 1983: Ord. 4829 § 5, 1967)

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4.52.060 - Reporting of collections and transfer to city controller.¶

The general manager and chief engineer of the municipal water and power department shall give a monthly report to the city controller of the total amount billed and the total of such collections not later than 30 days after the end of the month reported. Concurrently therewith he shall transfer all moneys received hereunder to the city controller, less the direct costs for billing and collection.

(Ord. 4829 § 6, 1967)

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4.52.070 - Exemption.¶

The director of finance may exempt from collection or modify the means of collection of any fee imposed under this chapter when the director of finance determines that the cost of collection under the means specified herein exceeds the amount of the fee to be collected.

(Ord. 6376 § 6, 1990: Ord. 5499 § 1, 1980)

Exceptions & meaning →