For Utilities Commission Meeting [May 21, 2024]
TO: Honorable Chairperson and Commission
APPROVAL: Toyasha Sebbag, Assistant to the City Manager
FROM: Nicole Hemmans, Senior Administrative Analyst
Title
Extraterritorial Wastewater Service Agreement.
RECOMMENDATION
Request that the Utilities Commission recommend that the City Council and Rialto Utility Authority approve an Extraterritorial Wastewater Service Agreement with Avila Collection, LLC for the property located at 10719 Linden Avenue and 10598 Orchard Street, Bloomington, CA, and includes Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 0257-021-28, 0257-031-35, 0257-012-12, and 0257-021-02.
Body
BACKGROUND
Avila Collection, LLC, a California Limited Liability Company, is planning to construct an 181-unit Townhome project encompassing 12.87 acres of vacant land in the Bloomington Area. The 181 attached units will range from 1200-1860 square feet with 8 affordable homes in the community. The project is located just west of Cedar Avenue and north of Santa Ana Avenue, Bloomington, CA., and will connect to the Santa Ana interceptor just west of Cedar Avenue. The project would construct a private sewer system and would connect to the Santa Ana interceptor through a private road heading south from the project to Santa Ana. It is proposed to add 27,150 gallons per day (gpd) to the City of Rialto (City)/Rialto Utility Authority (RUA)’s wastewater treatment plant capacity. Dopudja Wells Consulting confirmed that there is no issue in allowing this project to connect to the City/RUA’s wastewater system. A copy of the site plan (ATTACHMENT 1), sewer plan (ATTACHMENT 2), and site map (ATTACHMENT 3) are attached to this report.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The closest connection point to the City/RUA’s sewer system is on Santa Ana Avenue between Linden Avenue and Cedar Avenue. The onsite sewer for the project will be privately managed, maintained, and replaced by the governing Homeowners Association (HOA) for the project. A private sewer main will run along the east side of the property line then 40 linear feet will run down Santa Ana Avenue to connect to the City/RUA’s existing 8-inch sewer main at Larch Avenue and Santa Ana Avenue.
It should be noted that an Extraterritorial Service Agreement is required to be approved by the City Council/Rialto Utility Authority Board and the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) before project construction. There are no costs to the City/RUA to construct this project.
The Water Subcommittee heard this item at its March 27, 2024, meeting and provided feedback that the item be placed on the Utilities Commission agenda for consideration to move the item forward to the City Council for approval.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The request is not a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The proposed agreements to connect the properties to the City’s sanitary sewer system will not result in a direct or indirect physical change in the environment because the system has sufficient capacity and, as such, the action is not a “Project” as defined under CEQA.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
Approval of the proposed action complies with the following City Guiding Principle:
Our City government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
Approval of the proposed action also complies with the following General Plan Policies:
Policy 3-6.1: Coordinate all development proposals with other affected public entities to ensure the provision of adequate public facilities and infrastructure services.
Policy 3-9.1: Require that all new development or expansion of existing facilities bear the cost of expanding the wastewater disposal system to handle the increased loads which they are expected to generate.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed the agreement and resolutions and approved them as to form.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
To connect to the City/RUA’s wastewater system, the owner will be required to make a one-time development impact fee (DIF) payment at the Extraterritorial Rate of 1.3 times the standard rate. The required connection fees are determined by the planned use of the facility and are approximately $604,536 for both Wastewater Collection and Treatment fees. The calculations are shown in Table 1 below.
Operating Budget Impact
Rialto Water Services (RWS) will bill the property owner for service at 1.3 times the standard applicable sewer rate. The RWS-Veolia will absorb the operating costs to serve the property, within the scope of the Concession Agreement.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
The sewer DIF fund will have an increased revenue of approximately $604,536 that can be used to fund capital improvement projects impacted by development activity and cannot be used to fund existing sewer deficiencies. This project will bring the existing sewer DIF fund account to approximately $8 million.