Developers May Be Required to Pay Fee for Water Hookups

A large part of the estimated $200 million it will cost to provide water to future residents of the fast-growing Santa Clarita Valley may be derived from yet another fee on new homes.

Castaic Lake Water Agency officials have proposed levying water-service connection fees on developers ranging from $725 to $1,015 a housing unit, beginning Sept. 1. Developers already are required to pay fees on new homes for sewers, roads and schools.

The water agency’s 11-member board of directors is scheduled to decide Wednesday whether to adopt the proposal, after a public hearing Tuesday night.

The more than $3 million expected to be derived from the fees each year would help pay the $200-million price tag for an ambitious program set in motion by the board last year. The program was developed in response to predictions that the area will run out of water by 1992 if growth trends continue.

Big Increase Predicted

Los Angeles County planners predict that the Santa Clarita Valley’s population will increase from its current 110,000 to 270,000 by 2010, according to Mary Spring, past president of the agency’s 11-member board.

“If we do nothing, we will simply run out of water. We must never allow this valley to go dry,” Spring said.

The $200-million water plan would provide more than enough water for the expected population growth, Spring said.

The program includes development of groundwater storage banks, implementation of a water reclamation program, the installation of miles of new pipelines, expansion of the agency’s existing facilities and the purchase of more water from the State Water Project. It will enable the agency and the area’s four water companies to provide the 115,000 acre feet that will be needed each year to accommodate the new residents.

Copies of Plan Available

Without the program, delivery of only 52,000 acre feet of water is assured through the State Water Project and local groundwater sources, water agency engineers said. Copies of the water plan are available for public scrutiny at Santa Clarita Valley libraries.

Legislation broadening the power of the water agency’s board, carried by Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), who represents the Santa Clarita Valley, was approved by the state Legislature last September. The measure, among other things, authorized the agency to buy surplus water and levy fees.

Notices explaining the water program and the fee proposal were mailed to 40,000 households toward the end of June and have generated little public response, officials say. Frank Sherrill, the agency’s engineer, said the agency office has received fewer than 40 telephone calls from homeowners since the notices were sent.

The Building Industry Assn. of Southern California, a group representing developers, responded in writing to the notice and is expected to send a representative to the public hearing.

BIA spokesman Richard Wirth asked the water agency’s board to make the fee effective Jan. 1, if it is imposed. He also asked that the fee be collected either when the building permit is obtained or a water meter is installed, whichever is later.

Seeking Other Finances

Wirth noted that fees on developers are escalating and called for formation of a task force to suggest alternate ways of financing the water program and report back to the agency board Dec. 1.

“Basically, what we’re saying is that we recognize the need,” Wirth said. “But there may be alternate ways of funding a portion of the expenses.”

For example, he said, planning money may be available from the federal Clean Water Act, approved by Congress in October, 1986.

“I think the Castaic agency’s doing an excellent job of planning for the future,” Wirth said. “We’re not trying to get out of paying our fair share. We’re just saying, ‘Let’s put our heads together and see what’s available.’ ”

He said the task force should include representatives of the business community as well as developers and water experts.

Agency officials say they are willing to work with developers and already have had one meeting with them.

Spring said that, in planning the finances of the water program, the agency board adopted two basic policies.

“Each property owner pays for that which he receives,” she said. “Future residents pay for expansion.”

Sherrill said that, if approved, the connection fees will bring in an estimated $3.08 million the first year. They could be lowered or raised each year, depending on the agency’s needs, he said.

Fees Vary by Area

The fee proposal outlines four fee schedules for the four service areas of the companies that purchase water from the agency. They were computed according to the quantity each buys from the agency, said Robert Sagehorn, agency general manager.

The fee in the areas served by the Los Angeles County Water Works District No. 36, which relies totally on the agency for its water, is the highest, at $1,015 a home. Proposed fees in other areas are Valencia Water Co., $725; Santa Clarita Water Co., $960, and Newhall County Water District, $874.

An annual “standby fee” on undeveloped land also has been proposed. But that fee will not be collected during the 1987-88 fiscal year, Sagehorn said. No amount has been set for that fee, which is expected to be more controversial than the water-connection fee, agency officials said.

Agency board members have discussed annual charges of $5 to $20 an acre for that fee, which probably will be imposed in 1988-89. State law requires that the agency hold another public hearing before that fee is imposed.