Hermosa Beach Assesses Builders : Pressure on to Upgrade Fire Hydrants

Residential builders in Hermosa Beach are being assessed fees to help bring the city’s aging water system up to firefighting standards.

A tentative analysis shows that 66 of the city’s 240 fire hydrants need to be replaced, and 113 new ones need to be installed in areas where homes or businesses are too far from the nearest hydrant, according to Public Safety Director Steve Wisniewski.

The city has adopted national Uniform Fire Code standards that require the system to generate 1,500 gallons per minute, he said. The Fire Department and California Water Service--the private company that owns and operates the citywide water system--have been calculating the flows differently, he said. When the Fire Department recalculates the flows, it may find that it needs to upgrade or buy fewer hydrants.

In some cases, the hydrants’ outlets or the water mains are too small to allow a flow of 1,500 gallons per minute, city officials said. The maximum distance a structure should be from the nearest hydrant varies; neighborhoods with greater density need more hydrants, Wisniewski said.

The City Council voted this week to charge residential builders of two units or less, 50 cents a square foot to pay for improvements to existing fire hydrants or to add new ones. If a building of two units or less is demolished and replaced with larger building that does not exceed two units, the fee will apply only to the increased square footage of the new structure.

Builder Reimbursements

Builders of homes this size would be reimbursed for any expenditure over the cost of improvements to the firefighting system, which city officials estimated at 66 cents a square foot.

The council will pay a portion of the cost being born by smaller builders, contributing $50,000 a year toward the improvements.

Residential builders of three or more units and all other developers will be assessed the square-foot fee or charged for the cost of the improvements, whichever is greater. Such developers have been paying the entire cost of improvements.

The city will hire a consultant to set priorities for upgrading hydrants, Wisniewski said. As money becomes available, the worst hydrants would be upgraded or replaced, though areas where building is taking place will have priority.

Reviewed Plans

In recent months, Fire Department officials have reviewed plans for projects that would add more than 500 square feet of construction, and builders have been told they must pay to bring those neighborhoods’ systems up to code.

In several cases, adding a fire hydrant would not be enough to bring a neighborhood’s system up to code, and builders were being told they would have to pay for water mains as well. Costs of the improvements quoted to small-scale builders varied, but ranged up to $100,000.

Several builders complained to city officials and, after months of discussion, the City Council voted to impose the building fee. The council must approve the fee a second time--which it is expected to do at its June 28 meeting--and it will take effect 30 days later.

Emergency Ordinance

In the meantime, council members passed an emergency ordinance last month that put the fee into effect immediately, and they renewed that interim measure this week.

The fee will pay only for costs directly related to improving fire hydrants, city officials said. If water mains need to be improved, small-scale developers--two units or less--will still be able to build and the city will try to get the water company to pay for those improvements, they said.

Water company officials have said that the system provides adequate fire protection now and that the company cannot afford the extensive work that the city maintains is needed.