SAN FERNANDO : Plan for Flat-Rate Sewage Fee Dropped

It’s back to the drawing board for the San Fernando City Council, which has decided to scrap plans to impose a flat-rate fee of $32 per property parcel to finance additional sewage treatment capacity at the city of Los Angeles’ Hyperion facility.

Faced with public opposition to the flat-rate charge, the council heard an alternative plan Monday night from city engineer Jerry Wedding. That proposal would establish a one-time charge appearing on tax bills based on water consumption.

If adopted, the plan would cost property owners between $8 and $45, depending on their rate of water use.

San Fernando now has 1.14 million gallons of daily capacity at the Hyperion plant, Wedding said, but the city of Los Angeles estimates that San Fernando will need an additional 1.26 million gallons of daily capacity by the beginning of 1994.

The additional capacity will cost about $305,000, Wedding said.

During the public portion of the meeting, several residents and property owners voiced displeasure over being charged anything more.

Richard Weston, of Knox Street, complained that some single-family residences house two or more families, putting an undue burden on city services. He said the additional capacity needed at Hyperion is a direct result of such undocumented increases in population.

“The city codes aren’t being enforced,” he charged.

“We got people stacked in here like sardines,” said Dushan Pupich, also of Knox Street. Pupich disputed claims by the city engineer that an average of 62% of the water used by a household ends up in the sewer system, contending that most of his water is used for landscaping purposes.

Landlord Cam Noltemeyer, who lives in Santa Clarita, said the city’s redevelopment agency was supposed to set aside money to help pay for such things as increased sewage capacity. City Atty. Julia Sylva said no fund was ever set up.

Following the public hearing on the matter, the council directed the city engineer to finalize plans for a six-tiered parcel charge and agreed to hear additional public comment at its Sept. 20 meeting.