LOS ANGELES : Council OKs Adjustments to Lower Sewer Hookup Fees
The Los Angeles City Council took a step Wednesday to reduce sewer hookup fees by authorizing public works officials to periodically adjust standards used in calculating the charges.
The charges were set initially to pay for building and upgrading sewer lines. Council members now want to revamp the fee system because construction activity has slowed in the last seven years.
Elected officials also believe the fees pose a burden for developers. For the Metropolitan Water District’s new headquarters, for example, hookup would have cost $1 million without a $420,000 waiver from the council.
Without debate, the council passed an ordinance that allows the city engineer and Board of Public Works to adjust “sewage generation factors,” which will result in lower hookup fees for new construction projects.
The factors vary from business to business. For example, bakers pay a fee based on an estimate that a 1,000-square-foot bakery dumps 300 gallons of water into sewers each day.
According to a Public Works Committee report, the adjustments would result in a 10% to 25% fee reduction for most businesses.
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