Council Slams Lid on Toilet Ordinance Change

A move by Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson to shift the responsibility of installing low-flush toilets from home sellers to buyers went down the drain at City Hall on Wednesday.

Bernson argued that a city ordinance that went into effect Jan. 1 requiring sellers to retrofit homes with water-saving toilets at the time of sale would be better enforced if buyers instead were given a year to make the change themselves.

He said the Building and Safety Department could enforce the rule in conjunction with its regular inspections of gas shut-off valves.

The proposition divided the two council panels that considered it--the Public Safety Committee, which favored the change, and the Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which opposed it.

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who chairs the commerce panel and the sponsor of the city’s first low-flush ordinance in 1989, said the city should give the new regulation a chance.

Galanter criticized Bernson’s proposal as being too difficult to enforce, saying: “It’s either not going to work at all, which is what I think will happen, or it’s going to cost a bunch of money.”

David Freeman, the Department of Water and Power’s general manager, also opposed the change. He said the measure would be “impossible to enforce.”

Since the city adopted a rebate program in 1990 for residents who replace older models with low-flush toilets, about 30% of the city’s toilets have been replaced. Typically, the new toilets consume less than half the water older models use.

Councilwoman Laura Chick, chair of the Public Safety Committee, backed Bernson’s proposal as a way to encourage even more water conservation.

“If it is the buyer of the home who is going to reap the benefits [of lower water bills] . . . is it not the buyer who has the greatest incentive to spend more money and install a higher-quality toilet?” Chick said.

After a spirited hourlong debate that included public comments, the council voted 9 to 4 to leave the ordinance as is, with the home seller responsible for installing the low-flush toilets.