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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Council Action Form dated March 27, 2018 ITEM # 53 DATE: 03-27-18 COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: ADDITION OF EFFECTIVE DATE TO RECENT CHAPTER 28 UPDATES BACKGROUND: On November 28, 2017, Council approved on third reading a series of updates to Chapter 28 of the Municipal Code (Utilities). One of the changes to the Code was the addition of a new paragraph that requires apartments, condominiums, and several other multi-family residential building types to provide individual water meters for each dwelling unit or tenant space. The Code language that was originally adopted did not include an effective date. By default, the effective date would be the date of publication of the ordinance in the local newspaper, which was December 5, 2018. The lack of an effective date has posed a problem for a small number of developers who had projects already under design. In particular, The Crawford redevelopment project had already been through an initial round of reviews by the City's Development Review Committee prior to the new Code language being proposed. As it was originally presented, The Crawford would have been eligible for an exemption under the Code language that was adopted, as it met the definition of an Independent Senior Living Facility, which is specifically called out as being exempt from the individual metering requirement. As a result, staff did not specifically reach out to the developer about the potential impacts of the proposed Code changes. Contemporaneous with the adoption of the Chapter 28 revisions, developers for The Crawford were negotiating a revised age restriction requirement with Council and the surrounding neighborhood. With that change, the project no longer meets the definition of an Independent Senior Living Facility and as a result would no longer be exempt from the individual metering requirement. Staff from Water & Pollution Control were not aware of the age restriction changes being considered; and the developers were likewise not aware of how the new age ,requirements for the project could impact their metering requirements. It was staff's intent that the adoption of the new Code requirement provide for a transition period that allowed developers to be aware of the requirement before getting too far into the design process. Unfortunately, staff failed to include an "effective date" for the individual metering requirement. To rectify that deficiency, staff is now recommending that the Municipal Code be revised to state that the requirement for individual metering "...shall not apply to any project for which a site development plan was submitted to the Planning and Housing Department for review prior to February 1, 2018." This would effectively "grandfather" The Crawford, allowing it to proceed with the single master meter construction that was originally presented to Water & Pollution Control staff. The addition of an effective date would also provide a "grandfathered" status to the redevelopment of 2516 Lincoln Way. As future projects are brought to the City's DRC, the obligation for individual metering can be identified early in the life of a development. The proposed change would also benefit any project that received a Site Development Plan approval and has not yet obtained a building permit for the project. The attached ordinance has been prepared by the Legal Department to incorporate the recommended effective date into Paragraph 28.214 of the Municipal Code. ALTERNATIVES: 1. Approve on first reading an ordinance exempting from the individual metering requirement those projects that had submitted a Site Development Plan to the Planning and Housing Department prior to February 1, 2018. 2. Approve on first reading an ordinance exempting from the individual metering requirement those projects that had submitted a site development plan to the Planning and Housing Department prior to some date other than February 1, 2018. 3. Do not approve the addition of an effective date provision for individual metering. That would require The Crawford to redesign their project to include individual meters for each dwelling unit before plumbing permits could be issued. CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: The revision to Chapter 28 requiring individual metering is part of an overall strategy to encourage water conservation. By requiring individual tenants to pay their own water and sewer bill, a stronger connection is made between consumption and price. Adopting an effective date for the individual metering provision is consistent with staffs intent when the provision was enacted late in 2017, and would allow those projects that had submitted a site development plan prior to February 8, 2018 to proceed under the previous Code language. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1 as described above.