Politics & Government

Council Votes to Spread Costs of Sewer Lateral Relocations Among Ratepayers

Under the proposed plan, residents within the city's sewer district could be asked to vote on whether or not to accept a rate hike.

The city backtracked Monday night on a plan to make residents living above failing sewer main lines pay to reconnect to a replacement main. 

City Council voted unanimously to back a plan for spreading the cost of replacing sewer laterals, which connect individual homes to main lines, among ratepayers. Although main lines rarely need to be completely abandoned and relocated, 500 San Leandro homes face the possibility of needing to relocate their sewer laterals in the future, according to a city analysis. 

The issue has generated controversy among San Leandro residents in recent months following news that a collapsed sewer main in the northern part of the city needed to be abandoned and rebuilt. 

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Nine households in the so-called “Dowling Triangle” between Dowling Boulevard and Dutton and Beverly avenues were told they would have to foot the bill for reconnecting their homes to the new main. The homes sit on top of the sewer line, making replacement in the same spot impossible, according to city engineers.

The city council approved a financing plan last December to help residents pay for the work, which can cost up to $8,000.

Find out what's happening in San Leandrowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But after a backlash from outraged residents — many from the Dowling Triangle and surrounding area, but also from other parts of San Leandro — the city reversed course. 

The City Council decision on Monday would see the cost of relocating sewer laterals spread among residents living within the city's sewer district, which encompasses approximately one-third of the city on the north side. (The other two-thirds of the city lies within the Oro Loma Sanitary District.) 

The decision was greeted with applause from the dozen or so residents who showed up at City Hall to protest the original plan. 

Nevertheless, the alternative plan has potential pitfalls.

The city would likely have to raise sewer rates and create a fund to pay for sewer lateral relocations. This would require the lengthy and costly process of gaining approval from ratepayers. 

Local government entities wishing to raise rates or levy new taxes on property owners must abide by Prop 218, the "Right to Vote on Taxes Act," an initiative passed by voters in 1996.

Under Prop 218 rules, the city must first calculate the total cost of the project and the amount to be charged each property owner. Then it must mail notices and ballots to all homes in the district informing them of the proposed rate hike, and their ability to reject the rate hike if over 50 percent of ratepayers vote against it. Finally, the city must hold a public hearing and count the ballots.

In all, the process can take six months and cost between $20,000 and $60,000, according to the city's engineering director, Uche Udemezue. And although such measures often pass, there's no guarantee that ratepayers won't reject another bill hike. 

Initial estimates from the engineering department put the total potential liability of relocating private sewer laterals (assuming additional failures to main lines in the future) at $2 million to $4 million.

Nevertheless, Udemezue said the cost could potentially be paid for through rate hikes already scheduled for the coming years to fund a new water treatment plant. That is, if there are extra funds.

Ratepayers would still have to approve the funding switch under Prop 218 rules.  

Regardless, because the sewer main that passes underneath Dowling Triangle could fail at anytime, according to Udemezue, the nine homes sitting atop the line may have to pay the upfront cost of reconnecting to the replacement sewer main and get reimbursed afterwards, city officials suggested. 

City staff must now draft an ordinance that, assuming approval by the council, would make the plan official. The city's municipal code would also need to be amended. 


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