Meeting Date: February 2, 2022 Agenda No. Item 6.2 Agenda Item Title: Request for Fee Waiver for OSAA at 5388 Sonoma Hwy Santa Rosa

Background

The following summary is based on Sonoma LAFCO staff research and emails from the City of Santa Rosa staff, the County of Sonoma staff, the current owner of the parcels and her representatives.

In July 1973, Alma Miller, the owner of the two parcels located at 5388 Sonoma Highway (APN 031-120-049) and 5527 Melita Road (APN 031-120-060), obtained a Utility Certificate for a sewer connection to one single family dwelling on the Melita Road parcel. At some point in time after that, she illegally connected the Sonoma Hwy parcel to the sewer lateral for the Melita Road parcel.

In 2010, Ms. Miller deeded the Sonoma Hwy parcel to her daughter, Esther Miller. In 2015, the house on the Sonoma Hwy parcel was partially burned in a fire that took the life of Esther. The illegal connection was discovered when the current owner of the parcels, Ms. Miller’s other daughter Lora Blaine, worked to rebuild the fire damaged home and clear code violations. Alma died in October 2020 leaving both parcels to Ms. Blaine.

In April 2018, Ms. Blaine contacted Andrew Trippel, a City Planner, to determine how to resolve the issue. Mr. Trippel stated in an email to Ms. Blaine that the subject parcel is located in an unincorporated County Island not currently under a City-County agreement for City services.

City Council Policy 300-002 Rule 1 General Rule states that City water and/or sewer service may be extended only to an existing use that is situated outside the City limits but within the City’s ultimate urban boundary if all the following conditions are met: 

• The existing use is legal; and
• The existing use is consistent with the City’s General Plan; and
• A public health hazard exists with respect to the use’s existing water and/or sewage disposal system and connection to the City’s water and/or sewer system would remove the health hazard. 

The Policy further states in Rule 2 for County Islands and Corridor Areas that for an existing use in a County Island, a Utility Certificate approved under this rule is subject to the following Conditions of Approval: 

1. The property owner must either annex the property or, if the property is not currently annexable, execute and record an annexation covenant and agreement to annex when it becomes annexable.
2. The applicant and owner must agree to fulfill City imposed improvement conditions.
3. The extension of service(s) approved shall be limited to the existing specific use.
4. Costs of all facilities needed shall be paid by the applicant.
5. The applicant shall pay all City fees and charges applicable to the approved connection(s). 

Mr. Trippel told the owner that Sonoma Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) should be contacted for information regarding the possibility of annexation and the extension of sewer service to the Sonoma Hwy parcel. Section 56133 to the Cortese Knox Hertzberg Act gives LAFCOs jurisdiction over the extension of the City’s services outside of its boundaries. In this case, as the parcel is located outside of the City boundary but within the City’s sphere of influence, Commission policy states that an extension of City’s services will be considered in cases of an existing or impending threat to public health and safety. 

In July 2018, Mr. Trippel met with Ms. Blaine, Mr. Albrecht and Mike Robertson of Robertson Engineering. He reviewed what he had told them in April and reiterated that they needed to check with PRMD to find out if the County would issue a septic permit. He also told them to contact LAFCO to see if they could annex the two parcels. Mr. Robertson contacted Carole Cooper, Sonoma LAFCO Assistant Executive Officer, who informed him that as the parcel was located within a small, unincorporated island, Sonoma LAFCO would require that the entire island be included in the annexation.

In August 2020, Ms. Blaine reached out to Monet Sheikhali, City Planner, who in an email to both Ms. Blaine and Sonoma LAFCO, stated the same information that was provided to Ms. Blaine in previous communications.

Sonoma LAFCO staff responded to Ms. Sheikhali’s email stating that as the connection to the Sonoma Hwy parcel is not legal, the remedies to legalize it from a LAFCO perspective were as follows:

1. Annexation of all the parcels in the island;
2. Repair or replacement of the existing septic system
3. Connection through an OSAA which means they have to prove an existing or impending threat to public health and safety or get an exception to policy from the Commission; 

Staff’s analysis determined that annexation of the parcel is not feasible as the land values of the remaining parcels in the island are sufficient to stop an annexation proposal through protest. Initial contacts with some of the other landowners show that there is not an interest in annexation.

A review by Gabriel Felix of Permit Sonoma Well and Septic Division of the preperc and percolation testing performed Apex Septic Design indicates the subject parcel will not support a new or replacement onsite, wastewater treatment system that complies with County regulations.

Staff believes that the most expedient and efficient method to correct the illegal connection is to authorize an extension of a new sewer lateral to serve only the existing dwelling on the subject parcel through an Outside Service Area Agreement (OSAA). The City has submitted an OSAA application as well as a copy of the recorded annexation covenant.

The matter before the Commission is not the approval of the OSAA. Ms. Blaine is requesting a waiver of the fees for the OSAA, totaling $2535, due to financial hardship.

1. Letter from Ms. Blaine requesting fee waiver