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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07140ORDINANCE NO. 7140 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 7 OF TITLE XVI OF THE PUEBLO MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that: (Brackets indicate matter being omitted; underscoring indicates new matter.) QP(`T1r)K1 'I Subsection (d) of Section 16 -7 -23 of Chapter 7 of Title XVI of the Pueblo Municipal Code, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 16 -7 -23. Use of public sewers required. (d) The owner of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes, situated within the City [and abutting on any street, alley or right -of -way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary or combined sewer of the City,] is hereby required at the owner's expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein[,] and to connect such facilities directly with the [proper public] City's sewer system in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, within ninety (90) days after the date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within four hundred (400) feet of the property line, provided however, that, if it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works that connection to the City's sewer system is infeasible due to the existence of a substantial Physical barrier between the premises to be served and the City's sewer system, such as a river, limited access highway, railyard or similar obstruction, this requirement may be temporarily waived by the City Manager until such time as connection becomes feasible. Inability to finance the expense of connection shall not constitute grounds for waiver of the requirement to connect. SECTION 2. It shall be unlawful and a municipal offense for any person, firm, partnership, corporation or limited liability company to violate, disobey, omit, neglect, refuse or fail to comply with or resist the enforcement of any provision of this Ordinance. Any person found guilty of a violation of this Ordinance shall be punished as provided in Section 1 -2 -1 of the Pueblo Municipal Code, as amended. In addition thereto, the City is authorized to enforce this Ordinance through the exercise of any one or more of the remedies set forth in Sections 16 -7 -19, 16 -7 -20 and 16 -7 -26 of the Pueblo Municipal Code, as amended, which remedies are hereby expressly declared to be cumulative, the exercise of any one or more not constituting any bar or limitation to the exercise of any other. SECTION 3_ This Ordinance shall become effective thirty days after final passage and approval. INTRODUCED April 12, 2004 PASSED AND APPROVED April 26, 2004 Background Paper for Proposed ORDINANCE AGENDA ITEM # / I- Iq -O'4 DATE: April 12, 2004 DEPARTMENT: WASTEWATER DEPARTMENT Gene Michael, Director TITLE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 7 OF TITLE XVI OF THE PUEBLO MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF ISSUE Should the City Council amend Chapter 7 of Title XVI of the Pueblo Municipal Code relating to the use of public sewers and providing penalties for the violation thereof? RECOMMENDATION Approval of this ordinance BACKGROUND Chapter 7 of Title XVI of the Pueblo Municipal Code requires owners of residences and businesses within the city limits to connect their properties to the City's sanitary sewer collection system. This requirement is intended to eliminate private septic tank systems within the City limits as a means of protecting public health and the environment. The municipal code presently requires that properties be connected to the sanitary sewer system if those properties are ..within the City and abutting on any street, alley or right -of -way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary or combined sewer of the City... provided that said public sewer is within four hundred (400) feet of the property line." There exist in the City several places where homes were constructed with septic systems prior to being annexed into the City and /or prior to a sanitary sewer main being available. Those homes have generally been allowed to retain their septic systems until the septic systems fail, at which time the owners are required to connect to the City's sanitary sewer system. In some cases, however, homes with failed septic systems that are within 400 feet of a sanitary sewer main are situated on private roadways where no sanitary sewer exists. If such properties do not directly abut the street in which the sanitary sewer main lies, the existing municipal code does not require that they be connected. The proposed revision gives the Director of Public Works the authority to require any property within the City limits to connect to a sanitary sewer main if the property is within 400 feet of the main. The proposed revision does allow the City Manager to grant a temporary waiver for unusual cases where, even though the straight -line distance between a property and a sanitary sewer main is 400 feet or less, there exists some physical barrier that makes connection infeasible. Inability to finance the cost of connection is not grounds for a waiver. FINANCIAL IMPACT The proposed revision has no direct financial impact on the City.