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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBIL 143 Draft 01 1994-1996 OFFICE INFORMATION ONLY Meeting: Finance Committee - 12/20/2004 Action: Close file via Comm 21 dated 12/07/2004 Re: Comm. 684 (Bill 143) (1995) " . 'J\-. 'c-.(';-c(-- r I ,-c I ..._, 'l COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII BILL NO. 143 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 21 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE, 1983, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PUBLIC SEWERS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to provide financial relief to the owners of improved real property who are required, under the provisions of Chapter 21, Article 2, Section 21-5 of the Hawaii County Code, to connect to a public sewer. The County is currently extending public sewers into selected parts of Hilo and Kona in order to comply with federal anti-pollution mandates which have forced the county to expand its sewage collection and treatment system. Under the above cited code provisions, virtually all owners of lots fronting public sewers must connect thereto at their own expense. The council has been advised that the expense of constructing and installing the required building sewer typically costs many thousands of dollars per lot, with some lot owners expected to face connection costs well in excess of ten thousand dollars. While the council finds the mandatory connection provision to be necessary and in the public interests of health and safety, it also finds the cost burden to be unreasonably high for the average resident and property owner. The council recognizes that only a small percentage of the county's urban residents will be required to connect to a public sewer and face this onerous expense, since only certain streets in Hilo and Kona are proposed to be sewered in the foreseeable future, and that this requirement has the effect of unfairly placing a large share of the burden of paying for a clean public environment on just a few citizens. Therefore, the council desires to provide an equitable means of financial relief for the impacted property owners and to do so in a manner that will minimize paperwork, invasion of privacy and inconvenience for the impacted property owners, while also minimizing governmental presence and involvement in providing such relief. Accordingly, the council herein establishes a "sewer connection rebate program" for impacted property owners, wherein such owners retain the responsibility to provide the required connection, along with full control of the design and execution of construction work for that connection within their property, subject only to applicable county and state codes, statutes, rules and regulations. In addition, the amount of program rebate available to each lot owner varies with the length of the required building sewer to provide the necessary flexibility for lot owners' individual circumstances. SECTION 2. Chapter 21, Article 2, Section 21-5 of the Hawaii County Code, 1983, as amended, is amended to include a new subsection (d) to read as follows: .:.!ill.- The Director of Finance shall pay to the owner of each lot improved with one or more dwellings and connected to a public sewer after the effective date of this ordinance a sewer connection rebate to mitigate expenses incurred by such lot owner in constructing and connecting a building sewer to a public sewer system. provided that the construction and connection work was permitted by the county and performed by a licensed contractor in accordance with applicable statutes. ordinances. rules and regulations of this state and county. The Director of Finance shall pay the rebate to the lot owner as a single lump sum within thirty (30) days after the date the director is presented with an - 2 - - - -------~-----------------_._--- application for such on a form approved by the director. and which shall include a copy of the approved county permit for the required work. an affidavit of the lot owner attestin~ as havin~ responsibility for all the expenses of constructin~ and connectin~ the buildin~ sewer as well as such work bein~ complete at the time of application. and a certification of such connection by the chief en~ineer. For purposes of this section. a "lot owner" shall be any person. trust. or state re~istered partnership. association or corporation who is a payor of real property taxes assessed on the affected lot. accordin~ to the records of the Department of Finance. and to whom the applicable county permit for the required sewer work was issued. ill For owners of lots existin~ prior to the effective date of this ordinance. the sewer connection rebate shall be the sum of a connection credit in the amount of $ and a line extension credit in the amount of $ per lineal foot of buildin~ sewer installed. provided that the number of lineal feet allowed in calculation of the line extension credit shall not exceed one hundred ten percent (110%) of the point-to-point distance between the point of the dwellin~ closest to the public sewer and the permitted point of connection to such sewer. If more than one dwellin~ exists on a lot bein~ connected to a public sewer. the point-to- point distance shall be measured from the dwellin~ closest to the point of connection to such sewer. - 3 - ~ - --------,- ---~ -~----------~~--- ill For owners of lots established after the effective date of this ordinance. the sewer connection rebate shall be $ [this amount to be the amount provided above for the "connection credit"] ill All applications for a sewer connection rebate shall be properly completed and submitted on or before December 31. 1998. No applications for rebate shall be accepted thereafter. SECTION 3. New material is underscored. In printing this ordinance, the underscoring need not be included. SECTION 4. If any provisions of this ordinance or application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the provision of application, and to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. SECTION 5. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval. INTRODUCED BY: ~~~o<.~ COUNCIL MEMBER, 'COUNTY OF HAWAII Hilo, Hawaii Date of Introduction: Date of 1st Reading: Date of 2nd Reading: Effective Date: REFERENCE: Comm. 684 - 4 -)