Realtors dislike septic ordinance

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The proposed ordinance would put an unfair financial burden on homeowners, Realtors say.

By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant editor

The city staff’s proposal to weed out the faulty septic tanks in Malibu received a less than enthusiastic reaction from the city’s Realtors. Several members of the city’s largest industry came to Monday’s City Council meeting to speak in opposition to an ordinance that would require people selling their home to have their septic tanks inspected within a year prior to a sale. The council did not vote on the ordinance, choosing instead to instruct Environmental and Building Safety Manager Craig George to meet with the Malibu Association of Realtors to discuss various issues associated with such an ordinance.

According to a staff report written by George, the proposed ordinance was the first idea for what will be several programs that will eventually enable the city to be aware of the condition of the various septic tanks in Malibu, and be able to detect the origins of pollution.

“The city must have complete records to understand what it is managing, where the potential problematic systems are located, and what programs need to be affected in the future to meet the regulatory, health, and environmental obligations of the city,” George wrote.

The proposed ordinance would require the seller of a home to have an inspection of the septic system completed in advance of the completed transaction. If the system were determined to be failing, either the buyer or seller would be required to pay to repair it, or possibly replace it entirely.

If the system were deemed to be working appropriately, the homeowner would receive an “Operating Permit and Certificate of Inspection.” The home would then officially be in the city’s records, and the certificate would need to be renewed in two to five years, depending on the type of home.

The Realtors said the proposal was poor for several reasons, including that it would put what they said was an unfair financial burden on the homeowner, and that the timing of it would be poor during a period when a great deal of other factors are taking place during a possible sale. However, several of the Realtors agreed that something like this plan would be necessary, but they wanted to work out the details.

George said this is only the first plan by the city to put all the septic systems in the city’s files, and that other concepts will be proposed down the line, including eventually determining which areas are the biggest polluters and requiring all septic systems there to be inspected.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the council asked city staff to explore the possibility of issuing Certificates of Participation, or COPs, to raise money for the development of the 15-acre city-owned Trancas property into a park. The council members said they could issue the COPs, which are similar to bonds, and repay them through the money earned from the structures on the city-owned Chili Cook-Off site, just as it is paying off the COPs it issued to pay for that property. The city officials said they expect to be making more money from those structures’ rents than originally thought.

A negotiation is currently underway between the city and developer Richard Weintraub for the former Malibu Lumber section of the Chili Cook-Off site. Coldwell Banker and the animal hospital are currently locked into long-term leases.

The Trancas property was donated to the city in 2003 in a lawsuit settlement. There are various concepts of what could be built there, but the most accepted is at least two practice fields and a dog park. The total cost of developing the property would be an estimated $3.1 million, of which the city has $665,000 available for that purpose.

The city is also looking into alternative fundraising possibilities for development of the park.