The city has adopted a new Standard Urban Storm Water Management Plan (SUSWMP) to lessen the impact of storm-water runoffs on local shores and watersheds.
This new SUSWMP ordinance (Ordinance No. 219) is part of a statewide plan to reduce and clean storm-water runoff emptying into natural resources.
However, while large commercial developments of under 100,000 square feet will not have to comply with this new city ordinance, new and redeveloped single-family homes on hillsides will be expected to comply with the new rules.
The new management plan also affects gasoline stations, auto repair shops, restaurants and home subdivisions of nine units or more.
Basically, “You can’t make water dirty from your property,” said Chuck Bergson, public works director for the City of Malibu.
The storm-water pollution control measures will require new development and redevelopment on hillsides to keep water discharges at or below the level they were at prior to development.
Redevelopment means the creation or addition of at least 5,000 square feet of impervious surface on an already developed site.
“They can’t increase the amount of water that naturally flows off their property and they can’t change the quality of the water,” said Bergson. So excess water has to be detained and cleaned to keep the flow rate and water quality the same, he said.
The new rules apply to properties where development contemplates grading on any natural slope of 25 percent or greater, which basically includes all areas where the terrain is on a hillside, as is the case in most of Malibu.
The intent of the law is to improve the water quality, but it seems that single-family residential hillside properties are unfairly targeted, while commercial developments of 100,000 square feet or larger are exempt, said Bergson.
Moreover, if someone builds an impermeable parking lot of less than 5,000 square feet, where approximately 25 cars can park, they will not have to comply either.
Meanwhile, residential homes are going to get the brunt of it, said Bergson.
“We adopted it [ the ordinance] because we wanted to comply with the RWQCB,” said Bergson. However, many cities have appealed the same ordinance as it is currently written because of the inconsistencies. As a result, the RWQCB is expected to review the regulations.
Meanwhile, there are provisions for waivers. These waivers can be granted by the city after they are reviewed and approved by the RWQCB.
According to the new ordinance, a waiver of impracticability may be granted only when all structural or treatment controls have been considered and rejected as infeasible. These situations can include redevelopment projects whose space for treatment is extremely limited or unfavorable, and unstable soil conditions that inhibit filtration attempts and the risk of ground-water contamination because a known unconfined aquifer lies beneath the land surface.
“It doesn’t sound like it’s fair across the board, and Public Works and the City Council are both working on these issues,” said Bergson.
But the RWQCB believes that the new measures are necessary and that they will help homeowners in the long run.
Water authorities state that once an area is built out, the risks of erosion are greater if the new rules are not followed. Therefore, the RWQCB wants to hold all rain discharge to the existing flow and keep it as is.
“The new rules means that if you are building on a hillside, then you have to put in controls to prevent soil erosion and pollution after the construction is complete,” said Xavier Swamikannu, chief of the Storm Water Program at the RWQCB. These rules are parallel with Coastal Commission rules, he said.
This is a federally imple-mented program that has been delegated to the states, which, in turn, delegate it to local agencies such as the RWQCB and the cities. The RWQCB is trying to minimize the water-pollution impact on natural watersheds, said Swamikannu.
But the cost is not that much more because properties may be able to redirect water flow, he added.
In a California Water Resource Control Board order, it was indicated that while storm-water management plans are improving, the impact of urban runoff was determined to be a significant contributor to impairment of waters throughout the state.
For L.A. County, this means beach closures are sometimes associated with urban runoff.
The new regulations for storm-water discharges will help minimize this impact in the future, said Swamikannu.