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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/14/2004 - Study SessionCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Study Session September 14, 2004 - 4:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Heffernan (arrived at 5:05 p.m.), Rosansky, Bromberg, Webb, Nichols, Mayor Ridgeway Absent: District 4 (vacant) CURRENT BUSINESS 1. CLARIFICATION OF ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR - None. 2. FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT (FSE) FATS, OILS AND GREASE ORDINANCE. Assistant City Manager Kiff recognized Management Assistant Moritz, Administrative Manager Deutsch, Utilities Supervisor Delicce, Utilities Operations Manager Burt, and Utilities Director Davidson for their work on the program. He also introduced the City's consultant, Jon Kinley of ECIS, who inspects the restaurants to see how well they are maintaining their grease interceptors (GI). He emphasized that their goal is to avoid sewage spills. Mr. Kiff utilized a PowerPoint presentation, reporting that the study session is a starting point for Council and they intend to involve the restaurant community from this point forward. He displayed photos of grease inside the sewer line which eventually lead to clogs that backup and cause spills. He reported that the City has one of the most aggressive waste line cleaning programs in the region. He stated that the City cleans eight miles monthly, five miles quarterly, and 197 miles annually. He noted that monthly cleanings are done closest to grease producing areas and quarterly cleanings occur to pipes that show less grease buildup. He stated that 313 miles of sewer main are cleaned each year. Mr. Kiff noted that the City's camera van program does monthly and quarterly visual inspections at the hotspots which consist of over 50,000 feet of sewer line. In response to Council questions, Utilities Supervisor Delicce reported that the City has 220 miles of sewer line. Council Member Webb noted that the eight miles of sewer line that are being cleaned monthly are the problem lines. Mr. Delicce pointed out that there is a 10 -inch line that runs the stretch of Coast Highway in Corona del Mar which is on the quarterly run. He indicated that, because it's a larger line, it doesn't need the aggressive cleaning that the monthly run gets. He stated that most of the monthly lines are 8 -inch sewer lines. Council Member Webb added that those are in areas along Coast Highway and Mariners Mile, and the Balboa Island alleys that are parallel to Marine Avenue. Mr. Delicce indicated that they also clean the 32nd Street alley area monthly, even though it is not an FSE because it builds up with residential grease. He noted that they have to clean areas like this because there could be a blockage. He stated that the other monthly areas not mentioned include Balboa and Newport Piers. He reported Volume 56 - Page 1190 WORN (100 -2004) City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 14, 2004 INDEX that the cleaning nozzles have spinning action that scours the line with about 2,000 psi of water. He noted that this emulsifies the grease so it floats down the line. He indicated that it is then separated at the plant. He reported that they also use root cutters about every other month. Mr. Kiff reported that about $2.2 million is spent on annual maintenance, which includes the hotspot program. Further, the CIP budget for this is about $1.6 million. He noted that this is currently paid for through the sewer rate, not the General Fund. He stated that most of the producers of fats, oils, and grease (FOG) are restaurants. He noted that Mr. Kinley conducted an inventory and reported that, of the 355 restaurants, 159 have the correct sized GI, 40 have the wrong sized GI, 67 have operations that don't produce grease, and 89 don't have a GI but arguably have operations that need one. He reported that ECIS inspects 200 restaurants three times a year; Mr. Kinley is the person who lifts the lids of 390 GIs to see how well it is being maintained; 156 restaurants are inspected twice a year; and Mr. Kinley's contract is about $22,000/year. He noted that an FSE includes supermarkets, the hospital, and large commercial kitchens. Mr. Kinley indicated that the City has about 320 "classic" restaurants. Mr. Kiff reported that the Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) were initiated in 2002 by the Regional Water Quality and Control Board and noted that this applies to all the communities operating a collection system within Region No. 8. He stated that the WDR requires the City to look at its code to make sure the City has authority; have a strong maintenance and line replacement program; do something to limit the grease from FSEs; inspect and monitor; and establish a penalty system when appropriate. Council Member Nichols noted that 89 FSEs were grandfathered from having GIs. Mr. Kiff concurred and also pointed out that Mr. Kinley believes that 40 FSEs are producing more grease than the GI or the grease trap can handle. He stated that GIs could cost $50,000, depending on the availability of land. Council Member Nichols pointed out that newer restaurants are required to have a GI and, therefore, pay extra to get their trap cleaned out. He believed that the FSEs that don't have GIs are costing the community and the other restaurants money. Mr. Kiff reiterated that the City needs to make sure the code says that it can limit grease discharges that cause blockages, prohibits discharges that cause a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO), gives the City authority to do inspections and enforcement, and shows that the City is providing effective staffing. Mr. Kiff indicated that the regulators believe that an effective program means installing a grease removal device like an interceptor, identifying sewer line hotspots, establishing cleaning frequencies, and implementing source control measures for hotspots. He stated that a restaurant program should entail best management practices (BMP), but noted that there are already established practices. He indicated that the City requires GIs for brand new restaurants or restaurants that will be doing a significant remodel or menu change that would cause increased grease activity into the system. Mr. Kiff added that the FSE program would also require proper maintenance of whatever is installed; a provision for exceptions; and an enforcement program. He stated that the City already has enforcement through Mr. Kinley and the Utilities Department. Regarding exceptions, there would be a variance for restaurants that didn't have the space to put the GIs in and a waiver when there is no significant FOG Volume 56 - Page 1191 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 14, 2004 INDEX produced. Mr. Kiff indicated that the regulatory and restaurant communities asked if there was a pretreatment product that uses microbes or bacteria to keep the grease in its soft form. He stated that they have not found a good material that does this yet; however, they would like the ordinance to take this type of pretreatment technology into consideration so the ordinance wouldn't have to be amended. Mr. Kiff reported that the WDR recommends that there be no food grinders, no use of emulsifying additives that are not approved, no disposing of cooking oil into the drains, no discharge of wastewater from dishwashers, no toilet discharge, and no interceptor waste into the sewer system. Further, the WDR recommends requiring GIs for new and remodeled FSEs, adding that they are not requiring this for older restaurants. Mr. Kiff stated that, if an FSE had a GI, the ordinance would just require them to conduct proper maintenance. He noted that the design requirements are established in the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC). Mr. Kiff reported that the City needs to adopt a new ordinance to replace the existing water quality ordinance for FOGs. He added that they also want to work with the Restaurant Business Improvement District (BID) to ensure that they understand this and concur with where the City is headed. Further, they want to talk to the Coastal/Bay Water Quality Committee. He indicated that they hope to bring the ordinance to Council for first reading on October 26, along with a master fee amendment. He reported that this needs to be in effect by January 1, 2005. Mr. Kiff agreed that some restaurants have already paid their dues. Further, it is believed that the residents should not be contributing to the hotspot program and it should be put directly onto the FSEs. He indicated that they recommend having a basic annual permit fee. However, if an FSE is in the hotspot, contributing to grease, and does not have a GI, the FSE would pay the cost of maintaining those lines. He clarified that an FSE would only pay the cost for the City to inspect the GI if it had a working GI, He indicated that the fee could be $20 to $700 a year, but it would cover the cost of the City administering the program and for the hotspot program. He reiterated that the FSEs will be charged the direct cost of the inspection and popping the lid on the GI. He noted that the City currently does this for free. He reported that this is traceable by the camera van. Council Member Nichols believed that the restaurants that are causing $2,000 to $3,000 a year in costs should pay the fee because it's a direct cost to what they're doing. Mr. Kiff indicated that they are not sure if there is any one restaurant that generates that much cleaning cost. He emphasized that they are trying to avoid sewage spills which the City could be fined $25,000 for if the Regional Board finds that it was the City's fault. Council Member Rosansky believed that the timing of the ordinance is tight and asked if this is enough time to work with the BID and other restaurants to come up with a plan that they're going to buy into. Mr. Kiff stated that they tried to leave a little bit of room in the timing; however, they could have first and second reading more consecutively than proposed. Noting that he is a restaurant owner, Council Member Rosansky indicated that he is sensitive to this and stated that this will cost restaurants a significant amount of money. Mr. Kiff indicated that, at a BID meeting a couple of years ago, staff introduced Mr. Kinley, let them know what was coming, and told them that the regulators were going to get tougher on Volume 56 - Page 1192 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 14, 2004 grease input into the system. INDEX Council Member Nichols noted that the City is going to require GIs for new businesses and remodels, but believed that the FSEs who don't want to put in GIs should pay their share. Dan Marcheano, owner of the Arches Restaurant and President of the Restaurant BID, asked why they were not informed about the meeting. City Manager Bludau indicated that Senior Planner Trimble had a telephone conversation with him. Mr. Marcheano stated that this occurred about 1% weeks ago and he was told that Mr. Trimble would get back to him. He pointed out that business went down about 30% after 9/11 and only now are they starting to get back to where they were. He stated that the City wants to go after the old restaurants in the community that had nothing to do with previous Councils' decisions to keep opening restaurants in the City. He pointed out that the pie keeps getting smaller and now the City wants to impose something on the old restaurants that made this community popular. He noted that it is the independent restaurants that help out school, hospital, or charity events, and asked if they want each of the restaurants to stop spending $2,000 to $4,000 a year on this. Council Member Nichols noted that he has been in the pollution control business for 30 years. He stated that when he finds a massive polluter who is costing a lot of money to clean up the sewers, that person or group pays the fee. Mr. Marcheano agreed that the City should go after any individual who is continuously polluting on purpose. Council Member Nichols proposed that some areas under City streets or alleys be used for GIs. He added that $50,000 is just 1% a month on investment and that, if this is a requirement, it is required by everyone and not just the City. Mr. Marcheano noted that now the chain restaurants want to come into Newport Beach after all the old- timers have done their due diligence to build up a great restaurant community reputation. He emphasized that the City can't keep opening restaurants and building houses and apartment complexes, and then come to the older restaurants. He noted that they've already paid for the machines that clean the pipes. Mayor Ridgeway pointed out that the last paragraph of the staff report states that the City will not be imposing retroactivity on the older restaurants. He stated that this deals with a maintenance charge and not a retrofit of a $50,000 interceptor. He noted that, if you have a GI, the FSE would only have to pay for the cost of the inspection. However, if you are in the hotspot and you do not have a GI, it could cost $700 to $800 a year per FSE. He reported that the hotspots are currently being paid for by the residential community, believing that this is probably not a proper charge to all the rate payers. He emphasized that this process is mandated by the Regional Board and not the City. He reported that this is due to the SSOs and that this has been worked on by the 34 cities, the Sanitation District, and the Utilities Department. He believed that this is a fair and equitable sharing of the cost for maintenance. Mr. Marcheano indicated that he does not have a problem with being inspected, but believed that it is unfair to have them pick up the charge for the inspection. He added that the inspection should be done through an appointment process Volume 56 - Page 1193 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 14, 2004 until everyone knows each other. Further, the inspector should only work with designated people. Mr. Kiff stated that they do ratchet back the number of inspections and inspection costs for restaurants that are being a good partner with the City. He reported that it is challenging for the restaurant and Mr. Kinley to conduct the inspection during a workday and for Mr. Kinley to manage his time to go to as many restaurants as possible. He indicated that he is happy to work with Mr. Marcheano and the BID to make sure the concept of interacting with key staff is worked into Mr. Kinley's regiment. Council Member Rosansky emphasized that there needs to be dialogue with restaurant owners to make sure that the program is also workable for them. Noting that the general sewer fund pays for the inspections, Council Member Rosansky asked if the commercial businesses and restaurants pay a higher rate /fee. Administrative Manager Deutsch stated that there is an additional charge on large -sized water meters, regardless if it is a restaurant, commercial establishment, or school since they are producing additional flows into the sewer system. Mayor Ridgeway believed that now is the opportune time for Mr. Kiff, Mr. Kinley, and staff to get together again with the BID so we can get an ordinance the BID would endorse. Mr. Marcheano indicated that he cannot attend the October 26 meeting because the City is involved with a fundraiser with the First Marine Division, First Brigade. Further, the November 23 meeting falls during a major holiday season for restaurants and he is also turning 65 years old. Management Assistant Moritz reported that the WDR requires that the City have established legal authority to enforce whatever programs the City has in place by December 31 to allow them to have an ordinance active on January 1, 2005. Mr. Marcheano believed that they could work together on it and that the BID will give all the cooperation the City needs. He noted that one of his issues is about inspections and believed that every restaurant should give the City the name of at least three people to contact. He took issue with the fees because of the amount of taxes they already pay and because of the downfall after 9/11. Council Member Webb stated that a working group probably needs to be set up sooner than later to try to go through every item. He noted that this comes up every few years. 3. SUNSET RIDGE PARK UPDATE. City Manager Bludau reported that staff has an appointment next Monday with Ms. Quon who is the District Director of Caltrans. Council Member Rosansky indicated that this item can be continued to September 28. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None. ADJOURNMENT - at 5:25 p.m. to Closed Session. Volume 56 - Page 1194 INDEX (100 -2004) City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 14, 2004 The agenda for the Study Session was posted on September 9, 2004, at 9:00 a.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. The amended agenda for the Study Session was posted on September 10, 2004, at 1:00 p.n. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. Citv Clerk Recording Secretary A W' Mayor Volume 56 - Page 1195 INDEX