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Home My WebLink About2009-11-09 e-packetSPECIAL MEETING S o ~ CITY COUNCIL H ~' OF TI-IE J v ~`~Lt~.okil~ CITY OF SOLTTI~ SAN FRANCISCO P.O. Box 711 (City Hall, 400 Grand Avenue) South San Francisco, California 94083 CITY HALL LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM 400 GRAND AVENUE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009 4:00 P.IVI. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Section 5496 of the Government Code of the State of California, the City Coutlcii of the City of Sout11 San Francisco will hoid a Special Ivleeting i t~l i` on I~~lonoay, tl~e 9 day o*_ November, 2009, at 4:00 p.m., in tl~e Large Conference Roam, at City LT l i ~ i~~iA C tll Cep 7=~ ~i~l+i r - 1 ~* '1 ,~a~~; 40J Graiid Avel_~:~.,, Uo~z~.. ~.;~:.. ~ ru~~~lsco, c~lllallila. Purpose of the meting: Call to Order. 2. Roil Call. 3. P?Iliiin. CC11~,T1e11tS - CGiiii'12el~fS C'.;'~ ZiPYlli22 i0 iieY7ZS OIZ tie SYeCiCll' 1Vle~tailg Agenda. 4. Closed Session: Conference with Labor Negotiators. (Pursuant to Government Code ~ 54957.6) Agency designated representative: Kathy Mount Employee organizations: AFSCME, Local 1569, AFL-CIO Confidential Unit, Teamsters Lacal 856 International Association of Firefighters, Local 1507 Mid-management Unit International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 39 South San Francisco Police Association Public Safety Managers Executive Management Unit. 5. Closed Session: Conference with Legal Counsel: Existing Litigation (Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a).) Potential Appeal of San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board's approval of a Municipal Regional Permit. Resolution authorizing the City/County Association of Governn7ents to f le an appeal of the Municipal Regional ?'en,~it for Stormwater on behalf of tl1e City. Ac? j ou~-nment. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 2009 AGENDA PAGE 2 ~°~~x' s-~~~ 0 n H ~ v o c~LIF0R~1~ to e ort DATE: November 9, 2009 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Terry White, Director of Public Works SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY/COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS TO FILE AN APPEAL OF THE MUNICIPAL REGIONAL PERMIT FOR STORMWATER ON BEHALF OF THE CITY RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG) to file an appeal of the Municipal Regional Permit for Stormwater with the State Water Resources Board on behalf of the City of South San Francisco. BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION On October 14, 2009, the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) approved the Municipal Regional Permit for Stormwater for the Counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, and the City of Fairfield despite the previously raised objections by many Bay Area cities and that of the City of South San Francisco as delivered by Council member Gonzalez on August 12, 2009, at a public hearing in Oakland. The new permit will be in effect December 1, 2009. This permit will significantly raise the cost by a minimum of 50-75% for the Countywide Program and also to each city and county for implementation. Staff previously estimated the startup cost to be approximately $600,000 for the first year with an additional $300,000 each subsequent year in order to maintain requirements. Staff is in the process of revising the numbers based on the newly released permit document. The main components driving the increase of cost are trash cleanup, extensive monitoring, and low impact development (LID) requirements. Entities have until November 13, 2009, to file an appeal with the State Water Resources Board. The issues discussed during an appeal are only those raised by the appellant. The City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG) appealed the last permit and filed a lawsuit, costing C/CAG approximately $50,000 in legal fees. C/CAG has now requested that the City Council authorize it to file an appeal to the RWQCB on the City's behalf. Factors to consider include the following: 1. If C/CAG is certain that no one else will be filing an appeal, then an appeal will not be recommended. 2. GCAG will file an appeal solely for defensive purposes to expand the appeal discussion (to include .issues affecting the City) and not because C/CAG would expect significant changes to the permit to occur. Staff Report Subject: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY/COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS TO FILE AN APPEAL OF THE MUNICIPAL REGIONAL PERMIT FOR STORMWATER Page 2 of 2 3. We have heard that there will likely be at least one appeal. 4. It is highly likely that the City of San Jose will file an appeal. 5. This permit does not include C/CAG as a named agency as in previous permits. 6. The Bay Area Stormwater Management Agency Association (BASMAA) is putting together an appeal model that can be used by those government agencies that wish to appeal the permit. i . C/CAG has funding of approximately $75K in the budget to support appeals and lawsuits. The cost of the appeal would be covered by C/CAG. 8. Certain requirements are unfunded mandates by the State and cannot be addressed by an appeal. 9. Whether it is appealed or not, there may be follow-up lawsuits. 10. It will be necessary to file a case with the Commission on Mandates on those requirements that are considered to be unfunded mandates within the next year. 11. At some point we may need to consider a Proposition 218 vote to provide funding for the Countywide and city/county implementation programs. 12. A committee of the C/CAG, NPDES, and TAC has recommended that an appeal be filed. Given all these factors, staff recommends that the City Council authorize C/CAG to file an appeal. The appeal can always be withdrawn if no one else files; however, if someone else files an appeal, it allows the city/county issues to be included in the discussion. The appeal would not likely prevent the permit from going forward. It would, however, help the City prepare for and potentially acquire funding for this greatly expanded program. FUNDING ABAG has up to $75,000 allocated in its budget to fund the filing of the appeal, including legal costs. The City is not expected to make any financial contributions. CONCLUSION This resolution will allow C/CAG to file an appeal with the State Water Resources Board for the Municipal Regional Permit for Stormwater on behalf of the City of South San Francisco. B ~~ \.d ~ S Terry White Director of P lic Works Appro ed: ' ~' ~ rry M. Nagel City Manager Attachment: Resolution RESOLUTION NO. CITY COUNCIL, CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY/COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (C/CAG) TO FILE AN APPEAL OF THE MUNICIPAL REGIONAL PERMIT FOR STORMWATER ON BEHALF OF THE CITY WHEREAS, the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) approved the Municipal Regional Permit for Storm-water on October 14, 2009; and WHEREAS, the City of South San Francisco is covered by the permit; and WHEREAS, the new requirements of the permit will have a significant cost impact on the City; and WHEREAS, the deadline for filing an appeal of this permit to the State Water Resources Board is November 13, 2009; and WHEREAS, C/CAG's appeal will make certain that the critical issues of the City of South San Francisco are included in the discussion. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of South San Francisco hereby authorizes C/CAG to file an appeal of the Municipal Regional Permit for Stormwater on behalf of the City of South San Francisco. =~ ~ =~ * ~ I hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was regularly introduced and adopted by the City Council of the City of South San Francisco at a meeting held on the day of 2009 by the following vote: AYES NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: -1- ATTEST: City Clerk -2-