OROVILLE — Sewer bills in Oroville are on track for an increase this year with the Oroville City Council voting Tuesday to approve a new fee schedule and to begin sending out required notices.
The fees have stayed the same for the past five years, and are proposed to increase about $3 per year for the next five years for single family residences, bringing the current rate of $47.41 up to $63.92 by 2029.
A manhole is seen Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in the foreground of the Oroville City Council Chambers in Oroville, Califronia. (Michael Weber/Mercury-Register)
The fees are scheduled to be mailed out by Proposition 218 process with notices to be finalized and postmarked by April 16, then up for adoption by June 4, according to Michael DeGroot with Battle and Wells Association, which prepared the fee study.
Oroville is the last of three jurisdictions in the Sewerage Commission Oroville Region to update its fees by July 1, 2024 — others being Lake Oroville Area Public Utilities District and Thermalito Sewer and Water District.
DeGroot said the fees will go toward paying about $13 million in capital improvement projects for Oroville in the next five years.
Charges are split between the city of Oroville wastewater collection service charging $23.56 while the Sewerage Commission Oroville Region charges $23.85 wastewater treatment.
Adjustments are made for mobile homes and multi-family units which proportionally use less sewage than single family homes in a calculation called Equivalent Dwelling Units. A ratio of 0.85 is applied for for mobile home units and 0.88 for multi-family units.
DeGroot said accounting for Equivalent Dwelling Units was spurred in some part by active lawsuits.
K&M Butte Properties currently has an active lawsuit against the Sewerage Commission Oroville Region to enforce a settlement agreement, according to Rocky Slaughter, general counsel for the developer who reached to this newspaper.
Slaughter said a suit was brought forward to challenge fees for about 300 units of multi-family affordable housing for its Olive Ranch Apartments and Table Mountain Apartments in Oroville.
The suit took the position that multi-family units should not pay a one-to-one ratio to single-family units on account that usage is not proportionally equal, according to Slaughter.
Accessory dwelling units
Public speakers stopped a restriction on Accessory Dwelling Units set by the Oroville City Council that would have required a 30-day minimum stay for rentals.
Oroville councilors voted to send its ADU ordinance back to staff to remove the 30-day restriction after speakers voiced support for ADUs as an option for short term rentals with companies like Air BNB.
The ADU ordinance was introduced to update city code to new state laws allowing up to three buildings on any single-family residential zoned parcel; councilors added the 30-day restriction at its March 19 meeting.
Planning Commissioner Natalie Sheard asked the council to remove the 30 day restriction because she sees short term vacation rentals as a benefit to the city.
Brian Williams said he learned that about eight people have built an ADU in the entire city, and that he thinks the city may be too early to restrict ADUs and affect these owners disproportionately.
Williams also said the ordinance reads that if any ADU is built on a property, then any building can’t be rented out for short term rental.
Councilor Eric Smith said he agreed with every comment that had just been made and that he doesn’t see potential impacts of short-term rental ADUs in Oroville, like parking issues or traffic in residential neighborhoods.
Councilor Shawn Webber made a motion to remove the 30-day restriction, passing with a 7-0 vote.
The council approved other items Tuesday including:
• A contract with March Thomas and Company to write a grant up to about $17 million for the state Active Transportation Program with costs not to exceed $85,000.
• Investments into security at the city’s corporation yard at 655 Cal Oak Road with a $82,000 contract for pre-construction planning with Trover Construction Management; a $75,000 agreement with Accualarm for security camera and alarms; and a $43,000 job to install electrical and lighting to William’s Electric Company.
• Adopt an investment plan to put $10 million to U.S. Treasury bonds with maturities in two to five years.
• A resolution recognizing local Boy Scout Troop 29 for their 100-year celebration.
+ There are no comments
Add yours