MEETING DATE: June 24, 2003
ACTION
ITEM 4-B: Review Provisions of
Ordinance No. 98, Second Bathroom Ordinance and Consider Recommendation(s) to
Board of Directors
SUMMARY: Ordinance No. 98 allows the addition of a second bathroom to an existing one
bathroom single-family dwelling without debiting the jurisdiction=s water allocation. The
ordinance was adopted on April 16, 2001 to respond to modern quality-of-life
standards that recognize that a second bathroom in a home is primarily for convenience
and would not add significant water use.
Ordinance No. 98 is scheduled for its annual review by the Board on May
29, 2003 to determine whether or not amendment or revocation is warranted. Although the ordinance contains an annual
review provision, this will be the first review in the two years since
adoption.
Between May 2001 and May 2003, 307 water permits
have been issued under the program. As
part of the program management, staff has been tracking the number of permits
that add bedrooms. Of the 307 permits
issued, 134 permits included at least one added bedroom, and 168 new bedrooms
have been added overall.
District staff has identified several provisions
of the ordinance that need clarification or direction from the Board. Provisions needing consideration are
discussed below.
1. ISSUE: Persons taking advantage of Ordinance No. 98 are also able to take advantage of conservation incentives (i.e., low-flow dishwashers, washing machines, instant-access hot water systems and 2-liter and 1-gallon per flush low flush toilets) or other on-site credit from removing fixtures such as utility sinks and swimming pools to install additional bathrooms. Staff is questioning whether the addition of more than two bathrooms (one with Ordinance No. 98 and additional ones using other credits) might defeat the original intent of the ordinance.
From July 2002 through the first part of April 2003, ten applicants (approximately 10 percent) utilized both Ordinance No. 98 and other methods to offset the addition of more than one bathroom to a one bathroom single-family dwelling.
RECOMMENDATION: Persons taking advantage of Ordinance No. 98 to add a bathroom should be limited to two bathrooms. A deed restriction would enforce the two-bathroom limitation provision.
2. ISSUE: Prior to Ordinance No. 98, some applicants added a second bathroom by retrofitting the one existing toilet to a 2-liter-per-flush model and installing a 2-liter-per-flush toilet in the new bathroom, as well as installing all the conservation incentives available such as low-flow dishwashers and washing machines. Although people who used the conservation incentives to add a second bathroom prior to the adoption of Ordinance No. 98 do not qualify to use Ordinance No. 98 for the second bathroom, as they are already considered to have two bathrooms, the question has arisen as to whether those property owners who installed a 2-liter-per-flush toilet in a second bathroom could upgrade that toilet to a 1.6 gallon-per-flush model as allowed by Ordinance No. 98.
RECOMMENDATION: Allow one previously installed 2-liter-per-flush toilet to be upgraded to 1.6 gallons-per-flush if that toilet was installed to facilitate the addition of a second bathroom prior to Ordinance No. 98, and the property met the criteria of a single-family dwelling on a single-family residential site as of the date of the ordinance. This is consistent with Rule 24 where it states: “This special fixture unit accounting shall further apply on a pro rata basis to any expansion application that proposes to add one or more of the referenced water appliances to an existing second bathroom that lacks that same appliance within an existing single-family residential site that, prior to the application, has less than two full bathrooms.”
3. ISSUE: Ordinance No. 98 allows a second bathroom that contains a toilet, a single tub, or a single tub/shower, or a single shower, and one or two wash basins. The staff report for the first reading of Ordinance No. 98 stated that the ordinance allows the addition of a second sink in the bathroom addition, if the bathroom addition is considered the Amaster bathroom.@ However, the ordinance does not reflect the requirement that the Ordinance No. 98 bathroom be designated as the Master Bathroom to have two sinks.
RECOMMENDATION: Clarify that the Ordinance No. 98 bathroom must be designated by the property owner as the Master Bathroom to allow the second sink. The following issue (#4) is related.
4. ISSUE: The Ordinance No. 98 bathroom is being designated as the Master Bathroom. However, Ordinance No. 80 amended the fixture unit count for Master Bathrooms, and allows both a large tub and a single-stall shower to be installed in a Master Bathroom for 3 fixture units. If the Ordinance No. 98 bathroom is considered the Master Bathroom, a person would not be able to install both a tub and shower per Ordinance No. 80, as Ordinance No. 98 limits the fixtures to a single tub or a single shower in the new second bathroom. Further, the ordinance states that “no on-site, off-site or transfer of credit shall be granted for the removal or retrofit of any fixture added pursuant to this second bathroom accounting protocol.”
RECOMMENDATION: As Ordinance No. 98 was adopted with specific limitations regarding the number and type of water fixtures that could be added, it appears that the application of the Master Bathroom tub and shower fixture unit discount should not apply to an Ordinance No. 98 bathroom. Therefore, if an applicant requests a permit to split the tub and shower (thereby adding a new water fixture) in the bathroom that was added by Ordinance No. 98, the applicant should not receive the Master Bathroom fixture unit discount, but should have to fully offset the fixture unit value of the water fixture being installed.
5. ISSUE: The ordinance is to be reviewed annually, along with its associated water use. However, no water consumption data has been compiled by the District to date. Water consumption records must first be obtained from Cal-Am, and District staffing resources are presently inadequate to input and analyze consumption data for Ordinance No. 98 participants.
RECOMMENDATION: District staff should be directed to retain consultant support to obtain and compile the data from Cal-Am and to analyze the water use associated with the added bathrooms. Depending on the frequency of review desired by the Board, this could be done annually or less often.
6. ISSUE: Ordinance No. 98 is being used to add second bathrooms to houses that were previously considered “multi-family” according to the Rules and Regulations. This is being accomplished by lot line adjustments and subdivisions, and by demolitions of multiple units on a property prior to application under Ordinance No. 98. The ordinance states: “Special fixture unit accounting shall apply to any expansion application that proposes to add a second bathroom to an existing single-family dwelling unit on a single-family residential site that, prior to the application, has only one bathroom.”
RECOMMENDATION: Ordinance No. 98 should only apply to single-family dwellings on single-family residential sites that met that definition as of the effective date of the ordinance, not the date of the application.
7. ISSUE: Ordinance No. 98 bathrooms are being added in both attached and detached guest/auxiliary units. The special fixture unit accounting allowed by Ordinance No. 98 applies to any expansion application that proposes to add a second bathroom to an existing single-family dwelling unit on a single-family residential site that prior to the application has only one bathroom. The ordinance is ambiguous as to whether the Ordinance No. 98 bathroom must be located within the existing dwelling unit.
RECOMMENDATION: Modify the language to clarify that the Ordinance No. 98 bathroom must be added to the interior of the existing residential dwelling unit. In addition, the language could be modified to state that an Ordinance No. 98 bathroom may not be located in a guest house, auxiliary unit, or other area that is not accessible through the main living quarters.