CALIFORNIA CODES
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 54984-54984.9

54984. This chapter shall be known as the Uniform Standby Charge Procedures Act.

54984.1. The procedures set forth in this chapter shall be available to any local agency authorized by law to provide water, sewer, or water and sewer service, and authorized to fix, levy, or collect any standby or availability charge or assessment in connection with the provision of that service. Any local agency electing to utilize the standby charge procedures set forth in this chapter shall, in connection with the procedures for fixing and levying of these charges for the year in which the election is made, be governed by the provisions of this chapter alone. Nothing in this chapter shall affect the standby charge procedures authorized or provided for otherwise, if the local agency elects to use those procedures. Any charges imposed under this chapter are deemed to be assessments and, if imposed upon public entities, are subject to Chapter 13.7 (commencing with Section 54999).

54984.2. Any local agency which is authorized by law to provide water, sewer, or water and sewer service, and which is providing either or both of those services within its jurisdiction, may fix, before either (a) August 10 of any given year with respect to local agencies the taxes or assessments of which are collected for the local agency by the county or (b) the start of the fiscal year with respect to local agencies the taxes or assessments of which are collected by the local agency, a water or sewer standby charge, or both, on land within the jurisdiction of the local agency to which water, sewer, or water and sewer services are made available for any purpose by the agency, whether the water or sewer services are actually used or not. The governing body of the agency which fixes the charge may establish schedules varying the charge according to land uses, benefit derived or to be derived from the use or availability of facilities to provide water, sewer, or water and sewer service, or the degree of availability or quantity of the use of the water, sewer, or water and sewer services to the affected lands, and may restrict the assessment to one or more improvement districts or zones of benefit established within the jurisdiction of the agency. The charge may be imposed on an area, frontage, or parcel basis, or a combination thereof.

54984.3. The governing body of the local agency shall adopt a resolution to initiate proceedings to fix a standby charge. The resolution shall contain all of the following:

(a) A statement that the report of a qualified engineer is on file with the agency and that a standby charge is proposed based upon the report. The report shall include all of the following:

(1) A description of the charge and the method by which it will be imposed.

(2) A compilation of the amount of the charge proposed for each parcel subject to the charge.

(3) A statement of the methodology and rationale followed in determining the degree of benefit conferred by the service for which the charge is made.

(4) The other factors listed in Section 54984.2.

(b) A description of the lands upon which the charge is to be imposed. Assessor parcel numbers shall constitute sufficient description for this purpose.

(c) The amount of the charge for each of the lands so described.

(d) The date, time, and place upon which the governing body will hold a public protest hearing regarding the imposition of the charge, and notice that the governing body will hear and consider all objections or protests, if any, to the proposed charges.

54984.4. (a) The local agency shall cause notice of the date, time, and place of hearing on the charge to be published, pursuant to Section 6066, prior to the date set for hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published within the jurisdiction of the entity, if there is one, and if not, then in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in the county.

(b) The local agency shall also cause a notice in writing of the date, time, and place of hearing on the charge to be mailed at least 21 days prior to the date set for hearing, to each owner of land described in the resolution initiating proceedings. The mailed notice shall include the name and address of the local agency, a description of the charge and method by which it is proposed to be imposed, the amount of the charge or a schedule of charges, the address or addresses of the place or places where the resolution adopted pursuant to Section 54984.3 may be reviewed, and a summary of the procedures for making a protest set forth in Section 54984.6. The notice shall be mailed to the address shown on the last equalized assessment roll, or known to the secretary or clerk of the local agency.

54984.5. At the time and place stated in the notice, the governing body shall conduct the hearing, and shall hear and consider all objections or protests, if any, to the resolution referred to in the notice, and may continue the hearing from time to time. Upon the conclusion of the hearing, the governing board may adopt, revise, change, reduce, or modify, or withdraw a charge. The governing board shall make its determination upon each assessment or charge described in the resolution, which determination shall be final.

54984.6. (a) Any landowner desiring to make a protest shall do so by written communication filed with the local agency not later than the hour set for the hearing. A protest by a landowner shall contain a description sufficient to identify the land owned by the landowner. A written protest may be withdrawn at any time before the determination on the charge by the governing body.

(b) If the governing body receives written protests which are not withdrawn at the time of determination by the governing body, which protests represent 40 percent of the parcels subject to the charges authorized by this chapter, no further proceedings may be had under this chapter until a period of one year shall have passed from the time of the initiation of this procedure.

(c) If the governing body receives written protests which are not withdrawn at the time of the determination by the governing body, which protests represent 15 percent or more of the parcels subject to the charges authorized by this chapter the governing body may still adopt, revise, change, reduce, or modify a charge, but all the charges are ineffective until collectively approved by a majority of the vote in an election within the affected territory in which the owner of one or more parcels may cast one vote for each parcel owned within the affected territory.

54984.7. If the procedures set forth in this chapter have been followed in a given year, the governing body may, by resolution, continue the charge in successive years at the same rate and in the same manner, but dispensing with the requirement for mailed notice. The local agency shall cause notice of the intent to adopt the resolution to be published pursuant to Section 6066, prior to the date set for adoption, and shall hear any and all objections at the time and place set forth in the notice. The governing body shall, at the time and place specified, conduct the hearing and consider all objections to the assessment, if any. The governing body may, thereafter, adopt, revise, reduce, or modify the assessment or charge, but may not increase the charge, or may overrule any and all objections. The determination of the governing body shall be final. This section shall not apply if the amount of the assessment is increased, or if the governing body makes any change in the areas subject to the assessment, compared to the prior year's assessment.

54984.8. After the making of a final determination pursuant to Sections 54984.5 and 54984.7 and after any required majority approval by the voter within affected territory the local agency shall cause the charge to be collected at the same time, and in the same manner, as is available to it under applicable law.

54984.9. (a) A local agency may, by resolution or ordinance, provide that charges that have become delinquent, together with interest and penalties thereon, are a lien on the property when a certificate is filed in the office of the county recorder pursuant to subdivision (b), which lien has the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien.

(b) A lien under this section attaches when the district files for recordation in the office of the county recorder a certificate specifying the amount of the delinquent charges together with interest and penalties thereon; the name of the owner of record of the property which is subject to the charges; and the assessor's parcel number and legal description of the property. Within 30 days of receipt of payment of all amounts due, including recordation fees paid by the district, the district shall file for recordation a release of the lien.