With the first flush of a toilet in Newhall Ranch expected in a couple of months, county supervisors concerned about sewer fees set the necessary ordinances in motion this week.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a number of ordinances dealing with fees and rates for the brand new sewer system that comes with a brand new housing development.
Embracing the need for housing and the promise of jobs, county supervisors gave developers the green light two years ago to proceed with two Newhall Ranch housing projects after certifying revamped reports on their environmental impact.
Almost immediately, developers of the 21,000-home project began laying down the infrastructure including sewer lines for two Newhall Ranch subdivisions — Mission Village and Landmark Village.
With the infrastructure came the need for a brand new sanitation district, the Newhall Ranch Sanitation District of Los Angeles County.
That sanitation district is “governed by its board of directors that consists of the five L.A. county supervisors,” Basil Hewitt, a spokesman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District, said Wednesday.
“The NRSD is one of the 24 member agencies of the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County that share a common staff,” he said.
Asked about the status of pipeline construction, Hewitt said: “Infrastructure to accommodate the wastewater from the first occupied homes is scheduled to be complete by spring 2020.”
Several ordinances approved by supervisors Tuesday are expected to be in place before the first toilet flushes.
Approved ordinances, each providing for the collection of such charges, include:
- A Master Service Charge Ordinance: fees, tolls, rates, rentals or other charges for services.
- A Service Charge Rate Ordinance: the service charge rate and mean loadings per unit of usage.
- Surcharge Rate Ordinance: the industrial wastewater surcharge rates for the Newhall Ranch Sanitation District.
- Connection Fee Rate Ordinance: the connection fee rate and mean.
- Master Annexation Fee Ordinance: fees for the annexation of territory in the Newhall Ranch Sanitation District.
- Annexation Fee Rate Ordinance: prescribing the annexation fee rates for the Newhall Ranch Sanitation District.
The Newhall Ranch project calls for homes to be built between Interstate 5 and the Ventura County line, and between Highway 126 and the Santa Susanna Mountains.
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