Faced with little progress on sanitation, East Palo Alto (EPA) has asked the San Mateo Local Agency Formation Commission (SMLAFCo) to subsidize the city's Sanitation District (EPASD) by local government.
This was announced by East Palo Alto Mayor Rubén Abrica, who through a letter addressed to the community and taxpayers specified that since 2019, the East Palo Alto City Council and other interested parties have attempted to collaborate with the EPASD to develop solutions that facilitate the advancement of development projects such as affordable housing, advance the city's objectives, and ensure that accurate information is available when the city considers future development.
"Despite these efforts, very little progress has been made and the City of East Palo Alto has become concerned about the management of this critical system and the City's ability to move forward on development projects that significantly benefit the entire community," the letter said.
The mayor noted that EPASD's request for subsidiary district status is because, according to state law, when a development is planned in the city, developers must pay their fair share of fees to cover the connection of the new building to the sanitation system.
“Unfortunately, EPASD has been unable to establish connection fees that cover the developers’ share of the improvements needed to accommodate development, and this inaction is obstructing the construction of affordable housing, a health clinic, job training, and employment generating facilities,” he said.
The letter, which is also signed by Interim City Manager Patrick Heisinger, notes that the City recently learned that a closed-circuit television study of 22.2 of the EPASD’s 29.8 miles of sewer lines found that many sections of the district’s aging lines are deteriorated and broken, allowing wastewater to flow into the ground, causing contamination and potential health risks.
What is a subsidiary district?
A subsidiary district is one governed by a city council and operated by a city department, such as the public works department.
A separate special district may be established as a subsidiary district of the city if the entire area is located within the city limits or if at least 70 percent or more of the area of the district and 70 percent or more of the number of registered voters residing in the district are located within the city limits.
It should be noted that as a subsidiary district, the district's budget must be separate and distinct from the city's budget and all revenues collected may only be used for the purposes of sewer operations maintenance, capital improvements and treatment.
Officials explained that by establishing the district as a subsidiary district of the city, property taxes will not increase, since in California they are limited to 1.0 percent of the assessed value and the county assessor can only increase the assessed valuation by a maximum of 2 percent per year, unless the property is improved or sold.
In this regard, they highlighted that sewerage operations would be transferred to the City Council as the governing body and to the Department of Public Works for their operation, which would significantly reduce the annual general expenses of approximately 820 thousand dollars in the current budget of the District.
The EPASD was formed in 1939 as an independent special district. While some sections of the system have been replaced, most of the original pipes and manholes remain in service, which is a critical concern for the city and East Palo Alto residents, Abrica said.
On October 6, 2022, the Director General of EPASD informed the Board that in several cases, pipes were broken and wastewater had been released onto the ground. He further stated that “…all of these pipes are in a very deplorable state and the estimated cost of replacing the oldest and most broken pipes will cost $22 million.”
What is at risk of being lost?
Abrica and Heisenger said that without the EPASD grant, 135 affordable apartments, the Ravenswood City School District community center project, the 61,000-square-foot expansion of the Ravenswood Family Health Center and other spaces for local nonprofits that were to be 100% funded by philanthropy would be lost.
Also included is JobTrain's new headquarters, a 102,478-square-foot building dedicated to providing East Palo Alto residents with living-wage employment, and 9,000 square feet of office space dedicated to East Palo Alto small businesses and entrepreneurs.
To ensure transparency and accurate information, the City of East Palo Alto has compiled background and documentation of the City's efforts to address EPASD's inadequate sewer infrastructure that cannot accommodate economic development projects vital to the quality of life of its residents.
Interested parties can find more information by visiting the website https://www.ci.east-palo-alto.ca.us/publicworks/page/msr-process.
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