2005 California Government Code Sections 54984-54984.9 CHAPTER 12.4. UNIFORM STANDBY CHARGE PROCEDURES ACT

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.