4 - Standard and Associated Fees - S-Permits

PERMIT APPLICATION FEE

Before the S-Permit is issued for a new house connection sewer, the SFC and Bonded Sewer Fees, if applicable, must be paid then the SFC Certificate will be issued for the property (LAMC 64.15).

All permit fees are due at the time of permit issuance.

Standard Fees, at a minimum, are reviewed on an annual basis.   The most current version of the City’s Standard Fee List is located at the BOE website under Permits (https://engineering.lacity.gov/permits).  

INSPECTION FEE

After the S-Permit is issued and before start of any work, a request for inspection by BCA must be made.  Inspection fees are charged to pay for construction inspection work conducted by the Bureau of Contract Administration (BCA). 

Inspection Fees, at a minimum, are reviewed on an annual basis.   Click here for the most current version of the City’s Standard Fee List.

Inspection fees are charge by the linear foot and by the number of trips made, if necessary. 

SPECIAL ENGINEERING FEE

In addition, where BOE determines that a project requires more engineering or inspection than are funded by the fee imposed, the Bureau shall charge and collect Special Engineering Charges pursuant to the provisions of LAMC Section 61.14 – Special Engineering Fees and LAMC Section 61.15 – Actual Cost Special Engineering Services.

OTHER ASSOCIATED FEES

Dye Test Fee

The City will only process your Dye Test Application once it has been determined that the property does not have a sewer connection permit on record.  A dye test does not legalize the connection since the actual location and depth is not determined.

Current fees for Dye Tests can be found on the current version of the City’s Standard Fee List.  These fees are based on the Adopted Board Report dated 4/18/73, Recommendation #2 – Dye Testing of Private Sewers.

Sewerage Facilities Charge (SFC) Fee (Separate Application and As Applicable)

Per LAMC 64.11(3)(b), the basis for the SFC fee is based upon a share of the equity of the City’s sewer system.  The share of system equity included in the SFC shall be proportional to the flow, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solids (SS) of the wastewater discharged into the sewage system from the premises as compared with the total flow, BOD and SS discharged by all system customers.

The sewerage facilities charge rates shall be $344.00 per 100 gallons per day average flow, $159.00 per pound per day of BOD and $147.00 per pound per day of SS from the premises.  These rates shall apply for all sewerage facilities charges and credits imposed pursuant to Section 64.16.1 of this Code.  Any sewerage facilities charge paid on an installment basis shall be based on the charge rates in effect when the applicant entered into the installment payment agreement with the City.

A “Sewerage Facilities Charge Guide” was developed by staff to assist with determining the charge.  Within this document is a link to current SFC Rates for various types of facilities.

SDRF Fee (As Applicable)

Per LAMC 62.06 a Street Damage Restoration Fee (SDRF) or Slurry Seal Damage Restoration Fee (SSDRF) can be charged as part of the Sewer Permit. 

Fees for SDRF are charged based on classification of the roadway (Major or Local) and how long ago the street was resurfaced or reconstructed.

Slurry Seal Damage Restoration Fees are charged based on the square footage of the area to be slurry sealed.  This only applies to slurry seal applied within 2 years.

Transportation Construction Traffic Management Committee (TCTMC) Fees (As Applicable)

Per LAMC 62.250.F a Transportation Construction Traffic Management Committee (TCTMC) Fee can be charged as part of the Sewer Permit if work within a public street  or alley is performed in a Major Transit and Construction Construction Impact Area. 

The TCTMC fee is based on the reduction in delineated traffic lanes, the number of daylight weekdays when the reduction occurs, the number of City blocks impacted by lane reductions, and a unit fee to be applied to these factors.  Daylight weekdays are work on Monday through Friday excluding holidays, between the hours of 5:30 AM and 7:00 PM inclusive. 

Fees collected shall be kept in a separate account and shall be used to defray the costs of the various departments and bureaus involved in administering the provisions of this Ordinance. 

Sewer Capacity Availability Review Fee (SCARF)

Per LAMC 64.15(i)(2), the SCARF will be based on the level of engineering analysis and data collection required to complete the SCAR. All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Sewer Construction and Maintenance Fund established by LAMC 64.19.2 (Fees listed are as of September 2018). 

PERMIT FEE EXEMPTIONS

Per LAMC 64.22.1, the following are exemptions allowed of Sewer Permit fees.

1. War Purposes Only:  Whenever any officer, agency or instrumentality of the United States of America, engaged in the performance of duties directly related to the prosecution of the war in which the United States is engaged, applies to the Board for a permit for any of the purposes mentioned in LAMC 64.12 – LAMC 64.22.
   
   The Board shall waive the payment of any permit or inspection fees, deposits or special charges otherwise required by this article, and may modify the requirements of LAMC 64.17, if the Board finds that the proposed installation is designed and intended to be used to serve premises or facilities owned or operated by the Federal Government and used principally for purposes directly related to the prosecution of the war.
    
2. Effect of Grant. The grant of permission to make any such installation, extended under this section, shall not be construed to confer any permanent or vested right to the use of the streets or public property of this City, or to maintain, for a period of more than six months after the termination of the war, any installation made hereunder or any connection with a public sewer, except with the consent of the City Council which may be withdrawn, or extended, upon such terms as the Council may then or at any time thereafter impose.
   
   The use, directly or indirectly of any installation made pursuant to this section by anyone other than the applicant and those persons, firms or corporations which have equitably participated with the Federal Government in the cost of said sewer construction or installation as determined by the Board from certified copies of existing contracts between said parties and the Federal Government, shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the City Council may at any time impose.
    
3. Conveyance of Title to Right of Way – Public Sewer. In the event that the Federal Government and the other parties in interest, as mentioned in the section above called “Effect of Grant”, shall offer to convey all their respective right, title and interest to any sewer constructed hereunder, including all necessary rights of way for sewer purposes, without cost to the City of Los Angeles, and if the Board finds that the sewer may properly be used as a public sewer, to the substantial advantage of the City, then the Board is authorized to accept said sewer as a public sewer at such time as the Council has accepted all necessary easements therefor and the parties in interest, abovementioned, will be entitled to continue to use said sewer facilities without the payment to the City of any permit or other special fees or charges except those required by LAMC 64.15.
    
4. City Engineer Approval Required. No permit shall be granted hereunder unless plans and specifications of the proposed installation have first been submitted to and approved by the City Engineer.

Bonded Sewer Fee

Per LAMC 64.18, a Bonded Sewer Fee will be charged to any application requiring issuance of a permit to connect to or construct a Special House Connection Sewer or Bonded Sewer House Connection Sewer.  The Bureau shall charge and collect, in addition to all other required fees and charges, the following fee where applicable:

1. For rectangular lots, a fee of $74 for each linear foot of the lot frontage for which the connection or construction is sought, except that for rectangular lots that have multiple frontages providing access to sewers, a fee of $74 for each linear foot of the shortest frontage.
2. For lots that are not rectangular, the Bureau shall calculate the area of the lot for which the connection or construction is sought, determine the size of a rectangular lot that would be equal in area, and impose a fee of $74 for each linear foot of frontage of the equivalent rectangular lot.
3. BOE may reduce the total fee imposed pursuant to the provisions of A or B above where it determines that the fee would exceed the fee amount charged with respect to other lots in the same bonded sewer area.
4. The provisions of this Section do not apply to permit applications for a Bonded Sewer House Connection Sewer where the lot for which the connection is sought was the subject of an assessment for a public sewer connection at the front, rear or side of the lot.