Sewer Bills And Tenant Relocation
In Which: Sewer bills are set to increase to save the Bay, I talk about Nitrogen and algal blooms, and Tenants will have an easier time escaping bad housing.
Beautiful Yard Contest Winners Announced
The Keep Hayward Clean and Green Task Force (KHCG) presented the winners of their annual Beautiful Yard Contest this past Tuesday. The criteria for consideration are as follows:
Yard clean and free of debris
Well-maintained foliage
Reduces water usage
Use of native plants & landscaping
It’s unclear if by “native plants” they mean native to California, the Bay Area, or Hayward specifically.
But the winners, chosen by KHCG, are:
3rd Place: Jamie Mejia
2nd Place: Mary Jane
1st Place: Monica Gloria
The winners will receive Together for Hayward gift cards in the amounts of $75, $150, and $200 respectively—not to mention bragging rights, a certificate, and a neat little sign that goes in their tidy yards.
Congratulations to the winners.
Hayward Sewer Rates Set To Rise
The City Council held a Work Session on proposed rate increases to Sewer Rates and Connection Fees. The fees, which according to law can only cover the cost of providing services and not generate undue profit, cover the collection, treatment, and disposal of wastewater for the entire City of Hayward. There are different rates for residential and commercial customers, and even among residential customers there are three different tiers depending on water usage and income.
The things that the fees pay for are predominantly operating and maintenance cost, but importantly cover the Capital Replacement fund—the money they’re spending on the new Water Resource and Recover Facility (WRRF)—and Reserve funding—just like the General Fund has for unforeseen costs. The primary driver of the rate increase is the cost of the WRRF.
What Do We Need A New Water Treatment Plant For?
A California State Law passed a few years ago that is looking to clean up the Bay. There’s concern about algal blooms from excess “nutrients” in wastewater, and those blooms kill all the life in the Bay; literally strangling them out. The City is required, by law, to reduce excess nutrients in City wastewater by 50% within a certain time period so the WRRF is going to do that.
According to a presentation from the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies, which is driving this change, about 2/3rds of the Nitrogen loads to the Bay are contributed by wastewater treatment facilities. Judging from the reports, the majority of that Nitrogen comes from the South Bay—which includes Hayward because we’re South of Oakland, I guess.
Hayward is pretty low on the list of offenders, with Union City and San Leandro already putting out more Nitrogen than Hayward, according to a map—and both of those are dwarfed by EBMUD and SFPUC. Hayward has already implemented Nature Based Solutions with the Hayward Shoreline, but there is still more to be done.
How Does This Affect Me?
If you’re a residential customer, the answer is very little, thankfully. For an average residential customer, the rates will increase a little over $3.50/month—or about $42/year. The good news is that many customers who use less water or who have financial hardship will pay even less and see an even smaller rate increase. But note, this is only for the first year. The rates will go up by 12% every year for the next 5 years. Here’s what that’ll look like:
2024: $44.19 (Current)
2025: $47.83
2026: $53.57
2027: $56.00
2028: $67.19
2029: $75.26
Over 5 years, that’s a pretty big increase—about $30/month—but it may turn out that it doesn’t have to increase that much. the 12% is a maximum. Also, our residential rates will still be lower than many other cities, and they—Union City and San Leandro were mentioned—will have their rates increase, as well, as they build their own new wastewater treatment facilities.
Also, if you want to know something really fun, Hayward is the only City that lowers sewer rates if you use less water. So make use of that neat dashboard that you use to pay your water bill. Infrastructure can be fun.
Other rates that will go up are for Sewer Connection Fees. These fees are only paid once and only for new developments to connect to the sewer system. Those are going to increase by a little more than $2,000—which for many developments is almost a rounding error. We’ll be one of the higher cities for that rate, but, as I said before, many of those cities will see their own rates go up soon. So no need to worry about discouraging development.
If all goes smoothly, the rates will take effect in July of 2025 and last until 2029. Short of another state mandate for adding more wastewater infrastructure, rates should level out by then.
Council Doesn’t Like It, But Understands The Necessity
Councilmember Bonilla likely summed up the thoughts of the other Councilmembers in his opening comment. “Any time we’re increasing fees in our city, it’s always a hard discussion to have,” he said, “especially considering how many things are competing for all of our residents’ money.” But he also recognized the necessity of increasing the rates.
In a departure from his normal budget hawkishness, Councilmember Bonilla asked if it was possible to consider lowering the size of the reserve in an attempt to keep rates low. Staff said that they needed the reserve both as a Council Policy and for practical reasons like guaranteeing the loans for the WRRF and unforeseen emergencies. When Councilmember Bonilla asked about residents on fixed incomes, Staff assured him that 50% of residents pay less than the standard rate—half as much or even less—with the weighted average around $35/month as opposed to the standard $47. They also said there were payment assistance plans available to those who need them.
Councilmember Goldstein was pleasantly surprised by the relatively modest increase—at least in the first year. “I say that at the risk of being accused of being insensitive,” he said, “[but] the way you’ve outlined this, I think, is very fair.”
Councilmember Syrop also agreed that the increase was a necessary burden. “Staff has given immense consideration to making sure that the impact on residents is minimal,” he said, “As much as we would prefer there to be no impact at all, some of these things are out of our control given the cost of this massive project for our city.” He also encouraged Staff to see if “there’s any way we can shoulder more of the burden on residents” as a City. Staff assured him that this was the maximum scenario, and actual rate increase could be less.
Time on the Planning Commission led Councilmember Bonilla to ask about connection fees—which only affect developers—and whether it was possible to make the increase even more gradual. Staff said they’d have to look into it. He also asked why our connection fee was so high compared to other jurisdictions, and Staff said that we don’t use residential customer fees to subsidize business customers—following the letter of the law on the matter—whereas some jurisdictions maybe aren’t so strict.
Councilmember Andrews, whose day job is for a wastewater district, asked if there was a comparison for commercial customers between different jurisdictions. Staff said that they didn’t have that information on hand. She expressed concern about the rate increases for local businesses, especially restaurants. “That’s pretty much the number one reason why a restaurant will call me,” she said, “is because of the connection fees, rates, or whatever it is.” For context, Restaurants without Grease Interceptors will face a rate increase of $6.15/month at the end of 2029, compared to the $30/month increase residential customers may face.
Councilmember Andrews asked if there were programs to support rate increases for businesses, but Staff said there weren’t any that they were aware of. She then pivoted to PFAS, a suite of thousands of forever chemicals that exist in everyone’s blood already and have proven extremely toxic in high amounts, but Staff confidently stated that there was no PFAS in Hayward’s drinking water. Most of the issue of PFAS, they said, was from wastewater—PFAS is found on clothes, kitchen implements, and all other manner of household products.
Tenant Relocation Assistance Simplified
Everyone who is a renter is supposed to know, but in case you don’t, every renter in the City of Hayward is eligible for Tenant Relocation Assistance under certain circumstances. What that means is that, when a tenant has to relocate, the landlord pays for it—but it’s only under very specific circumstances.
No-Fault Lease Termination
Substantial Unit Repairs
Health and Safety Conditions (Government Agency’s Order to Vacate)
Right now, there’s a whole per-diem rate and it’s really confusing and the City has had to spend a lot of resources negotiating and explaining back and forth with the landlord and it’s been a big pain. So the City is looking to simplify the payments, using the table below:
So your landlord has to pay more depending on the size of the unit and the Fair Market Rate (FMR) of a unit of that size in Alameda County. The new bits are the Proposed Flat Rate and the Proposed Flat Rate (Daily). If you’re going to be displaced for more than 30 days, your landlord pays the Flat Rate. If you’re going to be displaced for less than 30 days, your landlord pays the Daily rate.
The flat rate is supposed to be equivalent to 3 months worth of rent at FMR which should allow a tenant to find a new place to live. Alternatively, the landlord could offer a different comparable rental unit, if one is available.
This is a big win for tenants, especially if there’s a Government Agency Order to Vacate—like if there’s mold or if Code Enforcement determines the unit isn’t fit for habitation. In that case, not only do landlords have to pay City relocation assistance, they also have to pay State relocation assistance—further incentive to keep things up.
There’s also a change for landlords who don’t pay up in a timely manner: a $1,000 fine. This covers City Staff time dealing with them and is also an incentive to just get it over with.
Is This Good?
That depends! If you’re a landlord who doesn’t like fixing units and preys on, say, immigrant families, then no. But if you’re a renter anywhere in Hayward, this is good news. If your landlord tries to force you out using renovations or if your unit has mold problems or leaks or something else—this is good for you.
Even in the case your landlord doesn’t pay up, the City will still step in and cover your relocation assistance and then go after your landlord for the money. The City also took in about $30,000 from landlords doing just that. Given the rates, that means it may not happen that often, but if it happens to you, you’ll be glad this ordinance is there.
Council Is Mostly Pro-Tenant
Councilmember Bonilla asked about the $30,000 that Staff took in from fronting for landlords and wanted to know what was being done with it. Staff said it’s just going to make the City whole again, but Councilmember Bonilla pushed for a “revolving relocation assistance fund” to cover things. “That would make the most logical sense,” he said. “This is what I would advocate for.”
“I’m just so happy,” Councilmember Bonilla said, “that our City is taking these steps to streamline the services that we’re [providing] in the most efficient way possible.” He continued, “Ensuring that people have access to safe housing in hayward and making sure that our tenants are living in sustainable conditions—and when they’re not, quickly helping them find a better place to live—is a human right that everyone in our City deserves.”
Councilmember Goldstein seemed to take a more landlord-friendly stance, asking if there were any strings on the relocation assistance. Staff said that there weren’t any and that the funds are for “trying to help tenants get a soft landing… It’s a homelessness prevention strategy,” Staff said, “[intended to] give means to individuals who have been impacted through no fault of their own by having rented housing that is not suited to habitation.”
Councilmember Roche pushed for a notice to tenants, with the thinking that many may not know their own rights under City law. “I think most people are not aware when these difficult circumstances arise that there may be resources out there,” she said. Staff assured her that landlords are required, by law, to notify tenants of their rights under two separate City laws.
Councilmember Roche then asked about a grievance process for delinquent landlords. Staff said they usually rely on tenant reports, but did say that landlords are required to submit a proof of payment within 30 days of a required payment—just in case a tenant isn’t able to complain.
Councilmember Zermeño asked how the Tenant Relocation Assistance has been going so far. Staff said the main issue is with explaining the payment structure, which is why they’re trying to simplify it. But they also said, anecdotally, it may give tenants a reason to speak up when there’s abuses. “I think it’s also given people the reassurance to be able to speak up,” they said, “when they are being in conditions that are not safe.” Councilmember Zermeño agreed, “This is one possible way of preventing a homeless situation.”
Councilmember Syrop celebrated increased efficiency in the process. “It’s a great example of government getting out of its own way,” he said. “I stand by the fact that one of the best ways to prevent homelessness is by allowing people to remain housed… This action goes a long way toward helping us accomplish that more effectively.” He then pushed for the City website to be updated quickly once the law goes into effect and supported Councilmember Bonilla’s idea of a revolving assistance fund.
Councilmember Andrews also celebrated the changes. “This is a way to retain our residents, retain our students, retain our families, and also contribute to the community,” she said.
Mayor Salinas gave full support to the changes, as well. “I think the [Housing Policy and Resource Committee] has been working over the last few years to really make sure that nobody in the City of Hayward has to unnecessarily suffer from some kind of a circumstance where they are made unhoused.”