In addition to enforcing the provisions of this chapter against any person as a misdemeanor, an infraction, or via the imposition of administrative fines or penalties, the city manager and his designated employees are authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter against customers and water purchasers of the utility as follows:
(a) Reports of alleged misuse of water in a manner contrary to the provisions of this chapter shall be called to the attention of the party responsible for the service connection misused and shall be investigated by the utilities department personnel to the extent possible.
(b) Utilities department personnel shall issue a written warning to the responsible party or parties.
(c) If a second or third incident of misuse of water in a manner contrary to the provisions of this chapter is established to the satisfaction of the utilities department personnel, up to two additional written warnings shall be issued to the responsible party or parties, advising that the city may opt to pursue available enforcement remedies, including the issuance of administrative citations, fines, infractions punishable by penalties, misdemeanors, flow restrictors, and termination of water service.
(d) For any subsequent incident by the same party, customer, or water purchaser, or for any willful violation of this chapter, the city manager or his designee may, in addition to the pursuit of any available enforcement remedies, elect to install a flow restrictor upon the service connection of the purchaser or customer at the purchaser's or customer's expense.
(1) Prior to installation of the water restrictor, the director of utilities shall give written notice to the person responsible for the service connection, which is to be restricted, of his intention to install a restrictor. The person or persons to whom notice is to be given shall have five business days from the date of service of the notice to request a hearing before the city manager or his designee in order to present any and all evidence they may have as to why a restrictor should not be installed or under what conditions it might be installed.
(2) If a hearing is requested, the city manager or his designee shall schedule a date and time for said hearing as soon as possible after the request is filed, but not later than five business days after the filing or such request for hearing.
(3) At the hearing, the person whose service connection is to be restricted may offer evidence as to why the restrictor should not be installed or under what conditions it might be installed.
(4) Utilities personnel shall also be allowed to offer whatever evidence they may have as to why the restrictor should be allowed and under what conditions. The city manager or his designees shall make a determination as to whether the restrictor shall or shall not be installed and what conditions, if any, should pertain.
(5) Upon a determination to install a restrictor after hearing, or the failure of the affected party to request a hearing, the director of utilities, under whatever conditions, if any, he may deem advisable under the circumstances, may install a flow restrictor on the service connection of the customer or purchaser of water whose service connection was used in the violations observed or established and bill the costs of such installation to said customer or purchaser in accordance with the following conditions:
(A) The first installation shall be for a period of three days;
(B) Subsequent installations shall be for a period to be determined by the director of utilities, in an amount sufficient to accomplish the purposes of this chapter. Flow restrictors shall be installed in accordance with water utility rules and regulations.
(e) Records shall be kept by the department of utilities of the city of Palo Alto of all enforcement actions taken under subsection (d) of this section, and such records may be subject to disclosure as required by the California Public Records Act.
(Ord. 5385 § 2, 2016; Ord. 3884 § 2 (part), 1989)