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Developers looking to build new apartment complexes in Fountain Valley will no longer have to install grease catchers in the plumbing system.
A grease interceptor is a specialized plumbing unit placed between a building’s drainage line – like under a kitchen sink – and the municipal main sewer line to catch grease before wastewater heads to the sewer.
Grease catchers are typically installed in restaurants and certain food manufacturing plants because of the large amount of fats, oils and grease byproducts the businesses emit.
Fountain Valley City Council members voted at Tuesday’s city council meeting, to eliminate the requirement to install grease interceptors in new multiple dwelling units, revising an ordinance that city staff deemed costly and unnecessary.
The measure, which amends the Fountain Valley Municipal Code, was part of a package of agenda items that unanimously passed in one vote on Tuesday. The ordinance takes effect in less than 30 days.
According to a staff report, the city originally adopted the ordinance enacting grease control regulations in 2004 to comply with a state order aiming to reduce sewer blockages caused by fats, oils and grease.
After two decades, city staff determined that apartments do not significantly contribute to grease issues like food facilities can, making the requirement to install grease catchers in new multiple dwelling units superfluous.
“Based on 20 years of observations and comparing Fountain Valley’s ordinance to other cities, staff has determined the present requirement is unnecessary and impractical,” Director of Public Works Scott Smith said at the Feb. 18 meeting.
The first reading of the ordinance was approved in a 4-1 vote, with Councilmember Kim Constantine the dissenting opinion.
Constantine expressed concerns about the financial impacts the city could face if they changed the rule and developers were later required to retrofit grease control systems.
Last month, residential developers and plumbing industry members said the grease interceptor mandate was too strict.
“This is the first time we’ve ever seen something like this—the requirement of a grease interceptor in multifamily residential buildings,” Alfonso Toledo, a plumbing professional with AMPAM Parks Mechanical, said at the Feb. 18 meeting.
The Orange County Sanitation District’s grease control mandate only applies to food service establishments. Fountain Valley’s revised ordinance now matches that. Food businesses will still be required to install grease receptors.
Representatives for Holland Partner Group, currently redeveloping the old Boomers land into multifamily housing, echoed Toledo’s view that the rule was unique compared to other cities they’ve worked with, emphasizing the challenges housing developers would face under it.
Ryan Trainor, regional vice president for Holland Partner Group, said that in his 15 years working in property management across Southern California, he had never encountered a requirement for residential grease interceptors and their routine cleanings can cost hundreds of dollars per unit.
His colleague, Matt Turk, said the requirement would’ve been both impractical and too expensive.
“Even if an appropriately sized product existed, installing the extensive plumbing required to support these systems would be cost-prohibitive. At the former Boomers site alone, we estimate that compliance with at least $4 million,” Turk said.
“From a broader perspective, removing this unique and ultimately burdensome rule will help make new residential projects feasible here in Fountain Valley, which aligns with the city’s goal to attract and retain development and maintain fiscal stability” he continued.
Noriko Ostroy is an intern at Voice of OC. You can reach her at storybynori@gmail.com
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