Point of Sale Sewer Lateral Requirement in San Bruno

Effective May 8, 2015, the City of San Bruno will begin enforcement of a point-of-sale requirement for sewer lateral inspections. (Municipal Code; Ordinance No. 1822 C.S. Chapter 10.13.) As with other point-of-sale mandates for sewer lateral inspections in San Mateo County, this is as a result of a judicial Consent Decree due to litigation by Baykeeper. This new code requires property owners to obtain a Sewer Lateral Compliance Certificate ("Certificate") when a residential property was originally constructed fifty (50) years or more from the date of recordation.

The city is still in the process of placing the necessary forms and FAQs on their website. Updates will be forwarded to SAMCAR members as they occur.

Before of the deed transferring the property is to be transferred to, or vested in any other person or entity, the property owner must, at his/her own expense, conduct an inspection of the sanitary sewer lateral as required by this chapter.  Any subsequent repair or replacement work deemed necessary as a result of that inspection shall be completed and approved by the City prior to issuance of a certificate of compliance and transfer of title.

Properties that are exempted from the requirement are:

1. Condominium or cooperative apartment buildings or the units within those buildings, except as a condition to conversion to a condominium or cooperative apartment building;
2. Properties that share a sanitary sewer lateral with another property;
3. Property transfers that do not involve the payment of a County transfer tax;
4. Properties for five (5) years after issuance of a certificate of compliance by this City under this chapter;
5. Properties for five (5) years after acceptance of a test pursuant to this chapter, if partial or no repairs of the lateral were required and any repairs were completed pursuant to permit and inspection by the City;
6. For five (5) years after inspection and approval by the city of completed alterations to the lateral, if alterations pursuant to a City permit were made to the location of or connections to the lateral following a test pursuant to this section;
7. Properties for twenty (20) years after City acceptance of construction work, provided that replacement of the complete sewer lateral was performed and accepted.

The process for obtaining a Certificate will be handled by the Public Works Department and there is a time extension certificate that the city will consider if a certificate of compliance cannot be obtained prior to title transfer, the property owner may request to the public services director, in writing, for a time extension (time extension certificate) of up to one hundred eighty (180) days in which to perform the inspection, and/or repairs or replacement required by the code.