Local coffee shop asks Rio Del to reclassify sewer-strength category under city resolution
Summary
Tom Norton, owner of Shots Coffee, asked the council to review his business’s sewer-strength classification under Resolution 15-36-2022 and Proposition 218, arguing most water used is sold as beverages and does not enter the sewer system.
Tom Norton, owner of Shots Coffee in Rio Del, asked the council during public comment to review and reclassify his business’s sewer-strength category, arguing the current ‘‘high-strength’’ classification is inconsistent with his shop’s wastewater profile.
Norton said roughly half of the shop’s total water usage goes into beverages sold to customers and does not enter the sewer system, and that remaining water is primarily light dishwashing and rinse water rather than the solids and high organic loads associated with restaurants. He asked the city to use engineering discretion under Resolution 15-36-2022 and the proportional-cost rules of Proposition 218 to reassign the business to a medium- or low-strength category; he offered to provide monthly water records and beverage-sales ratios to support the request.
Norton asked the council to ensure rates are ‘‘fair, equitable, and legally consistent’’ and said he was not seeking to avoid fair costs but to ensure the sewer rate reflects actual impact on the system. Council suggested that staff (not the council itself) would undertake any formal review and that data would be submitted for verification.
Next steps: Council members indicated a review by staff would be appropriate; Mr. Norton said he would provide usage data if requested.
