A district may, pursuant to the notice, protest, and hearing procedures in Section 53753 of the Government Code, fix a sewer service standby or immediate availability charge to be applied on a parcel basis within the district to be charged to the parcels to which sewer service is made available by the district, whether the sewer service is actually used or not. The district may establish schedules for the charge, and may restrict the charge to lands lying within one or more zones or areas of benefits established within the district. The district may not, unless the standby charge is imposed pursuant to the Uniform Standby Charge Procedures Act (Chapter 12.4 (commencing with Section 54984) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code), fix a charge in excess of thirty dollars ($30) a year for a residential parcel. Commercial or other parcels shall be charged according to equivalent residential parcels, but shall not exceed thirty dollars ($30) per acre per year, unless the standby charge is imposed pursuant to the Uniform Standby Charge Procedures Act (Chapter 12.4 (commencing with Section 54984) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code).

If the procedures set forth in this section as it read at the time a standby or availability charge was established were followed, the district may, by resolution, continue the charge pursuant to this section in successive years at the same rate. If new, increased, or extended assessments are proposed, the district shall comply with the notice, protest, and hearing procedures in Section 53753 of the Government Code.

The district may collect the standby or availability charge by billing the charged lands on a fiscal year basis or by other means available.

The district may collect the standby or availability charge as a part of the annual general county tax bill if the district furnishes in writing to the board of supervisors and to the county auditor the description of each parcel for which a charge is to be billed, together with the amount of the charge applicable to each parcel, in sufficient time to meet the schedule established by the county for inclusion of those items on the county general tax bill. The parcel description may be the parcel number assigned by the county assessor to the parcel. In that case, the standby or availability charge shall become a lien against the parcel of land to which it is charged in the same manner as the county general taxes. Penalties may be collected for late payment of the standby or availability charge, or the amount thereof unpaid, in the manner and at the same rates as that applicable for late payment or the amount thereof unpaid of county general taxes. All laws applicable to the levy, collection, and enforcement of municipal ad valorem taxes are applicable to those charges, except that, if any real property to which the lien would attach has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value, or if a lien of a bona fide encumbrancer for value has been created and attaches thereon, prior to the date on which the first installment of the taxes would become delinquent, then the lien which would otherwise be imposed by this section shall not attach to the real property and the charge relating to the property shall be transferred to the unsecured roll for collection.

If the district collects standby charges through the county general tax bill, the amount of the standby charge and any applicable penalty shall be stated on the tax bill separately from all other taxes, if practicable.

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 27, Sec. 37. Effective January 1, 2008.)