Who pays for the sewer lateral in West Hollywood, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours all the way to the main under the road
Why, and what to do
If something’s wrong
If a repair needs a permit or an inspection
- Who issues it:
- City of West Hollywood City Engineer
- What it covers:
- any excavation or encroachment in any highway
West Hollywood Municipal Code section 11.16.010 adopts "Title 16, Highways, Division 1, Highway Permits, of the Los Angeles County Code, as amended and in effect on March 29, 1985" as the City's Highway Permit Ordinance, and section 11.16.020 makes it a misdemeanor for "Every person who performs any work regulated by this chapter" to do so "without first obtaining a permit therefor from the City Engineer". The work regulated includes the case in section 16.06.010 of the adopted ordinance: every person, with stated exceptions, "is required to obtain a permit from the commissioner before he" "Makes or causes to be made any excavation or encroachment in any highway". The City's sewer ordinance, borrowed from the County, puts the house lateral under the street on the owner, so this is the permit an owner needs to reach their own pipe.
Who to call first about the sewer lateral
West Hollywood: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on
Who is responsible for which part
West Hollywood writes no sewer ownership rule of its own and borrows the County's. Section 15.04.010 of its municipal code adopts "Title 20, Utilities, Division 2, Sanitary Sewers and Industrial Waste, of the Los Angeles County Code as amended and in effect on January 2, 1990" as the City's Sanitary Sewer and Industrial Waste Ordinance. Inside that adopted division, section 20.24.080 provides that all house laterals "shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and section 20.20.130 defines a "house lateral" as "that part of the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way which extends from the property or sewer right-of-way line to a construction with the main-line sewer". The length the City's ordinance puts on the owner is the length under the road.
- The property owner
- The run under the street, named as such. Section 20.24.080 assigns house laterals to "the owner of the property served", and section 20.20.130 places that lateral within the street or right-of-way, from the property line to the main-line sewer. Section 20.20.220 defines the main-line sewer independently - one "in which changes in alignment and grade occur only at manholes", adding that such sewers "are generally eight inches or more in diameter" - so the owner's length ends where that pipe begins.
What else is worth knowing
Sources
West Hollywood Municipal Code section 15.04.010, Adoption of Sanitary Sewer and Industrial Waste OrdinanceWhat the rules say
Most relevant if you are remodelling or adding a unit
No rule on file here is specific to remodelling or adding a unit; that does not mean none exists.
Also in force here
- Who issues it:
- City of West Hollywood City Engineer
- What it covers:
- any excavation or encroachment in any highway
West Hollywood Municipal Code section 11.16.010 adopts "Title 16, Highways, Division 1, Highway Permits, of the Los Angeles County Code, as amended and in effect on March 29, 1985" as the City's Highway Permit Ordinance, and section 11.16.020 makes it a misdemeanor for "Every person who performs any work regulated by this chapter" to do so "without first obtaining a permit therefor from the City Engineer". The work regulated includes the case in section 16.06.010 of the adopted ordinance: every person, with stated exceptions, "is required to obtain a permit from the commissioner before he" "Makes or causes to be made any excavation or encroachment in any highway". The City's sewer ordinance, borrowed from the County, puts the house lateral under the street on the owner, so this is the permit an owner needs to reach their own pipe.
What to do: Before digging in the street to reach a house lateral, apply to the West Hollywood City Engineer for a highway excavation permit, ask what deposit will be required, and ask whether the plat can be waived for a lateral repair. If a blocked lateral is an emergency, the permit can follow on the next business day.
West Hollywood Municipal Code chapter 11.16, Highway Permit OrdinanceWhy this matters
One provision in the adopted ordinance is written for exactly this job. Section 16.18.030 requires a plat with an excavation permit application, then adds: "When excavations are made for service connections or for the location of trouble in conduits, cable or pipe, or for making repairs thereto, the commissioner may waive the filing of a plat." Section 16.12.010 asks every applicant for "a cash deposit or other adequate security, as determined by the commissioner", large enough to cover the costs if the permit is not fulfilled, and no figure is set. Before digging, section 16.06.140 has the permittee notify the owners of underground facilities nearby, or the one-call system, "at least 48 hours prior to time of proposed excavation, exclusive of weekends or legal holidays" - notice to the utilities, not to the City. In an emergency, section 16.18.130 allows an excavation needed "for the preservation of life or property if the person making such excavation applies for a permit not later than the next business day." The City's separate encroachment permit in chapter 11.18 is written for private use of the right-of-way - landscaping, fences, patios - and is not the permit for a trench.
What this page cannot tell you
- No assistance or grant programme has been reviewed for this jurisdiction yet.
- No sewer service territory has been mapped for this area, so BelowGrid cannot say who serves an individual address.
Who governs and serves this area
- Jurisdiction
- West Hollywood (municipality)
- Sewer service
- No map of sewer providers is held here. BelowGrid cannot say which sewer provider serves an individual address.
How this compares to neighbouring cities
3 of the 8 nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.
Nearby cities and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in West Hollywood in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
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