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Riverside council directs staff to draft 25% stormwater homestead exemption, effective Jan. 1, 2027
Summary
Following weeks of study, council instructed staff to prepare an ordinance offering a 25% reduction on stormwater fees for residential properties with county homestead exemptions, precluding stacking with other discounts and targeted to begin Jan. 1, 2027; staff will produce fiscal-impact figures for budget planning.
Riverside City Council on July 20 directed staff to draft an ordinance that would provide a 25% reduction in stormwater fees for residential parcels that carry a county homestead exemption, to take effect January 1, 2027.
The law director told council he had drafted a procedural skeleton ordinance but needed council to decide three core policy items before he could finalize text: the percentage of the adjustment, whether recipients could stack other discounts, and the ordinance’s effective date. “I drafted an ordinance … I cannot fill in what that adjustment will be,” the law director said, explaining staff still required specific policy decisions to publish a complete ordinance and meet statutory notice requirements.
Mayor Williams moved to instruct staff to prepare an ordinance that would set the reduction at 25 percent for residential homestead properties, preclude additional discounts, and take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. Councilmembers debated whether exact fiscal impacts should be calculated in advance; staff said precise numbers require cross-referencing auditor homestead lists with city billing tiers. City staff recommended collecting precise property-tier data to estimate budget effects before final adoption.
Council approved the motion by voice vote and asked staff to return with a drafted ordinance and fiscal-impact analysis in time for August readings and to inform 2027 budget planning. The law director noted the ordinance must be published at least 30 days before a formal reading and said a first reading could be scheduled for the council’s Aug. 3 meeting, with a second reading and potential adoption in mid-August if the process proceeds on that timeline.
The action directs staff to prepare the ordinance and fiscal analysis; it does not by itself change billing or penalty processes.
