MANDATORY WATER-SAVING RETROFITS IMPACT HOTELS The statute requires the replacement of “The statue applies to all residential and commercial real property built and 14 California Hotel & Lodging Association SPRING 2015 3 1 2 available for use on or before January 1, 1994. For purposes of this law, “commercial real property” means any real property that is improved with, or consisting of, a building that is intended for commercial use, including hotels and motels, that is not a single-family residential real property or a multifamily residential real property. Pre-1994 lodging properties must retrofit the following “noncompliant plumbing fixtures”: Any toilet manufactured to use more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. (NOTE: The current edition of the California Plumbing Code prohibits toilets using more than 1.26 gallons per flush.) Any urinal manufactured to use more than one gallon of water per flush. (NOTE: The current edition of the California Plumbing Code mandates that urinals use no more than 0.5 gallons per flush.) Any showerhead manufactured to have a flow capacity of more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute. (NOTE: The current edition of the California Plumbing Code mandates that showerheads use no more than 2.0 gallons per minute (at 80 psi), and must comply with Division 4.3 of the California Green Building Standards Code.) Any interior faucet that emits more than 2.2 gallons of water per minute. (NOTE: The current edition of the California Plumbing Code mandates that faucets use no more than 1.8 gallons per minute (for kitchen faucets), 1.5 gallons per minute (for lavatory faucets), or 0.5 gallons per minute (for lavatory faucets in common or public use areas, at 60 psi.) Each noncompliant fixtures must be replaced with a “water-conserving plumbing fixture,” which is defined to mean “any fixture that is in compliance with current building standards applicable to a newly constructed real property of the same type” as follows: on and after January 1, 2014, all noncompliant plumbing fixtures in any multifamily residential real property and any commercial residential real property shall be replaced with water-conserving plumbing fixtures in the following circumstances: A. For building additions in which the sum of concurrent building permits by the same permit applicant would increase the floor area of the space in a building by more than 10 percent, the building permit applicant shall replace all noncompliant plumbing fixtures in the building. B. For building alterations or improvements in which the total construction cost estimated in the building permit is greater than one hundred fifty thousand dollars on MARCH 17, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown and the State Water Resources Control Board imposed new mandatory water conservation rules that will affect the hospitality industry and affect how hotels serve their guests. The new rules took effect on April 15, 2015. The rules adopted affecting the hospitality industry include: • Prohibiting the serving of drinking water other than upon request in eating or drinking establishments, including but not limited to restaurants, hotels, cafes, cafeterias, bars, or other public places where food or drink are served and/or purchased. • To promote water conservation, operators of hotels and motels shall provide guests with the option of choosing not to have towels and linens laundered daily. The hotel or motel shall prominently display notice of this option in each bathroom using clear and easily understood language. Additionally, on April 1, Governor Brown issued an Executive order directing the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions in cities and towns to reduce water usage by 25 percent. Besides these new water conservation rules, there are other mandatory statewide waterconservation requirements currently in effect that impact the lodging industry. Specifically, Civil Code Sections 1101.1, et seq., mandate that every “noncompliant plumbing fixture” in all hotels and inns be retrofitted by certain definite dates and in conjunction with specified alterations. The details of this mandate are set out below.
CHLA lodging News Spring 2015
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