Fresh Loaf

CEO COMMODE: DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones signs the retrofit ordinance as the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s Sally Bethea, Georgia Conservancy’s Shana Udvardy, and Francis Kung’u of the DeKalb Department of Watershed Management look on. In the foreground is Jones’ prized brontosaurus tooth/low-flow shower head.

Nothing says progress like toilet legislation. After months of rewrites, negotiations and deferments, the DeKalb County Commission finally approved a controversial ordinance — one DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones calls the first in the state — that would require homeowners in the county to retrofit antiquated plumbing fixtures before they receive water service. The commission approved the ordinance Feb. 26, and Jones signed it this afternoon. If all pre-1993 plumbing fixtures in DeKalb are retrofit, Jones said, 6 million gallons of water per day could be conserved.

The Realtor industry attacked the measure, known as the Retro Plumbing Fixtures Act, when it was first introduced by Jones in November, because it placed the burden of retrofit compliance on their shoulders. With the rewritten and approved ordinance, it is now the homebuyer’s responsibility to replace fixtures. About 165,000 homes will be affected by the ordinance. If your home was built after 1993, you have nothing to worry about, as the law already requires that all homes built after this date be outfitted with low-flow fixtures. The ordinance takes effect June 1, 2008, for residential properties. Commercial properties have until Jan. 1, 2009, to comply with the measure.

Properties exempt from the ordinance include:

• Properties advertised for foreclosure

• Homes that are slated to be torn down after purchase

• Homes that are conveyed between spouses and children, either by sale or through wills

• Homes in which, because of historic or architectural limitations, retrofitting would cost more than $1,000 per toilet. For commercial properties, the limit is $2,000 per toilet.

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(Photo courtesy Stock Exchange)

Yes, just a couple of days ago I said it would be two weeks, but now I’m hearing from sources and the commission that the controversial retrofit legislation that is proposed in DeKalb County will be voted on this Tuesday. This was confirmed by Commissioner Jeff Rader’s office today.

Chip Ivey of the DeKalb Association of Realtors® — perhaps the ordinance’s biggest opponent — said in a phone interview today that a representative from his organization will be delivering their own version of the ordinance to the county sometime this afternoon. He said the real estate industry group tried to schedule a time to sit down with Francis Kung’u, director of the DeKalb Department of Watershed Management, but has been unsuccessful so far.

CL will be there on Tuesday morning. No word if there are any cheerleaders slated to appear. Maybe awkward dancing plumbers, instead?

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First, an apology for my post last week encouraging readers to attend a DeKalb County Commission meeting that I misinterpreted as a vote but was actually a public hearing. If I ever do that again, rest assured that I’ll be at the meeting and awaiting beat-downs from angry residents whom I may have misled. Again, I apologize.

The DeKalb County Commission today deferred the controversial proposed ordinance requiring homes in the county with pre-1993 plumbing to be retrofit prior to sale, much to the delight of the rows of Realtors who attended the meeting solely to rally against the issue. Upon the commission’s decision to hold off voting for two weeks, the army of real estate professionals — I mean, Realtors — exited Maloof Auditorium en masse.

The ordinance has been met by staunch opposition by the real estate industry, which says it places homeowners and professionals in the industry at risk of fines if properties they’ve bought or sold haven’t been retrofit. They also argue that the ordinance is shortsighted, rushed and unclear. For example, they say even homes that are meant to be torn down to make way for new ones would have to be retrofit.

CEO Vernon Jones said the county is exploring the option of setting up a $500,000 rebate program to help residents purchase the low-flow fixtures needed to comply with the ordinance. The industry argues that an incentive-based program would be more beneficial and effective.

Commissioner Jeff Rader, a strong supporter of the retrofit ordinance, said that if implemented, the measure could save 3.5 millions gallons of water each day.

If passed, look for it to go into effect June 1.

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