diff --git a/.coveragerc b/.coveragerc
index 0d8e6297d..1ba5bb57d 100644
--- a/.coveragerc
+++ b/.coveragerc
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ exclude_lines =
     def __repr__
     # Ignore abstract methods
     raise NotImplementedError
+    # Ignore setuptools-less fallback
+    except pkg_resources.DistributionNotFound:
 omit =
   */gapic/*.py
   */proto/*.py
diff --git a/google/cloud/firestore_v1/base_client.py b/google/cloud/firestore_v1/base_client.py
index 22afb09de..f532ec1b7 100644
--- a/google/cloud/firestore_v1/base_client.py
+++ b/google/cloud/firestore_v1/base_client.py
@@ -536,17 +536,6 @@ def _get_doc_mask(field_paths: Iterable[str]) -> Optional[types.common.DocumentM
         return types.DocumentMask(field_paths=field_paths)
 
 
-def _item_to_collection_ref(iterator, item: str) -> BaseCollectionReference:
-    """Convert collection ID to collection ref.
-
-    Args:
-        iterator (google.api_core.page_iterator.GRPCIterator):
-            iterator response
-        item (str): ID of the collection
-    """
-    return iterator.client.collection(item)
-
-
 def _path_helper(path: tuple) -> Tuple[str]:
     """Standardize path into a tuple of path segments.
 
diff --git a/synth.py b/synth.py
index 07ce56148..8a363c592 100644
--- a/synth.py
+++ b/synth.py
@@ -191,6 +191,20 @@ def lint_setup_py(session):
 """,
 )
 
+s.replace(
+    ".coveragerc",
+    """\
+    raise NotImplementedError
+omit =
+""",
+    """\
+    raise NotImplementedError
+    # Ignore setuptools-less fallback
+    except pkg_resources.DistributionNotFound:
+omit =
+""",
+)
+
 s.shell.run(["nox", "-s", "blacken"], hide_output=False)
 
 s.replace(