[Added 4-28-2020 by Ord. No. O-20-15]
The City is authorized by § 4-204(d) of the Environment
Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended, to adopt a
system of charges to fund the implementation of a stormwater management
program.
A.
The City Council finds that an adequate, sustainable source of revenue
for the implementation of a stormwater management program is necessary
to protect the general public health, safety, and welfare. Further,
the City Council finds that higher amounts of impervious area contribute
greater amounts of stormwater and pollutants to the stormwater management
system. Therefore, the City Council determines that it is in the best
interest of the public to enact a stormwater utility fee that allocates
stormwater management program costs to all owners of real property
based on impervious area.
B.
The stormwater management program shall be operated under the direction of the City Engineer. The City Engineer shall develop a stormwater utility fee policy and procedure manual for adoption by City Council resolution. The manual shall contain the necessary policies and procedures to carry out this article, as well as any credit policy pursuant to § 213-34.
A.
The City's Stormwater Utility Enterprise Fund is established
as a dedicated, separate enterprise fund.
B.
The following revenue will be deposited into the Stormwater Utility
Enterprise Fund:
(1)
All fees established by the City Council to cover the cost of administering
the provisions of this chapter, including but not limited to application
and permit fees and fines.
(3)
All interest from deposits in the Stormwater Utility Enterprise Fund.
(5)
Any other revenue as may be determined by the City Council or the
City Engineer, including but not limited to grants and special appropriations.
C.
The Stormwater Utility Enterprise Fund will be used for the sole
purpose of recovering costs associated with the management of stormwater,
including the following:
(1)
The study, design, purchase, construction, expansion, retrofit, repair,
maintenance, landscaping, operation, and inspection of any component
of the stormwater management system;
(2)
Review, approval and enforcement of stormwater management plans;
(3)
Street sweeping;
(4)
Water quality and pollution prevention education and outreach activities;
(5)
Water quality monitoring, inspection, and enforcement activities,
including illicit discharge and illicit connection investigations;
(6)
Program administration and implementation, including reasonable operating
and capital reserves to meet unanticipated or emergency requirements
associated with the management of stormwater;
(7)
Land acquisition (including but not limited to easements and rights-of-way)
associated with the construction, operation, or maintenance of any
component of the stormwater management system;
(8)
Retrofitting developed areas for pollution control;
(9)
Financial incentive programs for assistance with construction of
private stormwater management systems;
(10)
Planning and program development associated with these activities;
and
(11)
Any other activities consistent with § 4-204(d)(1)
of the Environment Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended.
A.
A stormwater utility fee is hereby imposed on all real property in
the City that exists on January 1 of each year, including government-owned
real property and regardless of whether the property is subject to
taxation under Title 7, Tax Property Article, Annotated Code of Maryland,
as amended.
B.
All revenue from the stormwater utility fee and income derived from the fee shall be deposited into the Stormwater Utility Enterprise Fund described in § 213-32.
C.
The stormwater utility fee billing unit is 1,000 square feet of impervious
area. The rate per stormwater utility fee billing unit to be used
for calculating the stormwater utility fee shall be set by the City
Council by resolution.
D.
Except as otherwise provided in this article, the impervious area
for a property will be determined by the City using aerial photography,
as-built drawings, final approved site plans, field surveys, or other
appropriate engineering and mapping analysis tools as determined by
the City Engineer.
E.
Except as otherwise provided in this article, the stormwater utility
fee for a property will be calculated in the following manner:
F.
The stormwater utility fee for any common area not owned by a community
association or business park will be charged as follows:
(1)
The stormwater utility fee for the common area will be calculated based on the impervious area of the common area in the manner described in Subsection E.
(2)
The entire stormwater utility fee for the impervious area of the
common area will be divided equally among the property tax accounts
for all accounts assigned to the property owners of record in the
community or business park by the State Department of Assessments
and Taxation.
G.
The stormwater utility fee for a condominium will be charged as follows:
(1)
The stormwater utility fee for the impervious area of the condominium will be calculated in accordance with the methodology in Subsection E.
(2)
The entire stormwater utility fee for the condominium will be divided
equally among the property tax accounts for all accounts assigned
to the condominium unit owners of record by the State Department of
Assessments and Taxation.
H.
The City Administrator, at his sole discretion, may authorize the
use of alternative methodologies for billing the stormwater utility
fee.
I.
No stormwater utility fee shall be charged to a property with less than 500 square feet of impervious area where the calculation in Subsection E results in zero billing units.
J.
Roads and rights-of-way. No stormwater utility fee will be charged
to public roads or other property within a public right-of-way. The
stormwater utility fee will be charged to owners of private alleys,
streets, and roads except where the City Engineer determines that
a private street or road functions primarily as a public street or
road.
K.
Mainline tracks. No stormwater utility fee will be charged to mainline
tracks devoted to movement of subway, rapid transit, and railroad
traffic. The stormwater utility fee will be charged for all other
impervious areas associated with the movement of subway, rapid transit,
and railroad traffic, including but not limited to parking lots, maintenance
yards, buildings, and storage areas.
The City Council shall adopt by resolution as part of the stormwater
utility fee policy and procedure manual a system of credits against
the stormwater utility fee for a property owner who operates and maintains
a stormwater management structure designed, installed, and accepted
by the City in accordance with technical standards required by the
City at the time of construction or in accordance with other technical
standards approved at the discretion of the City Engineer. No credit
will be provided unless the structure is subject to a properly executed
maintenance agreement with the City. No credit will be provided if
the City Engineer determines that the structure is not functioning
as designed and the property owner fails to take corrective action
within the time period provided by the City Engineer. Nothing shall
prevent the City Council from modifying the adopted system of credits.
Any such modification may apply to holders of existing credits at
the discretion of the City Council.
A.
The City will prepare and forward to the Director of Finance the
necessary data for collecting the stormwater utility fee from owners
of real property in the City. The data must include the identification
of each parcel to be charged and the amount of the fee. The fee will
be included as a separate line item on the water and wastewater bill
for each property subject to the fee. Property owned by people or
entities who do not receive a water and wastewater bill will be billed
separately. The bill will include information on whom to contact for
questions and petitions for adjustment.
B.
The stormwater utility fee will be considered delinquent if not paid on or before the due date shown on the bill. If the owner has filed a petition for adjustment in accordance with § 213-36, the stormwater utility fee must be paid by the date shown on the bill and will be reimbursed to the owner if the petition for adjustment is successful.
C.
A late charge on an overdue payment accrues according to the same
schedule and at the same rate charged for delinquent water and wastewater
bills until the owner has remitted the outstanding payment and late
charge. Unpaid charges are subject to all penalties and remedies that
apply to unpaid water and wastewater bills, including but not limited
to discontinuance and a reconnection charge.
A.
Any property owner subject to the stormwater utility fee may petition
for an adjustment to the fee by submitting a request in writing to
the City within 30 days after the date the bill is issued to the property
owner. Grounds for adjustment of the stormwater utility fee are limited
to the following:
B.
The property owner shall complete a petition for adjustment form
in a format approved by the City Engineer. In the event the City Engineer
finds that the form is incomplete, the City Engineer shall offer the
property owner 15 additional days from his decision to supply the
missing or incomplete information. If the missing or incomplete information
is not provided to the City Engineer within the fifteen-additional-day
period, the petition for adjustment shall be considered withdrawn.
C.
If the property owner alleges an error in the amount of the impervious
area, a plan view of the property's impervious area will be provided
by the City with labeled dimensions of all impervious area within
the property boundaries. If, based on the plan view or other materials
provided by the property owner, the City Engineer finds that the impervious
area calculation is in error, the City will recalculate the impervious
area of the property.
The provisions of this article shall be effective May 29, 2020.
The initial billing shall be for fiscal year 2021 based on impervious
area in existence as of January 1, 2020.
