[Amended 8-20-2009 by Ch. No. 2928]
This article shall apply to all development occurring within the City of Pawtucket that requires development plan review in accordance with §
410-15.1. No person shall engage in land development activities without receiving approval from the City Planning Commission or the Department of Planning and Redevelopment. Development that does not require development plan review in accordance with §
410-15.1, but does increase the amount of impervious surface on a parcel, but more than 300 square feet must demonstrate compliance with §
410-92.19 below.
All applicants are required to develop and submit
a stormwater management plan. All stormwater management plans must
address stormwater management on a site-by-site basis and all requirements
of this article. All stormwater management practices shall be consistent
with the Rhode Island Stormwater Design and Installation Standards
Manual and the Rhode Island Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook,
as amended.
A. Performance standards. Stormwater management plans
shall incorporate best management practices for water quality control,
which in combination are demonstrated to reduce the average annual
total suspended solids in post-development runoff by 80%. Development
in drinking water supply watersheds or watersheds where impaired waters
as defined by the state’s 303(d) list exist may be held to higher
standards.
B. Disallowed stormwater best management practices. The
placement of detention basins and other stormwater structures within
a floodplain shall be avoided. If there is no alternative, the applicant
must show what effects, if any, the tailwaters created by the floodplain
will have on the outflow and effective storage capacity of the detention
facility.
C. Facilitation of maintenance. Facilities that require
maintenance shall be designed to minimize the need for regular maintenance,
facilitate required maintenance, and ensure accessibility of components
that require maintenance. At a minimum, all stormwater management
plans must incorporate best management practices with appropriate
maintenance design in accordance with the Rhode Island Stormwater
Design and Installation Standards Manual, as amended; or the Rhode
Island Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook, as amended.
D. Flood protection. Stormwater management plans shall
demonstrate that a proposed project provides for protection of life
and property from flooding and flood flows. Water quantities must
be controlled in accordance with the Rhode Island Stormwater Design
and Installation Standards Manual, as amended, or a municipally approved
regional stormwater management plan for the watershed in which the
development site is located. Stormwater management plans shall demonstrate
incorporation of the following standards into the proposed project:
(1)
Control and maintenance of post-development
peak discharge rates from the two-year, ten-year, twenty-five-year,
and one-hundred-year storm events and predevelopment levels.
(2)
Downstream analysis of the one-hundred-year
storm event and control of the peak discharge rate for the one-hundred-year
storm to mitigate significant downstream impacts.
(3)
Discharge from any stormwater facility must
be conveyed through properly constructed conveyance system to provide
for nonerosive flows during all storm events. The proposed stormwater
conveyance system consisting of open channels, pipes, and other conveyance
devices shall at a minimum accommodate the runoff from a twenty-five-year
storm event. The stormwater conveyance system must provide for nonerosive
flows to receiving waters.
E. Surface water and groundwater. Stormwater management
plans shall demonstrate that during develop and post-development,
all receiving waters will be recharged in a manner closely resembling
predevelopment conditions and that the developed site will retain
hydrological conditions that closely resemble those prior to disturbance.
Maintenance agreements shall provide written,
contractual documentation, which demonstrates compliance with this
article and legal arrangements for the upkeep of stormwater facilities
to assure their functionality and safety in accordance with this article.
Maintenance agreements, which describe all maintenance schedules and
requirements, must be developed for each stormwater management facility
unless the facility is dedicated to and accepted by the City of Pawtucket.
A. Recognition of municipal inspection requirements.
Maintenance agreements shall include a reasonable and regular schedule
for the City of Pawtucket, or designee, to conduct on-site inspection
of the functionality and safety of stormwater management facilities.
Inspection schedules shall be based on the complexity and frequency
of maintenance needs and shall be subject to the approval of City
of Pawtucket. At a minimum, maintenance frequency should be in accordance
with the Rhode Island Stormwater Design and Installation Standards
Manual, as amended.
B. Recordkeeping for maintenance activities. Maintenance
agreements shall include provisions for maintenance recordkeeping.
All activities conducted in accordance with a maintenance agreement
must be recorded in a work order and inspection log. Timely updates
of the log shall be the responsibility of the stormwater management
facility owner or other responsible party pursuant to this article.
Review of the maintenance and inspection log shall be completed by
the City of Pawtucket, or designee, to determine the effectiveness
of operation, maintenance and safety activities. Reviews shall occur
as part of each on-site inspection. Additional reviews may be made
as deemed appropriate by the City of Pawtucket or designee.
C. Responsibility for maintenance to assure functionality
and safety. Appropriate maintenance to assure functionality and safety
of stormwater management facilities shall be the responsibility the
owner or may be assumed by another party via a written contractual
arrangement in accordance with this article.
D. Alterations to maintenance agreements. Any alterations
in maintenance responsibility or alterations to maintenance agreements
must be reviewed and approved by the Department of Zoning and Code
Enforcement. If portions of the land serviced by a stormwater management
facility are to be sold, written contractual arrangements shall be
made to pass all responsibility of the maintenance agreement to the
purchaser and shall be subject to review and approval of the Department
of Zoning and Code Enforcement. All alterations to maintenance agreements
shall be recorded in accordance with this article.
E. Recordation of maintenance agreements. All maintenance
agreements and alterations to maintenance agreements shall be recorded
in the land evidence records of the City of Pawtucket. Copies of all
maintenance agreements and alterations to maintenance agreements shall
be included in stormwater management plans. Recordation of maintenance
agreements in accordance with this article shall be the responsibility
of the owner.
The City of Pawtucket shall be empowered to
collect fees from permit applicants, which are commensurate with the
cost of administering this article.
The City of Pawtucket shall have the authority
and discretion to penalties and/or impose a lien, whenever a stormwater
management facility is not implemented, operated, and/or maintained
in accordance with its approval and this article. Any penalty invoked
shall be in accordance with this article.
A. Notification of violation. In the event that the stormwater
management facility becomes a danger to public safety or public health,
or in need of maintenance or has not been maintained in accordance
with the maintenance agreement, the City of Pawtucket shall so notify
the responsible person in writing by certified mail. Upon receipt
of that notice, the responsible person shall have five calendar days
to temporarily correct the violations and 30 calendar days to complete
maintenance and permanently repair the facility in a manner that is
approved by the municipality. If the responsible person fails or refuses
to perform such maintenance and repair, the municipality may immediately
summon the applicant/owner to appear before the Municipal Court.
B. Enforcement of penalties and liens. Should the applicant/owner
fail to take the corrective actions, the City of Pawtucket shall then
have the right to summon the applicant/owner to appear before the
Municipal Court. The Municipal Court may issue an order authorizing
the City to take the available appropriate remedies it deems necessary
to correct the violations and may also order a fine of $100 per day
that the violation goes unrepaired. The Municipal Court may also authorize
the City to assert a lien on the subject property in an amount equal
to the costs of remedial actions. The lien shall be enforced in the
manner provided or authorized by law for the enforcement of common
law liens on personal property. The lien shall be recorded in the
land evidence records of the City of Pawtucket, and shall incur legal
interest from the date of recording. The imposition of any penalty
shall not exempt the offender from compliance with the provisions
of this article, including assessment of a lien on the property.
C. Administrative hearing. Any owner or responsible party
receiving a written notice of violation shall be given an opportunity
for a hearing before the City of Pawtucket Board of Appeals to state
his/her case. Application for said appeal shall be received by the
Board of Appeals prior to the date of compliance stipulated by the
written notice of violation. In exercising its powers in ruling, the
Board may, in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, reverse
or affirm, wholly or partly, and may modify the order, requirement,
decision or determination appealed from and may make such order, requirement,
decision or determination as ought to be made, and to that end shall
have the powers of the officer or agency from whom the appeal was
taken.