[Amended 12-4-2014]
There is hereby established within the Department of Public
Works a utility known as the "Stormwater and Flood Control Utility"
under the day-to-day supervision of the Director of Public Works.
The Stormwater and Flood Control Utility shall administer the
stormwater management and flood control programs of the City. It shall
be funded by revenue collected through the Stormwater and Flood Control
Utility fee and such other funds as may, from time to time, be appropriated
or obtained through grants and low-interest loans. The stormwater
management program is designed to promote the health and safety of
the public, to protect property from flooding and the damage caused
by stormwater runoff, and to protect and manage water quality by controlling
the level of pollutants in stormwater runoff and the flow of water
as conveyed by man-made and by natural stormwater management systems
and facilities, whether publicly or privately owned. The flood control
program is designed to maintain, operate, modify, construct or replace
flood control systems in the City that protect the City from flooding
from the Mill River and Connecticut River systems.
[Amended 12-4-2014]
This chapter is adopted in accordance with the authority granted,
inter alia, by Amendment Article 89 to Amendment Article 2 of the
Massachusetts Constitution, MGL c. 83, §§ 1 through
24, and such other powers as granted to cities in the General Laws.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
CREDIT
A reduction in the amount of a Stormwater and Flood Control
Utility fee charge to a particular property.
DIRECT COSTS
The costs incurred in the operation and maintenance of the
stormwater and flood control system as reflected in the Stormwater
and Flood Control Enterprise Fund budget.
DRAINAGE SYSTEM
Natural and man-made channels, swales, ditches, swamps, rivers,
streams, brooks, creeks, wetlands, branches, reservoirs, ponds, drainageways,
drainage structures, conveyances, storm drains, catch basins, inlets,
gutters, pipes, culverts, bridges, head walls, storm sewers, lakes,
and other physical works, properties, and improvements that collect,
transport, transfer, control, pump, treat, convey, dispose of, or
otherwise influence the movement of stormwater runoff.
DWELLING UNIT
The individual, private premises contained in any building
intended, whether occupied or not, as the residence for one household,
regardless of the number of individuals in the household. A building
may contain more than one dwelling unit.
FLOOD CONTROL SYSTEM
Man-made levees, flood walls, pump stations, stop-log structures,
and other flood protection improvements.
GENERAL LAWS
The General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
HYDRAULIC ACREAGE
The sum of the impervious and pervious areas as modified
by runoff coefficients.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
Those areas which prevent or impede the infiltration of stormwater
into the soil in the manner in which it entered the soil, in natural
conditions, prior to development. Common impervious surfaces include,
but are not limited to, rooftops, buildings or structures, sidewalks,
walkways, patio areas, decks, driveways, parking lots, storage areas,
compacted gravel and soil surfaces, awnings and other fabric or plastic
coverings, and other surfaces which prevent or impede the natural
infiltration of stormwater runoff which existed prior to development.
INDIRECT COSTS
The costs incurred in the operation and maintenance of the
stormwater and flood control system appropriated as part of the General
Fund operating budget and allocated to the Stormwater and Flood Control
Enterprise Fund budget. An example of an indirect cost would be the
value of time spent by General Fund employees in the Collector's
office processing Enterprise Fund user payments.
LARGE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
Improved property containing apartments, or condominiums
with four or more dwelling units and rooming and boarding houses.
Large residential properties shall not include improved property containing
structures used primarily for nonresidential purposes (i.e., hotels,
motels, retirement centers, nursing homes or assisted living homes
or properties designated as "mixed use" properties by the Board of
Assessors).
NONRESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
Property that is not residential property as defined herein,
including, but not limited to, such property as commercial and office
buildings, public buildings and structures, industrial and manufacturing
buildings, storage buildings and storage areas, parking lots, roadways,
driveways, parks, recreation properties, tennis courts, swimming pools,
public and private schools and universities, research facilities and
stations, hospitals and convalescent centers, airports, agricultural
uses, water and wastewater treatment plants, hotels, motels, retirement
centers, nursing homes or assisted living homes, properties designated
as "mixed use" properties by the Board of Assessors, and any other
form of use not otherwise mentioned which is not a residential property.
PERVIOUS SURFACE
Those areas that allow the unimpeded infiltration of stormwater
into the soil. Common pervious surfaces include, but are not limited
to, lawn area, forest land, agricultural lands, meadows and other
undeveloped land. In determining utility fee calculations, all land
on a parcel of property not defined as impervious land will be considered
to be pervious.
PROPERTY ASSOCIATIONS
A condominium, cooperative, or other form of ownership, whether
residential, commercial or multiple-use, in which fees are divided
among multiple record title owners by instrument recorded in the Hampshire
Registry of Deeds or Hampshire Land Court.
[Added 3-19-2015]
RUNOFF COEFFICIENT
A factor that is used to estimate the percentage of precipitation
that results in surface water runoff. Runoff coefficients are values
between zero and one commonly used in stormwater runoff calculations
as part of standard engineering methodologies and practices. Runoff
coefficients are used as a means to approximate a property's
impact on the City's stormwater and flood control systems.
SMALL RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
Improved property containing one, two or three dwelling units.
Small residential properties shall not include improved property containing
structures used primarily for nonresidential purposes (i.e., hotels,
motels, retirement centers, nursing homes or assisted living homes
or properties designated as "mixed use" properties by the Board of
Assessors).
STORMWATER
The surface water runoff from precipitation.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AND FLOOD CONTROL SERVICES
A.
All services provided by the City which relate to the:
(1)
Transfer, control, conveyance, treatment or movement of stormwater
runoff through the City;
(2)
Maintenance, repair and replacement of existing stormwater management
and flood control systems and facilities;
(3)
Planning, development, design and construction of additional
stormwater management and flood control systems and facilities to
meet current and anticipated needs;
(4)
Regulation of the use of stormwater management services, systems
and facilities; and
(5)
Compliance with applicable local, state and federal stormwater
management and flood control regulations, permit requirements, and
mandates.
B.
Stormwater management services may address the quality of stormwater
runoff as well as the quantity thereof.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND FACILITIES
Those natural and man-made channels, swales, ditches, rivers,
streams, brooks, creeks, wetlands, branches, reservoirs, ponds, drainageways,
drainage structures, conveyances, storm drains, catch basins, inlets,
gutters, pipes, culverts, bridges, head walls, storm sewers, lakes,
and other physical works, properties, and improvements that collect,
transport, transfer, control, pump, treat, convey, detain, retain,
dispose of, or otherwise influence the movement of stormwater runoff.
The Stormwater and Flood Control Utility fee shall only be used for the direct and indirect costs of the Utility to provide stormwater management and flood control services as defined in §
280-4 and also includes the following:
A. The acquisition by gift, purchase or condemnation of real and personal
property, and interests therein, necessary to construct, operate,
and maintain stormwater management and flood control systems and facilities.
B. All costs of administration and implementation of the stormwater
management and flood control programs, including the cost of labor
attributable to the stormwater management and flood control programs
and the establishment of reasonable operating and capital reserves
to meet unanticipated or emergency stormwater management and flood
control requirements.
C. Engineering and design, debt service and related financing expenses,
construction costs for new facilities, and enlargement or improvement
of existing facilities.
D. Operation and maintenance of the stormwater and flood control systems.
E. Capital projects for stormwater management and flood control. The
Department of Public Works shall be strongly encouraged to bear witness
to the needs of bicyclists, pedestrians, and people using mobility
devices, and shall further be encouraged to consider their needs on
an equitable basis in conjunction with the needs of motorists, business
owners, and others, both during the construction of any projects funded
in whole or in part by the Stormwater and Flood Control Utility and
in regard to the design of the finished product.
F. Illicit discharge detection and elimination.
G. Monitoring, surveillance, and inspection of stormwater control devices.
H. Water quality monitoring and water quality programs.
I. Retrofitting developed areas for pollution control.
J. Inspection and enforcement activities.
K. Billing and related administrative costs.
L. Other activities which are reasonably necessary, including costs
related to regulatory compliance.
[Amended 12-4-2014]
The Department of Public Works will make an annual presentation
to the City Council providing information relating to the work and
projects financed by the Stormwater and Flood Control Utility in the
previous year, including, to the extent practicable, an account of
expenditures from the stormwater management and flood control account
and projected future expenditures. The Department will also present
this information in a written report accessible on the City website.