[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Monona
as Title 9, Ch. 4, of the 1994 Code; amended in its entirety 12-15-2014 by Ord. No. 12-14-668. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
The Common Council finds that the management of stormwater and
other surface water discharges within the Yahara River and Lake Monona
Watershed is a matter that affects the health, safety and welfare
of the City, its citizens and businesses and others in the surrounding
area. Failure to effectively manage stormwater affects the sanitary
sewer utility operations of the City by, among other things, increasing
the likelihood of infiltration and inflow into the sanitary sewer
system. Surface water runoff may cause erosion of lands, threaten
residences and businesses with water damage, and create environmental
damage to the rivers, streams and other bodies of water within and
adjacent to the City. A system for the collection and disposal of
stormwater provides services to and benefits all properties within
the City and surrounding areas, including those properties not currently
served by the systems. The cost of operating and maintaining the City
stormwater management system and financing necessary repairs, replacements,
improvements and extensions thereof should, to the extent practicable,
be allocated in relationship to the services and benefits received
from the system. In order to protect the health, safety and welfare
of the public, the Common Council hereby exercises its authority to
establish a stormwater utility and establish the rates for stormwater
management services pursuant to authority granted by Chapters 62 and
66 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
Pursuant to the authority granted under § 66.0821,
Wis. Stats., there is hereby established a stormwater utility in the
City. The operation of the Stormwater Utility shall be under the general
supervision of the Public Works Committee and the Common Council.
The Director or his/her designee will oversee and be in charge of
the day-to-day operations of the Utility.
The City, acting through the Stormwater Utility, may acquire,
construct, lease, own, operate, maintain, extend, expand, replace,
clean, dredge, repair, conduct, manage and finance such facilities,
operations and activities as are deemed by the City to be proper and
reasonably necessary for a system of storm and surface water management.
These facilities may include, without limitation due to enumeration,
surface and underground drainage facilities, sewers, watercourses,
retaining walls, ponds, basins, streets, roads, ditches and such other
facilities as will support a stormwater management system.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated in this section:
The City of Monona.
The City of Monona Director of Public Works.
A residential dwelling having two dwelling units.
A room or group of rooms within a building providing or intended
to provide living quarters for not more than one family.
The estimated impervious area of a parcel relative to the
statistical average impervious area of a single-family unit residential
property within the City, as determined from time to time by the Director.
A surface, measured on a horizontal plane, which has been
compacted or covered with a layer of material so that it is highly
resistant to infiltration by rain water or the runoff from snowmelt.
It includes, but is not limited to, streets, roofs, sidewalks, parking
lots, driveways, porches, patios, decks, other similar surfaces, and
semi-impervious surfaces such as highly compacted clay or gravel.
A residential property comprised of three or more dwelling
units, including, but not limited to, apartments and condominiums.
Any developed lot or parcel not exclusively residential,
as defined herein, including, but not limited to, transient rentals
(such as hotels and motels), commercial, industrial, institutional,
governmental property and parking lots.
A system designed to both mitigate flood impacts and provide
adequate treatment of pollutants in stormwater runoff that has been
constructed on the parcel for which the customer is billed. It includes,
but is not limited to, rain gardens, cisterns, infiltration trenches,
pretreatment systems, and wet basins.
The legal unit of land division as recorded by the Dane County
Register of Deeds. Multiple contiguous parcels with the same owner(s)
shall be considered to be one parcel for the purposes of calculating
billing units.
Land that has not been changed by any land-disturbing activities.
For the purpose of determining credits for stormwater quantity controls,
predevelopment conditions shall be assumed to be grass lands in good
condition.
A shallow depression planted with deep-rooted native prairie,
wet prairie, or wetland vegetation, designed to infiltrate stormwater.
Any lot or parcel developed exclusively for residential purposes,
containing, but not limited to, single family units, duplex or multifamily
units.
A residential property, including manufactured homes, consisting
of one dwelling unit.
Refers to the system of streets, curbs, gutters, berms, swales,
landscaping, detention and retention ponds or basins, pipes, outfalls,
inlets, and other components of City infrastructure owned and/or maintained
by the City for the purpose of managing, gathering, transmitting or
conveying stormwater. This term includes tributaries, creeks, rivers
and streams improved by the City to enhance their ability to convey
stormwater.
Refers to the utility established under this chapter for
the purpose of managing stormwater and imposing charges for the recovery
of costs connected with such stormwater management.
The fee imposed under this chapter for the rendering of Stormwater
Utility services by the City. It is comprised of two components: the
base charge and the runoff unit charge.
Property that contains no improvement, such as buildings,
structures, change in grade, addition of impervious surface, or substantial
impervious landscaping. A property shall be considered developed if:
(1) a certificate of occupancy has been issued for a building or structure
on the property; or (2) construction of an improvement on a property
is at least fifty-percent completed and such construction has ceased
for a period of at least three months, whether consecutive or not.
Whenever public storm sewers or storm laterals are laid along and within any public street, alley or place in the City and ready for use, property owners shall, upon notice from the City, connect to the facility provided to their particular property. All connections shall be in a manner in accordance with the State Plumbing Code. Failure of the property owner to connect within the time period specified in said notice shall result in said connection being made by the City and all charges being assessed against the property as a special charge. Connection to the public storm sewer shall only be made after obtaining permits issued by the Stormwater Utility. Failure to obtain required permits required by this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to § 1-4, the general penalty of the Code. Each day that a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
A.
There shall be established a charge for stormwater services to all
lots and parcels of land within the municipal boundaries of the City.
The charge schedule shall be based on a rate per equivalent runoff
unit (ERU). All lots and parcels shall be assigned an ERU value as
follows:
(1)
Residential property – single family unit. As per nonresidential property stated in Subsection A(4).
(3)
Residential property – multifamily. As per nonresidential property stated in Subsection A(4) below.
(4)
Nonresidential property. The number of ERUs assigned to the property shall be determined by the Director based upon the property's actual impervious area (in square feet) divided by the one ERU equivalent area (in square feet) established in the definition of the term "equivalent runoff unit (ERU)" in § 388-4 of this chapter and carried out to the nearest tenth of a decimal point (0.1). The Director shall determine the impervious area of the lot or parcel of land using any available information, including aerial photography, site or building plans submitted by the property owner, or actual on-site surveys.
(5)
Undeveloped: 0 ERU.
(6)
Calculation:
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ERU = parcels total impervious area\average impervious area
on single-family residential parcels
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Rate per ERU = stormwater revenue\total ERU
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Stormwater fee per parcel = rate per ERU x parcel ERU
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B.
Adjustments to the measured impervious areas. Any property owner
may apply for an adjustment to the ERUs assigned to their property
if the owner believes the impervious area measurements on which the
ERU calculation is based are inaccurate. Property owners may submit
to the Director any relevant information, including site and building
surveys and documentation of mitigation or treatment measures, which
more accurately determines or reflects the impervious area. It shall
be the burden of the property owner to demonstrate by a preponderance
of the evidence that an adjustment is warranted.
C.
Appeals. Appeals of the Director's determination shall be made pursuant to § 388-10 of this chapter.
D.
Rate structure. A schedule of rates and charges shall be approved
annually by the Common Council. Copies of the schedule of rates and
charges shall be kept on file with the City Clerk and shall be available
for public inspection during normal business hours.
E.
Collection of ERU charge. The Director shall divide the City into
sections for billing purposes, which shall coincide with the billing
schedule of the Water Utility. The ERU charge shall be payable to
the City Treasurer at the same time that the Water Utility bills are
payable. All charges established by this chapter shall be a lien on
the property served pursuant to §§ 66.0809 and 66.0821,
Wis. Stats.
F.
Exemptions. Exemptions to the charges comprising the Stormwater Utility
charge are established in recognition that, in limited circumstances,
properties may not benefit directly from all services and facilities
provided by the Stormwater Utility. Owners of property satisfying
the following criteria may apply to the Director for an exemption
of up to 65% of the ERU charge.
(1)
Discharges to surface water bodies. If more than half, as determined
by the Director, of a customer's property drains directly into
the Yahara River, Lake Monona or any tributaries draining to these
water bodies, the City may, upon customer request, exempt the customer
from that portion of the parcel draining directly into the lake, river
or tributary, provided that:
(a)
The discharge is direct and not through any portion of the stormwater
conveyance system owned or operated by the Stormwater Utility, nor
may it cross any City street; and
(b)
The drainage is not in violation of any environmental code or
federal, state or local surface water drainage requirements, and all
required permits for said discharges have been granted.
(2)
From time to time the Public Works Committee may recommend and the
Common Council may adopt additional criteria under which owners may
be eligible for exemptions to the charges comprising the Stormwater
Utility charge.
G.
Credits. Credits may be granted to owners of properties who have
significantly reduced the impacts of stormwater discharge on the Stormwater
Utility system. Owners of property which discharge all or a portion
of their stormwater into privately owned and maintained facilities
that result in retention, detention or infiltration of stormwater
on the property, and such facilities demonstrably reduce the financial
obligation of the Stormwater Utility, may receive a prorated credit
to the ERU charge assigned to their property, as determined by the
Director. No owner may be given a credit in excess of 65% of his or
her total ERU charge.
(1)
Fee credit criteria.
(a)
Stormwater quantity. A credit of up to 35% of the ERU charge may be granted for parcels that meet the requirements of Chapter 216, Erosion and Stormwater Control. All hydrologic calculations shall be according to the methodology described in Chapter 216. A maximum credit of 50% of the values listed below may be considered for parcels that are not in full compliance with Chapter 216. The following is a breakdown of the maximum credits under the quantity criteria:
[1]
Five percent: detain two-year storm and/or release at a flow
rate of the predeveloped two-year storm;
[2]
Ten percent: detain five-year storm and/or release at a flow
rate of the predeveloped five-year storm;
[3]
Fifteen percent: detain ten-year storm and/or release at a flow
rate of the predeveloped five-year storm;
[4]
Twenty-five percent: detain twenty-five-year storm and release
at a flow rate of the predeveloped five-year storm;
[5]
Thirty-five percent: detain a larger than twenty-five-year storm
and release at a flow rate of the predeveloped five-year storm.
(b)
Stormwater quality. A credit of up to 30% of the ERU charge may be granted for parcels that provide a quantifiable stormwater quality benefit for the one-year storm, based on the below listed criteria. A maximum credit of 50% of the values listed below may be considered for parcels that are not in full compliance with Chapter 216, Erosion and Stormwater Control. The following is a breakdown of the maximum credits under the quality criteria:
[1]
Five percent: for 20% to 29% reduction in total suspended solids
(minimum particle size trapped between 42 and 72 microns).
[2]
Ten percent: for 30% to 40% reduction in total suspended solids
(minimum particle size trapped between 24 and 41 microns) or the use
of oil filters/separators.
[3]
Fifteen percent: for 41% to 54% reduction in total suspended
solids (minimum particle size trapped between 12 and 23 microns) or
a 20% to 40% reduction in total suspended solids and the use of oil
filters/separators.
[4]
Twenty percent: for 55% to 69% reduction in total suspended
solids (minimum particle size trapped between 6 and 11 microns) or
a 41% to 54% reduction in total suspended solids and the use of oil
filters/separators.
[5]
Twenty-five percent: for 70% to 100% reduction in total suspended
solids (minimum particle size trapped 5 microns or less) or a 55%
to 69% reduction in total suspended solids and the use of oil filters/separators.
[6]
Thirty percent: for 70% to 100% reduction in total suspended
solids (minimum particle size trapped five microns or less) and the
use of oil filters/separators.
H.
Access. Prior to receiving a credit or exemption, the Director or
designee shall be allowed access to the property to determine the
amount of credit or exemption to be granted.
I.
Credit and exemption application process. The City of Monona will
accept applications from property owners requesting consideration
for ERU charge credits and exemptions. Applications forms may be obtained
from the Director.
(1)
Credit application review fee. Prior to review by the Director or
designee, the applicant shall pay a refundable review fee in the amount
of the annual charge, but not to exceed the fee set in the City's
Fee Schedule. The refund of the review fee is contingent upon the
approval of the credit application. Applicants submitting an erosion
control and/or stormwater management plan for a redevelopment or new
development will be exempt from this fee.[1]
(2)
Exemption application review fee. Prior to review by the Director
or designee, the applicant shall pay a refundable review fee as set
in the City's Fee Schedule or a fee not to exceed the annual charge.
The refund of the review fee is contingent upon the approval of the
exemption application. Applicants submitting an erosion control and/or
stormwater management plan for a redevelopment or new development
will be exempt from this fee.[2]
(3)
Credit application documentation. The application for ERU charge
credits shall include the following information:
(a)
Tax parcel number.
(b)
Address of parcel requesting credit.
(c)
Owner name, address and phone number.
(d)
Type and amount of requested credit.
(e)
Owner's certification of installation and maintenance.
[1]
Certification that the facilities that are submitted for credit
consideration have been properly installed.
[2]
A manual for operation, inspection and maintenance for the facilities
submitted for credit consideration.
[3]
An executed maintenance of stormwater management measures agreement
permitting the City to access the site to inspect the condition of
the stormwater facility. Credits may be adjusted for lack of proper
maintenance based on the City's inspection.
(f)
Plans and calculations:
[1]
Hydrologic/hydraulic studies using the TR-55 model or other
model approved by the Director, plans, diagrams and other supporting
documentation required to substantiate the credits requested.
[2]
Pollutant reduction studies using the WinSLAMM model or other
model approved by the Director, plans, diagrams and other supporting
documentation required to substantiate the credits requested.
[3]
The owner/applicant shall be responsible for submitting any
requests for credit in writing to the Director. The owner/applicant
shall provide all supporting documentation, surveys and engineering
reports as may be necessary to document the justification for the
request for credit. Incomplete documentation shall be grounds for
rejection of credit application.
[4]
A credit of up to 65% of the ERU charge may be granted for parcels
less that 50,000 square feet in area. The owner/applicant may submit
a simplified credit application form. Credits will be available on
a 2-to-1 percentage basis of total area basis based on the top area
of the rain garden. Example: ten-percent credit granted for a five-hundred-square-foot
rain garden on a ten-thousand-square-foot parcel [(500/10,000) x 2]
= 10%.
A.
The City Clerk is hereby appointed as the collection agent for the
City Stormwater Utility. The City Clerk may contract for the billing
and collection of stormwater fees. The City Clerk shall allocate the
actual cost incurred of billing and collecting to the expense of system-wide
management and administration of the Stormwater Utility.
B.
The bills for Stormwater Utility charges shall be mailed to the designated
utility bill recipient, but this mailing shall not relieve the owner
of the property from liability for rental property in the event payment
is not made as required in this chapter. The owner of any property
served which is occupied by tenants shall have the right to examine
collection records of the City for the purpose of determining whether
such rates and charges have been paid for such tenants, provided that
such examination shall be made at the office at which the records
are kept and during the hours that such office is open for business.
C.
Stormwater Utility charges shall not be payable in installments.
If Stormwater Utility charges remain unpaid by the date specified
on the bill, a late payment charge of 1 1/2% per month shall
be added, and the City Clerk shall proceed to collect the dues with
the late payment charge. The City Clerk has the authority for collecting
outstanding Stormwater Utility charges as a special charge. Said charges
shall be a lien on the real estate to which the Stormwater Utility
service was furnished, and all sums that have accrued during the preceding
year and are delinquent as of October 15 shall be inserted on the
tax roll as delinquent utility charges against the property. All proceedings
in relation to the collection, return and sale of property for delinquent
City taxes shall apply to said charges.
A property owner shall be responsible for submitting a Stormwater
Utility service application at the time a building permit is applied
for or a site plan review is conducted. The application shall be made
on a form prescribed by the City and provided with each application
for a building permit or application for site plan review. Failure
to submit such Stormwater Utility service application or providing
false information on such form shall be a violation of this chapter
and shall, upon conviction, be subject to a forfeiture as prescribed
in the Fee, Forfeiture and Deposit Schedule as adopted by the Common
Council.
The Stormwater Utility charge and determinations pursuant to § 388-6 may be appealed as follows:
A.
A written appeal of any decision pursuant to § 388-6 shall be filed with the City Clerk within 30 days of the date of the decision,
B.
Any other challenge to the Stormwater Utility charge must be filed
with the City Clerk on behalf of the customer within 30 days of payment
of the charge, specifying all bases for the challenge and the amount
of the Stormwater Utility charge the customer asserts in inappropriate.
Failure to file a challenge within 30 days of payment waives all right
to later challenge the charge.
C.
The pendency of an appeal of a decision or determination of the Director
shall not excuse payment of any stormwater charge. If a decision or
determination of the Director is reversed or modified, the Committee
may grant a refund to the aggrieved party, prorated and retroactive
to the date on which an application for fee adjustment was filed with
the Director.
D.
The Public Works Committee shall determine whether the Stormwater
Utility charge is fair and reasonable or whether a refund is due the
customer. The Committee may act with a hearing and will inform the
customer in writing of its decision. The Committee may, at its discretion,
require access to the property to assist in its determination.
E.
The customer has 30 days from the decision of the Public Works Committee
to file a written appeal to the Common Council, which shall be directed
to the City Clerk.
F.
If the Common Council or the Public Works Committee determines that
a refund is due the customer, the refund will be applied as a credit
on the customer's next quarterly stormwater billing if the refund
will not exceed the customer's next quarterly stormwater billing
or will be refunded, at the discretion of the City Treasurer.
In addition to any other method for collection of the charges
established pursuant to this chapter for Stormwater Utility costs,
the Common Council finds that these charges may be levied on property
as a special charge pursuant to § 66.0627, Wis. Stats.
The Stormwater Utility finances shall be accounted for in a
separate stormwater enterprises fund by the City. The Utility shall
prepare an annual budget, which is to include all administration,
management operation, maintenance, debt service, capital improvement
and other costs related to the operation of the Stormwater Utility.
The budget is subject to approval by the Common Council. The costs
shall be spread over the rate classifications as determined by the
Common Council. Any excess of revenues over expenditures in a year
will be retained by the stormwater enterprise fund for subsequent
years' needs.
