[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Burlington as indicated
in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-3-2008]
A.Â
Federal and state laws and regulations mandate that drainage designs
comply with Federal Clean Water Act of 1977, Phase II, Final Rule,
concerning stormwater. The Town of Burlington encourages the use of
any approved water quality control options specified in the federal
and state laws. Such structures control the quantity of flow and contain
sand, silt, dirt and other solids. For maximum performance, these
structures require substantial periodic maintenance.
B.Â
However, for some land subject to development and construction, producing
zero increase in the rate of discharge of water from one property
to another compels drainage designs that provide for the inclusion
of detention basins, separators or similar earthen or other solid
embankments, dams or other stormwater pollutant removal mechanisms
as listed in Table 3-2 of the 2004 Connecticut Stormwater Quality
Manual. The purpose of this article is to set forth the Town's policy
as to such structures and the costs associated with and created by
their use and required maintenance.
A.Â
Should the design requirements of the laws and regulations require
the construction of structures such as detention basins, separators
or similar earthen or other solid embankments, dams or other stormwater
pollutant removal mechanisms designed in compliance with the Connecticut
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Stormwater Phase
II (MS4) Program based on the Federal Clean Water Act of 1977 as amended
by the Water Quality Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-4), Section 402, National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES), Phase II, Final Rule
("facility" or "facilities"), the Town of Burlington will not accept
title to such facilities as additions to its municipally owned drainage
system as "improvements."
B.Â
Such facilities require special, periodic maintenance to clean out
sand, silt, dirt, debris or other foreign material in order to keep
the structure operating as designed. Most of these facilities are
not located within roads or streets that are designed and planned
to become public roads of the Town of Burlington and are not within
the road drainage system regularly accepted by the Town. Additionally,
such facilities may impose excessive, unbudgeted costs upon the taxpayers
of the Town. Finally, such facilities, if not maintained, may fail,
imposing possible further liability on the Town.
C.Â
As it is in the best interest of its citizens and the Town to ensure
that the required maintenance is performed and as its Highway Department
has the technical and physical ability to provide the maintenance
required of these facilities, it is, subject to provision for the
capitalization of the costs of periodic maintenance, deemed appropriate
that the Town provide the maintenance of designated facilities. However,
the Town finds that it is not reasonable to expect or require individual
homeowners or limited groups of homeowners to provide the periodic
maintenance that these systems require or pay for the cost thereof.
D.Â
Therefore, it has been and is the position of the Town that the costs
of this periodic maintenance ought to be placed upon those persons
causing the need for this maintenance and who benefit from these facilities
rather than upon the taxpayers as a whole. Future costs of the maintenance
of these facilities shall be an expense of those landowner(s), developer(s)
or subdivider(s) benefiting from the development of the property upon
which the facilities are located. Provision for this future cost shall
be accomplished by the establishment of a fund reasonably calculated
to generate sufficient income to pay the cost of using the Highway
Department to maintain these facilities (herein "Maintenance Fund").
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Clean water regulations promulgated by the Connecticut Department
of Energy and Environmental Protection that define the standards for
design of drainage systems discharging into the waters of the State
of Connecticut.
A drainage structure designed to avoid downstream flash flooding,
receiving and collecting storm and drainage water, whether surface
or subsurface, within a defined area and releasing that water in a
controlled manner essentially equivalent to the rate of flow from
property in its natural state prior to development.
The person, individual or business who or which owns the
land upon which any facility is to be constructed or who or which
has applied to a land use board or commission for a permit or other
approval which includes construction of any facility or has received
application approval or been granted a permit by one or more of the
land use agencies or commissions of the Town of Burlington to develop
property including the installation of one or more facilities. The
term or terms, singular or plural, "land owner," "developer" and "subdivider"
are like terms with the same meaning herein.
A drainage structure designed to collect water in a confined
area and cause solid particles of sand, silt, dirt and foreign material
to be separated from the water before the water is released downstream
from the confined area.
Prior to approval of any development project by any Town land
use boards or commissions ("agencies"), a developer shall, with the
assistance of the Town Engineer, identify any facilities as specified
in this article that will require special periodic maintenance in
the future.
A.Â
As conditions precedent to temporary or final approval from any land
use agencies, the developer shall be responsible for preparing and
executing an access easement and the establishment with the Town of
the Maintenance Fund.
(1)Â
The access easement shall be from an accepted Town road to the facility
for maintenance and repair purposes including a designated easement
area around the perimeter of the facility in favor of the Town. The
proposed deed of easement must be acceptable to the Town Counsel.
Delivery to the Town of an executed and accepted deed of easement
is also a condition precedent to acceptance of any drainage system
and of responsibility on the part of the Town for periodic maintenance.
(2)Â
The Town Engineer and the Foreman of the Highway Department shall
establish an annual cost ("cost") to perform the required periodic
maintenance on the facilities. The Town Treasurer, with input from
the Town Engineer, shall then calculate a sum necessary to capitalize
that annual cost based upon the following formula. The cost shall
become the numerator of a fraction the denominator of which shall
be a sum arrived at by the subtraction of the yearly average of the
Consumer Price Index (CPI)* from the yearly average yield of ten-year
United States Treasury notes ("notes")**. The resulting quotient,
after dividing the numerator by the denominator, shall be the sum
required to be deposited with the Town as the Maintenance Fund.
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*
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The yearly average of the CPI shall be determined by taking
each published yearly average beginning with 1953 up to and including
the most recent published yearly average, adding the averages together
and dividing the total by the number of years included.
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**
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The yearly average yield of the notes shall be determined by
taking each published yearly average yield beginning with 1953 up
to and including the most recent published yearly average yield, adding
the average yields together and dividing the total by the number of
years included.
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B.Â
The developer shall pay the Town such sum before temporary or final
approval by Town agencies, the acceptance by the Town of the drainage
system and before any performance bond is reduced to a maintenance
level.
C.Â
The Town shall forthwith deliver the full sum to the Treasurer who
shall deposit that sum in a separately identified account referred
to as the Maintenance Fund for __________ (name of project or subdivision
- phase as appropriate), shown on a map or plan titled "__________",
dated _____, 20 _____ and recorded in the office of the Town Clerk
at map volume _____, page _____. Such a fund shall be maintained indefinitely
for the purpose of providing revenue to pay for the periodic maintenance
required. Funds shall not be commingled with the general funds or
investments of the Town but may be commingled with maintenance funds
from similar projects. The capital shall not be used for any operating
expense.
A.Â
Upon establishment
of the Maintenance Fund by the land developer, completion of any required
performance bond period, and acceptance by the Town of the drainage
system within which are located such facilities, the Town shall thereafter
assume full maintenance and repair responsibility for the identified
facilities, but not title thereto. There shall be no further accounting
as to the cost of maintenance of any particular facility nor rebate
if the expense is less than the income or additional charge if the
expense if greater.
B.Â
This policy
does not apply to roads or piped drainage systems within roads including
off-road discharges not pertaining to any facilities. Establishment
of such a fund does not constitute acceptance of title to the facilities
referred to above by the Town.
A.Â
The Board of Selectmen shall control the Maintenance Fund and shall
direct the income as appropriate to the Highway Department for the
purpose of providing maintenance to the identified facilities.
B.Â
There shall be no accounting among developers or properties that
have contributed to this fund and no requirement that the maintenance
be provided to particular facilities except as determined by the Highway
Department.
