[Adopted 5-7-2018 by Ord.
No. 1302]
A.
All users shall pay a stormwater utility fee proportional to the
volume of stormwater which is projected to discharge into the combined
sewer system and/or stormwater sewer system from their property.
B.
The City Council shall, by resolution, set stormwater utility fees
at a rate which will recover from each user its share of the costs
of the stormwater sewer system attributable to the discharge of stormwater
from the users' property to the stormwater system. The City shall
use the revenues of the stormwater utility fees to pay the costs of
the water treatment operation and maintenance of the stormwater sewer
system and for necessary improvements and additions to the stormwater
sewer system.
C.
The City may also collect from users fees imposed to pay the implementation
and operation of any of the following:
A.
Single-family residential ESWU. All single-family residential properties
in each of the lot-size categories are assigned the same ESWU for
that category. The ESWU values for the single-family residential categories
are summarized in the fee schedule.
|
Property Type
|
SFR Class
|
|---|---|
|
Single-family residential, 0.125 acre or less
|
Class A
|
|
Single-family residential, 0.126 acre to 0.250 acre
|
Class B
|
|
Single-family residential, 0.251 acre to 0.500 acre
|
Class C
|
|
Single-family residential, 0.501 acre to 0.750 acre
|
Class D
|
|
Single-family residential, 0.751 acre to 1.000 acre
|
Class E
|
|
Single-family residential, 1.001 acres or larger
|
Class F
|
B.
Non-single-family ESWU. The stormwater utility fee for non-single-family
lots shall equal the number of ESWUs for a given lot, multiplied by
the annual rate established by the City Council per ESWU per year.
The formula for determining the number of ESWUs per non-single-family
lot shall be calculated from the amount of pervious and impervious
lot area as follows:
Number of ESWU = 0.15 (TA 0 IA) + 0.90 (IA) average runoff potential
of the standard unit/ESWU where TA = total area of each lot (reported
in square feet); IA = impervious area of each lot (reported in square
feet).
C.
Any non-single-family residential property owner liable for a stormwater
utility fee may appeal the determination that the property utilizes
the stormwater system or the amount of a stormwater utility fee, including
a determination on a reduction in or the elimination of the fee. An
appeal may be based on the quantity of stormwater runoff generated,
the reductions established, the reductions allocated, or any other
matter relating to the determination of the stormwater utility fee.
D.
A single-family residential property owner may appeal the determination
that the property utilizes the stormwater system; however, such an
appeal shall be limited to the following reasons:
E.
An appeal under Subsection C shall be heard by a stormwater utility appeals board appointed by the local unit of government. The appeals board shall consist of three members, one of whom shall have plan review experience.
F.
An appeal of a stormwater utility fee shall not be brought more than
one year after the fee was billed.
G.
To prevail in an appeal of a stormwater utility fee, the appellant
shall demonstrate in accordance with the requirements of the plan
for a non-single-family residential property that the use of the system
by the property is less than the amount used by the local unit of
government in the calculation of that property's stormwater utility
fee, or for all properties the classification of the property type
is in error, or there was a mathematical error in the calculation
of the fee.
H.
The sole remedy for a property owner who prevails in an appeal of
a stormwater utility fee is a prospective correct recalculation of
the stormwater utility fee.
I.
If in an appeal of a stormwater utility fee the appeals board finds that the requirements of Subsection G have not been met, that finding is conclusive until the property is modified to either increase or decrease the utilization of the system. The property owner remains eligible for reduction or elimination of fees under the Stormwater Utility Ordinance.
J.
A property owner making an appeal shall provide the appeals board
with information necessary to make a determination.
K.
A person aggrieved by a decision of the appeals board on an appeal
under this section may appeal to the circuit court in which the property
is located. An appeal to the circuit court must be filed within 30
days of the appeals board's decision.
A.
The purpose of this section is to provide for each property owner's
control over contributions of storm flows to the stormwater utility
system and the related stormwater utility fees and to advance protection
of the public health, safety, and welfare.
B.
The City shall offer credits on an annual basis that will enable
any property owner, through voluntary action, to reduce the stormwater
utility fees calculated for that property owner's property and will
provide a meaningful reduction in the cost of service to the stormwater
system or that shall be reasonably related to a benefit to the stormwater
system.
(1)
Credits will only be applied if requirements outlined in this chapter
and other applicable sections of the City Code are met, including,
but not limited to: completion of ongoing maintenance, guaranteed
right of entry for inspections, and submittal of annual self-certification
reports.
(2)
Credits will be defined as either set fee reduction or percent reductions
applied as a credit adjustment to the fee calculation equation.
(3)
Credits are additive to each credit category.
(4)
As long as the stormwater facilities or management practices are
functioning as approved, the credit reduction will be applied to the
fee. If the approved practice is not functioning as approved or is
terminated, the credit reduction will be cancelled and the fee will
return to the baseline calculation. Once the credit reduction has
been cancelled, a customer may not reapply for credit for a period
of 12 months and only then if the deficiency has been corrected, as
determined by City inspection.
(5)
Credits will be applied to the next complete billing cycle after
the application has been approved.
C.
The Director of the Department of Public Services, or his/her designee,
shall define a method for applying and granting credits on an annual
basis, as well as criteria for determining the credits a property
owner may receive. The Director may, by regulation, establish credits
for one or more of the following:
(1)
Installation and maintenance of rain barrels, rain gardens, bioswales,
cisterns, dry wells, infiltration trenches, porous pavement or pavers,
or disconnecting footing drains;
(2)
Installation and maintenance of a stormwater control facility or
other water quantity controls; and
(3)
Other actions of the property owner that, in the judgment of the
Director of the Department of Public Services, or his/her designee,
result in a measurable reduction in stormwater runoff.
The billing for the stormwater utility may be combined with
the billing for other utility services. Final determinations on measurements
per ESWU will be determined by the Director of the Department of Public
Services or his/her designee.
Unpaid stormwater utility fees shall constitute a lien against
the property affected. Fees which have remained unpaid for a period
of six months prior to April 30 may be certified to the City Treasurer
who shall place the fees on the next tax roll of the City. In the
alternative, the City Council may direct the City Attorney to take
appropriate legal action to collect unpaid fees.
