There is hereby established within the Department of Public Works a utility known as the "Stormwater Division" under the day-to-day supervision of the Director of Public Works.
[Adopted 5-9-2017 ATM, approved 10-4-2017 (§ 2-606 of the General Bylaws)]
The Department of Public Works shall administer the stormwater management programs of the Town through the Stormwater Division. It shall be funded by revenue collected through the stormwater fee and such other funds as may, from time to time, be appropriated or obtained through other sources, including but not limited to 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 natural stormwater management systems and facilities.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
A reduction in the amount of a stormwater fee charge to a particular property.
The costs incurred in the operation and maintenance of the stormwater system as reflected in the Stormwater Enterprise Fund budget.
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.
The General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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, swimming pools, 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.
The costs incurred in the operation and maintenance of the stormwater system, including, but not limited to, health insurance, property and casualty insurance, utility expenses, life insurance, and retirement. Another 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.
Improved property containing apartments, or condominiums with four or more dwelling units and rooming houses and boardinghouses. 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).
Property that is not small 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, large residential property, 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.
Those areas that allow the unimpeded infiltration of stormwater into the soil. Common pervious surfaces include, but are not limited to, lawn area, forestland, 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.
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 Hampden Registry of Deeds or Hampden Land Court.
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).
The surface water runoff from precipitation.
The periodic user fee imposed pursuant to this article by the Town of Longmeadow for providing stormwater management.
All services provided by the Town which relate to the:
Transfer, control, conveyance, treatment or movement of stormwater runoff through Town-owned infrastructure;
Maintenance, repair, grading and replacement of existing stormwater management systems and facilities and equipment owned by the Town;
Planning, development, design and construction of additional stormwater management systems and facilities to meet current and anticipated needs, including grading of roads to facilitate the movement of stormwater;
Regulation of the use of stormwater management services, systems and facilities; and
Compliance with applicable local, state and federal stormwater management regulations, permit requirements, and mandates.
Stormwater management services may address the quality of stormwater runoff as well as the quantity thereof.
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, headwalls, storm sewers, lakes, outfalls, 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.
All land that is not altered from its natural state.
A.
Pursuant to MGL c. 83, § 16, the Town hereby establishes a charge for the use of the stormwater management of the Town to be known as the "stormwater fee."
B.
The stormwater fee is imposed on each parcel of residential property and each parcel of nonresidential property, whether occupied or not. The stormwater fee shall be billed at least annually, but not more frequently than in four quarterly increments, as determined by the Select Board. The fee shall be billed to the record title owner of the property. The billing shall be consolidated in the same bill as is sent to said property owner for other services provided by the Town supported by fees, including water service and sanitary sewer use. If the property does not receive a water/sewer bill from the Town, a bill for only the stormwater fee will be sent. Payment shall be due 30 days after the issue date of the stormwater bill.
C.
Receipts generated from the stormwater fee shall be deposited to an enterprise fund account to be known as the "Stormwater Management Account" set up in accordance with the authority granted by MGL c. 44, § 53F 1/2. The funds deposited to this account shall be used to fund the stormwater management program of the Town.
A.
The Director of Public Works shall recommend an annual budget for stormwater management services to the Town Manager. The Town Manager shall include a proposed annual budget for the stormwater management in the proposed operating budget submitted to the Select Board in accordance with Article 7 of the Charter of the Town of Longmeadow. The budget submitted by the Town Manager and approved by the Select Board shall have the rates set in an amount sufficient to provide for a balanced operating and capital improvement budget for the stormwater management services.
B.
A user fee based on an equivalent residential unit (ERU) shall be imposed on every owner of nonexempt developed property within the Town. An ERU shall equal that square footage that represents the median of the area of impervious surface for all single-family residences in the Town. The Select Board shall, by resolution, establish the square footage that constitutes one ERU on a periodic basis.
C.
The Select Board shall have the authority to set and modify the user fee rates so that the total revenue generated by said charges, and any secondary sources of revenue, shall be sufficient to fund the Town's stormwater program.
D.
The Select Board shall establish the user fee rate for each ERU by the adoption of a written resolution by vote of the Select Board. A schedule of said rates shall be on file in the office of the Town Manager of the Town of Longmeadow.
E.
There shall be two classifications for the rates, small residential property and nonresidential. Small residential property rates will be billed at a flat rate per the fee structure adopted by the Select Board. Nonresidential rates shall be based upon the total area of impervious surface on a parcel of land in single and separate ownership as determined by the Town of Longmeadow Department of Public Works by identifying such parcels from the records of the Town Board of Assessors and utilizing available GIS data layers, including building footprints, building structures, driveways, pathways, pools, sport courts, and parking areas. Any impervious areas within the Town-owned right-of-way will not be attributed to the parcel and will not be considered as part of the total impervious area of the parcel. The user fee for a specific property is determined by multiplying the user fee rate per ERU times the number of ERUs allocated to the property. Rates per ERU for nonresidential property shall be set by the Select Board and modified as necessary. The following declining block rate structure shall be used for nonresidential property:
Table 1: Declining Block Rate Structure | |
|---|---|
Block ERU Range | Block Coefficient (multiplied by ERU rate) |
1 to 10 | 1.0 |
11 to 50 | 0.9 |
51 to 100 | 0.8 |
101 to 500 | 0.7 |
F.
Any impervious areas within the federal, state, county, and Town-owned right-of-way used by the traveling public will not be attributed to the parcel and will not be considered as part of the total impervious area of the parcel.
G.
Property associations may submit to the Department of Public Works a copy of the instrument recorded in the Hampden Registry of Deeds or Hampden Land Court that defines the percentage of common ownership attributable to each unit thereof. Upon receipt of a copy of such instrument, the Department shall cause each individual owner to be billed separately for the percentage attributable to such unit.
A.
The Town shall be responsible for all costs to operate, maintain, improve and access those stormwater management systems and facilities which are located:
(1)
Within public road rights-of-way;
(2)
On private property but within easements granted to, and accepted by, the Town of Longmeadow, or which are otherwise permitted to be located on such private property by written agreements for rights-of-entry, rights-of-access, rights-of-use or such other lawful means to allow for operation, maintenance, improvement and access to the stormwater management system facilities located thereon;
(3)
On public land which is owned by the Town and/or land of another governmental entity upon which the Town has agreements providing for the operation, maintenance, improvement and access to the stormwater management systems and facilities located thereon.
B.
Operation, maintenance and/or improvement of stormwater management systems and facilities which are located on private or public property not owned by the Town, and for which the Town lacks a lawful right of entry, shall be and remain the legal responsibility of the property owner, except as otherwise provided for by state and federal laws and regulations.
The stormwater fee shall only be used for the direct and indirect costs of the Stormwater Division to provide stormwater management services as defined in § 295-19 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 systems and facilities.
B.
All indirect and direct costs of administration and implementation of the stormwater management programs, including the cost of labor attributable to the stormwater management program and the establishment of reasonable operating and capital reserves to meet unanticipated or emergency stormwater management 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 systems, including catch basin cleaning, ditch maintenance, street sweeping and the purchase of equipment for use in the operation and maintenance of stormwater systems.
E.
Capital projects for stormwater management.
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 determined to be reasonably necessary by the Director of Public Works, including costs related to regulatory compliance.
A.
The Town finds that all real property in the Town contributes to runoff and either uses or benefits from the maintenance of the stormwater system. Therefore, except as provided in this section or otherwise provided by law, no public property, including public property funded by taxpayers of the Town of Longmeadow, or private property located in the Town of Longmeadow shall be exempt from the stormwater fee charges.
B.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Town establishes exemptions to the stormwater fee as follows:
(1)
Public streets, highways and rights-of-way. However, maintenance buildings and/or other improved property used for road maintenance purposes shall not be exempt from stormwater fee charges. All other state, federal, and county properties are subject to the user fee charges on the same basis as private properties.
A.
The Town Manager shall develop a proposed stormwater management credit policy ("credit policy"). The credit policy as approved by the Town Manager shall be submitted by the Town Manager to the Select Board for approval. The Select Board may approve or disapprove the credit policy as submitted. The credit policy will define potential credits or adjustments such as: for stormwater improvements, undeveloped land with protected status, multiple undeveloped parcels under single ownership, seniors, low income, educational programs, and others. The credit policy shall be available for inspection by the public at the Department of Public Works and on the Town website.
B.
The Department of Public Works is hereby authorized to grant credits to property owners to be applied against the stormwater fee based on the technical and procedural criteria set forth in the credit policy.
C.
Any credit allowed against the stormwater fee charge shall be conditioned on continuing compliance with the Town's design and performance standards as stated in the credit policy and/or upon continuing provision of the controls, systems, facilities, services, and activities provided, operated, and maintained by the property owner or owners upon which the credit is based. The Department of Public Works may revoke a credit at any time for noncompliance with applicable standards and criteria as established in the credit policy or this article.
D.
In order to obtain a credit, the property owner must make application to the Town on forms provided by the Department of Public Works for such purpose, the application to be fully completed in accordance with the procedures outlined in the credit policy.
E.
When an application for a credit is deemed complete by the Department of Public Works, the Director of Public Works shall have 30 days from the date the complete application is accepted to either grant the credit in whole, grant the credit in part, or deny the credit. Credits applied for by the property owner and granted in whole or in part shall apply to all stormwater fee charges in accordance with the terms defined in the credit policy.
A.
Failure of the Town to send a bill for the Stormwater Enterprise Fund shall not relieve the property owner of record from the obligation to pay for such utility. If a property is unbilled, or if no bill is sent for a particular parcel of land, the Town may back bill for the fees as applicable for a period not to exceed one year of charges, but no late fees or delinquency charges of any kind shall be charged or recovered from any property owner so back billed.
B.
Stormwater Enterprise Fund bills shall be managed by the Department of Public Works for collection. The Department of Finance and Administration shall keep records of all paid and unpaid Stormwater Enterprise Fund bills and maintain financial records for the utility.
[Amended 10-25-2022STM by Art. 23, approved 2-22-2023]
C.
If a Stormwater Enterprise Fund bill is not paid in full by the 30th day from the date the bill is issued, interest at the rate of 12% per annum shall accrue on any unpaid balance. Interest shall accrue from the day after the bills are due.
[Amended 10-25-2022STM by Art. 23, approved 2-22-2023]
D.
At any time after interest begins to accrue on an unpaid account, the Longmeadow Town Collector may serve on the party assessed a statement of the amount due, including interest, with a demand for payment. A charge as set forth in Chapter 189, Licenses and Permits, Article I, Denial, Suspension or Revocation for Failure To Pay Taxes or Charges, shall be made for such demand. If the amount due remains unpaid 14 days after mailing of said demand, the Longmeadow Town Collector shall commit the amount to the Board of Assessors for inclusion on the next annual property tax bill. Upon inclusion of the unpaid amount on an annual property tax bill, the amount due shall be a lien on the property, which shall have priority over all other liens except municipal liens and mortgages of record prior to the recording of a notice of lien.
E.
In the event that a property owner believes the stormwater fee is improperly calculated or is otherwise incorrect, the property owner may, within 30 days of the date of issuance of the Stormwater Enterprise Fund bill, and after payment of the bill in full, apply to the Department of Public Works for an abatement. The application for abatement shall be supported by such information as is necessary for a reasonable person to conclude that it is more likely than not that the billing is in error. The Department of Public Works shall have 60 days to consider the request for abatement and render a written decision, which may deny the abatement, grant the abatement in full or grant the abatement in part.
A.
In the event that a property owner is aggrieved by a written decision from the Department of Public Works denying an application for abatement in whole or in part, or denying an application for a credit, in whole or in part, the property owner shall have 30 days from the date of the written decision to file an appeal to the Department of Public Works. The appeal shall be in writing and shall specify the grounds thereof. Upon the filing of the notice of appeal with the Department of Public Works, the Department shall forthwith transmit to the Select Board all documents constituting the record upon which the particular decision was made. The Select Board shall set a date for hearing, which shall be within 90 days of the date of the filing of the appeal, and notice thereof setting forth the place, date and time of hearing shall be sent to the property owner no less than 10 days prior to the hearing date. The Select Board shall render a written decision within 30 days of the conclusion of the hearing, affirming the action of the Department or reversing the action. If reversing the denial of an abatement, the decision shall specify the sum to be abated, which shall not exceed the amounts paid. If reversing the denial of a credit, the decision shall specify the credit to be applied prospectively against future charges unless the property owner has paid the full amount of the stormwater fee as charged and has also requested an abatement.
B.
In the event that a property owner fails to pay the stormwater fee as charged and the Town utilizes the process set forth in MGL c. 83, §§ 16A through 16F, to collect the unpaid charges, the property owner shall have the right to seek an abatement by filing an application for abatement with the Department of Public Works in accordance with the remedy specified in MGL c. 83, § 16E, with a copy delivered to the Board of Assessors. The application for abatement shall conform to the requirements for a notice of appeal as set forth in Subsection A above, and the process for a hearing before the Select Board, including the applicable time limits, shall be as set forth therein. In the event that the Select Board denies the abatement, in whole or in part, it shall, in its written decision, include a statement notifying the property owner of the right to seek a review of the decision by the filing of an appeal with the Appellate Tax Board of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts within three months of the date of the decision of the Select Board. As the right to Appellate Tax Board review under this Subsection B is derived from applicable sections of the General Laws as contained in Chapters 59 and 83 thereof, to the extent that the terms of this article conflict with the terms specified therein, the terms specified in the General Laws control.