The following definitions shall apply when used in this article:
Benefitted property.
An improved lot or tract to which drainage service is made
available under this article.
BMP.
Best management practice as adopted within the city design
standards.
Cost of service.
As applied to a drainage system service to any benefitted
property means and can include any of the following:
(1)
The prorated cost of the acquisition, whether by eminent domain
or otherwise, of land, rights-of-way, options to purchase land, easements,
and interests in land relating to structures, equipment, and facilities
used in draining the benefitted property;
(2)
The prorated cost of the acquisition, construction, repair,
and maintenance of structures, equipment, and facilities used in draining
the benefitted property;
(3)
The prorated cost of architectural, engineering, legal, and
related services, plans and specifications, studies, surveys, estimates
of cost and of revenue, and all other expenses necessary or incident
to planning, providing, or determining the feasibility and practicability
of structures, equipment, and facilities used in draining the benefitted
property;
(4)
The prorated cost of all machinery, equipment, furniture, and
facilities necessary or incident to the provision and operation of
draining the benefitted property;
(5)
The prorated cost of funding and financing charges and interest
arising from construction projects and the start-up cost of a drainage
facility used in draining the benefitted property;
(6)
The prorated cost of debt service and reserve requirements of
structures, equipment, and facilities provided by revenue bonds or
other drainage revenue-pledge securities or obligations issued by
the municipality; and
(7)
The administrative costs of a drainage utility system.
Drainage.
Bridges, culverts, junction boxes both with and without inlets,
streams including channels, flumes, and ditches, stormwater management
facilities, pipes, outfalls, and appurtenances to those items, whether
natural or artificial, or using force or gravity, that are used to
draw off surface water from land, carry the water away, collect, store,
or treat the water, or divert the water into natural or artificial
watercourses.
Drainage charge.
(1)
The levy imposed to recover the cost of the service of the municipality
in furnishing drainage for any benefitted property; and
(2)
If specifically provided by the governing body of the municipality
by ordinance, an amount made in contribution to funding of future
drainage system construction by the municipality.
Drainage system.
The drainage owned or controlled in whole or in part by the
municipality and dedicated to the service of benefitted property,
including provisions for additions to the system.
Facilities.
The property, either real, personal, or mixed, that is used
in providing drainage and included in the system.
Improved lot or tract.
A lot or tract that has a structure or other improvement
on it that causes an impervious coverage of the soil under the structure
or improvement.
Impervious surface.
Improved land where water will not easily penetrate, such
as parking lots, roads, building footprints, swimming pools, and other
items defined by engineering judgment.
Inspector.
A building or constriction inspector, project manager, building
official, or city engineer.
Public utility.
A drainage service that is regularly provided by the municipality
through municipal property dedicated to that service to the users
of benefitted properly within the service area and that is based on:
(1)
An established schedule of charges;
(2)
The use of the police power to implement the service; and
(3)
Nondiscriminatory, reasonable, and equitable terms as declared
under this article.
User.
The person or entity who owns or occupies a benefitted property.
Wholly sufficient and privately owned drainage system.
Land owned and operated by a person other than a municipal
drainage utility system the drainage of which does not discharge into
a creek, river, slough, culvert, or other channel that is part of
a municipal drainage utility system.
(Ordinance 321 adopted 8/9/11)
As a prerequisite of adopting this article, the city council,
based upon studies conducted by independent consultants in conjunction
with and under the supervision of the city staff, finds that:
(1) The city will establish a schedule of drainage charges against all
real property in the proposed service area subject to charges under
this article, which will be approved as part of a separate public
hearing;
(2) The city will provide drainage for all real properly in the proposed service area on payment of drainage charges, except real properly exempted pursuant to section
13.04.009; and
(3) The city will offer drainage service on nondiscriminatory, reasonable,
and equitable terms.
(Ordinance 321 adopted 8/9/11)
The city municipal drainage utility system is hereby established
and declared to be a public utility. The city shall have full authority
to operate such municipal drainage utility system pursuant to the
authority given and contained under subchapter C of chapter 552, Tex.
Loc. Gov’t Code, subchapter C of chapter 552, Tex. Loc. Gov’t
Code, as now existing or as hereafter amended, is herewith adopted.
(Ordinance 321 adopted 8/9/11)
(a) The city hereby incorporates all of the existing drainage facilities
with city easements or ownership, materials, and supplies owned and
controlled by the city into the drainage utility system.
(b) All other private systems shall remain privately controlled.
(Ordinance 321 adopted 8/9/11)
(a) The city council must approve drainage fee changes and exemption rules of section
13.04.009.
(b) The city administrator or his designee(s) may, from time to time, adopt rules for the administration of the drainage charge by the utility billing staff other than those items listed in subsection
(a).
(c) In cases of emergency, when necessary for safety to persons or property,
or for abandoned sites, the city administrator shall have the authority
to immediately repair the site and lien the property owner for such
costs incurred.
(d) Failure to pay the stormwater utility fee promptly when due shall subject such user to discontinuance of any utility services provided by the city, in accordance with section
13.02.035 of this code.
(Ordinance 321 adopted 8/9/11)
(a) The city shall charge all benefited property, except those exempted in section
13.04.009 for drainage service based on impervious area of land related to drainage and on classifications and individual calculations found to be nondiscriminatory, equitable, and reasonable. In accordance with state law, the city has based its methodology on data gathered from the county appraisal district as well as the city’s own geographical information system.
(b) The city hereby adopts the “schedule of drainage charges”
(SDC) as referenced herein, subject to the holding of a public hearing
as required by law. The most current drainage fee charges shall be
posted on the city website and available at the utility billing counter.
(c) Drainage charges shall be reasonably set, after public hearing and
notice, in accordance with the capital improvement plan (CIP) for
the city and annual operating costs including the addition of the
new stormwater management plan requirements.
(d) Billing, nonpayment and deposits:
(1) The SDC fee shall be included on the monthly utility bill, along
with other utility service fees, such as water, wastewater and garbage
charges.
(2) Nonpayment of the municipal drainage utility system fee shall be treated the same as nonpayment of the water, wastewater and garbage bill with delinquent fees and current utility cut-off procedures applied as defined in section
13.02.035.
(3) Water service may be cut off for nonpayment of storm drainage fees.
(4) The city shall not require a deposit for drainage service as a precondition
to accepting surface flow in the drainage utility system.
(Ordinance 321 adopted 8/9/11)
(a) If an owner or a person legally authorized to represent a nonresidential
property owner wishes to appeal a storm drainage utility fee amount,
they may do so by filing a notice of appeal with the city administrator
and paying a one hundred dollar application fee within one year of
the imposition of initial imposition of the fee. An appeal can be
filed by completing a form that describes the basis for the claimant
appealing the data, including the provision of independent engineering
reports supporting a more accurate impervious area calculation. The
information submitted to the city must be complete in order to conduct
an evaluation of the appeal. A response concerning receipt and completeness
will be provided within ten (10) days of the receipt of the completed
appeal form and supporting material. Any utility billing adjustments
made after September 1, 2011, shall be applied only to the next billing
cycle following a decision made by the city.
(b) Properties classified as residential shall not have an individual
appeals process separate from that offered in the public hearing held
in July of 2011.
(c) The utility billing office shall refer questions of impervious fee
calculations to the city engineer.
(d) The city engineer shall review and make determinations of impervious
area appeals.
(e) Billing and payment disputes for administrative issues shall be subject
to appeals procedures used by the city for other utility billing disputes.
(f) Appeals for the following reasons shall be directed to the city administrator
or his designee for evaluation and determination.
(1) Exempt property has been assessed a stormwater utility fee.
(2) Stormwater utility fee for an individual property is based on an
incorrect determination of the property’s contribution to the
stormwater system.
(3) Stormwater utility fee for an individual property is assessed on
more than one utility account.
(4) Stormwater utility fee is assessed to individual property outside
the city’s jurisdictional area.
(g) The city administrator or his designee shall render a written decision
on such appeals within thirty (30) days after receiving a complete
written notice of appeal from the landowner.
(h) Any landowner who disagrees with the decision of the city administrator
or his designee may appeal such decision to the city council. The
decision of the city council shall be final.
(Ordinance 321 adopted 8/9/11)
The income of the drainage utility system shall be segregated
and completely identifiable in municipal accounts.
(Ordinance 321 adopted 8/9/11)
Exemptions shall be allowed as listed under the schedule of
storm drainage fees as adopted by ordinance.
(Ordinance 321 adopted 8/9/11)