Except as otherwise provided in this title, it shall be mandatory for the record of any property in the City subscribe to and pay for stormwater services.
(Prior code § 7-815; Ord. 2019-02-05-1403 C.S. § 17; Ord. 2019-11-05-1403-02 C.S. § 19)
A. 
A unified bill includes charges for water services provided by the City and all other service charges, including sewer, solid waste, and stormwater service charges.
B. 
A bill that does not contain charges for water services provided by the City is not a unified bill as used in this chapter.
C. 
Water services not provided by the City may be billed separately from other City service charges at the water service provider's sole discretion.
(Ord. 2019-02-05-1403 C.S. § 18)
A. 
All accounts for stormwater services shall be established by and held in the name of the record owner of the property where stormwater services are provided.
B. 
At the time the application for stormwater services is requested, and at the Chief Financial Officer's sole discretion, the applicant shall provide proof of ownership of the property to be served.
C. 
The record owner of a property receiving stormwater services shall be fully responsible and liable for the payment of all stormwater service charges, any delinquent stormwater service charges, and any penalties applicable to his or her property.
D. 
The Chief Financial Officer may, in the Chief Financial Officer's sole discretion, send the bill for stormwater services to a tenant or any other person or entity designated by the record owner, provided the record owner or his or her authorized representative submits to the City a complete and signed request to bill the tenant or other designated person or entity on such form as may be specified by the Chief Financial Officer.
E. 
If, in accordance with subsection D of this section, a bill is sent to a person or entity other than the record owner, then the service account shall remain in the record owner's name and the record owner shall be fully responsible and liable for the payment of any stormwater service charges, any delinquent stormwater service charges, and any penalties applicable to his or her property as if the bill had been sent to the record owner.
F. 
Billing and collection procedures for stormwater, including the billing cycle, whether monthly, quarterly, annually, semi-annually, or otherwise, including collection on the property tax roll, will be as determined by the Chief Financial Officer with the concurrence of the City Manager. Notification of billing changes shall be provided to the record owner of any property where stormwater services are provided, any tenant or designated person or entity authorized to receive a bill for sewer service charges pursuant to subsection D hereof.
G. 
Residential stormwater service charges will be billed on a unified bill to the record owner and any other person authorized to receive the bill pursuant to subsection D of this section, receiving the bill for water if the water services are provided by the City at the service location. Residential properties that consist of two or more separate dwelling units and are served by a single water meter shall be billed for stormwater services for the total number of separate residential dwelling units served by such water meter on a unified bill.
H. 
If a property does not receive water services from the City, the stormwater service charges may be billed separately from or with other utility services provided by the City, or collected on the tax roll.
(Prior code § 7-815.1; Ord. 2019-02-05-1403 C.S. § 19; Ord. 2019-11-05-1403-02 C.S. § 20)
A. 
The stormwater rate structure will be based on an "estimated impervious area" concept. Impervious area is that portion of the parcel which is covered by pavement or other hard surfacing, or is covered by buildings, roofs, etc.
B. 
The stormwater rate structure will be used to determine stormwater rates based on an equivalent residential unit (ERU). This number is the base unit of measure in the stormwater rate structure and is calculated by the total amount of impervious area for all residential parcels in the service area divided by the total number of residential units. This value represents the average amount of impervious area per residential unit, including single-family, duplexes, triplexes, and multifamily apartments.
C. 
Under the ERU basis, a single average amount of impervious surface area is calculated for all residential dwelling units, including multifamily and apartments. For the City, the ERU value is 2,347 of impervious surface area.
D. 
Residential Charges. All single-family, multifamily, and apartment residences, shall be assigned one ERU for each dwelling unit. The actual service charge shall equal the one ERU multiplied by the ERU rate.
E. 
Nonresidential Charges. Nonresidential customers shall be charged based on the number of ERUs existing on each individual parcel. The actual service charge shall equal the number of ERUs on the parcel multiplied by the ERU rate.
The number of ERUs on each parcel shall be determined using an estimate of the impervious area on each parcel. This estimate shall be made using a density of development factor.
A density of development factor is defined as the mean, or average, percent of impervious coverage for parcels in a given customer class. In Stockton, the density of development factors for nonresidential properties have been determined to be as follows:
Customer Class
Density of Development Factor
Commercial
90%
Institutional
62%
Industrial
79%
F. 
The calculation of the rate for each nonresidential parcel shall be made in the following manner:
1. 
The gross parcel size shall be multiplied by the density of development factor. This result equals the estimated amount of impervious surface area on the given parcel.
2. 
The estimated amount of impervious surface area shall then be divided by the average amount of impervious surface area per ERU (2,347 square feet). This result equals the number of ERUs which shall be assigned to the given parcel.
3. 
The number of ERUs shall be multiplied by the rate per ERU. This result equals the total monthly charge for the given parcel.
G. 
Nonresidential Appeals. Nonresidential property owners shall have the right to adjust the density of development factor used to determine their service charge.
All adjustments shall require the property owner to provide a written request for adjustment and a certified calculation of impervious area for the given parcel as made by a California registered land surveyor or civil engineer. The approval of all adjustments shall be made in accordance with the provisions as set forth in Section 13.16.220.
H. 
Effective Date of Charges. The effective date of all service charges shall be established by City Council resolution.
(Prior code § 7-815.2)
Vacant parcels shall not be required to pay a stormwater charge until such time as that parcel is developed. However, vacant parcels where the surface is altered or disturbed in any manner, including adding fill material or removing soil from the site, shall be considered developed and this change in parcel surface alteration shall result in a stormwater charge being assessed for that parcel as determined by the provisions set forth in Section 13.16.180.
(Prior code § 7-816)
Users not within City boundaries but who contribute to the City storm drainage system shall be assessed and charged according to a properly executed memorandum of understanding document between the City and County which fairly assesses fees in accordance with the current City users charge system. Unless regulated by other sections of the Stockton Municipal Code, fees which are not a part of the stormwater user charge system will be set from time to time by City Council resolution.
(Prior code § 7-818)
The City Manager is hereby authorized to establish any rules or regulations necessary for the enforcement of this article. The City Manager may delegate and appoint members of the City administration to act in behalf of the City Manager.
(Prior code § 7-819)
The Administrative Services Officer or authorized agent for billing and collection may adjust or refund such charges as are deemed to be inequitable in the presentation of an amount billed, penalty charges under extenuating circumstances, cancellation of duplicate billing, refunds of duplicate payments and refunds of amounts due to customers on closed accounts. Refunds on closed accounts of $5 or less will not be made unless a specific request is received from the party to whom the refund is to be made.
The Administrative Services Officer or authorized agent for billing and collection may cancel all closed accounts with a balance of $10.00 or less.
(Prior code § 7-821)
The Director of Municipal Utilities may make such adjustments as are deemed necessary based on a charge for service. All adjustments will require a specific written request by the customer for whom the adjustment is made and such adjustments shall be approved by the Director of Municipal Utilities, and forwarded in writing to the Administrative Services Officer for processing. All adjustments may be credited to customer accounts or refunded directly to the customer upon request by the customer. All direct refunds shall require the approval of the Administrative Services Officer.
(Prior code § 7-822)
The Administrative Services Officer or authorized agent for billing and collection is responsible for maintaining adequate records of bills tendered, payments received, delinquencies recorded, cash deposited, and charges incurred. The records shall be maintained in accordance with the City's record retention policy.
(Prior code § 7-823)
A. 
An account is delinquent when payment in full of the bill for stormwater service charges is not received at the office of the City or its authorized agent for billing and collection within 25 days of the billing date. A postmark date is not considered the date of payment.
B. 
Where all or any part of any bill for a stormwater services account remains unpaid 25 days after the billing date, a basic penalty of 10 percent of the total delinquent amount will be added to such bill for the first month the account is delinquent. In addition, the City may impose a penalty in an amount not to exceed 1% per month for nonpayment of any stormwater service charges and any basic penalty.
C. 
Except as otherwise provided by law, if a unified bill remains unpaid more than 30 60 days after the date of billing, City water service at the service location may be terminated.
1. 
City water service will not be restored until the amount of all delinquent stormwater service charges, associated service charges, penalties, deposits, and reconnection charges have been paid in full.
2. 
Prior to termination the Chief Financial Officer, in the Chief Financial Officer's sole discretion, may authorize an amortization agreement pursuant to Section 779 or 10010 of the Public Utilities Code or other applicable statute.
D. 
If the account holder is the record owner of the property receiving stormwater services, the City shall include a statement in each bill for stormwater service charges to the record owner in substantially the following form:
"Stormwater service charges and any penalties shall constitute a lien against the lot or parcel of land against which the charge is imposed if the charges remain delinquent for 60 days."
Pursuant to such notice, the stormwater service charges, and any penalties may become a lien against the lot or parcel of land against which the charges and penalties were imposed if such charges remain delinquent for a period of 60 days. The City shall cause to be recorded with the county recorder all such delinquent stormwater service charges and penalties, and when so recorded such charges and penalties shall have the force, effect and priority of a judgment lien and continue for 10 years from the time of recording unless sooner released or otherwise discharged.
(Prior code § 7-824; Ord. 2019-02-05-1403 C.S. § 20; Ord. 2019-11-05-1403-02 C.S. § 21; Ord. 2020-01-14-1102 C.S. § 5)
A. 
No stormwater services will be provided and no facility of the stormwater system will be made available to any property or person free of charge.
B. 
The record owner of any property where stormwater services are provided by the City shall be responsible for the payment of any and all stormwater service charges, any delinquent stormwater service charges, and any penalties applicable to his or her account.
C. 
It shall be and is hereby made the duty of record owner of any property where stormwater services are provided by the City to ascertain from the City Administrative Services Department or its authorized agent for billing and collection the amount and due date of any stormwater service charges, any delinquent stormwater service charges, and any penalties applicable to his or her property, and to pay such charges and any penalties when due and payable.
D. 
Stormwater charges for commercial and industrial parcels will be billed to the record owner of the property on an individual basis separate from the City water service bill.
E. 
The record owner of any property where stormwater services are provided by the City is obligated to inform the City Administrative Services Department or its authorized agent for billing and collection immediately of all circumstances and of any change(s) in any circumstance which will in any way affect the applicability of any stormwater service charges or the amount of any such charges that may be imposed on the record owner's property for stormwater services provided to his or her property. In particular, but not by way of limitation, the record owner of any property where stormwater services are provided by the City shall immediately inform the City Administrative Services Department or its authorized agent for billing and collection of any sale or transfer of any such property.
(Prior code § 7-833; Ord. 2019-02-05-1403 C.S. § 21; Ord. 2019-11-05-1403-02 C.S. § 22)
A. 
A system of connection charges may be applied to users connecting or increasing their usage. The connection charge system fees will be set by the City Council by resolution from time to time and periodically adjusted to meet the needs of the capital improvement funds.
B. 
Special Rates. Special rates for connection charges for specific areas or specific cases may be made by resolution of the City Council where special conditions warrant such action by reason of hardship or inequities, or if judged by the City Council to contribute to the general good or betterment of the community.
(Prior code § 7-834)
Any person dissatisfied with any action taken or any decision made by the Director or designee with regard to the provisions of this chapter may appeal pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 1.44 of this code.
(Ord. 2019-11-05-1403-02 C.S. § 23)