This article is intended to ensure the provision of adequate public drainage facilities to serve new development in the city by requiring each such development to pay its pro rata share of the costs of stormwater drainage capital improvements necessitated by and attributable to such new development.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
This article is adopted pursuant to chapter 395 of the Texas Local Government Code. The provisions of this article shall not be construed to limit the power of the city to utilize other methods authorized under state law or pursuant to other city powers to accomplish the purposes set forth herein, either in substitution for or in conjunction with this article.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
Assessment.
The determination of the amount of the stormwater service unit rate that may be imposed on new development pursuant to this article as determined at the time specified in section 13.13.010 [13.13.006] of this code.
Building permit.
With respect to buildings or premises within the corporate limits of the city, the general permit required by the construction codes adopted pursuant to section 3.02.001 of the Code of Ordinances.
City.
The City of Willow Park, Texas.
City council.
The city council of the City of Willow Park, Texas.
City manager.
The city manager for the City of Willow Park, Texas or designee.
Credit.
A credit equal to fifty (50) percent of the total projected cost of implementing the drainage capital improvements plan as is provided in the study.
Department.
The department of public works for the City of Willow Park.
Director.
The director of the department of public works for the City of Willow Park or designee.
Drainage.
Stormwater transported by or detained in features and improvements, whether natural or man-made, such as streets, curbs, bridges, catch basins, channels, conduits, creeks, culverts, detention ponds, ditches, draws, flumes, pipes, pumps, sloughs, treatment works, and any appurtenances, that use force or gravity to draw off surface water from land, carry the water away, collect, store, or treat the water, or divert the water into natural or man-made watercourses.
Drainage benefit area.
An area within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction that may reasonably connect to the city's drainage system.
Drainage capital improvement or drainage impact fee improvement.
A drainage facility with a life expectancy of three or more years, to be owned or operated by or on behalf of the city.
Drainage capital improvement plan or drainage impact fee improvement plan.
The plan adopted by city council at least every ten years, as may be amended from time to time, identifying the drainage facilities and their associated costs, necessitated by and attributable to new development, to be financed in whole or in part through drainage impact fees imposed and collected pursuant to this article.
Drainage facility.
An improvement to land designed or utilized, in whole or part, for the purpose of collecting, storing, pumping or conveying stormwater drainage, including an existing facility, the capacity of which has been expanded to service new development. Drainage facility includes land, roads, easements or structures and all appurtenances associated with such facilities.
Drainage impact fee.
A fee imposed by the city council on new development to fund or reimburse the costs of stormwater drainage capital improvements necessitated by and attributable to such new development. Drainage impact fees do not include requirements for the dedication or construction of rights-of-way or easements for such facilities, nor payment by persons receiving service from a drainage facility of connection charges imposed to reimburse a property owner for the costs of extending such drainage facility.
Drainage service area.
The area within the city's corporate boundaries.
Drainage system.
The drainage and drainage facilities owned or controlled in whole or in part by the city, including provisions for additions to the system. Drainage system components, including but not limited to streets, sidewalks, other dedicated improvements, and supporting rights-of-way shall not be considered residential or nonresidential property as defined herein.
Effective date.
September 12, 2021.
Final plat approval or approval of final plat.
The point at which the applicant has complied with all conditions of approval and the plat has been released for filing with the county clerk of Parker County.
Impervious surface or area.
Any area that has been compacted or covered such that it does not readily absorb water or does not allow water to percolate through to undisturbed underlying soil strata. Surface materials considered impervious shall include, but not be limited to, bricks, pavers, concrete, asphalt, compacted oil-dirt, compacted or decomposed shale, oyster shell, gravel, or granite, and other similar materials. Surface features utilizing such materials and considered impervious shall include, but not be limited to, decks, foundations (whether pier and beam or slab), building roofs, parking and driveway areas, sidewalks, compacted or rolled areas, paved recreation areas, swimming pools, and other features or surfaces that are built or laid on the surface of the land and have the effect of increasing, concentrating, or otherwise altering water runoff so that flows are not readily absorbed.
New development.
The subdivision of land; the construction, reconstruction, redevelopment, conversion, structural alteration, relocation or enlargement of any structure; or any use or extension of the use of land; any of which increases the number of stormwater service units.
Offset.
The amount of the reduction of a drainage impact fee, determined under this article, that is equal to the value of a drainage facility or portion thereof included in the drainage impact fee improvement plan and is constructed or financed by a property owner without reimbursement from other city funds.
Plat.
The plan or map of a subdivision to be filed for record with the county clerk in the county in which the property is located. Plat includes a replat but excludes a development plat.
Property owner.
The owner in fee of a tract or parcel of land upon which new development is to be located, or his authorized representative.
Stormwater service unit.
1,000 square feet of impervious surface or area rounded to the nearest ten square feet for purposes of impact fee calculation.
Stormwater service unit rate.
The drainage impact fee that the city charges per stormwater service unit within the drainage service area.
Study.
The 2020 stormwater impact fee study performed by the city engineer, Jacob & Martin LLC and presented to the city council on December 8, 2020, which sets forth the capital improvement plan, the land use assumptions and the basis for calculation of the stormwater service unit rate, which is incorporated herein as though set out in full and is on file in the city secretary's office.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
The impact fees for stormwater drainage have been reviewed, evaluated, and, after providing a credit as is required by chapter 395 of the Local Government Code, are hereby adopted and approved and shall be imposed against new development in order to generate revenues for funding or recouping the costs of drainage facilities or drainage capital improvements necessitated by and attributable to such new development. Impact fees shall be set by the city council.
(b) 
Except as otherwise provided herein, each new development within the city's drainage service area shall pay a drainage impact fee for drainage facilities necessitated by and attributable to that development as provided in division 2 of this article. Drainage impact fees shall be assessed against and collected from new development on the basis of the number of stormwater service units in the drainage service area in which the property is located.
(c) 
The maximum drainage impact fee per stormwater service unit assessed against a new development is provided in the drainage impact fee improvement plan provided in the study. The stormwater service unit rates shall never exceed the maximum drainage impact fee per stormwater service unit.
(d) 
The city council may amend drainage impact fees to be collected from new developments without amending the stormwater service unit rates or drainage impact fee improvement plan adopted herein, so long as the impact fees to be collected do not exceed the maximum drainage impact fees per stormwater service unit that may be assessed for such facilities.
(e) 
The study is hereby approved by the city council and is incorporated herein as though set out in full.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
The department shall keep, update, and make available to the public maps of the drainage service area. The drainage service area may be amended from time to time as part of a new or amended drainage impact fee improvement plan. When the city's corporate limits are altered by annexation, the land so annexed shall become part of the drainage service area.
(b) 
At the time of assessment, the director shall determine the appropriate drainage service area for the new development based on the developer's application and the map(s) attached to the most recent land use assumptions adopted by city council.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
The assessment of the drainage impact fee for any new development shall be based on the applicable drainage impact fees per stormwater service unit in effect at the time of assessment. No specific act by the city is required to assess the drainage impact fee.
(b) 
For a new development which has received final plat approval before the effective date, assessment of drainage impact fees shall occur on the effective date.
(c) 
For a new development which has received final plat approval on or after the effective date, assessment of drainage impact fees shall occur at the time of recordation of the final plat.
(d) 
For land on which new development occurs or is proposed to occur without platting, the city may assess the drainage impact fees at any time during the development and building process.
(e) 
After assessment of the drainage impact fees attributable to new development or execution of an agreement for payment of drainage impact fees, additional drainage impact fees or increases in fees may not be assessed against the land unless the number of stormwater service units to be developed on the tract increases. In the event of the increase in the number of stormwater service units, the drainage impact fees to be imposed are limited to the amount attributable to the additional stormwater service units.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
Drainage impact fees shall be collected at the time of issuance of a building permit.
(b) 
For a new development that received final plat approval before the effective date, impact fees may not be collected on any stormwater service unit for which a valid building permit is issued within one (1) year after the effective date.
(c) 
Except as otherwise provided in this code, no building permit shall be issued until the property owner has paid the applicable drainage impact fee.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
The director shall compute the drainage impact fees in the following manner:
(a) 
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the drainage impact fee shall be calculated by multiplying the stormwater service unit rate by the number of stormwater service units generated by the new development, rounded to the nearest hundredth.
(b) 
If the new development involves the alteration of existing structures, new impervious surface or area created by such altered structure or structures shall be converted to additional service units. If the impervious surface for the new development exceeds the existing impervious surface or area, the amount of the drainage impact fee due shall be the number of additional service units, rounded to the nearest hundredth, multiplied by the drainage impact fee per stormwater service unit then in effect. If the impervious surface or area for the new development is less than or equal to the existing impervious surface or area, no impact fee is due.
(c) 
The amount of each drainage impact fee due shall be reduced by any allowable adjustments in the manner provided in section 13.13.009 of this code.
(d) 
If the property owner proposes to increase the number of service units for development following payment of the drainage impact fee, the additional drainage impact fees collected for such new service units shall be determined in the same manner as provided in this section.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
The director shall determine the number of service units generated from a new development based on the information contained in the final plat approval documents or building permit application along with digital map data associated with tax plats and assessment rolls or other similar, reliable data from independent sources authorized by the director.
(b) 
If the director determines that sufficient information is provided along with the building permit application to demonstrate that no drainage will ever flow off all or a significant portion of the property, the director may approve an adjustment in the number of stormwater service units. Before an adjustment is made, the property owner shall covenant not to change the property to allow drainage to flow off the property without first obtaining a building permit and paying impact fees on any new development. The director may develop guidelines to determine the amount of drainage that will flow off the property and what constitutes a significant portion of the property.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
A property owner may receive an offset pursuant to a development agreement approved by the city, if:
(1) 
The property owner constructs or finances a drainage facility included in the drainage impact fee improvement plan;
(2) 
The property owner does not receive reimbursement for the drainage facility constructed or financed by the property owner;
(3) 
The drainage facility serves only the city drainage system; and
(4) 
The offset does not include on-site drainage for the property.
(b) 
A drainage facility constructed for an offset pursuant to a development agreement must be constructed within the drainage service area in which the property is located. The offset may be associated with the plat of the property that is to be served by the constructed or financed drainage facility. The amount of the offset shall be determined pursuant to rules established in this section. In no event shall the offset allowable under this subsection exceed the amount of the drainage impact fees due.
(c) 
Any offset associated with new development shall be applied against the drainage impact fee due at the time that the fee for the building permit is collected.
(d) 
Any offset provided under this section shall have no effect on on-site drainage requirements associated with the property.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
If the director determines that adequate capacity exists within the drainage system, a property owner within a drainage benefit area may voluntarily enter into a development agreement to connect to the drainage system. The director, with the approval of the city council, may authorize a development agreement to allow the property owner to construct facilities consistent with section 13.13.012 [13.13.010] of this code, and any associated rules and guidelines, or pay charges equivalent to drainage impact fees. The drainage impact fee improvement plan, as amended in accordance with chapter 395 of the Local Government Code, shall account for the connections pursuant to development agreements under this section and shall include projections for voluntary connections to the drainage system from the drainage benefit area.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
All drainage impact fees collected within the drainage service area shall be deposited in a dedicated fund to which interest is allocated. All such amounts, together with all interest earned thereon, shall be used solely for the purposes set forth in subsection (b).
(b) 
The drainage impact fees collected pursuant to this article shall be used to finance or recoup the costs of any drainage impact fee improvements identified in the drainage impact fee improvement plan for the applicable drainage service area, including but not limited to the construction contract price, surveying and engineering fees, land acquisition costs (including land purchases, court awards and costs, attorneys' fees, and expert witness fees) and fees paid to an independent qualified engineer or financial consultant for preparing or updating the drainage impact fee improvement plan.
(c) 
Disbursement of funds shall be authorized by the department at such times as are reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes intended by this article; provided, however, that funds shall be expended within a reasonable period of time, but not to exceed ten years from the date drainage impact fees are deposited in the fund.
(d) 
An owner of property for which a drainage impact fee has been paid is entitled to a refund for all or a portion of the fee in the following circumstances:
(1) 
The city denies service to the property on which the impact fees were paid; and
(A) 
The city has the drainage facilities to provide service to the property;
(B) 
The city has not constructed the drainage facilities within five years of the date the impact fees were collected; or
(C) 
The city has not spent the impact fees within ten years of the date the impact fees were collected.
(2) 
After receiving a completed application for an impact fee refund, the department shall issue a refund to the record property owner. The refund shall include interest calculated from the date of collection to the date of refund at the statutory rate provided in Texas Local Government Code section 395.024, or its successor statute. A drainage impact fee shall be considered expended on a first-in, first-out basis.
(3) 
If a refund is due pursuant to paragraph (2), the department shall divide the difference between the amount of expenditures and the amount of the fees collected by the total number of stormwater service units for which drainage impact fees have been paid within the service area for the period to determine the refund due per service unit. The refund to the owner shall be calculated by:
(A) 
Multiplying the refund due per stormwater service unit by the number of stormwater service units of the development for which the fee was paid; and
(B) 
Determining interest due based on the amount calculated under subsection (d)(3)(a).
(4) 
Upon completion of all the drainage facilities identified in the drainage impact fee improvement plan for the drainage service area, the department shall recalculate the drainage impact fee per service unit using the actual costs for the drainage facilities. If the maximum drainage impact fee per service unit based upon actual cost is less than the drainage impact fee per service unit paid, the city shall refund the difference if such difference exceeds the drainage impact fee paid by more than ten percent. If the difference is less than ten percent, no refund shall be due. Refund to the record owner shall be calculated by:
(A) 
Multiplying such difference by the number of service units of the development for which the drainage impact fee was paid; and
(B) 
Determining interest due based on the amount calculated under subsection (d)(4)(a).
(e) 
The department shall establish adequate financial and accounting controls to ensure that drainage impact fees disbursed from the fund are utilized solely for the purposes authorized. The department shall maintain and keep financial records for drainage impact fees that shall show the source and disbursement of all fees collected or expended within a certain drainage service area. The records of the fund into which drainage impact fees are deposited shall be open for public inspection and copying during ordinary business hours.
(f) 
Nothing in this article shall prevent the city from paying all or part of the drainage impact fees due for a new development pursuant to criteria adopted by city council.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
The property owner or applicant for a new development may appeal the following decisions:
(1) 
The applicability of a drainage impact fee to the new development;
(2) 
The amount of the drainage impact fee due;
(3) 
The determination of stormwater service units;
(4) 
The applicability of any credit or offset to the new development;
(5) 
The amount of any credit or offset; or
(6) 
The amount of a refund due, if any.
(b) 
The burden of proof shall be upon the applicant to demonstrate that the decision was not made in accordance with this article or applicable state law.
(c) 
The applicant shall file a written notice of appeal with the city manager within 30 days following the date of the decision from which an appeal is made that states the basis for the appeal with particularity. To the extent the property owner relies on any studies or other documents as evidence that the property owner is entitled to relief, the property owner shall submit such studies and documents with the notice of appeal. If the notice of appeal is accompanied by cash or a letter of credit issued by a financial institution that has an office for presentment located in Willow Park, Texas in an amount equal to the original determination of the drainage impact fee due, the development application may be processed while the appeal is pending.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
Within 10 days of receipt of the notice of appeal, the city manager shall issue a written decision granting relief, granting partial relief, or denying relief and shall send the decision to the owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by email if the property owner's email address is provided on the notice of appeal or the building permit application that gave rise to the matter being appealed. The city manager's written decision shall ask the property owner to respond in writing within 10 days of the date of the written decision regarding whether the property owner agrees or disagrees with the city manager's decision.
(b) 
If the property owner agrees in writing with the city manager's decision or fails to notify the city manager within 10 days of the date of the written decision that they disagree with the city manager's decision:
(1) 
The appeal shall be considered resolved and the city manager's decision shall be final on the matter appealed;
(2) 
To the extent that the city manager's decision grants relief or partial relief to the property owner, the city manager shall ensure that the property owner receives such relief or partial relief; and
(3) 
To the extent that the city manager's decision requires the property owner to pay a drainage impact fee, the property owner shall promptly pay the impact fee. The property owner's failure to pay the drainage impact fee within 5 business days after agreeing with the city manager's decision or failing to notify the city manager within 10 days of the date of the written decision that they disagree with the city manager's decision shall serve as the authority for the city to present the letter of credit to the financial institution for performance with no other or further notice or contact with the property owner.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
If the property owner responds in writing to the city manager that they disagree with the city manager's decision within 10 days after the date of the decision of the city manager, the city council shall hold a hearing to consider the appeal and shall act on the appeal within 60 days of the date of the letter of the property owner notifying the city manager of the disagreement.
(b) 
The city council shall act on the appeal by granting relief, granting partial relief, or denying relief.
(c) 
To the extent that the city council grants relief or partial relief to the property owner, the city manager shall ensure that the property owner receives such relief or partial relief.
(d) 
To the extent that the city council's action on the appeal requires the property owner to pay a drainage impact fee, the property owner shall promptly pay the impact fee. The property owner's failure to pay the drainage impact fee within 5 business days after the date of the city council's action on the appeal shall serve as authority for the city to present the letter of credit to the financial institution for performance with no other or further notice or contact with the property owner.
(e) 
The city council's action on the appeal shall constitute the city's final decision on the matter appealed.
(f) 
A property owner shall bear all costs of the property owner's appeal under this section.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)
(a) 
A property owner for which a drainage impact fee has been paid may petition the city council to determine whether any duty required by this article or by chapter 395 of the Texas Local Government Code has not been performed within the time so prescribed. The petition shall be in writing and delivered to the city secretary and shall state the nature of the unperformed duties and request that the duties be performed within 60 days of the request. If the city council determines that the performance of the duty is required pursuant to this article and is late in being performed, it shall cause performance of the duty to commence within 60 days of the date of the request and to continue until completion. This subsection shall not apply to matters subject to appeal pursuant to section 13.13.021 [13.13.015] of this code.
(b) 
The city council may grant a variance from any requirement of this article, upon written request by the property owner subject to this article following a public hearing, but only upon finding that a strict application of such requirement would, when regarded as a whole, result in confiscation or an unconstitutional taking of the property.
(c) 
If city council grants a variance to the amount of the drainage impact fee due for a new development under this section, it shall cause to be appropriated from other city funds the amount of the reduction in the drainage impact fee to the fund for the drainage service area in which the property is located.
(Ordinance 904-24 adopted 5/14/2024)