Town of Georgetown, DE Sewer Impact and Connection Fees

§ 176-45 Purpose.

The purpose of this article is to establish appropriate provisions for the equitable distribution of the debt service associated with the sewer system improvements of the town and to be sure that the cost of such debt service is proportionally borne by those who receive the benefits of the sewer system improvements constructed with the associated bond revenues.

§ 176-46 Definitions.

Refer to Article I for definitions of "impact fee," "connection fee," "EDU," "sewage flow" and "annul production days."

§ 176-47 Impact fee.

[Amended 5-8-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-5]

Prior to the issuance of a building permit by the Town Manager or duly authorized representative, all developers or owners of newly constructed or enlarged, improved, existing structures requiring sewer service are subject to sewer impact fees to be paid to the Town of Georgetown as stated in the Code of the Town of Georgetown, Chapter 98, § 98-5, Utility services. The Town reserves the right to bar occupancy of any such structure and withhold sanitary sewer service until such time as the aforementioned fee is paid in full.

§ 176-48 Assessment of impact fees.

Impact fees shall be assessed as outlined below:

[Amended 12-12-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-05]

	Type of Structure		Assessment
1.	Any single-family residential dwelling with one kitchen and one or more baths		1.0 EDU
2.	Any multifamily residential dwelling with one kitchen and one or more baths (per unit)
	(a)	Unit with 1 bedroom	0.75 EDU
	(b)	Unit with 2 bedrooms	0.80 EDU
	(c)	Unit with 3 bedrooms	1.0 EDU
3.	Any commercial, institutional or industrial structure		Per Chapter 176, Attachment 1

The number of EDUs for structures under Category 3 shall be estimated by the Town Engineer in accordance with published flow data. After one year of operation, said structures shall be evaluated and the number of EDUs recalculated based on the following formula:

[Amended 12-12-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-05]

Sewage flow per year in gallons @ (production days x 225 gal/day/EDU)

Results will be rounded up to full number.

The impact fee adjustment shall be billed or refunded at the time of the next regularly scheduled billing.

§ 176-49 Additional requirements for bulk users.

If a developer proposes new development with an average daily flow of 2,500 gpd or more to connect to the town's sanitary sewer infrastructure, i.e., pump/lift stations, collections lines, transmission lines and/or other related appurtenances, but the infrastructure is not sized to handle both the peak daily flows (average daily flow multiplied by a peaking factor of 2.5 - 3.5, depending on size of drainage basin) from the existing users of the drainage basin and the proposed new development, the developer shall perform one of the following in addition to the payment of the impact fees:

(1)

Construct the necessary improvements to accommodate the existing users and the new proposed development, prior to connecting; or

(2)

Sign a public works agreement, stating that necessary improvements will be constructed when the existing infrastructure reaches 90% of its peak daily flow capacity. Then provide the town with an irrevocable letter of credit in the amount of 1.5 times the necessary improvement costs in order to accommodate the new proposed development. The letter of credit would have to be renewable on an annual basis, at the discretion of the town, until such time that all improvements are implemented and accepted by the town. A technical feasibility study would be required in order to determine the necessary improvements and their associated costs. The developer can then connect to the existing infrastructure and use it until such time that it reaches 90% of its peak daily flow capacity. At the 90% capacity threshold the developer shall construct the necessary improvements to accommodate the additional proposed new development. Furthermore, the developer shall have plans and specifications, prepared by a professional engineer, detailing the necessary improvements when the infrastructure reaches 80% of its peak daily flow capacity. Once all necessary improvements are in place and accepted by the Town Engineer, the irrevocable letter of credit will be returned to the issuer.

The above-mentioned capacity thresholds shall be determined based on the number of EDU's (both in the existing drainage basin and proposed developments). When the number of EDU's correlates with the 80% and 90% capacity thresholds, design and construction will be required respectively. Threshold determinations will be made by the Town Engineer.

In a case where multiple developers propose to utilize the existing infrastructure of an existing sanitary sewer drainage basin, the costs of associated improvements for each developer shall be based on the percentage of flow that each development will contribute to the infrastructure. The associated costs for each developer must be specified in the signed public works agreement.

In a case where multiple developers propose to utilize future infrastructure of a proposed sanitary sewer drainage basin at different times, the cost of the associated improvements shall be borne by the developer first to be served. Said developer shall be reimbursed by future developers on a percentage of flow that each development will contribute to the infrastructure, up to the percentage of the improvements utilized by the initial or subsequent developer. The associated cost for the initial developer and the subsequent reimbursement percentages for the future developers must be specified in a signed public works agreement.

[Added 9-23-1999 by Ord. No. 99-09-01]

§ 176-50 Multiple units connected through single lateral.

If two or more dwellings, apartments, stores, offices or industrial units are connected through a single lateral, impact fees payable under the foregoing schedule shall be computed as though each such dwelling, apartment store, office or industrial unit were a separate property or user with a separate connection to the sewer.

§ 176-51 Inaccurate information provided to town.

In the event that the Town of Georgetown is not provided, upon request, with accurate information, including supporting documentation, to determine the number of employees or pupils using any property or such other data as may be necessary to determine a user classification or rate, the Town of Georgetown's estimate or determination thereof shall be conclusive.

§ 176-52 Authority of Town to revise flow data table.

The Town of Georgetown reserves the right to change the commercial user flow data table from time to time, or add or delete user classifications, and, in cases of dispute, to determine the proper classification of a given property.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: The flow data table is included at the end of this chapter.

§ 176-53 Purpose of connection fee.

The purpose of the sewer connection fee is to establish a means to recover the town's cost of installing sewer service fines.

§ 176-54 Assessment of connection fee.

[Amended 5-8-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-5]

The sewer connection fee shall be assessed in an amount equal to the actual costs of installation in instances where the cost of the said installation exceeds the established minimum connection fee. Sewer connection fees are to be paid to the Town of Georgetown as stated in the Code of the Town of Georgetown, Chapter 98, § 98-5, Utility services. Commercial accounts as well as residential sewer connections on state-maintained roadways have the option to hire a private contractor licensed within the Town to perform the sewer connection, with the Town inspecting the work prior to completion. Any additional costs above the minimum fee associated with sewer connections will be billed to the property owner, if required.