Chapter 132 Stormwater Management

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Chapter 132 Stormwater Management Ch 132 Art I Fee System [HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of Centreville as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.] GENERAL REFERENCES Floodplain management — See Ch. 66. Sewer use — See Ch. 115. Sewers and water — See Ch. 118. Subdivision regulations — See Ch. 138. Zoning — See Ch. 170. Ch 132 Art I Fee System 132-1 Findings And Purpose 132-2 Authority 132-3 Definitions 132-4 Establishment Of Stormwater Management Enterprise Fund 132-5 Purpose Of Fund 132-6 Establishment Of Stormwater Management Fee 132-7 Classification Of Property For Purposes Of Determination Of Fee 132-8 Stormwater Fee 132-9 Exemptions From Fee 132-10 Requests For Adjustment Of The Fee 132-11 Fee Administration; Violations; Interest And Penalties 132-12 Credits [Adopted 2-21-2013 by Ord. No. 06-2012] 132-1 Findings And Purpose The Town of Centreville, Maryland, finds uncontrolled drainage and development of land has a significant adverse impact upon the health, safety, and welfare of the Town of Centreville community. Further, the Town finds as follows: The Town maintains a system of stormwater and surface water management facilities, including, but not limited to, inlets, conduits, manholes, channels, ditches, drainage easements, retention and detention basins, infiltration facilities, and other components, as well as natural waterways. The stormwater system in the Town needs regular maintenance and improvements. Water quality is degrading due to erosion and the discharge of nutrients, metals, oil, grease, toxic materials, and other substances into and through the stormwater system. The public health, safety, and welfare is adversely affected by poor ambient water quality and flooding that results from inadequate management of both the quality and quantity of stormwater. All real property in the Town either uses or benefits from the maintenance of the stormwater system. The extent of use of the stormwater system by each property is dependent on factors that influence runoff, including land use and the amount of impervious surface on the property. The costs of improving, maintaining, operating, and monitoring the stormwater system should be allocated, to the extent practicable, to all property owners based on the impact of runoff from the impervious areas of their property on the stormwater management system. Management of the stormwater system to protect the public health, safety, and welfare requires adequate revenues, and it is in the interest of the public to finance stormwater management adequately with a user charge system that is reasonable and equitable so that each user of the system pays to the extent to which he or she contributes to the need for it. 132-2 Authority Authority for the adoption of a system of charges to fund the implementation of stormwater management programs is conferred on the Town by § 4-204(d), Environmental Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended. 132-3 Definitions For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings indicated: BASE RATE. The stormwater management fee charges on a base unit. The annual (fiscal year) stormwater management fee for a single-family residential property in the Town equals the base rate. DEVELOPED PROPERTY. Real property which has been altered from its natural state by the addition of any improvements, such as buildings, structures, or other impervious area. EQUIVALENT RESIDENTIAL UNIT. The median impervious surface area associated with a single-family residential property in the Town. FEE or STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FEE. The charge established under this article and levied on owners of parcels or pieces of real property to fund the costs of stormwater management and of operating, maintaining, and improving the stormwater system in the Town. FISCAL YEAR. July 1 of a calendar year to June 30 of the next calendar year, both inclusive. IMPERVIOUS SURFACE. A surface area which is compacted or covered with material that is resistant to infiltration by water, including, but not limited to, most conventionally surfaced streets, roofs, sidewalks, patios, driveways, parking lots, and any other oiled, graveled, graded, compacted, or other surface which impedes the natural infiltration of surface water. IMPERVIOUS SURFACE AREA. The number of square feet of horizontal surface covered by buildings and other impervious surfaces. All building measurements shall be made between exterior faces of walls, foundations, columns or other means of support or enclosure. OTHER DEVELOPED PROPERTY. Developed property other than single-family residential property. Such property shall include, but not be limited to, multifamily dwellings, commercial properties, industrial properties, parking lots, hospitals, schools, recreational and cultural facilities, hotels, offices, and churches. PROPERTY OWNER. The property owner of record as listed on the state assessment roll. A property owner includes any individual, corporation, firm, partnership, or group of individuals acting as a unit and any trustee, receiver, or personal representative. SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. A developed property which serves the primary purpose of providing a permanent dwelling unit and which is classified as residential on the state assessment rolls. A single-family detached dwelling or a Townhouse containing an accessory apartment or second dwelling unit is included in this definition. STORMWATER MANAGEMENT. The planning, design, construction, regulation, improvement, repair, maintenance, and operation of facilities and programs relating to water, floodplains, flood control, grading, erosion, tree conservation, and sediment control. STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FUND or FUND. The enterprise fund created by this article to operate, maintain, and improve the Town's stormwater system. STORMWATER SYSTEM. The system or network of stormwater and surface water management facilities, including, but not limited to, inlets, conduits, manholes, channels, ditches, drainage easements, retention and detention basins, infiltration facilities, and other components, as well as all natural waterways. TOWN MANAGER. The Town Manager for the Town of Centerville, Maryland, or his or her designee. VACANT PROPERTY. Any property that is undeveloped and contains no impervious area. WATER. Any stormwater, surface water, snow melt, or groundwater. 132-4 Establishment Of Stormwater Management Enterprise Fund The stormwater management program is established and the stormwater system is provided to protect the waterways and land in the Town by controlling flooding and to protect the natural environment. The costs of designing, developing, improving, operating, maintaining, and monitoring the stormwater system required in the Town should, therefore, be allocated, to the extent practicable, to all property owners based on their impact on the stormwater system. In order to provide revenue to fund those costs and to fairly allocate those costs, a Stormwater Management Fund ("the fund") is established. All revenues collected for the management of stormwater, including revenues from the stormwater management fee, from grants, permit fees and other charges collected, shall be deposited to the fund. The Town Council may make additional appropriations to the fund. All disbursements from the fund shall be for the purposes of the fund as set forth in § 132-5. 132-5 Purpose Of Fund The fund shall be used for the following purposes: The acquisition, by gift, purchase or condemnation, of real and personal property, and interests therein, necessary to construct, operate, and maintain stormwater control facilities. All costs of administration and implementation of the stormwater management program, including the establishment of reasonable operating and capital reserves to meet unanticipated or emergency stormwater management requirements. Engineering and design, debt service, and related financing expenses, construction costs for new facilities, and enlargement or improvement of existing facilities. Operation and maintenance of the stormwater system. Monitoring, surveillance, and inspection of stormwater control devices. Water quality monitoring and water quality programs. Retrofitting developed areas for pollution control. Inspection and enforcement activities. Billing and administrative costs. Other activities which are reasonably required for the management of the stormwater system. 132-6 Establishment Of Stormwater Management Fee A quarterly service charge is imposed upon all real property in the Town, as of July 1 of each fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2013, to fund stormwater management programs. This service charge shall be known as the "stormwater management fee" ("fee"). Any real property completed or added to the state assessment roll after July 1 or annexed into the Town after July 1 may be subject to a partial-year charge. The stormwater management fee shall be based on the base rate or multiples of the base rate as described in § 132-7B(2). The base rate for the current fiscal year is published on the Town's fee schedule. The fee is based on: The extent to which each property creates a need for the stormwater management program; The amount of impervious area on each property; and The cost of maintaining the stormwater system. 132-7 Classification Of Property For Purposes Of Determination Of Fee For purposes of determining the stormwater management fee, all properties in the Town are classified into one of the following classes: Single-family residential property; or Other developed property. The stormwater fee structure for each type of property class shall be established as follows: Single-family residential fee. The Town finds that the intensity of development on most parcels of real property in the Town classified as single-family residential is similar and that it would be excessively and unnecessarily expensive to determine precisely the square footage of the improvements (such as buildings, structures, and other impervious area) on each such parcel. Therefore, all single-family residential properties in the Town shall be charged a flat stormwater management fee, equal to the base rate. The average impervious area for residential properties in the Town is initially established at 3,200 square feet, based on aerial photography and geographical information system database analysis. The average impervious area is considered one equivalent residential unit (ERU). Other developed property fee. The fee for all other developed property (i.e., non-single-family residential property) in the Town shall be the base rate multiplied by the numerical factor obtained by dividing the total impervious area (square feet) of the property by one ERU. The ERUs established for properties will be rounded up. The impervious surface area for other developed property is the square footage for the buildings and other improvements on the property as established by the Town based on site examination, mapping information, aerial photographs, and other available information. The minimum stormwater management fee for other developed property shall equal the base rate for single-family residential property. Vacant property. The Town shall assess vacant properties a stormwater fee that is equal to 0.3 ERUs of the base rate. The fee for vacant properties recognizes the benefit provided by the stormwater system to all property owners within the Town. 132-8 Stormwater Fee The Town Council, by ordinance, shall establish the quarterly stormwater management fee. The fee shall be calculated to ensure adequate revenues to fund the costs of stormwater management and to provide for the operation, maintenance, and capital improvements of the stormwater system in the Town. 132-9 Exemptions From Fee 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 otherwise provided in this section, all real property in the Town, including property that is tax exempt from property tax by Title 7 of the Tax-Property Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended, shall be charged the fee. The only properties that shall be exempt from the stormwater fee include roadways and public rights-of-way located within the Town. 132-10 Requests For Adjustment Of The Fee A property owner may request correction of the fee by submitting the request in writing to the Town Manager within 30 days after the date the bill is mailed or issued to the property owner. Grounds for correction of the fee include: Incorrect classification of the property for purposes of determining the fee; Errors in the square footage of the impervious surface area of the property; Mathematical errors in calculating the fee to be applied to the property; and Errors in the identification of the property owner of a property subject to the fee. The Town Manager shall make a determination within 30 days after receipt of the property owner's completed written request for correction of the fee. The Town Manager's decision on a request for correction of the fee shall be final. A property owner must comply with all rules and procedures adopted by the Town when submitting a request for correction of the fee and must provide all information necessary for the Town Manager to make a determination on a request for correction of the fee. If a property owner alleges an error under § 132-10A(2), the request for correction must include a certification by a registered engineer or professional land surveyor of the impervious surface area of the property. Failure to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be grounds for denial of the request. 132-11 Fee Administration; Violations; Interest And Penalties The fee shall be billed and identified on the Town's quarterly utility bill. The Town will generate a separate utility bill for those properties that currently do not receive utility service. The requirement to pay the fee is the responsibility of the property owner. If the customer does not pay all or a portion of the fee on or before the 30th day after the Town Manager mails the bill, the customer's bill become delinquent, and the Town Manager may determine the customer to be in violation of this article. The Town Manager, on or before the 32nd day after a customer's bill become delinquent, shall mail or deliver to the customer notice of delinquency. If a customer violates this article, the Town may discontinue those utility services, including but not limited to trash collection, water, and wastewater service, listed on the combined utility bill. The fee, including interest and penalties, when overdue is a lien on real property and may be collected in the same manner as delinquent real property taxes or by a suit against the property owner. 132-12 Credits The Town shall offer reductions, at its discretion, to the stormwater fee in the form of credits for those properties that maintain qualifying on-site stormwater management controls. The details of the credits program offered by the Town are outlined in the Town's Stormwater Credit Manual.