Chapter 15.14
STORMWATER UTILITY
Sections:
15.14.010 Purposes.
15.14.020 Definitions.
15.14.030 Charges.
15.14.035 System development charges.
15.14.040 Billing and collection.
15.14.050 Nonpayment of bills.
15.14.060 Exemptions.
15.14.070 Appeal of rates or charges.
15.14.080 Severability.
15.14.010 Purposes.
The purposes of the stormwater utility base rate provisions of this chapter are to:
A. Set the base rate and conditions for the use of the city’s stormwater utility, established in Chapter 15.13 BLMC;
B. Ensure that stormwater utility base rate meets the basic needs of the street drainage maintenance and funding portion of the city’s comprehensive plan;
C. Recognize that additional rate structure and charges will need to address the flooding and storm drainage problems caused by development, fund the education, monitoring testing and enforcement programs, and will be fixed with consideration for the impacts of development and recognition of the storm drainage mitigation efforts implemented on a piece of property;
D. Ensure that rates and charges are reasonable and sufficient to fund the basic maintenance of the street drainage system;
E. Ensure that owners of improved property within the city have dependable access to their property by virtue of the street drainage system;
F. In order to fairly allocate the costs of maintaining, operating and building the stormwater collection system (in compliance with federal, state, and local regulations), fees shall be based on the number of equivalent service units (ESUs) contained in a given parcel. Since each single-family residential parcel contributes approximately the same amount of stormwater runoff, a developed single-family residential parcel shall pay a base rate of one ESU. Multifamily living units with a separate water meter per unit shall pay one ESU for each meter. All other nonsingle-family residential parcels shall pay a multiple of this base rate, expressed in ESUs, according to the measured impervious area on the parcel, or if no actual measurement is available upon an estimate of such impervious area. One ESU is deemed to be equal to 2,600 square feet of impervious surface area. (Ord. 1065 § 1, 2004; Ord. 736 § 1, 1997).
15.14.020 Definitions.
A. “Commercial/multifamily customer” means any public or private parcel owner or occupant of property with usage other than single-family residential with any type of building improvements or paved areas greater than 120 square feet within the city of Bonney Lake.
B. “Single-family residential customer” means any owner or occupant of a single-family residence with any type of building improvements or paved areas greater than 120 square feet within the city of Bonney Lake.
C. “Parcel” means the smallest separately segregated unit or plot of land having an identified owner, boundaries and surface area which is documented for tax purposes and given a tax account number by the Pierce County assessor.
D. “Vacant property” means any parcel with less than 120 square feet of building or paved area. (Ord. 1065 § 2, 2004; Ord. 736 § 2, 1997).
15.14.030 Charges.
A. Single-Family Residential Customer. The charge for a single-family residence shall be as follows:
Effective January 1, 2007: $6.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2008: $8.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2009: $10.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2010: $12.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2011: $14.00 per month.
B. Commercial/Multifamily Customer. Multifamily living units with a separate water meter per unit shall be charged as follows for each meter:
Effective January 1, 2007: $6.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2008: $8.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2009: $10.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2010: $12.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2011: $14.00 per month.
The charge for all other nonresidential users shall be as follows per ESU per month:
Effective January 1, 2007: $6.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2008: $8.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2009: $10.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2010: $12.00 per month.
Effective January 1, 2011: $14.00 per month.
Where more than one meter exists on an individual parcel (i.e., shopping malls, multifamily housing, etc.) the parcel owner has the option of determining how to allocate the measured ESUs between the water meters. Where the property owner fails to provide this information in a timely manner, the city shall charge one ESU to each meter and the balance of the ESUs to one meter (usually the largest water meter). Property owners may change this allocation by notifying the city in writing.
C. Credit. Parcels, other than single-family residences, with a qualifying stormwater detention or retention may receive a partial reduction of the rate charged for that property. The percent of rate reduction shall be proportional to the amount of water collected and diverted from directly entering the storm drainage system, but may not exceed 50 percent of the rate otherwise charged. A “qualifying stormwater detention facility” is a facility that controls discharge of stormwater and melting snow from the property at a speed or capacity at or in excess of the stormwater that would have been discharged from the property in its natural state, and which is established, operated and maintained in accordance with all city ordinances. Any person requesting such credit shall: (1) provide, at no cost to the city, plans and calculations prepared by a professional engineer or architect in support of the credit; and (2) describe the maintenance program to be used in order to ensure that the facility will operate as designed and be maintained in accordance with city ordinances. Any credit may be revoked or suspended if it is determined that the facility is not operating as designed or is not being maintained in accordance with city ordinances. (Ord. 1203 § 1, 2006; Ord. 1139 § 1, 2005; Ord. 1065 § 3, 2004; Ord. 828 § 5, 1999; Ord. 736 § 3, 1997).
15.14.035 System development charges.
A. The fee for connection to the city’s stormwater system shall be $320.00 per ESU, payable at the time of building permitting.
B. CPI Adjustment. Beginning January 1, 2006, and for every year thereafter, the connection fees listed in this section shall be adjusted by the annual change in the most recent Seattle-Bremerton-Tacoma Consumer Price Index (Urban Consumers), published by the U.S. Department of Labor.
C. The charges set out in this section shall not be applicable to an accessory dwelling unit permitted pursuant to BLMC 18.22.090. (Ord. 1139 § 2, 2005).
15.14.040 Billing and collection.
A. Stormwater charges shall be billed for each parcel within the city on a monthly basis.
B. The amount to be billed shall be included on the water/sewer/refuse bill as a separate line item. A “stormwater only” statement will be sent to those property owners who are not city water, refuse or sanitary sewer customers. The city shall bill the owner of the property for the payment of utility rates and charges specified in this chapter; however, the owner may have the bills mailed to a tenant or agent; provided, that this shall not relieve the owner of liability for stormwater utility rates and charges. (Ord. 736 § 4, 1997).
15.14.050 Nonpayment of bills.
A. Collection of and penalties for nonpayment of bills shall be according to the same penalties and collection procedures as provided in BLMC 13.04.080 and 13.04.090.
B. The city shall have the right and privilege of discontinuing water service to any premises for nonpayment of the service charge for stormwater in the same manner and subject to the same terms as now or hereafter prescribed by law for discontinuance of water service for nonpayment of water bills; additionally, the city shall have the right to pursue the filing and foreclosure of a lien or liens in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, the Bonney Lake Municipal Code, and the laws of the state of Washington, for any unpaid and delinquent bills. (Ord. 736 § 5, 1997).
15.14.060 Exemptions.
Vacant property shall be exempt from the storm drainage base fee. (Ord. 736 § 6, 1997).
15.14.070 Appeal of rates or charges.
A. Any person or entity making a timely payment of the total utility bill charged by the city, and who considers the stormwater charges for a parcel to be unfair or inappropriate, may apply to the public works director or his or her designee for a rate adjustment, pay an appeal fee of $50.00, and state in writing the grounds for the appeal. The appeal shall state any facts supporting the appeal and shall be made within 10 days of the decision, action, or bill being appealed. The public works director shall decide the appeal within 10 days of when the appeal is filed. If the person or entity is not satisfied with the public works director’s decision, a further appeal may be made to the mayor. The appeal to the mayor shall follow the same procedure as the appeal to the public works director. The mayor’s decision shall be final and binding on all parties. Any appeal based on a claim of inaccurate calculations shall be accompanied by scaled or computer aided design drawings and calculations that establish an amount of impervious surface less than the amount calculated or estimated by the city. Appeals establishing a credit or reducing the amount of impervious surface shall be applied only prospectively; provided, that any appeal for a nonsingle-family residential parcel for charges incurred prior to January 1, 2006, shall be applied retroactively.
B. Upon satisfaction of the requirements of subsection A of this section by an applicant, the public works director and two staff appointees shall review the case file and determine whether an adjustment is necessary to provide for reasonable and equitable application of the utility rates and charges. Reference may be made to the factors listed in RCW 35.67.020. In order to grant an adjustment, the public works director must determine that:
1. Strict application of the fee structure is unfair in the particular appeal case as compared to neighbors or other citizens in the same billing class; and
2. The purposes listed in BLMC 15.14.010 do not apply or are inappropriate for application to the property in question. (Ord. 1065 § 4, 2004; Ord. 736 § 7, 1997).
15.14.080 Severability.
The provisions of this chapter are declared to be separate and severable. The invalidity of any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or portion of this chapter, or the invalidity of the application thereof to any person or circumstance, shall not affect the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. (Ord. 736 § 8, 1997).