Chapter 13.30
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT UTILITY
Sections:
13.30.010 Stormwater Management Utility created – Responsibilities.
13.30.020 Administrator of utility.
13.30.030 Ownership of City stormwater facilities and assets.
13.30.040 Definitions.
13.30.050 Rates for surface water drainage service.
13.30.055 General facilities charge – Stormwater.
13.30.060 Billing.
13.30.070 Credits allowed.
13.30.090 Remedies.
13.30.100 Appeals.
13.30.110 Accounts – Billing and delinquency.
13.30.010 Stormwater Management Utility created – Responsibilities.
There is hereby created and established pursuant to Chapters 35A.80 and 35.67 RCW, a storm and surface water utility to be known as the Stormwater Management Utility. All references to the “Utility” in this chapter refer to the Stormwater Management Utility. The Utility will have primary authority and responsibility for carrying out the City’s comprehensive drainage and storm sewer plan, maintenance, administration, and operation of all City storm and surface water facilities, as well as establishing standards for design, construction, and maintenance of improvements on private property where these may affect storm and surface water and management. (Ord. 1791 § 1, 1988).
13.30.020 Administrator of utility.
The Director of Public Works shall be the administrator of the Utility. (Ord. 1791 § 1, 1988).
13.30.030 Ownership of City stormwater facilities and assets.
Title and all other incidents of ownership of the following assets are vested in the Utility:
A. All properties, interests, and physical and intangible rights of every nature owned or held by the City, however acquired, insofar as they relate to or concern storm or surface water runoff.
B. All properties, interests and rights acquired by adverse possession or by prescription directly or through another in and to the drainage or storage, or both, of storm or surface waters, or both, through, under or over lands, watercourses, sloughs, streams, ponds, lakes, and swamps. The properties, interests and rights so transferred shall begin from a point where storm or surface waters first enter the storm and surface water system of the City and shall end at a point where the storm or surface waters exit from the storm and surface water system of the City. The width of the properties, interests and rights so transferred shall be to the full extent of inundation caused by storm or flood conditions.
C. All funds on deposit in the City Storm Drainage Fund and future revenues of said fund. (Ord. 1791 § 1, 1988).
13.30.040 Definitions.
A. “Developed parcel” means any parcel altered from the natural state by construction, creation, or addition of impervious surfaces. Parcels with more than 1,440 square feet of impervious surface area (i.e., more than one-half ESU), or those that meet the definition of residential, shall be considered developed.
B. “ESU (equivalent service unit)” means the average amount of impervious surface area for residential parcels in Issaquah. One ESU is equal to 2,000 square feet of impervious surface area. All developed residential parcels are assigned an ESU of 1.0. The ESU for a nonresidential parcel is calculated by dividing the total impervious surface area of that parcel by 2,000.
C. “Impervious surface” means a hard surface area which either prevents or retards the entry of water into the soil mantle as under natural conditions prior to development. Common impervious surfaces include, but are not limited to, roofs, walkways, patios, driveways, parking lots, storage areas, areas which are paved, graveled or made of packed or oiled earthen materials, dirt or gravel roads and parking lots subject to regular vehicular traffic, or other nonvegetated surfaces which similarly impede the natural infiltration of surface and stormwater. Open uncovered flow control or water quality treatment facilities, cleared areas of mining facilities not subject to compaction by vehicles or equipment, and temporarily cleared areas at permitted development sites shall not be considered as impervious surfaces. For new development, a state of impervious condition begins upon completion of the building foundation phase of construction.
D. “Maintenance” means the act or process of cleaning, repairing or preserving a system, unit, facility, structure or piece of equipment.
E. “Open space” means any parcel, property, or portion thereof classified for current use taxation under the provisions of Chapter 84.34 RCW, or for which the development rights have been sold to the City of Issaquah.
F. “Parcel” means the smallest separately segregated unit or plot of land having an identified owner, boundaries and surface area which is documented for property tax purposes and given a tax number by the King County assessor.
G. “Rate category” means the classification in this chapter given to a parcel in the service area based upon the type of land use on the parcel and the percentage of impervious surface area contained on the parcel.
H. “Residence” means a building or structure, or portion thereof, designed for and used to provide a place of abode for human beings. The term residence includes the term “residential” or “residential unit” as referring to the type of or intended use of a building or structure.
I. “Residential parcel” means any parcel which contains no more than 2 residences or 2 residential units which are within a single structure and are used primarily for residential purposes or any parcel which does not have impervious surfaces upon it.
J. “Surface and stormwater utility services” means the services provided by the Stormwater Utility, including, but not limited to, stormwater management planning, facilities maintenance, regulation, financial administration, public involvement, drainage investigation and enforcement, aquatic resource restoration, surface and stormwater quality and environmental monitoring, natural surface water drainage system planning, intergovernmental relations, and facility design and construction.
K. “Undeveloped parcel” means any parcel which has not been altered from its natural state by construction, creation or addition of impervious surfaces. Nonresidential parcels with less than 1,440 square feet of impervious surface area (i.e., less than one-half ESU) shall be considered undeveloped. (Ord. 2419 § 1, 2005; Ord. 2343 § 1, 2002; Ord. 2335 § 1, 2002; Ord. 1955 § 1, 1992; Ord. 1941 § 1, 1992; Ord. 1791 § 1, 1988).
13.30.050 Rates for surface water drainage service.
A. The service charges shall be based on the relative contribution of increased surface and stormwater runoff from a given parcel to the surface and stormwater management system. The percentage of impervious surfaces on the parcel and the total parcel acreage will be used to indicate the relative contribution of increased surface and stormwater runoff from the parcel to the surface and stormwater management system. The relative contribution of increased surface and stormwater runoff from each parcel will determine that parcel’s share of the service charge revenue needs. The service charge revenue needs of the program are based upon all or any part, as determined by the Council, of the cost of surface and stormwater management services or to pay or secure the payment of all or any portion of any issue of general obligation or revenue bonds issued for such purpose.
B. The Public Works Department shall determine the service charge for each parcel within the service area based on percent impervious surface. Aerial photographic mapping, ortho-rectified aerial photographs (orthophotos), as-built drawings, and parcel boundaries obtained from the King County Department of Assessments (or other appropriate data) will be used to determine each parcel’s percentage of impervious surface coverage.
C. Stormwater utility charges shall be in accordance with the schedule contained in this section entitled “Stormwater Utility Rates.” For residential and undeveloped parcels, the service charge is a flat rate per parcel. For nonresidential parcels, the service charge shall be computed as the product of the applicable rate times the number of ESUs (rate x ESU) present on that parcel. All developed parcels shall be charged a minimum of 1.0 ESU. Small undeveloped parcels with total area less than 5,000 square feet, total assessed value less than or equal to $10,000, and impervious surface area less than 0.5 ESU shall be considered exempt from stormwater fees.
|
Customer Classification |
Rate |
|
All Undeveloped Parcels |
$84.48 per parcel/year |
|
Residential Developed |
$168.96 per parcel/year |
|
Nonresidential Developed |
$168.96 per ESU/year, 1.0 ESU minimum |
D. The City Council will review the surface water utility service charges annually to ensure the long-term fiscal viability of the program and to guarantee that debt covenants are met. The program will use equitable and efficient methods to determine service charges.
E. Because all real property in the City contributes drainage runoff to and/or benefits from the City’s surface water drainage system, the owners thereof shall pay stormwater utility charges as set forth in this chapter. (Ord. 2527 § 1, 2008; Ord. 2470 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2419 § 2, 2005; Ord. 2343 § 2, 2002; Ord. 2335 §§ 2, 3, 2002; Ord. 2248 § 1, 1999; Ord. 2210 §§ 1, 2, 1998; Ord. 2171 §§ 1, 2, 1997; Ord. 2157 § 1, 1997; Ord. 1955 §§ 2, 3, 1992; Ord. 1941 § 2, 1992; Ord. 1885 § 1, 1991; Ord. 1791 § 1, 1988).
13.30.055 General facilities charge – Stormwater.
A. Beginning on the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section, and thereafter in addition to other fees required by ordinance or pursuant to agreement, there is imposed upon the owners of property seeking to connect to the City’s stormwater system a general facility charge. This general facility charge is determined as the product of $789.00 times the number of equivalent service units (ESU) ($789.00 x ESU).
B. The general facility charge shall be paid and collected at the time of permit issuance for development and prior to actual development.
C. Applicants for development shall be required to pay the stormwater general facility charge in effect at the time the permit is issued. (Ord. 2470 § 2, 2006; Ord. 2335 § 4, 2002).
13.30.060 Billing.
A. The charges imposed by this chapter shall be billed in conjunction with the property owner’s customary water and sanitary sewer bill issued by the City. Such charges shall be due and payable as provided herein. In the event a property does not have water or sanitary sewer service, or if the water and sanitary sewer service charge is billed to a tenant, but is subject to the charges imposed herein, a new account shall be established and the property owner shall be billed separately for the surface water drainage service charges.
B. The City will collect the stormwater utility fees on a bimonthly schedule.
1. All parcels subject to charges of the utility shall be billed on the property characteristics existing on the most currently available mapping information for the parcel and at a rate set forth in this chapter. Billing year is the year that the bills are sent.
2. The charges imposed by this chapter shall be billed in conjunction with the property or user’s customary water and sanitary sewer bill issued by the City. Such charges shall be due and payable as provided herein. In the event a property does not have water or sanitary sewer service but is subject to the charges imposed herein, a new account shall be established and that property shall be billed separately for the surface water drainage service charges. (Ord. 2335 §§ 5, 6, 2002; Ord. 1955 §§ 4, 5, 1992; Ord. 1941 § 3, 1992; Ord. 1791 § 1, 1988).
13.30.070 Credits allowed.
A. Any person billed for service charges may file a “Request for Rate Adjustment” with the Public Works Department within 2 years of the date from which the bill was sent. However, filing of such a request does not extend the period for payment of the charge.
B. Requests for rate adjustment may be granted or approved by the Director only when one of the following conditions exists:
1. The parcel is owned and is the personal residence of a person or persons qualified as a low-income senior citizen as described in Chapter 13.92 IMC.
2. The acreage of the parcel charged is in error.
3. The parcel is nonresidential and the actual impervious surface coverage of the parcel results in more than a 0.10-unit change in ESU, or places it in a different rate category than the rate category assigned by the Director.
4. The parcel is owned or leased by a public school district which provides activities which directly benefit the City’s surface water utility. The activities may include curriculum specific to the issues and problems of surface and stormwater management, and student activities in the community to expose students to the efforts required to restore, monitor or enhance the surface and stormwater management system. Pursuant to RCW 36.89.085, the amount of the rate adjustment shall be determined by the Director based upon the cost of the activities to the school district but not to exceed the value of the activity to the surface water utility. Determination of which activities qualify for the surface water utility service charge reduction will be made by the Public Works Department. Reductions in surface water utility charges will only be granted to school district which provide programs that have been evaluated by the Public Works Department. The rate adjustment for the school district activity may be applied to any parcel in the service area which is owned or operated by the school district.
5. The utility charge bill was otherwise not calculated in accordance with the terms of this chapter.
6. Parcels that meet the following criteria are exempt from the stormwater service charge:
a. Open space parcels, including privately owned parcels designated as native growth protection easements in their entirety, and publicly owned parcels zoned as Community Facilities – Open Space or Lake Tradition – Natural Resource Conservation Area.
b. Residential parcels that are permanently undevelopable due to Federal Emergency Management Agency regulatory floodway designation and associated development restrictions.
c. Residential parcels that are undevelopable due to critical area designations, such as streams and wetlands and their buffers.
d. Small undeveloped parcels with total assessed value less than or equal to $20,000 and impervious surface area less than 0.5 ESU.
e. Nondeeded public lands, such as stream corridors and water bodies, except street right-of-way.
f. Utility parcels that contain stormwater detention/retention ponds as the primary use.
g. All City road rights-of-way.
h. All State highway rights-of-way.
7. Parcels that meet the following criteria can receive a reduction in the stormwater service charge:
a. Developed parcels that infiltrate runoff in a private site stormwater infiltration facility may receive the following service charge discount:
|
Design Storm |
Discount |
|
100-year |
50% |
|
50-year |
40% |
|
10-year |
30% |
A Technical Information Report prepared by a licensed professional engineer shall be provided to document the engineering design of the facility based on King County Surface Water Design Manual KCRTS (or equivalent) modeling methods. Surface water discharges to streams for base flow augmentation benefit shall be considered part of the infiltration quantity. The City may require field tests or monitoring data to verify that the as-built facility achieves the design storm performance. Infiltration facilities that serve portions of a site, such as rooftops only, may receive a pro rata discount based on the drainage area being infiltrated. Parcels that apply for this exemption must pass inspection pursuant to IMC 13.28.090. This exemption shall be revoked and fee reinstated for up to 3 years of past utility billings if property owner fails to conduct required maintenance or it is determined that the facility does not fully perform to the original infiltration standard.
b. City streets, including public rights-of-way, parcels dedicated to the City for rights-of-way but remaining as separate tax parcels, City-owned parcels adjacent to rights-of-way and maintained as part of the City street, and former railroad rights-of-way converted to trail use may receive a 70 percent discount.
8. Appeal of Impervious Surface Definition. If the property owner feels that the City erred in classifying a portion of the parcel’s land area as impervious surface, because of how the definition of impervious surface was interpreted, the landowner may submit test data or other information that shows that the land area in question is in fact pervious. Infiltration tests or other appropriate methods certified by a professional engineer or geologist shall be used to verify that actual infiltration rates for the soil meets the infiltration definition for the soil classification that was mapped at the site prior to development (as shown on King County Soil Survey maps or other verifiable soil survey). Such tests must be made on undisturbed surface soils that are representative of the land use being disputed.
9. New stormwater utility accounts that were established in 2002, but subsequently qualified for exemption in accordance with the criteria in subsection (B)(6) of this section, are eligible for refund of 2002 stormwater utility charges and late fees on that account.
C. The property owner shall have the burden of proving that the rate adjustment sought should be granted.
D. Decisions on requests for rate adjustments shall be made by the Director based on information submitted by the applicant and by the Public Works Department within 30 days of the adjustment request except when additional information is needed. The applicant shall be notified in writing of the Director’s decision. If an adjustment is granted which reduces the charge for the current year or up to 3 prior years, the applicant shall be refunded the amount overpaid in the current and up to 3 prior years.
E. If the Director finds that a parcel of land has not previously been charged or previously charged in error (e.g., data entry error), and it is legally defensible, then an amended bill shall be issued which includes the undercharged amount for up to the previous three years. This amended bill shall be due and payable as provided in RCW 36.89.090, 36.89.092 and 35.67.200, at the rate of 12 percent per annum, or such rate as may hereafter be authorized by law, computed on a monthly basis from the date of delinquency until paid. (Ord. 2470 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2419 § 3, 2005; Ord. 2343 § 3, 2002; Ord. 2335 §§ 7, 8, 9, 2002; Ord. 1941 § 4, 1992; Ord. 1791 § 1, 1988).
13.30.090 Remedies.
In the event a customer or property owner shall fail to pay the surface water drainage service charge, the City shall have the authority to terminate domestic water service to said property or customer. Termination of such water service shall not limit other remedies available to the City under state law. (Ord. 1791 § 1, 1988).
13.30.100 Appeals.
Any customer or property owner who feels that the surface water drainage service charge for their property has been incorrectly computed or applied, and/or that credits have not been properly granted may petition, in writing to the Director for a review of said computations, application or credit.
If not satisfied with the determination of the Director, the petitioner may appeal to the City Council in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1.32 IMC. Any credits authorized by the appeal process shall only be effective against billings subsequent to the date the appeal is filed. (Ord. 1791 § 1, 1988).
13.30.110 Accounts – Billing and delinquency.
A. It shall be the duty of the Finance Director to keep accounts with all users of stormwater service, to enter on such accounts all charges and penalties, and provide regular billing to all users. All bills shall be sent to the owners of record, except when the tenant appears at the City Hall and signs a notarized statement accepting responsibility for payment.
B. An account shall be deemed delinquent if not paid within 30 days of the due date. Delinquent accounts shall be subject to a 10 percent service charge. There shall be a further 10 percent service charge for each additional 2 months of delinquency.
C. All charges for stormwater service, when the same becomes delinquent and unpaid, shall be a lien against the premises to which the service has been furnished. (Ord. 2527 § 4, 2008; Ord. 2470 § 4, 2006; Ord. 1791 § 1, 1988).