(A) Credits.
(1) Stormwater utility fees may be adjusted under the conditions stated below. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to provide justification for the fee adjustment.
(2) City staff must approve all credit applications. Credits may be applied for year round. Applications must be received by September 15 to be applied to the following year's billing. The city may establish a fee for the review and processing of the SWU credit application.
(3) Parcels subject to the standardized charges shall not be eligible for adjustments to charges or adjustments to area as set forth in the city regulations.
(4) Note that maximum credits are cumulative and cannot exceed 75%.
(5) Wetland areas shall be excluded from the total parcel area when calculating the utility fee. Wetland areas that are shown on the County National Wetlands Inventory have already been subtracted from the parcel area assessed for the utility fee.
(B) Stormwater quantity reduction and quality improvement credits.
(1) If it can be demonstrated that an individual parcel detains stormwater runoff to the predevelopment rate for a two-, ten- and 100-year runoff event, that parcel shall be eligible for a 25% stormwater utility fee reduction.
(2) If it can be demonstrated that an individual parcel retains or infiltrates at least one inch of runoff volume calculated over the entire site and meets the following requirements, that parcel shall be eligible for a 25% stormwater utility fee reduction. Retention or infiltration must be done in an on-site, constructed stormwater management facility and be maintained by the landowner (with a maintenance agreement). A lesser percentage will be credited for partial parcel area treatment.
(3) Where regional treatment exists and the regional treatment meets any of the above credit reductions for the total area draining to the regional treatment, parcels with 75% or more of their runoff directly entering the regional treatment facility by storm sewer or overland flow, may be eligible for a 25% credit.
(4) Those parcels having facilities constructed specifically for the purpose of stormwater enhancement, best management practices (BMP), may be eligible for a credit.
(a) Documentation must be provided to the city for evaluation of the BMP demonstrating the water quantity reduction or water quality improvement. It is required that the documentation be prepared by a licensed professional engineer of the state and provide the necessary drawings and calculations to support the stormwater benefit. It is the applicant's responsibility to prove the benefit.
(b) The following are some examples of best management practices:
1. Stormwater retention and detention ponds;
2. Wet or dry swales;
3. Filter strips;
4. Infiltration trenches or ponds;
5. Underground storage or filters;
6. Sand filters;
7. Soak away pits;
8. Green roof;
9. Pervious pavers; and
10. Dry wells.
(C) Land use credits.
(1) Reduction of monthly charge. Parcels with green space or vacant land meeting all of the following criteria may be granted up to a 50% reduction from the monthly charge. The credit shall be calculated based on the percentage of the total parcel eligible.
(2) Criteria.
(a) Green/vacant space shall be pervious, continuously vegetated areas incorporated into the developed parcel.
(b) The property must comply with other city ordinances such as mowing and nuisance or noxious weed ordinances.
(c) The space shall not have more than 25% impacted, compacted soils. Examples of impacted spaces are trails and compacted gravel areas.
(d) The green/vacant space must be at least 10% of the total parcel.
(e) The eligible green/vacant space must have a separation of at least ten feet from any impervious surface.
(Ord. 291, passed 5-7-2009)