A. Maintenance easement. Prior to the issuance of any permit that has a stormwater management facility as one of the requirements of the permit, the applicant or owner of the site must execute or plat a maintenance easement agreement that shall be binding on all subsequent owners of land served by the stormwater management facility. The agreement shall provide for access to the facility at all times for inspection by the engineering department or their contractor or agent. The engineering department may also perform special assessments of property owners to ensure that the facility is maintained in proper working condition to meet design standards and any other provisions established by this chapter. The easement agreement shall be recorded as part of the record plat in the land records.
B. Maintenance covenants. Maintenance of all stormwater management facilities or structural BMP shall be ensured through the creation of a formal maintenance covenant that is recorded into the land record prior to final plan approval. As part of the covenant, a schedule shall be developed for when and how often maintenance will occur to ensure proper function of the stormwater management facility. The covenant shall also include plans for periodic inspections to ensure proper performance of the facility between scheduled cleanouts.
C. Requirements for maintenance covenants. All stormwater management facilities must undergo, at the minimum, an annual inspection to document maintenance and repair needs, and to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter and accomplishment of its purposes. These needs may include; removal of silt, litter and other debris from all catch basins, inlets and drainage pipes, grass cutting and vegetation removal, and necessary replacement of landscape vegetation. Any maintenance needs found must be addressed in a timely manner, as determined by the Engineering Department, and the inspection and maintenance requirement may be increased as deemed necessary to ensure proper functioning of the stormwater management facility.
D. Inspection of stormwater facilities or structural BMP's. Inspection programs by the BMP owners may be established on any reasonable basis. These programs include but are not limited to: routine inspections; random inspections; inspections based upon complaints or other notice of possible violations; inspection of drainage basins or areas identified as higher sources of sediment or other contaminants or pollutants. They may also include inspections of businesses or industries of a type associated with higher discharges of contaminants or pollutants or with discharges of a type which are more likely than the typical discharge to cause violations of state or federal water or sediment quality standards or the NPDES stormwater permit. The City may also choose to perform joint spot inspections with other agencies inspecting under environmental or safety laws. Inspections may include, but are not limited to: reviewing maintenance and repair records; sampling discharges, surface water, groundwater, and material or water in drainage control facilities; and evaluating the condition of drainage control facilities and other stormwater management practices.
E. Right-of-Entry for Inspection. When any new drainage control facility is installed on private property, or when any new connection is made between private property and a public drainage control system, sanitary sewer or combined sewer, the property owner shall grant to the City the right to enter the property at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner for the purpose of inspection. This includes the right to enter a property when it has a reasonable basis to believe that a violation of this chapter is occurring or has occurred, and to enter when necessary for abatement of a public nuisance or correction of a violation of this chapter.
F. Records of installation and maintenance activities. Parties responsible for the operation and maintenance of a stormwater management facility shall make records of the installation and of all maintenance and repairs, and shall retain the records for at least ten years. These records shall be made available to the engineering department during inspection of the facility and shall be submitted annually to the engineering department.
G. Failure to maintain practices. If a responsible party fails or refuses to meet the requirements of the maintenance covenant, the Engineering Department, after reasonable notice, may correct a violation of the design standards or maintenance needs by performing all necessary work to place the facility in proper working condition. In the event that the stormwater management facility becomes a danger to public safety or public health, the City Engineer shall notify the party responsible for maintenance of the stormwater management facility in writing. Upon receipt of that notice, the responsible person(s) shall have ten days to effect maintenance and repair of the facility in an approved manner. After proper notice, the engineering department may assess the owner(s) of the facility for the cost of repair work and any penalties; and the cost of the work shall be a lien on the property, or prorated against the beneficial users of the property.
(Ord. 08-29, 2008)