(A) Permit required.
(1) No person shall engage in any development activity without first receiving a storm water permit from the city pursuant to division (B) below.
(2) The granting of a storm water permit only authorizes the discharge of storm water from the development for which the permit is required, subject to the terms of the permit. It shall not be deemed to approve other development, other land use activities, or replace other required permits.
(B) Storm water permit review procedures. The city shall grant a storm water permit, which may impose terms and conditions in accordance with division (I) below, only upon compliance with each of the following requirements:
(1) The developer has submitted a site (drainage) plan complying with division (C) below.
(2) The developer has paid or deposited the storm water permit review fee pursuant to division (D) below.
(3) The developer has paid or posted an applicable performance guarantee pursuant to division (F) below.
(4) The developer agrees to provide all easements necessary to implement the approved drainage plan and to otherwise comply with this chapter, including, but not limited to, § 2.186(B). All easements shall be acceptable to the city in form and substance and shall be recorded with the County Register of Deeds. At the discretion of the city the final easement may be required to be recorded prior to permit issuance.
(5) The developer provides the required maintenance agreement for routine, emergency, and long-term maintenance of all structural and vegetative BMPs installed and implemented to meet the performance standards, and to comply with the approved drainage plan and this chapter, including, but not limited to, § 2.186(C). The maintenance agreement shall be acceptable to the city in form and substance, may not be amended without the approval of the city, shall be binding on all future property owners, and shall be recorded with the County Register of Deeds.
(C) Drainage plan. The developer shall provide adequate storm water management facilities for the development site. Adequate facilities reduce the exposure of people to drainage-related adverse impacts and to health and safety hazards. They reduce the exposure of real and personal property to damage through storm water inundation. The storm water management system and storm water best management practices (BMPs) shall be designed in accordance with the latest version of the document “Storm water Standards Manual” of The City of East Grand Rapids.
(1) The developer shall provide a drainage plan prepared by a civil engineer to the city for review and approval by the city. The drainage plan shall identify and contain all the information required in the “Storm water Standards” manual, including an implementation plan relative to the development site.
(2) The implementation plan for construction and inspection of all storm water management facilities necessary to the overall drainage plan shall include a schedule of the estimated dates of completing construction of the storm water management facilities shown on the plan and an identification of the proposed inspection procedures to ensure that the storm water management facilities are constructed in accordance with the approved drainage plan.
(D) Storm water permit review fees.
(1) All expenses and cost incurred by the city directly associated with processing, reviewing and approving or denying a storm water permit application shall be paid to the city from the funds in a separate escrow account established by the developer, as provided in division (D)(2) below. The city shall draw funds from a developer's escrow account to reimburse the city for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the city relating to the application. Such reimbursable expenses include, but are not limited to the following:
(a) Services of the city attorney directly related to the application;
(b) Services of the engineer or city engineering consultants directly related to the application;
(c) Services of other independent contractors or consultants working for the city which are directly related to the application; and
(d) Any additional public hearings, required mailings and legal notice requirements necessitated by the application.
(2) At the time a developer applies for a storm water permit they may be required to deposit with the city an escrow deposit, an initial amount as determined by the Director of Public Works for such matters, and shall provide additional amounts as requested by the city in such increments as are specified. Any excess funds remaining in the escrow account after the application has been fully processed, reviewed, and the final city approval and acceptance of the development has occurred will be refunded to the developer with no interest to be paid on those funds. At no time prior to the city's final decision on an application shall the balance in the escrow account fall below the amount as designated by the Director of Public Works. If the funds in the account are reduced to less than the required amount, the developer shall deposit into the account an additional amount as determined by the Director of Public Works, before the application review process will be continued. Additional amounts necessary to process the application may be required to be placed in the escrow account by the developer, at the discretion of the city and based upon the criteria set forth in this chapter.
(E) Construction site runoff controls. Prior to making any earth change on a development site regulated by this chapter, the developer shall first obtain a soil erosion permit issued in accordance with Part 91 of Act No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, as amended, if otherwise required by law. The developer shall install storm water management facilities and shall phase the development activities to prevent construction site storm water runoff and off-site sedimentation. During all construction activities on the development site, the city or Kent County Road Commission may inspect the development site to ensure compliance with the approved construction site runoff controls.
(F) Performance guarantee.
(1) The city shall not approve a storm water permit until developer submits to the city a letter of credit or other performance guarantee in a form and amount satisfactory to the city, a letter of credit or other performance guarantee to ensure the timely and satisfactory construction of all approved storm water management facilities and to complete site grading in accordance with the approved drainage plan. Upon certification by a registered professional engineer that the storm water management facilities have been completed in accordance with the approved drainage plan including, but not limited to, the implementation plan required to be submitted in division (C) above, and receipt of construction record drawings meeting the minimum requirements of the city or the County Drain Commissioner, the city may release the letter of credit, or other performance guarantee subject to final city acceptance and approval.
(2) Except as provided in division (F)(3) below, the amount of the performance guarantee shall be the amount of the construction estimate provided by a registered professional engineer, unless the city reasonably determines that a greater amount is appropriate, in which case the basis for such determination shall be provided to the developer in writing. In determining whether an amount greater than the construction estimate is appropriate, the city shall consider the size and type of the development, the size and type of the on-site storm water system, and the nature of the off-site storm water management facilities the development will utilize.
(3) The Director of Public Works may reduce or waive the amount of the performance guarantee for a development that will not increase the percentage of impervious surface of the development site by more than 10% and in accordance with those factors set forth in division (F)(2) above.
(4) This chapter shall not be construed or interpreted as relieving a developer of its obligation to pay all costs associated with on-site private storm water management facilities as well as those costs arising from the need to make other drainage improvements in order to reduce a development's impact on a drain consistent with adopted design standards.
(G) Certificate of occupancy. No final certificate of occupancy shall be issued to a development until storm water management facilities have been completed in accordance with the approved drainage plan; provided, however, the city may issue a certificate of occupancy if an acceptable letter of credit or other performance guarantee has been submitted to the city , for the timely and satisfactory construction of all storm water management facilities and site grading in accordance with the approved drainage plan.
(H) No change in approved facilities. Storm water management facilities, after construction and approval, shall be maintained in good operational condition, in accordance with the approved drainage plan, and shall not be subsequently altered, revised or replaced except in accordance with the approved drainage plan, or in accordance with approved amendments or revisions to that plan.
(I) Terms and conditions of permits. In granting a storm water permit, the city may impose such terms and conditions as are reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter. A developer shall comply with such terms and conditions.
(Prior Code, § 2.181) (Ord. effective 1-18-2002; Ord. effective 4-29-2022)