(a) Any portion of the drainage system on private property including on-site and off-site storage facilities and municipally approved grades and swales, shall be continuously maintained by the owner of the property unless such system or portion thereof is officially accepted and dedicated by the City for maintenance. The developer/owner shall cause the maintenance obligation to be inserted in the chain of title to the affected lands as a covenant running with the land in favor of the City. To ensure that the proper maintenance of the storm water management improvements will occur, the property owner shall execute a maintenance agreement containing those terms and provisions set forth in the maintenance agreement in substantially the same form as incorporated herein as Appendix I of this chapter. No maintenance agreement shall be executed by or on behalf of the City without first being reviewed by the City Engineer and Law Director.
(b) The need for maintenance can be minimized by designing low maintenance facilities. There are many design options which can result in nearly maintenance-free storm water control. Low maintenance is a priority in the design of all facilities.
(c) Multi-use facilities incorporating assets such as aesthetics and recreation can be incorporated with the design of these facilities.
(d) All facilities must be inspected every three years by the Engineering Department or a designated representative on a rotating basis as determined by the Engineering Department to ensure that the facilities are 100% operational based on their design and fully maintained. A written report shall be generated by the Engineering Department and delivered to the Storm Water Committee by the end of each calendar year. The report will include the status of the system and any corrective measures to be taken by the responsible party.
(e) The Engineering Department or a designated representative will create a Master Map of Storm Water storage facilities. Each and every storm water storage facility will be given a consecutive numerical nomenclature in such that no two basins shall have the same number, and a GPS location will be recorded and placed on file at the point of water over flow. The numerical nomenclature will be placed onto the Master Map of Storm Water storage facilities and updated in May and December of each year.
(f) In the event that corrective measures are required, the City Engineer or his/her designated representative may issue a notice of violation which shall identify all of the deficiencies and permit thirty days for correction. If after subsequent inspection the corrections are not made, then the City Engineer or his/her designated representative shall issue a citation to the owner or person(s) responsible for maintenance of the facility. Said citation may be filed in Mayor's Court. If all of the corrective actions are not performed within the prescribed time period, the City will then make the necessary repairs and assess the costs as a tax assessment to the responsible party/property in accordance with Ohio Law.
(g)
A property owner, including but not limited to a home owners association, that has been issued a Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District Long-Term Operation and Maintenance Report on behalf of the City Engineer requiring the property owner to take corrective action may be eligible to apply for grant funds to help offset required maintenance related expenses of their storm water management facility. In addition, other owners of adjacent real property may join together and apply for grant funds set forth herein to aid in collaborative corrective action to address any "storm water nuisance" as determined by the City Engineer. Storm water management facility and storm water nuisance grant applications shall be completed and submitted as follows:
(1) Applications are available on the City's website under the Engineering Department page.
(2) Completed applications shall be submitted to the City Engineering Department for consideration for the following maintenance activities:
A. Clogged or damaged infrastructure;
B. Dredging and/or sediment removal;
C. Erosion repairs and stabilization;
D. Invasive vegetation removal;
E. Trash and/or debris removal;
F. Safety issues; and
G. Inadequate or improperly graded swales including property grades that have been modified without permits or fail to meet the original grades as approved by the City.
(3) Applications shall be limited to maintenance expenses outlined in the most currently issued Long-Term Operation and Maintenance Report issued by the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District or costs incurred to effect remedial work as to storm water nuisances.
(4) Grant funding shall be limited to a maximum of one-quarter of the total cost associated with the required maintenance or remedial work, not to exceed seven thousand dollars ($7,000) per project as defined above.
(5) Applications for grant funding will be reviewed on a "first come, first serve" basis, and available as further limited by City Council funding.
(6) Property owners shall be eligible to apply for grant funds only once every three years.
(7) Storm water management facilities commenced and/or completed since January 1, 2017 shall be eligible to apply for grant funding.
(8) Applications may be denied for incompleteness or lack of sufficient funding; failure to qualify for grant funds is solely determined by the City Engineer.
(9) Payment of the grant shall be made only after the satisfactory completion of the required maintenance or remedial work, and upon proof of payment of the entire project cost thereof.
(10) The City Engineer's decision on a grant application can be appealed to the City Law Director. The Law Director's determination will be in the nature of a moral claim in that it will be final and not subject to appeal.
(Ord. 05-79. Passed 6-7-05; Ord. 08-219. Passed 11-18-08; Ord. 16-149. Passed 10-18-16; Ord. 18-41. Passed 4-3-18; Ord. 20-133. Passed 11-17-20.)