925.04 STORM WATER UTILITY CHARGES AND RATES.
(a) The Council of the City of Norwalk finds that property within the City is furnished storm water utility service in proportion to the amount of the property’s impervious surface. Based on the engineering evaluation of impervious surface typical for various uses throughout the City, it is found and determined that the basic unit of service shall be the Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) which is determined to equal 3,800 square feet. All properties with impervious surfaces are deemed connected to the Storm Water System, directly or indirectly. As a condition of connecting or remaining connected to the Storm Water System, the owner of the property shall pay the Storm Water Utility Fee provided in this section.
(Ord. 2011-030. Passed 7-19-11.)
(b) For the purpose of providing funding for the Storm Water Utility and all services provided thereby, commencing the first day of March, 2012, there is hereby levied and imposed a fee for storm water utility services, as provided in Section 925.03, upon all lots and lands within the City of Norwalk which have been improved by the construction or installation of improvements with impervious surfaces including, but not limited to, structures, driveways, access roads and parking lots. The charge shall be a monthly amount equal to the Storm Water Utility Rate, as determined in Section 925.05, multiplied by the number of Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs) assigned to that property.
(Ord. 2013-004. Passed 1-29-13.)
(c) All improved property within the City, as defined in paragraph (b) above shall be deemed to be furnished storm water utility service equivalent to not less than one ERU. All conventionally developed (excluding conditionally permitted and non-conforming uses) improved residential properties approved for three families or less shall be deemed to be furnished service equivalent to one ERU. All other improved properties, as defined in paragraph (b) above shall be deemed to be furnished service equivalent to multiples of the ERU derived by dividing the square foot area of the property by 3,800, rounded to the next whole ERU, as calculated for individual properties by the Public Works Director, but in no event less than one ERU.
(d) The fee provided herein shall be billed on a monthly basis, as a storm water utility charge on the monthly water and sewer utility bill, for all property that is served by the City water and sewer utility. Owners of all property not served by the City water and sewer utility shall be billed on a semi-annual basis as a storm water utility charge. All bills for fees established under this chapter shall become due and payable in accordance with the rules and regulations of the City and shall remain the obligation of the owner of record of the property served. Payments received on the monthly water and sewer utility bill shall be applied first to the payment of the storm water utility charge.
(e) All fees collected hereunder shall be deposited in the Storm Water Utility Fund which shall be kept as a fund to be used for the purposes provided in this chapter.
(f) If any fees and charges provided herein shall not be paid when due, the Director of Finance may cause such delinquencies to be certified to the County Auditor and become a lien upon the property for collection with property taxes.
(g) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Director of Public Works may file an appeal in writing to the Director of Safety/Service within fifteen days of the decision of the Director of Public Works.
(h) The Director of Safety/Service is authorized to hear appeals regarding disputes and complaints brought by owners and non-owners concerning the application of the Storm Water Utility fees, including the authority to make adjustments as appropriate which may include but shall not be limited to:
(1) Calculation of the total number of building units assigned to a property that are claimed to be incurred due to alleged inaccuracies in data utilized by the billing staff.
(2) Adjustments arising from a break in billing units due to change in property ownership, account responsibility or similar matters.
(i) Any appeal must be filed in writing, must describe the specific error alleged, and contain reasoning from the appealing party that justifies the appealed issue. The Director of Safety/Service may request additional information from the appealing party and the decision of the Director of Safety/Service shall be final.
(Ord. 2011-030. Passed 7-19-11.)