A. There is hereby established a fee for City stormwater services. Said fee is authorized by Minnesota Statutes chapter 444 and is to be uniformly applied across the City and is based upon the estimated amount of impervious surfaces for certain lots as well as the expected discharge of stormwater from a particular parcel based upon its use. The purpose of the fee is to pay for costs incurred by the City for implementation of statutorily required stormwater programs, for required capital improvements to the overall system, required inspection of the system and replacement and repair of the system. The City finds that these programs, repairs, maintenance and improvements benefit all properties in the City but that such benefit is not equally realized by all properties, nor do properties contribute to overall stormwater flow equally.
B. In order to provide for as equitable a system as possible, the City fee is hereby established based upon a variation of the rational method as outlined in the Fee Study prepared for the City by Hakanson Anderson and Associates dated December 8, 2008. The rational method adopted is a variation of a formula taking into account the average runoff coefficient of certain classes of properties, the average area of parcels within each class and the intensity of use of that parcel as set forth in the report listed herein. The study identifies three (3) general classes of properties based upon use by zoning designation, residential uses, commercial and industrial uses, and agricultural uses.
C. Based upon the formula, the entire City was evaluated to determine the number of parcels in each designated zoning district. The composite C values (runoff coefficient) were adjusted by the average area of parcels within each respective district in order to determine proper allocation of costs between different kinds of lots. The final allocation of costs represents the area adjusted C value for a particular parcel as a percentage of the overall sum of area adjusted C values for the entire City.
D. Operation of the formula above results in a fee per parcel to be charged to existing parcels within the City as their fair share of the costs incurred by the City. The basic formula will be recalculated yearly and included in section 3-1-2 of this Code in order to account for ongoing changes in lot size and use and changes in zoning designation. The formula may be amended from time to time by amendment to this chapter.
E. The fee is for the purpose of paying for the ongoing review, monitoring, repair, maintenance and improvement of the existing City stormwater infrastructure. The City may include in the fee any and all costs incurred relative to stormwater drainage within the City no matter how said fees are categorized, or may choose to pay portions of the fee from the general levy or other funding sources. Nothing in this chapter is to be construed as a limitation on the City's ability to allocate or reallocate the costs herein to this fee or to other funding sources from year to year. Administrative costs for collection of the fee may be added to bills as an additional charge. The fee shall be administered by the City Utility Department and shall be billed or charged to residents on a regular basis as determined by the Utility Billing Department. (Prior Code § 6-1-9)