(A) Recorded maintenance agreement. Owners of private structural stormwater facilities shall be required to submit and comply with the city's stormwater facility maintenance agreement, a copy of which is on file in the Office of the City Engineer.
(B) Responsibility to maintain and inspect. A minimum annual inspection of the private facility shall be conducted and documented by the owner and/or operator. Documentation of inspections shall be kept for a minimum of five years and made readily available upon request by the city. All private stormwater facilities shall be maintained to the original approved design and treatment effectiveness.
(C) Treatment integrity and effectiveness. If site configurations or structural stormwater BMP’s change, causing decreased effectiveness, new or improved BMP’s must be implemented to meet the requirements of this subchapter as approved on the original stormwater management plan.
(D) City inspections. By accepting a permit under this subchapter, the owner grants to the city a public easement for right of entry and access for inspection and/or maintenance of private stormwater systems. If upon inspection, the Engineering Department finds that any private stormwater management facilities require maintenance, repair, or replacement, but such deficiencies do not create a critical or imminent threat to adjacent properties, the environment, or other stormwater facilities, the following procedures apply;
(1) The owner(s) responsible for the continued operation of the facilities shall be given written notice of the findings, what actions are required to correct the situation, and a timetable by which such activities must be completed.
(2) Such parties shall have 15 calendar days to reply to the Engineering Department indicating their response to the notice.
(3) If upon inspection it is determined by the Engineering Department the deficiencies create a critical or imminent threat to public health, public safety, adjacent properties, the environment, or other stormwater facilities, the city will require the deficiencies to be corrected within 24 hours or such other timeline specified by the City Engineer. Such notice will be served in person, by first class mail, and posting on the site of the deficiency.
(4) If the owner(s) do not complete the necessary activities stipulated by the Engineering Department or respond to the written notice, the City Council, after notice and public hearing, may order that such activities are completed by the city or its designated contractor and that all costs associated with such activities, including all administrative costs, be certified by the City Engineer to the City Council and assessed against the property. In the event the deficiency is determined to be an immediate danger, as outlined in this division (D)(3), the city will abate the danger as outlined in § 52.33(C).
(5) The amount charged shall be a lien upon the properties benefiting from and utilizing the stormwater facilities maintained, repaired or replaced and shall be added to, and become, and form part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon such properties, and the Council shall, by appropriate resolution, assess the costs above mentioned against said properties, and certify the same to the County Auditor of Steele County, Minnesota. The same shall be collected and enforced in the same manner as the collection of real estate taxes.
(Ord. 1519, passed 3-3-2015)