(A) Property classifications. For purposes of determining the stormwater user's fee, all properties in the city are classified into 1 of the following classes:
(1) Residential property;
(2) Non-residential property; and
(3) Exempt property.
(B) User fee determination. All owners of real property in the City of Washington shall be charged a stormwater fee based on § 53.32(C) below.
(C) Initial billing.
(1) All property classifications except exempt property shall be billed for 1 equivalent residential unit (ERU). As rapidly as resources allow, the utility shall make a determination as to the multiple of ERUs to be assigned to each property classification except exempt property. The determination shall be made in categories based on customer classifications, in the following order:
(a) Residential;
(b) Non-residential; and
(c) Exempt.
(2) Once the determination of multiples has been substantially completed for each individual category listed above, each and every property in that category shall be billed according to their actual number of ERUs.
(D) Residential fee. The City Council finds that the intensity of development of most parcels of real property in the municipality classified as residential is similar and that it would be excessively and unnecessarily expensive to determine precisely the square footage of the improvements (such as buildings, structures, and other impervious areas) on each parcel. Therefore, all single-family residential properties in the city shall be charged a flat stormwater user fee, equal to the base rate, regardless of the size of the parcel or the improvements.
(E) Non-residential property fee. The fee for non-residential property in the municipality shall be the base rate multiplied by the numerical factor obtained by dividing the total impervious area (square feet) of the property by 1 ERU or 2,558 sq. ft. The minimum stormwater user fee for non-residential property shall equal the base rate for residential property. The maximum user fee for a parcel block owned by the same entity is $108.75. Users will be billed for each non-contiguous parcel block they own.
(F) Exempt property. There shall be no stormwater user's fee for exempt property.
(Ord. 15-2004, passed 9-13-2004; Am. Ord. 21-2018, passed 11-13-2018; Am. Ord. 32-2022, passed 11-14-2022)