Terms in this chapter, other than those defined below, shall have the meanings set out in the Iowa Storm Water Management Manual.
1. “Applicant” means a property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed an application for a storm water management permit.
2. “Best management practice (BMP).” Best management practices are physical practices or structures determined to be practices used to reduce pollutant loads, discharge volumes, peak flow discharge rates, and detrimental changes in stream temperature that affect water quality and habitat. BMPs can be structural or non-structural. Non-structural BMPs focus on preserving open space, protecting natural systems, and incorporating existing landscape features such as wetlands and stream corridors into a site plan to manage stormwater at its source. Structural BMPs include constructed ponds, pavement systems, oil/grease separators, planted vegetative areas such as grassed swales, bioretention and other infiltration-based practices, outlet structures and other constructed facilities intended to manage stormwater.
3. “Buffer” for this chapter is a vegetative area, including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous vegetation, that exists or is established to protect a stream system, lake, or reservoir area.
4. “Building” means any structure, either temporary or permanent, having walls and a roof, designed for the shelter of any person, animal, or property. For purposes of this chapter, structures not intended for shelter such as a pergola, trellis, gazebo, and any other constructed obstacle shall also be considered to be buildings and shall be reviewed for impact on stormwater management.
5. “Channel protection storage volume” means providing for practices that will allow for extended detention of the runoff generated by a 1-year, 24-hour event. This means capturing the runoff volume from a storm of this nature, and slowly releasing it over a period of no less than 24-hours to reduce rapid “bounce” effect common in many urban streams that leads to downcutting and streambank erosion.
6. “City stormwater requirements” means the standards, sizing criteria, BMPs and other requirements established in this chapter.
7. “Concept plan” shall be submitted for review during the planning process. This plan should be considered to be a 30% development plan showing conceptually where stormwater practices will be located and how the storm water will be routed to the facilities. This submittal shall include all of the information required stated in this chapter.
8. “COSECO” means Construction Site Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance permit issued by the City of Windsor Heights’ Public Works Department.
9. “Developer” means a person, persons, or entity who undertakes land disturbance activities.
10. “Developer” means a person who undertakes land disturbance activities.
11. “Development” means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, or drilling operations whether as a single site or part of a larger common plan of development.
12. “Drainage easement” means a legal right granted by a landowner to a cable operator allowing the use of private land for storm water management purposes.
13. “Enforcement officer” means that person designated by the City having responsibility for administration and enforcement of this chapter.
14. “Existing conditions” means the circumstances of the site at the time of first review of site plans or upon-initial submittal of permit applications.
15. “Extreme Flood Protection” means managing the effects of larger storm events (10-year to 100-year recurrence intervals) on the storm water management system, adjacent property, and downstream facilities and property. The management of these extreme events is accomplished using detention controls and/or floodplain management.
16. “Fee in lieu” means a payment of money in place of achieving or exceeding all or part of City storm water requirements.
17. “Impervious surface” means surfaces (roads, sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots) that are covered by impenetrable materials such as asphalt, concrete, brick, and stone, rooftops as well as soils compacted by urban development.
18. Iowa Storm Water Management Manual means the current Iowa Storm Water Management Manual publication, by whatever name, as amended from time to time by Iowa Department of Natural Resources in collaboration with the Center for Transportation Research at Iowa State University, and which recommends storm water management guidelines and uniform sizing criteria and BMPs designed to address said guidelines.
19. “Land disturbance activity” means any activity which changes the volume or peak flow discharge rate of rainfall runoff from the land surface. This may include the grading, digging, cutting, scraping, or excavating of soil, placement of fill materials, paving, construction, substantial removal of vegetation, tree clearing, or any activity which bares soil or rock or involves the diversion or piping of any natural or man-made watercourse.
20. “Low impact development” means an approach to storm water management that attempts to mimic pre-development conditions by compensating for losses of rainfall abstraction through infiltration, evapotranspiration, surface storage, and increased travel time to reduce excess runoff.
21. “Landowner” means the legal or beneficial owner of land, including those holding the right to purchase or lease the land, or any other person holding proprietary rights in the land.
22. “Maintenance agreement” means a legally recorded document that acts as a property deed restriction, and which provides for long-term maintenance of storm water BMPs.
23. “Native vegetation” refers to vegetation originating naturally in this region of the state. Native vegetation is not to be confused with all existing vegetation. Area preserved in native vegetation shall not contain noxious or invasive weeds as identified by the Iowa Code Chapter 317.1A.
24. “Overbank flood protection” means providing on-site storm water detention to limit runoff peak flows rates from the 5-year recurrence interval storm event to prevent downstream surcharge of conveyance systems and reduce overbank flooding. At the site development level, this can be accomplished by providing detention practices with multi-stage outlets that control the outflow from these events to pre-settlement conditions (meadow in good condition.
25. “Pre-settlement” means the nature of the site prior to human development when the landscape was dominated by naturally occurring features. Intended for storm water calculations, meadow in good condition.
26. “Redevelopment” means any manmade change to a previously developed site, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, or drilling operations whether as a single site or part of a larger common plan of development.
27. “Storm water management” means the use of BMPs that are designed in accordance with City storm water requirements to reduce storm water runoff pollutant loads, discharge volumes, peak flow discharge rates, and detrimental changes in stream temperature that affect water quality and habitat.
28. “Stormwater management plan” means the plan produced by a Professional Engineer (P.E.) licensed in the State of Iowa demonstrating how stormwater management will be accomplished by a development.
29. “Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan” (SWPPP) means a plan that is designed to minimize the accelerated erosion and sediment runoff at a site during construction activities.
30. “Iowa Stormwater Management Manual (ISWMM)” means the current Iowa Stormwater Management Manual publication, by whatever name, as amended from time to time by Iowa Department of Natural Resources in collaboration with Iowa Stormwater Education Program and other partners.
31. “Unified sizing criteria” means an integrated approach to managing storm water runoff quality and quantity by addressing the adverse impacts of stormwater runoff from development. The intent is to comprehensively manage stormwater to remove pollutants and improve water quality, prevent downstream streambank and channel erosion, reduce downstream overbank flooding and safely convey and reduce runoff from extreme storm events.
32. “Water quality volume” means the runoff resulting from rainfall depth of 1.25”. By managing these storms, many of the “first flush” pollutants of concern will be effectively managed on-site.