Every applicant shall provide for storm water management as required by this chapter, unless a written request is filed to waive implementation of BMPs, in whole or in part, and such waiver is granted. Requests to waive implementation of BMPs in whole or in part shall be submitted to City for approval.
1. A waiver of BMPs required by this chapter may be granted provided that at least one of the following conditions is established by applicant based on authoritative written evidence satisfactory to City:
A. The proposed development is not likely to impair attainment of the objectives of this chapter.
B. Alternative minimum requirements for on-site management of storm water have been established in a storm water management final plan that has been approved by City and fully implemented.
C. Provisions are made to manage storm water by an off-site facility within the same watershed and that has been approved by the City. The off-site facility is required to be in place, to be designed and adequately sized to provide a level of storm water control that is equal to or greater than that which would be afforded by on-site practices, and there is, in the City’s sole judgment, a responsible entity legally obligated to monitor the performance of and maintain the efficiency of storm water BMPs in accordance with a written and recorded maintenance agreement.
D. In instances where one of the above conditions is established, the applicant must further establish by authoritative written evidence satisfactory to City that the partial waiver will not result in any of the following impacts to downstream waterways:
(1) Deterioration of existing culverts, bridges, dams, and other structures; or
(2) Degradation of biological functions or habitat; or
(3) Accelerated stream bank or streambed erosion or siltation; or
(4) Increased threat of flood damage to public health, life, property.
2. If the City finds that a waiver is appropriate because implementation of no on-site storm water BMPs is feasible due to the natural or existing physical characteristics of a site, or that one of the conditions specified in Subsection 1 above cannot be established to a certainty, or that any one or more of the impacts to downstream waterways specified above cannot be entirely averted, the applicant shall execute a binding written agreement to accomplish one or more of the following mitigation measures selected by City:
A. The purchase and donation of privately owned lands, or the grant of an easement to be dedicated for preservation and/or reconstruction of native ecosystems of lands strategically located in the watershed consistent with the purposes of this chapter, of a sufficient quantity to enable City or others to achieve City storm water requirements with respect to a number of cubic feet of annual storm water equivalent to the estimated number of cubic feet of annual storm water that will not achieve City storm water requirements as a consequence of the waiver.
B. The creation of one or more storm water BMPs on previously developed properties, public or private, that currently lack storm water BMPs, having a capacity to achieve City storm water requirements with respect to a number of cubic feet of annual storm water equivalent to the estimated number of cubic feet of annual storm water that will not achieve City storm water requirements as a consequence of the waiver.
C. Monetary contributions (fee in lieu) to fund storm water management activities such as research and studies (e.g., regional wetland delineation studies, stream monitoring studies for water quality and macroinvertebrates, stream flow monitoring, threatened and endangered species studies, hydrologic studies, monitoring of storm water BMPs, and stream corridor stabilization practices). The monetary contribution required shall be in accordance with a fee schedule (unless the developer and the storm water authority agree on a greater alternate contribution) established by City, based on the estimated cost savings to the developer resulting from the waiver and the estimated future costs to City to achieve City storm water requirements with respect to a number of cubic feet of annual storm water equivalent to the estimated number of cubic feet of annual storm water that will not achieve City storm water requirements as a consequence of the waiver. All of the monetary contributions shall be credited to an appropriate capital improvements program project, and shall be made by the developer prior to the issuance of any building permit for the development.
D. Dedication of land or granting of an easement by the applicant of a value equivalent to the cost to City of the construction of an off-site storm water management facility sufficient to achieve City storm water requirements with respect to a number of cubic feet of annual storm water equivalent to the estimated number of cubic feet of annual storm water that will not achieve City storm water requirements as a consequence of the waiver. The agreement shall be entered into by the applicant and City prior to the recording of plats or, if no record plat is required, prior to the issuance of the building permit.
E. Factors that may generate waivers:
(1) Shallow bedrock.
(2) High groundwater.
(3) Hotspots or contaminated soils.
(4) City owned construction that was designed prior to 2019.