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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3386 Ordinance ORDINANCE NO. 3386 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON CREATING A NEW CHAPTER "STORMWATER MANAGEMENT UTILITY" AS CHAPTER 13.60 OF THE PASCO MUNICIPAL CODE PROVIDING FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF SURFACE AND STORMWATER PROBLEMS CREATED ON CITY STREETS. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Pasco, Washington has determined that the chapter is necessary to promote the public health, safety and welfare by promoting an approach to the management of surface and stormwater problems created on city streets and deliveries to city owned stormwater facilities; and WHEREAS, stormwater problems are exacerbated by both the quantity of water and the quality of the water, and stormwater quality degradation is influenced by vehicles traveling on city streets; and WHEREAS, the regulatory rates and charges imposed in the chapter are an effort to relate the costs associated with the stormwater management system to the use of vehicles by parcel owners located inside the City of Pasco; and WHEREAS, the recognition of the City's stormwater drainage system as an additional component of the municipal water-sewer utility is necessary to provide for the proper management and funding of the storm drainage system, and for the orderly development of required stormwater facilities; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That a new chapter 13.60 entitled "Stormwater Management Utility" shall be and hereby is adopted and shall read as follows: CHAPTER 13.60 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT UTILITY Sections: 13.60.010 Purpose. 13.60.020 Stormwater management utility created - Responsibilities. 13.60.030 Definitions. 13.60.040 Ownership of City stormwater facilities and assets. 13.60.050 Transfer of property to stormwater management utility. 13.60.060 Liability disclaimer. 13.60.070 Rates and charges. t 13.60.080 Stormwater management fund. 13.60.090 Billing. 13.60.100 Remedies. 13.60.110 Appeals. 13.60.120 Liens for service/interest. 13.60.010 PURPOSE. To promote the public health, safety and welfare by promoting an approach to the management of surface and stormwater problems created on city streets and deliveries to City owned stormwater facilities. 13.60.020 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT UTILITY CREATED - RESPONSIBILITIES. There is hereby created and established, pursuant to Chapters 35.67 and 35A.80.010 RCW, a storm and surface water utility to be known as the "Stormwater Management Utility." All references to "the utility" in this chapter refer to the Stormwater Management Utility. The utility shall be administered and enforced by the Director of Public Works, or his/her duly authorized designee. The Director is hereby authorized to specify such stormwater facility operation, maintenance and performance standards, in the public right-of-ways of the City, as necessary to implement the requirements of this code and carry out the duties of the Director. 13.60.030 DEFINITIONS. For the purpose of this title, certain terms or words herein shall be interpreted or defined as follows: Except where specifically defined in this chapter all words in this title shall carry the customary meanings. Words used in the present tense include the future and the future includes the present and the plural includes the singular and the singular includes the plural. a) "Apartments" means any parcel that contains six or more residential units and is used primarily for residential purposes. b) "Developed parcel" means any parcel altered from the natural state by the construction, creation, or addition of impervious surfaces. c) "Director" means the Director of the Department of Public Works or the Director's designee. d) "Drainage facility" means the system of collecting, conveying, and storing surface and storm water runoff. Drainage facilities shall include, but not be limited to all surface and storm water conveyance and containment facilities including streams, pipelines, channels, ditches, swamps, lakes, wetlands, closed depressions, infiltration facilities, retention/detention facilities, erosion/sedimentation control facilities, and other drainage structures and appurtenances, both natural and constructed. e) "Impervious surface" means a hard surface area which either prevents or retards the entry of water into the soil mantle as it entered under natural conditions prior to development, and/or a hard surface area which causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities or at an increased area 2 of flow from the flow present under natural conditions prior to development. Common impervious surfaces include, but are not limited to, roofs, walkways, patios, driveways, parking lots, storage areas, areas which are paved, graveled or made of packed or oiled earthen materials, or other surfaces which similarly impede the natural infiltration of surface and storm water. Open, uncovered retention/detention facilities shall not be considered as impervious surfaces for the purpose of this chapter. f) "Industrial/Commercial property" means any parcel used by a person not defined as apartment, residence or undeveloped parcel. g) "Maintenance" means the act or process of cleaning, repairing or preserving a system, unit, facility, structure, or piece of equipment. h) "Multi-family Residential" means any parcel which contains from one to five residential units which is within a single structure and is used primarily for residential purposes. i) "Parcel" means the smallest separately segregated unit or plot of land having an identified owner, boundaries, and surface area which is documented for property tax purposes and given a tax lot number by the Franklin County Assessor. j) "Person" means any individual, firm, company, association, corporation, or governmental agency. k) "Property owner of record" means a person or persons shown in the records of the County Assessor to be the owner of property and to whom property tax statements are directed. 1) "Rate category" means the classification in this chapter given to a parcel in the service area based upon the type of land use on the parcel and/or the surface area (in acres) of the parcel for lands with stormwater that enters the public right-of-way. m) "Rates" means the dollar amount charged per unit or per parcel in the "General Classification" of section 13.60.070 based upon the accommodation of stormwater runoff and other surface water management services due to vehicle usage in the public right-of-way associated with the land use activity. Private parcels, excluding single family residence, with impervious surfaces exceeding 1000 square feet which drain to the City street or right-of-way shall be charged an additional monthly fee not to be less than 50% of the Single-Family Residential (SFR) unit as set forth in 13.60.070. n) "Retention/detention facility" means a type of drainage facility designed either to hold water for a considerable length of time and then release it by evaporation, plant transpiration and/or infiltration into the ground; or to hold runoff for a short period of time and then release it to the surface and storm water management system. o) "Service changes" means charges to property owners for storm and surface water management services. P) "Single Family Residence" means a building or structure or portion thereof, designed for and used to provide a place of abode for human beings. The term residence includes the term "residential" or "residential unit" as referring to the type of or intended use of a building or structure. 3 q) "State highway right-of-way" means the right-of-way of a state limited access highway. The term does not include City streets forming a part of the route of state highways that are not limited access highways or state property under the jurisdiction of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) that are outside the right-of-way lines of a state highway. r) "Stormwater" means the water originating from rainfall and other precipitation that is found in drainage facilities, rivers, streams, springs, seeps, ponds, lakes, and wetlands as well as shallow groundwater. s) "Stormwater management services" means the services provided by the stormwater management utility, including but not limited to basin planning, facilities maintenance, street sweeping, regulation, financial administration, public involvement, drainage investigation and enforcement, aquatic resource restoration, surface and storm water quality and environmental monitoring, natural surface water drainage system planning, intergovernmental relations, and facility design and construction. t) "Stormwater management system" means constructed drainage facilities and any natural surface water drainage features which collect, store, control, treat and/or convey surface and storm water including pipes, pump stations, and street gutters. u) "Undeveloped parcel" means any parcel that has not been altered from its natural state by the construction, creation, or addition of impervious surface(s). v) "Utility" means the Stormwater Management Utility created under the provisions of this chapter. w) "Vacant building" means any unoccupied building or structure or portion thereof, designed for and intended to be used by a person. 13.60.040 OWNERSHIP OF CITY STORMWATER FACILITIES AND ASSETS. Title and all other incidents of ownership of the following assets are vested in the water/sewer utility; All properties, interests, and physical and intangible rights of every nature owned or held by the City, however acquired, insofar as they relate to or concern stormwater runoff. 13.60.050 TRANSFER OF PROPERTY TO STORMWATER MANAGEMENT UTILITY. The City Council expressly finds the value of the above described original system or plan of storm drainage and surface water facilities is equal to the value of release from primary responsibility therefor insofar as it relates to or concerns storm or surface waters within the City. Accordingly, all of the City's above described original system or plan of storm drainage and surface water facilities, including the rights and interests as a part thereof as they relate to or concern storm or surface waters are, for purposes of RCW 43.09.210, hereby transferred to and subject to the administration of the City's Stormwater Management Utility created by this chapter. All other institutions and departments of the City having primary responsibility therefor within the 4 City are, to the same extent, released from such primary responsibility. Inasmuch as the City now owns all of those facilities, including the rights and interests as a part thereof and the original system or plan set forth in PMC 13.60.030, there is no estimated cost thereof. 13.60.060 LIABILITY DISCLAIMER. a) Floods from storm water runoff may occasionally occur which exceed the capacity of storm drainage facilities constructed and maintained by funds made available under this chapter. The City's adoption of this code does not imply that property liable for the storm and surface water drainage charge shall always be free from storm water flooding or flood drainage. Further, this code does not purport to reduce the need or the necessity for any property owner to obtain flood insurance. b) This chapter shall be administered and enforced for the benefit of the health, safety and welfare of the general public, and not for the benefit of any particular person or class of persons. c) No provision of or any term used in this chapter is intended to impose any duty upon the City or any of its officers or employees which would subject them to damages in a civil action. 13.60.070 RATES AND CHARGES. The following rates shall be charged effective on the date shown to the following rate categories: Rate Category Rate per Month General Classification Single-Family Residential $ 1.80 Multi-Family Residential (per unit) $ 0.90 Apartments (per unit) $ 0.90 Undeveloped parcel $ 0.00 Vacant building $ 1.80 Industrial / Commercial Parking for 0 to 5 vehicles $ 1.80 Parking for 6 to 10 vehicles $ 3.60 Parking for 11 to 15 vehicles $ 7.20 Parking for 16 plus vehicles $ 9.00 Additional Charges Property runoff to City system ($ 0.90 Min) $30.00/acre State highway right-of-way (WSDOT) ($ 0.30 Min) $10.00/acre 13.60.080 STQRMWATER MANAGEMENT FUND. There is established a Stormwater Management Fund as part of the water/sewer utility into which all revenue the rates and charges in section 13.60.070 together with all other utility revenue from user fees, connection charges, grants, taxes and other funding sources shall be deposited and from which all expenditures related to the City's stormwater drainage system shall be paid. This fund shall he kept in 5 the manner prescribed by state law as to accounting and reporting expenditures. 13.60.090 BILLING. The charges imposed by this chapter shall be billed in conjunction with the property or user's customary water and sanitary sewer bill issued by the City. Such charges shall be due and payable as provided in this chapter. In the event a property does not have water or sanitary sewer service, but is subject to the charges imposed in this chapter, a new account shall be established and that property shall be billed separately for the surface water drainage service charges. 13.60.100 REMEDIES. In the event a customer or property owner shall fail to pay the surface water drainage service charge, the City shall have the authority to terminate domestic water service to said property or customer. Termination of such water service shall not limit other remedies available to the City under state law. 13.60.110 APPEALS. Any customer or property owner who feels that the drainage service charge as set forth in PMC 13.60.060 for their property has been incorrectly computed or applied, may petition, in writing, to the Director of Public Works for a review of said computations or application. The decision of the Director shall be final. 13.60.120 LIENS FOR SERVICE/INTEREST. Pursuant to RCW 35.67.200, the City shall have a lien for delinquent or unpaid stormwater service charges. Enforcement and foreclosure of said lien(s) shall be as provided by law. Interest on the unpaid balance shall be eight percent per year or such higher rate as authorized by state law. Penalties, as authorized by state law, in the amount of five percent will also be assessed. Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect December 31, 1999. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Pasco, Washington, at a regular meeting this L'2-- day of November, 1999. Charles D. Kilbury, yor ATTEST: APPR AS TO FORM: Catherine D. Seaman, Leland B. Kerr, City Attorney Deputy City Clerk 6