08/09/2010 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

The flat rate that has been established for single family residential was minimized and was based on the City's baseline costs for stormwater management. The City is considering a partial credit for homeowners with a rain garden or other site specific storm water improvement (approved by the City) that treats runoff from public right -of -way. A 100% credit is not being considered, since the City will still incur some level of the baseline costs for the overall City storm water system, regardless of the level of stormwater management at a specific property. The rate for condos and townhomes is $1.25 per unit and the rate for a single - family home is $2.50 per house. How is this equitable — it seems like the land use for condos and townhomes creates a lot more hard surface within a smaller area? The City has re- evaluated the rate for townhomes and condos. A Utility Factor of 1.49 was used to describe townhomes and condos, which is based on the average hard surface density of a townhome and /or condo development. The rate has been changed to $1.86 per unit for townhomes and /or condos. Now schools will have a new charge. They will ultimately pass that cost back onto the tax payers. So we end up paying for it anyway. The City and tax payers are already funding stormwater management. The SWU is simply a way to distribute the costs in a different way that is more equitable and easier to track in relation to the individuals and entities that use the system. How will we know if this is working and if our lakes and streams are improving in quality? MPCA, University of MN, watershed districts, and other entities have on -going monitoring programs for the lakes and streams in order to understand how the water quality is changing. If the lakes and streams improve with respect to water quality, will the SWU fee be reduced? The City will be expected to continue to maintain the stormwater system in order to maintain water quality. The City will also be expected to continue with the NPDES MS4 obligations, and it is anticipated that the NPDES MS4 program will become more intensive. Since the City will still incur these baseline costs, the fee is not expected to go down if the quality of the lakes and streams improves.