HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Ordinance 2012-14CITY OF PLYMOUTH
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA
ORDINANCE 2012-14
AN ORDINANCE AMEMDING SECTION 725 OF THE
CITY CODE REGARDING STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEMS
THE CITY OF PLYMOUTH ORDAINS:
Section 1. Section 725 of the City Code is hereby amended as follows:
725.01. Storm Water Utility Established. A municipal storm sewer utility is hereby
established and shall be operated as a public utility pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section
444.075 from which revenues will be derived subject to the provisions of this Chapter and
Minnesota Statutes.
725.02. Definitions. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following
words or phrases have the meanings given in this Subdivision.
A. MS4. Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Svstem means a convevance or system of
conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins,
curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains) owned and operated by
the City of Plymouth and designed or used for collecting or conveying Storm Water.
B. NPDES. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) is the
program for issuing, modifying, revoking, reissuing, terminating, monitoring, and
enforcing_ permits and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements under
sections, 307, 318, 402 and 405 of the Clean Water Act, United States Code, title 33,
sections 1317, 1328, 1342 and 1345.
C. Pollutant. Anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants may include,
but are not limited to: paints, varnishes, and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids;
refuse, rubbish, garbage, or litter; floatables, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers;
hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens; dissolved and
particulate metals; animal wastes; wastes and residues that result from constructing a
building or structure; and noxious or offensive matter.
D. Non -Storm Water Discharge. Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not
composed entirely of storm water.
A-. D. Residential Equivalent Factor (REF). One REF is defined as the ratio of the average
volume of runoff generated by one acre of a particular land use to the average volume
of runoff generated by 1/2 acre of typical single family residential land, assuming Soil
Conservation Service (SCS) "Type B" soil conditions, during a standard 1 year rainfall
event, as determined by the Public Works Director.
E. Storm Water. Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consistingentirely of water
from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation.
B -.F. Storm Water Utility Rate. The charge to a typical 1/2 acre single family residential
parcel shall be the storm water utility rate.
725.03. REF For Land Uses. Storm water drainage fees for single family (detached)
and duplex parcels shall be on a per parcel basis. These fees shall be calculated by
multiplying the REF by the storm water utility rate.
Storm water drainage fees for all other land uses shall be determined by multiplying the REF
for the land use by the parcels' acreage and then multiplying the resulting product by the
storm water utility rate. The REF values for various land uses are as follows:
Land Use
Per Parcel
Single Family (Detached) & Duplex
REF
1.00
Per Acre
Multi -Family (Townhomes, Condominiums, and Apartments) 3.32
Commercial and Industrial 7.18
725.04. Other Land Uses. Land uses not listed in the foregoing table shall be evaluated
individually based on the amount of impervious coverage and parcel size.
Golf courses and regional parks will have their fees based on the amount of run-off produced
by the impervious area of each parcel, not the total parcel size.
725.05. Storm Water Utility Rate. The storm water utility rates are set by Chapter X.
(Ord. 2007-06, 2/13/2007)
725.06. Appeals — Single -Family and Duplex. Appeals for single-family and duplex
properties are generally not allowed. However, owners of single-family and duplex
properties, with unique conditions or improvements (natural ponds, water quality ponds,
drywells, minimal impervious coverage, etc.) may appeal their surface water fee. The City
Manager, or designee, may adjust the REF for these parcels of land (by up to 75 percent)
based upon the demonstration of run-off volumes substantially different from the standards
used by the City. Land use data, sufficient to determine storm water runoff, must be supplied
by the property owner(s) to demonstrate that a fee adjustment is warranted. Fee adjustments
shall not be made retroactively. Appeals of the City Manager's determinations shall be made
to the City Council.
725.065. Appeals —Other Properties. The City Manager, or designee, may adjust the
REF for all parcels of land which are not single-family or duplex properties (by up to 75
percent) based upon the demonstration of run-off volumes substantially different from the
standards used by the City. The area of parcels may also be reduced by the area of qualifying
NURP ponds at normal water level. Land use data, sufficient to determine storm water
runoff, must be supplied by the property owner(s) to demonstrate that a fee adjustment is
warranted. Fee adjustments shall not be made retroactively. Appeals of the City Manager's
determinations shall be made to the City Council.
725.07. Incentives. The City Council may adopt, from time to time, by resolution an
incentive program which would allow for the reduction of fees for individual parcels of land.
The maximum reduction for any parcel shall be 20 percent.
725.08. Exemptions. The following land uses are exempt from storm water utility fees.
A. Public Rights -of -Way
B. Vacant Land (e.g., undeveloped land, agricultural land without a dwelling)
C. Railroad Rights -of -Way
D. Unoccupied Public Land (e.g., open space, parks without permanently staffed
structures)
725.09. Billing and Payment. Storm water utility charges shall be computed and billed
periodically with, and included as a charge on, bills issued by the City for water, sewer,
recycling or streetlight services. If a parcel of land subject to the storm water utility charge is
not served by other utilities, a separate bill shall be issued every two months for residential
properties and every one month for commercial properties.
725.10. Amount Due After Due Date. An amount equal to 10 percent of the unpaid
current service charges shall be added to each account which is not paid by the due date as
specified by the Finance Department.
725.11 Delinguent Bills. If storm water utility charges are not paid within three
months after a billing is issued, the City shall certify the amount due, together with penalties,
to the County Auditor to be collected with other real estate taxes on the parcel.
725.12. Establishment of Fund. All fees collected for the storm water utility shall be
placed in a fund for storm water purposes as permitted by Minnesota Statutes, Section
444.075.(Ord. 2001-17, 611212001) (Ord. 2002-34,1211712002)
725.13. Prohibition of Illegal Discharges. No person shall throw, drain, or otherwise
discharge, cause, or allow others under its control to throw, drain, or otherwise discharge into the
MS4 My pollutants or waters containing any pollutants, other than storm water. The
commencement, conduct or continuance of anj illegal discharge to the storm drain system is
prohibited except as described as follows:
A. The following discharges are exemnt from discharge mohibitions established b
this ordinance: water line flushing, landscape irrigation, diverted stream flows,
rising ground waters, uncontaminated ground water infiltration, uncontaminated
pumped Around water, discharges from potable water sources, foundation drains,
air conditioning condensation, irrigation water, springs, water from crawl space
pumps, footing drains, lawn watering, individual residential car washing flows
from riparian habitats and wetlands, dechlorinated swimming pool discharges
(City Code Section 740), and street wash water.
B. Discharges or flow from fire fighting, or other dischargespecified in writing
by the City as being necessaroprotect public health and safety.
C. The prohibition shall not amply to any non -storm water discharge permitted under
an NPDES permit, waiver, or waste discharge order issued to the dischargerand
administered under the authority of the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), provided that the discharger is in full compliance with all
requirements of the permit, waiver, or order and other applicable laws and
regulations, and provided that written approval from the City of Plymouth or State
Agency has been granted for any discharge to the storm drain system.
725.14. Prohibition of Illicit Connections. The construction, use, maintenance or
continued existence of illicit connections to the storm drain system is prohibited.
A. This prohibition enressly includes, without limitation, illicit connections made in
the past, regardless of whether the connection was permissible under law or
practices applicable or prevailing at the time of connection.
B. A person is considered to be in violation of this ordinance if the person connects a
line conveying sewage to the MS4, or allows such a connection to continue.
C. Improper connections in violation of this ordinance must be disconnected and
redirected at the owner or occupants cost, to an approved onsite wastewater
management system or the sanitary sewers system approval of the City.
D. Any drain or conveyance that has not been documented in plans, maps or
equivalent, and which may be connected to the storm sewer system, shall be
located by the owner or occupant of that property, at the owner or occupant cost,
Won receipt of written notice of violation from the City requiring that such
locating be completed. Such notice will specify a reasonable time period within
which the location of the drain or conveyance is to be determined, that the drain or
conveyance be identified as storm sewer, sanitary sewer or other, and that the
outfall location or point of connection to the storm sewer system, sanitary sewer
system or other discharge point be identified. Results of these investigations are to
be documented and provided to the City.
725.15 Notification of Spills. Notwithstanding other requirements of law, as soon as any
person responsible for a facility or operation, or responsible for emergency response for a facility
or operation has information of any known or suspected release of materials which are resulting or
may result in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into storm water, the storm drain system,
or waters of the United States, said person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the discovery,
containment, and cleanupof such release. In the event of such a release of hazardous materials
said person shall immediately notify emergency response agencies of the occurrence via
emergency dispatch services. In the event of a release of non -hazardous materials, said person
shall notify the City in person or by phone or facsimile no later than the next business day.
Notifications in person or by phone shall be confirmed by written notice addressed and mailed to
the City within five business days of the phone notice. If the discharge of prohibited materials
emanates from a commercial or industrial establishment, the owner or operator of such
establishment shall also retain an on-site written record of the discharge and the actions taken to
prevent its recurrence. Such records shall be retained for at least three years.
725.16. Enforcement. It shall be unlawful for any_person to violate any provision or fail to
comply with any of the requirements of this ordinance. Any person who has violated or continues
to violate the provisions of this ordinance may be subject to the enforcement actions outlined in
Chapter XX of Plymouth City Code. In the event the violation constitutes an immediate danger to
public health or public safety, the City is authorized to enter upon the subject private property,
without izivins prior notice. to take anv and all measures necessary to abate the violation and/or
restore the property at the owner's expense.
Section 2. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect upon its passage and
publication.
ADOPTED by the City Council on April 24, 2012. f
s
Kelli Slavik, Mayor
ATTEST:
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