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HomeMy WebLinkAbout136 - 11/15/2005 - AMENDING CHAPTER 26 OF THE CITY CODE TO ESTABLISH STORMWATER PLANT INVESTMENT FEES ORDINANCE NO. 136, 2005 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 26 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS TO ESTABLISH STORMWATER PLANT INVESTMENT FEES WHEREAS, Article XII Municipal Public Utilities, Section 6 Municipal Utility Rates and Finances, requires all net operating revenues of the city's utilities to be held within the respective utility's fund; and WHEREAS, the City Council is empowered and directed by Article XII, Section 6, of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, to by ordinance from time to time fix, establish, maintain and provide for the collection of such rates, fees or charges for utility services furnished by the City as will produce revenues sufficient to pay the costs, expenses and other obligations of the stone water utility, as set forth therein; and WHEREAS, Section 26-511(a) of the code requires that the City Manager analyze the financial and operating records of the stormwater utility and recommend to the City Council the stormwater basin fees to be in effect the following year; and WHEREAS, the Council has adopted stormwater basin master plans recommending stormwater facilities that are necessary to provide for the proper drainage and control of flood and surface waters within the City; and WHEREAS, the Council adopted Ordinance No. 168, 1998 determining that all developed lands within the City benefit by the installation of such stormwater facilities; and WHEREAS, existing stormwater rate payers have paid for the design, right-of-way and construction of stormwater facilities identified in the drainage basin master plans that will benefit and be utilized by new development; and WHEREAS,the Council has determined that new development should pay its proportionate share of the costs of the stormwater infrastructure as it exists at the time of development; and WHEREAS,staffpresented the proposed changes to the stormwaterbasin fees to the Council for review at its work session on August 23, 2005 and at that time received direction to present the same to Council for approval; and WHEREAS,staff has proposed to revise the stormwater basin fees established in Section 26- 512 of the City Code so as to be uniform city-wide, instead of on a basin-by-basin basis; and WHEREAS, staff has also proposed that the stormwater basin fees be re-named stormwater plant investment fees to provide consistency with the terminology used for water and wastewater plant investment fees; and WHEREAS, for the foregoing reasons, the City Council wishes to amend the City Code in order to reflect the approval of the recommended changes to the stormwater basin fees and rename them stormwater plant investment fees. NOW, THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That Section 26-511 (a) and (c) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 26-511. Stormwater fees. (a) The City Manager shall analyze the operating and financial records of the utility during each calendar year of operation and recommend to the City Council the stormwater utility fees to be in effect for the following calendar year.The parameters and rates for the stormwater plant investment fees shall be reviewed by the City Manager annually, and the fees shall be presented to the City Council for approval no less frequently than biennially. The recommended fees shall be determined in accordance with Section 6 of Article XII of the Charter. (c) The stormwater plant investment fee may be paid at any time after the approval of the plat of a subdivision or, in the case of unplatted property, upon the issuance of a building permit and not before;provided,however,that such fee shall be paid prior to the issuance of a full building permit, or if no building permit is required,upon commencement of construction except to the extent that the deferral of all or any portion of such payment has been approved by the City Council by resolution. If there is an increase in said fees between the issuance of a full building permit or, if no building permit is required, the time of commencement of construction and the actual payment of fees, the fee rates in effect at the time of payment shall apply. Section 2. That Section 26-512 ofthe Code of the City ofFort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 26-512. Stormwater plant investment fees established. There is hereby imposed on each and every lot or parcel of land within the city with respect to which any improvement creates an impervious surface covering more than three hundred fifty(350)square feet of the lot or parcel,and the owners thereof, a stormwater plant investment fee. The fee is deemed reasonable and necessary to pay for a new development's share of the existing equity in the capital stormwater facilities that have been installed for the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the city. The stormwater plant investment fee established herein shall be determined using the base rate,the area of each parcel of land,and the runoff coefficient of the parcel. The General Manager shall determine the stormwater plant investment fee that applies to each parcel of land as follows: (1) Runoffcoefficient. The runoff coefficient of each parcel of land shall be that used in the engineering formula known as the rational method.The General Manager shall determine the runoff coefficient for each parcel of land based on the following formula: C = Percent Impervious Area x 0.95 + Percent Pervious Area x 0.20 +Percent Semipervious Area x 0.50. Impervious shall mean roof, asphalt, cement, etc. Pervious shall mean lawn, open space, etc. Semipervious shall mean gravel, etc. (2) Plant investment fee base rate. The stormwater plant investment fee base rate is three thousand seventy dollars ($3,070)per gross acre of area. (3) Area. The stormwater plant investment fee calculation for each parcel of land shall be predicated upon the gross area in acres of the parcel. (4) Calculation. a. Initial improvements. The stormwater plant investment fee for each parcel of land shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula: Plant investment fee = (runoff coefficient) x ( Plant investment fee base rate)x (area). b. Additions, expansions, increased impervious area. The stormwater plant investment fee calculation for each developed parcel of land upon which an addition or expansion is proposed, whether attached to an existing structure or not, shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula: Plant investment fee shall equal the difference between the fee as calculated in accordance with the formula set forth in subparagraph a. of this Subsection for the parcel with all existing and proposed improvements and the same parcel with only the existing improvements. Section 3. That Section 26-515 ofthe Code ofthe Cityof Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 26-515. Changing stormwater-plant investment fees. The City Council may by ordinance change the amount of the stormwater plant investment fee based upon revised estimates of the cost of the stormwater facilities in the basin. Any change in the amount of the stormwater plant investment fee shall be effective only as to properties for which the stormwater plant investment fee has not previously been fully paid. After the stormwater plant investment fee applicable to a particular property has been paid in full, no additional stormwater plant investment fee shall be imposed upon said property unless modifications to the property alter the calculation of the stormwater plant investment fee as determined in Section 26-512, and in such event only the additional fees resulting from the modification to the property shall be due. Section 4. That Section 26-520 (a) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 26-520. Appeals. (a) Any owner who disputes the amount of the stormwater utility fee or the stormwater plant investment fee made against such owner's property or who disputes any determination made by or on behalf of the city pursuant to and by the authority of this Article may petition the General Manager for a hearing on a revision or modification of such charge or determination. The General Manager may hold such hearings or may designate an officer or employee as a hearing officer with authority to hold such hearings. Section 5. That Section 26-522 ofthe Code ofthe Cit ofFort Collins is hereby amended Y Y to read as follows: Sec. 26-522. Disposition of fees and charges. The fees and charges paid and collected by virtue of this Article shall not be used for general or other governmental or proprietary purposes of the city, except to pay for the costs incurred by the city in rendering services to the utility and for any payment in lieu of taxes that may be authorized by the City Council as provided by the City Charter. Other than as described above, the fees and charges shall be used solely to pay for the costs of operation,repair,maintenance,improvements,renewal, replacement, reconstruction, design, right-of-way acquisition and construction of public stormwater facilities and costs incidental thereto. Section 6. That Section 26-523 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby deleted. Section 7. That Section 26-545(a) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 26-545. Credit for construction of major basin improvements. (a) If the stormwater utility requires a developer to construct major stormwater system improvements that serve more than that development and are identified in a basin master plan, a portion of the actual costs incurred may be eligible for basin reimbursement from the storm drainage fund.To be eligible for basin reimbursement, prior to final approval of the development agreement the developer must submit to the stormwater utility a report detailing the proposed basin improvements and obtain the city's approval of the report. The report must identify all elements of the project eligible for reimbursement and include a detailed project description, a project bid form with estimated quantities, unit prices, engineering design and construction management costs. The report must also provide an accurate quantity and cost delineation between the proposed basin improvements and the stormwater improvements necessary to meet the standard requirements of the development.The stormwaterbasin reimbursement shall be paid in cash subject to the provisions of this Section, or at the option of the developer, may be taken as credit toward the total stormwater plant investment fees due for the developed property with regard to which the basin improvements are being constructed.If more than two(2)years elapse from the approval date of the development agreement without substantial progress toward the construction of all improvements eligible for basin reimbursement, the reimbursement obligation shall terminate. The developer may request and the General Manager may approve extensions of the obligation for additional one-year periods. Section 8. That Section 26-632 ofthe Code ofthe City ofFort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 26-632. Deferral of fees. With respect to any dwelling unit which is contained within or which constitutes an affordable housingproject as defined in§26-631,the Water Plant Investment Fee ("WPIF"), Sewer Plant Investment Fee("SPIF"), Stormwater Plant Investment Fee, the Raw Water Requirement In-lieu Cash Payment and the Electric Development Fees and Charges, as established in this Chapter, shall, upon the request of the applicant,be deferred until the date of issuance of a certificate of occupancy(whether temporary or permanent) for such unit(s) or until the first day of December of the year in which the deferral was obtained,whichever first occurs.Notwithstanding any provision in this Chapter to the contrary, in the event that, during the period of deferral,the amount of the deferred fee is increased by ordinance of the City Council, the fee rate in effect at the time of the issuance of the building permit shall apply. At the time of application for any such deferral,the applicant shall pay to the city a fee in the amount of fifty dollars($50.)to partially defray the cost of administration.No person shall knowingly make any false or misleading statement of fact in order to obtain any deferral of fees under this Section. Section 9. That the amendments to Chapter 26 of the City Code contained herein shall go into effect January 1, 2006. Introduced and considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 2nd day of November, A.D. 2005, and to be presented for final passage on the 15th day of November, A.D. 2005. Mayor ATTEST: .ate City Clerk la e;r Passed and adopted on final reading this 15th day of vember, A.D. 2005. ayor ATTEST: e City Clerk