HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 6.2 City Wide Storm Water Utility Fees (2) CITY OF DUBLIN
AGENDA STATEMENT
Council Meeting Date: July 22, 1991
SUBJECT: City-Wide Storm Water Utility Fees
(Report by Public Works Director Lee
Thompson)
EXHIBITS ATTACHED: Resolution
RECOMMENDATION: 1 ) Open public hearing.
2 ) Receive Staff presentation and public
testimony.
3 ) Question Staff and the public .
4 ) Close public hearing and deliberate.
5 ) Adopt Resolution establishing the fees,
the method of setting the fees, and the
total annual cost of the combined fees
to be $164 ,560 .
FINANCIAL STATEMENT: This proposed Storm Water Utility Fee would
charge Dublin property owners a total of
$164 ,560 for Fiscal Year 1991-92 . This
includes $132 , 065 as total cost for the
Alameda County Urban Runoff Clean Water
Program (maintenance, public awareness
program, staffing, etc . ) and permit; $22 , 000
in reserve funds for any future major work
( installation of treatment facilities, major
damage due to storm water, purchasing related
equipment or machinery, etc . ) ; $7 ,700 for the
cost of an estimated 5% delinquency of
payment by property owners; and $2 , 795 cost
to the City for the County to collect the fee
( 1 . 7% of total cost) .
DESCRIPTION: The California Regional Water Quality Control
Board' s San Francisco Region (Regional Board) is requiring cities in
Alameda County to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit to discharge its storm water into streams which
lead to San Francisco Bay. As part of the NPDES permit, Dublin must
implement a Storm Water Management Plan for the Alameda County Urban
Runoff Clean Water Program (Program) . The Final Draft dated June 28,
1991, of the Plan is available in the Public Works Department at
100 Civic Plaza, and at the City Council meeting for review.
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ITEM NO. COPIES TO:
This Program was prepared and is being implemented to fulfill the
permit application requirements of the Regional Board and meet the
intent of the Federal storm water regulations . The main objective of
the Program is to protect the quality of water and life in the San
Francisco Bay and tributary streams in Alameda County from potential
adverse effects of storm water pollution. The program will evaluate
sources of pollutants in urban runoff (primarily storm water) ,
identify pollutant control measures, and implement a program of
pollutant controls, clean-up and public awareness . The storm drain
system is in place to help prevent the flooding of property due to
rain and storm waters . The Storm Water Management Plan for the
Alameda County Urban Runoff Clean Water Program describes in detail
the objectives of the program. A brief summary of the objectives and
components follows .
a) Public Information and Participation: This component is
proposed to educate the public to better understand and
participate in the control of urban runoff pollution and to
solicit support for the program. Some examples of Public
Information and Participation are:
1 . Urban Runoff kick-off event.
2 . Fact sheet and brochure.
3 . Slide show.
4 . Urban Runoff Information telephone number.
5 . Telephone survey.
6 . Public workshops or meetings .
7 . Media campaign.
8 . Installation of stencils by students or . City staff on
storm drain inlets .
b) Municipal Government Activities : This component is proposed
to improve activities performed by city and county
government agencies and promote adoption of new practices to
reduce the amount of pollutants entering the municipal storm
drain systems . Some examples of Municipal Government
Activities are:
1 . Household hazardous waste collection programs .
2 . Collection or recycling program for non-hazardous
material .
3 . Litter pickup and control .
4 . Erosion control on undeveloped lands .
5 . Street sweeping.
6 . Maintenance of storm drain inlets , catch basins, and
storm drain lines and channels .
C) New Development and Construction Site Controls : This
component is proposed to control storm water pollution
originating from new development and significant redevelop-
ment, both during and after construction. Some examples of
New Development and Construction Site Controls are:
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1 . Site planning procedures which consider potential water
quality impacts .
2 . Detailed procedures for inspecting sites and enforcing
control measures which address the nature of the
construction activity, topography, characteristics of
soils, and receiving water quality.
3 . Structural (such as hay bales or sandbags to trap
sediment and pollutants) and non-structural (such as
spills prevention) practices .
4 . Educational and training measures for construction site
operators .
d) Illicit Discharge Identification and Elimination: This
component is proposed to eliminate all non-storm water
discharges, including illicit connections and illegal dump-
ing into the municipal storm drain system. Some examples of
Illicit Discharge Identification and Elimination are:
1 . A program to enforce ordinandes to prevent -illicit
discharges .
2 . Ongoing field screening activities .
3 . Investigations of those portions of the storm drain
system that have a reasonable potential of containing
illicit discharges .
4 . Procedures to prevent, contain, and respond to spills
that may discharge into the storm drains .
5 . A program to promote public reporting of illicit
discharges .
6 . Public education program to facilitate proper manage-
ment and disposal of used oil and toxic materials .
7 . A program to limit infiltration from sanitary sewers to
storm drains .
e) Industrial Dischargers Identification and Runoff Control :
This component is proposed to identify industrial discharges
in Alameda County, ensure that the industries are
discharging only storm water to the municipal storm drain
system, and help industries learn how they can reduce
pollutants in their storm water runoff and comply with state
and local requirements . It is expected that the person who
conducts the field inspections for the Illicit Discharge
Identification and Elimination Program Component will
conduct the industrial site inspections as necessary.
f) Monitoring: This component is proposed to conduct monitor-
ing which will augment existing monitoring results on
hydrologic and water quality conditions in Alameda County
creeks, help identify sources of storm water pollution,
evaluate effectiveness of controls proposed by the other
program components, and evaluate effectiveness of the
overall program on improving water quality.
g) Storm Water Treatment: This component is proposed to retro-
fit selected existing storm water facilities to enhance
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their ability to remove contaminants from storm water or
construct new facilities to treat storm water.
Additionally, the program component will identify new or
improved ways to operate and maintain existing storm water
facilities to enhance removal of pollutants .
According to the Consultant hired by Alameda County and cities,
implementing this Program would cost the City $380, 000 annually. This
cost estimate includes some programs that Staff believes can be
consolidated with existing programs and this cost also includes hiring
two full-time staff persons . Staff believes that at this time, hiring
one half-time person is sufficient to begin the program. Therefore,
Staff estimates the cost for the Program and other related costs for
Fiscal Year 1991-92 is $164 ,560 . This includes $132,065 as a total
cost for the Storm Water Management Plan for the Alameda County Urban
Runoff Water Program, including Staff and permit cost; $22 , 000 in
reserve funds for future major work, such as installation of treatment
facilities , repair major damage due to storm water, purchase or repair
of equipment or machinery necessary for the program; $7 , 700 for the
cost of 5% fee collection delinquency; and $2, 795 cost to the City for
the County to collect the fees (approximately 1 . 7% of total cost) .
Funding for this mandated Program has not been provided by Federal,
State or Regional sources . Each city is responsible for its own
funding of this Program.
Alameda County and seven other cities in Alameda County have already
created a benefit assessment district to fund this program. Some
other cities are in the process of either creating a storm water
utility fee or an assessment district. On May 28, 1991, City Council
directed Staff to develop a City-wide fee to cover the cost of this
Program.
The cost to each property owner is proposed to be calculated based on
equivalent runoff area for the single-family and duplex units . The
average lot size for single-family and duplex units in the City is
approximately 6 , 915 square feet. Single-family and duplex lots have
approximately 30% less runoff than the same size commercial,
industrial and multi-family lots which have larger paved and covered
areas . An average equivalent runoff area for single-family units is
approximately 4 , 840 square feet ( 70% of 6 , 915 sf commercial lot) .
Each single-family and duplex unit fee cost would be equal to the unit
charge of one Equivalent Runoff Single-Family Residential Unit . All
other properties, such as commercial, industrial, multi-family, etc . ,
(except condominiums and vacant lots ) are proposed to be converted to
the number of equivalent runoff single-family units using the
following formula:
No . of Equivalent Runoff = Total Area (sf)
Single-Family Residential Units 4 , 840 sf
The average covered area for each condominium is approximately 60% of
the average single-family lot. Therefore, each condominium would be
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60% of an Equivalent Runoff Single-Family Residential Unit (ERSFRU) .
Vacant lots that do not have any improvements on them are proposed to
be charged 50% of an equivalent improved lot due to more absorbency of
the soil and less runoff .
The total amount of funds needed for storm water management programs
will be divided by the total amount of ERSFRU' s in the City to find
the unit price of the ERSFRU. The land use information to calculate
the number of ERSFRU' s was based on County Assessor' s land use
information from March 1989 to March 1990 . At the time this report
was prepared, this was the most current information available. The
following formula is used to calculate the unit price of ERSFRU' s :
Unit Price of ERSFRU = total cost = 164 ,560
total number of ERSFRU' s 11,250
The unit fee will be multiplied by the number of ERSFRU' s in each lot .
Based on the 1990-91 tax roll, the proposed unit fee for each ERSFRU
would be $14 . 62 per year. Since there has been some development since
the 1990-91 tax roll, this unit fee should drop a small amount as the
total cost will remain at $164 ,560 . Following is the method of
calculating the proposed fee for different land uses .
Land Use Fee Cost
Each Single-Family Residential 1 x unit fee of ERSFRU
Each Duplex 1 x unit fee of ERSFRU
Each Condominium 0 . 6 x unit fee of ERSFRU
Commercial, Industrial and Lot size (sf) x unit fee of ERSFRU
Multi-Family Residential 4 ,840 sf
Vacant Lot One-half of the fee for improved lot
Federal, State, County, City and other public facilities are exempt
from this fee. Fees will be collected by Alameda County as part of
the property taxes . The fees must be approved by City Council prior
to August 10, 1991, in order for the County to collect them for this
Fiscal Year ( 1991-92 ) . The County offers the best method for
collecting the fees at this time as the City of Dublin does not have
the mechanisms in place for billing property owners .
Staff recommends adopting the Resolution after the public hearing.
a:agststrm
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RESOLUTION NO. -91
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN
APPROVING AND ESTABLISHING A
STORM WATER UTILITY FEE
WHEREAS, the California Regional Water Quality Control
Board' s San Francisco Region requires the City of Dublin to obtain
a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to
discharge its storm water into streams which lead to San Francisco Bay;
and
WHEREAS, as part of the NPDES permit, the City must
implement a Storm Water Management Plan for the Alameda County Urban
Runoff Clean Water Program (Program) ; and
WHEREAS, the main objective of the Program is to protect the
quality of water and life in San Francisco Bay and tributary streams in
Alameda County from potentially adverse effects of storm water
pollution; and
WHEREAS, funding was not provided by Federal, State,
Regional, or other sources for the Program and permit cost, and each
city in Alameda County is responsible for funding its portion of the
program and permit cost; and
WHEREAS, Staff has developed a method of establishing a
City-wide fee to cover the costs of the Program, including cost of the
permit, reserve funds, the cost of collecting fees and an estimated 5%
delinquency; and
WHEREAS, storm drainage systems help to prevent flooding of
properties ; and
WHEREAS, the cost to each property owner is proposed to
be calculated based on equivalent runoff area for the single-family
residential units (ERSFRU) as set forth in the report prepared by the
City Public Works Department; and
WHEREAS, a noticed public hearing was held for purposes of
considering adoption of this Resolution and the proposed Storm Water
Utility fee; and
WHEREAS, the report was available for public inspection
and review more than ten ( 10) days prior to this public hearing; and
WHEREAS, said Council has duly considered said report and
each and every part thereof, and all testimony received at the public
hearing finds that each and every part of said report is sufficient,
and that said report, nor any part thereof requires or should be
modified in any respect;
WHEREAS, the Council finds that:
A. The purpose of the Storm Water Utility Fee is to provide
a program for storm water drainage for all properties
within the City;
B. The cost of the program and the method of allocating the
cost among all properties within the City is set forth
herein;
C. The fees collected pursuant to this Resolution shall be
used to provide funds to implement Dublin' s share of the
Storm Water Management Plan for the Alameda County Urban
Runoff Clean Water Program;
D. The amount to be raised through the Storm Water Utility
Fee for 1991-1992 does not exceed the estimated total
cost of the Program and related expenses described in
the report for Fiscal Year 1991-92 ; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Dublin
establishes and adopts a City-Wide Water Utility Fee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following method be used to
calculate the City-Wide Storm Water Utility fees for different land
uses for the 1991-1992 fiscal year:
Land Use Fee Cost
Each Single-Family Residential Lot 1 x unit price of ERSFRU
Each Duplex Lot 1 x unit price of ERSFRU
Each Condominium Unit 0 . 6 x unit price of ERSFRU
Commercial, Industrial and Lot size (sf) x unit price of ERSFRU
Multi-Family Residential Lots 4 , 840 sf
Vacant Lot One-half of the fee for an
equivalent improved lot
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C
ERSFRU = Equivalent Runoff Single-Family Residential Unit. The fee for
Fiscal Year 1991-92 for each ERSFRU shall be $14 . 62 (or lower) , based
on the total number of ERSFRU' s appearing on the 1991-92 Alameda County
Assessor' s roll and a total cost of $164 ,560 .
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the City Manager is authorized
and directed to enter into all necessary agreements with Alameda County
for collection of the fees along with property taxes, including payment
to Alameda County of its reasonable costs of collection not to exceed
1 . 7% of the total amount collected.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 22th day of July, 1991 .
AYES :
NOES :
ABSENT:
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
a:reso. 91
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