Resolution 13635CITY OF ALAMEDA RESOLUTION NO. 13 6 35
AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 12243 TO CLARIFY THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE STORM WATER UTILITY FEE
WHEREAS, the City of Alameda owns and maintains a sto
storm water and to convey such water to discharge points; and
sewer system to co
lect
WHEREAS, storm water originating on property located in the City is accepted into the
City's storm sewer system; and
WHEREAS, except where water upon such surface drains into a private storm drain
system designed to prevent such increased discharge or other on -site infrastructure is maintained
to do so, the installation and maintenance of impervious surfaces on property located in the City
leads to increased discharges of storm water from the property into the City's storm sewer
system; and
WHEREAS, many common activities, such as the operation of motor vehicles, the
normal operation and maintenance of buildings, and the practice of standard landscaping
techniques deposit pollutants on rooftops, patios, walkways, parking areas, driveways,
landscaped areas, streets, sidewalks and similar surfaces within the City; and
WHEREAS, except where such water is properly treated in a private storm water
treatment system and then directly discharged into the City's storm sewer system, water
discharged into the City's storm sewer system from properties located in the City generally
traverses these surfaces and thereby introduces pollutants into the City's storm sewer system;
and
WHEREAS, there are no practicable measures available to either (i) entirely prevent the
pollution of these surfaces or (ii) permit storm water originating on improved property to
discharge into the City's storm sewer system without traversing these surfaces; and
WHEREAS, because storm water entering the storm sewer system is ultimately
discharged into the San Francisco Bay or the estuary, the federal Clean Water Act as well as the
health, safety, and general welfare of the people of the City of Alameda require those who
generate effluent to the San Francisco Bay and the estuary to reduce pollutants in such discharge
to the maximum extent practicable; and
WHEREAS, Section 18 -22.5 of the Alameda Municipal Code requires that any person
engaged in activities that will or may result in pollutants entering the City's' storm sewer system
to undertake all practicable measures to reduce such pollutants; and
WHEREAS, by Resolution No. 12243, as amended by Resolution Nos. 12624 and 13370,
the City Council has established a fee to regulate the increased discharge of polluted storm water
into the City's storm sewer system that occurs when an owner, occupant, or other user of
property installs or maintains impervious surfaces on property located in the City, but fails to
mitigate such discharge or the pollution likely to enter the City's storm sewer system as a result
of such discharge, as by retaining that storm water or treating it in a manner reasonably
acceptable to the City's Public Works Director, before it is discharged into the City's stonn
sewer system; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to further amend Resolution No. 12243 to clarify
the implementation of the fee; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Alameda
that "unimproved vacant property" and "fully mitigated property" are exempt from the fees
established by Resolution No. 12243; all other property is "non- exempt property."
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that "unimproved vacant property" means any lot or
parcel that exists in its natural state, free of any artificial impervious surfaces or a parcel that the
Public Works Director determines will not likely discharge into the City's storm sewer system.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that "fully mitigated property" shall mean any lot or
parcel that the City's Public Works Director reasonably concludes is not likely to discharge into
the City's storm sewer system more pollutants carried via storm water than would be discharged
from the lot or parcel if no impermeable surfaces were maintained upon that parcel because the
lot or parcel is connected to a private storm drain system or other system designed to retain, treat
or otherwise prevent the introduction into the City's storm sewer system of polluted storm water.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the fee against the owner or occupant of any non-
exempt parcel shall be calculated according to the following formula:
Fee per ERU x Impervious Surface Units
Where the "Fee per ERU" is the ; rate set forth in Resolution No. 13370 ' for each
Equivalent Residential Unit (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to Resolution No 13370); and
"Impervious Surface Units" is equal to the square feet of impervious surface on the parcel
multiplied by 0.0005 (so that a parcel will be assigned one Impervious Surface Unit for each
2,000 square feet of impervious surface thereon). This calculation shall be rounded to the
nearest one - hundredth of a unit.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, except as provided in the second resolved clause
hereafter with respect to determinations of the Public Works Director, the fee against the owner
or occupant of any non-exempt parcel in commercial or industrial use shall be not less than the
fee for a parcel upon which two (2) Impervious Surface Units are maintained, and the fee against
the owner or occupant of any non - exempt parcel in institutional or apartment use shall be not less
than the fee for a parcel upon which one and one -half (1.5) Impervious Surface Units are
maintained.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, absent substantial evidence to the contrary, the
Public Works Director may presume that (i) each parcel in residential use that encompasses four
or fewer dwelling units contains 2,000 square feet of impervious surfaces, (ii) each parcel on
which a condominium project is located contains 600 square feet of impervious surface for each
dwelling unit included within the projected, (iii) each parcel in commercial or industrial use
contains impervious surfaces amounting to 80% of the gross area of the parcel, and (iv) each
parcel in institutional or apartment use contains impervious surfaces in the amount of 60% of the
gross area of the parcel;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any owner or occupant of a parcel may request that
the Public Works Director (i) determine that the parcel is "unimproved vacant property,"
(ii) determine that the parcel is "fully mitigated property," or (iii) determine the number of
Impervious Surface Units attributable to the parcel on the basis of such credible information as
the owner or occupant may provide that rebuts the presumptions set forth in the previous clause
of this Resolution. Any request for such a determination must be made in writing, be
accompanied by such documentation as the Public Works Director reasonably requests, and be
accompanied by an application fee in an amount established by resolution of the City Council.
The Public Works Director must, in writing and within sixty (60) calendar days of a completely
documented request, either make the requested determination, make an alternative determination,
or decline to make the requested determination. No determination shall be made in the absence
of substantial evidence, available to the Public Works Director, that such finding would be more
accurate than the presumptions set forth in the previous clause of this Resolution. In the event
the Public Works Director makes the requested determination, the City shall return the
application fee to the person who requested the determination. Otherwise, the City shall retain
the application fee to recover its cost of reviewing the request for a determination. Any
deteltiiination shall apply to the then current fiscal year and to any future fiscal year unless and
until a further determination is made hereunder (a) upon request of an owner or occupant, or
(b) upon the initiative of the Director of Public Works on the basis of changed circumstances
regarding the parcel or information unavailable to him or her at the time of the most recent
determination with respect to that parcel;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the fee per ERU for Fiscal Year 2003 -2004 was
established by Resolution No. 13370 as $53.49, and that the fees per ERU for Fiscal Years 2001-
2002 and Fiscal Year 2002 -2003 were established as $40.80 and $46.92 respectively.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the annual inflation adjustment to the Fee per ERU,
as required by Resolution No. 13370, shall be calculated based upon the percentage equal to the
percentage increase, if any, as published in the Engineering News - Record (ENR) Construction
Cost Index for the San Francisco Bay Area, (or based on some similar index identified by the
Public Works Director if that index ceases to be published).
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, if, for any reason, the fee established pursuant to
Resolution No. 12243 is not collected from an owner or occupant by Alameda County pursuant
to the agreement authorized by Resolution No. 12243, that fee may be directly collected by the
City from the owner or occupant. In such event the fee shall be due to the City at the same time
as the ad valorem property tax is due, and shall be subject to the same interest and penalties as
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the ad valorem property tax. ; :The City shall be entitled to recover its reasonable costs and
attorney's fees incurred in collecting any delinquent fee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, with : the exception of the establishment of the
exemption for "fully mitigated property," this Resolution is declaratory of existing law.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all provisions of Resolution No 12243, as amended
by Resolution Nos. 12624 and 13370, shall remain in full force and effect unless and to the
extent inconsistent with an express provision of this Resolution.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the purpose of these fees is to regulate the discharge
of pollution into the City's storm sewer system as required by the federal Clean Water Act and
not to impose a fee on a person or a parcel solely as an incident of property ownership.
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I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly and regularly
adopted and passed by the Council of the City of Alameda in a regular meeting assembled on the 7th
day of October, 2003, by the following vote to wit:
AYES:
NOES:
Councilmembers Daysog, Gilmore, Kerr, Matarrese, and
Mayor Johnson 5.
None.
ABSENT: None.
ABSTENTIONS: None.
IN WITNESS, WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of said City this
Stn day of October, 2003.
Lara Weisiger, Cit
City of Alameda