Title
Discuss the Surface Drainage Utility System Fee and Ordinance
Summary
MEETING DATE: December 1, 2014
DEPARTMENT: Development Services / Engineering
CONTACT: Michael Hebert, PE, CFM, CPESC, Assistant Director of Engineering
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
· Authorize Staff to draft the revised ordinance and initiate the 30 day public posting and comment process to adopt the new fee as stated below:
o Set the Surface Drainage Utility fee at $4.00 per Single Family Living Unit Equivalent (SFLUE, 3,000 square feet of impervious area)
o Maintain a flat rate of $4.00 per single-family household per month
o Remove the cap on commercial/industrial properties
o Calculate multi-family properties based on impervious surface and not number of units
o Set an implementation date of February 1, 2015
ITEM SUMMARY:
· In August of 2013 Council appointed a Stormwater Management Focus Group to review and recommend modifications to the Stormwater Management Ordinance.
· That ordinance was revised in September 2014 per the recommendations of the Focus Group.
· These revisions included simplifying requirements in the ordinance to make development in McKinney less complicated and more predictable.
· The focus group also recommended increasing the surface drainage utility system (SDUS) fee, acknowledging that some of the changes may create impacts on McKinney's drainage system.
· The focus group recommended increasing the SDUS fee to an average of approximately $5.00 per home and creating a tiered system based on lot impervious area.
· City Council created a subcommittee to work with City Staff in order to further review the recommendations of the focus group and provide recommendations on the best method of amending the SDUS fee.
· Three meetings were held, attempting to best determine the cost of service and how to assess the costs.
o In order to better understand the financial implications of system wide drainage improvements staff analyzed Jeans Creek, an urbanized water course where both the City and developers have implemented numerous drainage improvement projects.
o Jeans Creek represents the higher end of potential costs since most of the drainage basin was developed prior to detention and an erosion hazard setback easement being required. Under current requirements developers must establish an erosion hazard setback which precludes structures from being placed in close proximity to streams and creeks.
o Based on the improvements done to Jeans Creek to date, costs are approximately $1.4 million per stream mile.
o Applying the Jeans Creek scenario to the 300+/- stream miles in the City and its ETJ yields a total improvement cost of $420 million. Assuming a build out of 50 years costs would be $8.4 million per year.
o This translates to an SDUS fee of approximately $13 per month per SFLUE.
· The Jeans Creek scenario is beyond the requirements that will be necessary with the current regulations in place. Recognizing this, the subcommittee, working with Staff, is recommending an initial increase of the SDUS fee to $4 per SFLUE.
· The subcommittee recommended requiring a review of this fee at least every 5 years to increase/decrease the fee based on actual use of funds.
· The subcommittee recommended that the cap on commercial/industrial properties be lifted, recognizing their impact on the system similar to that for all other types of properties.
· The subcommittee recommended that multi-family properties pay based on their impervious surface instead of the number of units.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
· Staff reviewed the average impervious surface per single-family dwelling. The average amount is approximately 3,000 square feet.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY:
· Recommended fees are as follows:
o Single-family residential properties: $4.00 per month.
o Multi-family, commercial and industrial properties: $4.00 per month for every 3,000 square feet of impervious surface.
o No cap is recommended for multi-family, commercial and industrial properties.
· Total estimated revenues per the above recommendations is approximately $4.1 million per year.
· All revenue from the SDUS fee can only be applied to improving and/or repairing the stormwater drainage system.
BOARD OR COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION:
· N/A