Arcata Municipal Code Art. 2 Drainage Development Fee

A. There is hereby imposed on each and every development project within the City and any person who applies for a permit for new development, and the owners of such parcel to be developed, jointly and severally, a drainage development fee, which shall be based on increased capacity needs of the Stormwater Drainage Enterprise and Utility resulting from the development project. This fee imposed is deemed reasonable and is necessary to fund improvements to or enlargements of the City’s stormwater drainage facilities necessary as a result of the new development. The fee shall be established by resolution of the Council.

B. The drainage development fee shall be deposited in a stormwater drainage fund and shall be accounted for in accordance with the provisions set forth in this chapter.

A. The drainage development fee shall be due and payable on the date a certificate of occupancy is issued. If the development does not require the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, the drainage development fee shall be due and payable on the date of final inspection. If a residential development contains more than one dwelling unit, the Director of Environmental Services may determine if the drainage development fee shall be paid on a lump-sum basis when the first dwelling in the development receives its certificate of occupancy, or on a prorated basis either for each dwelling when it receives its certificate of occupancy, or when a certain percentage of the dwellings have received their certificates of occupancy.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A, the Director of Environmental Services may require the payment of the drainage development fee at an earlier time, if the Director of Environmental Services determines that the fee will be collected for public improvements or facilities for which an account has been established and funds appropriated and a proposed construction schedule or plan has been adopted. The Director of Environmental Services may additionally require payment of a drainage development fee at a time earlier than specified in subsection A if the fee is to reimburse the City for expenditures already made.

C. If any fee specified in subsection A is not fully paid prior to the issuance of an appropriate permit, the City may require the property owner or other record interest owner to execute a contract to pay the fee within the time specified in subsection A. The contract shall contain a legal description of the property affected, shall be recorded in the County Recorder’s Office, and shall constitute a lien for the payment of the fee from the date of recordation, which shall be enforceable against successors in interest to the property owner or other record interest owner at the time of issuance of the appropriate permit. The contract may require the property owner or other record interest owner to provide appropriate notification of the opening of any escrow for the sale of the property for which the permit was issued and to provide in the escrow instructions that the fee be paid to the City imposing the same from the sale proceeds in escrow prior to disbursing proceedings to the seller. The obligation to pay the fee specified in subsection A shall inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable by the City, regardless of whether a contract is executed. (Ord. 1516, eff. 8/16/2019)

It shall be unlawful to initiate or undertake a development project unless a permit for such project has been issued by the Director of Environmental Services. (Ord. 1516, eff. 8/16/2019)

A. Prior to the issuance by the Director of Environmental Services of a permit for any development project, the permit applicant shall submit a detailed development drainage plan to the Director of Environmental Services, unless the Director of Environmental Services waives such requirement in writing. The requested permit shall not be issued until the development drainage plan is approved by the Director of Environmental Services.

B. The development drainage plan shall be approved by the Director of Environmental Services only if it meets the standards set forth in the Master Drainage Plan. Until the Master Drainage Plan is approved, the Director of Environmental Services shall approve the development drainage plan only if it appears to provide for drainage control in a manner consistent with present capacity and operational capabilities of the Stormwater Drainage Enterprise and Utility.

C. The Director of Environmental Services shall determine the drainage development fee to be imposed based upon a review of the approved drainage development plan. (Ord. 1516, eff. 8/16/2019)

The development drainage plan shall identify the boundary of any natural drainage course, drainage facility, or subdrainage area on the land in question. The plan shall include drawings, profiles, and specifications for the construction of channels, conduits, detention ponds, culverts, bridges, and all other stormwater drainage facilities reasonably necessary to insure that groundwater, underground springs, flood and storm waters, including drainage from other lands which will contribute runoff to the subject property, will be adequately drained, stored or otherwise controlled. The plan shall describe the ultimate method and location of outflow from the land in question. Included in the plan shall be a schedule containing the estimated dates of completion of construction for all drainage facilities shown on the plan. If and when the plan is approved and the appropriate permit issued, the owner and applicant shall comply with said schedule.

The Director of Environmental Services may reduce a drainage development fee if the Director determines that the development project will have its own maintained storm drainage facility or facilities that do not fully utilize City facilities or make no substantial or only a partial contribution of storm or surface water to the City’s stormwater drainage facilities. A reduction in fee shall reflect the extent that such new development does not contribute storm and surface water to the City’s stormwater drainage facilities. The burden of establishing the reduced extent of contribution to the City’s stormwater drainage facilities shall be on the permit applicant. The Director of Environmental Services may require the permit applicant to present an engineered drainage plan or any other technical information, which may be needed to support the request for fee reduction. (Ord. 1516, eff. 8/16/2019)

A. Any permit applicant or property owner who disputes the amount of a drainage development fee imposed against his or her parcel pursuant to this chapter may file a written request with the Director of Environmental Services to review the fee imposed. At the discretion of the Director of Environmental Services, the requesting party may be required to present an engineered report and/or survey showing information relevant to the request such as the total property area, the impervious surface area, and any other features or conditions which influence the drainage or storm and surface water runoff from the property.

B. The Director of Environmental Services shall conduct a technical review to determine if an adjustment of the fee is in conformance with the provisions of this ordinance. At the conclusion of the review, the Director of Environmental Services shall issue a written determination stating whether a fee reduction is appropriate and, if so, the amount of such reduction. All decisions of the Director of Environmental Services shall be served on the permit applicant or property owner personally or by certified mail.

C. The party who requested review of a drainage development fee may appeal the decision of the Director of Environmental Services to the City Council within thirty (30) days after service of the Director of Environmental Services’ written decision. Notice of appeal shall include a description of the general grounds for the appeal. The Council shall conduct a public hearing to consider the testimony of the appealing party. After public hearing, the Council may affirm or modify the decision of the Director of Environmental Services, provided that any modification of the fee is in conformance with the provisions of this ordinance. (Ord. 1516, eff. 8/16/2019)