Petaluma Municipal Code Ch. 17.30 Storm Drainage Impact Fees

The city council Znds that due to the passage of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, city property tax

revenues will be sharply curtailed. The council further Znds that due to the present and future curtailment of said

revenues, property tax revenue even in combination with other city revenues will not be su\cient to provide for

necessary construction of major public improvements made necessary by new development within the area

identiZed as developable on the city’s general plan and environmental design plans.

Those projects which drain into the Petaluma River and its tributaries and which exceed normal runo] will require

the construction and detention areas to accommodate such runo] and public funds are not available for such

construction. The fees required by this chapter are therefore declared to be necessary for the substantial

preservation of the public health, safety and general welfare, by causing costs of construction of said

improvements to be borne by all of the developments within the city of Petaluma, all of which generate the need

for detention area improvements. (Ord. 1647 NCS §1, 1986; Ord. 1530 NCS §1, 1982.)

A. For Residential Development. For those projects which cause an increase in runo] of two-acre feet or less, a fee

will be required to provide on or o]-site detention equal to the calculated increase. For those projects which cause

an increase in runo] in excess of two-acre feet, either on or o]-site detention areas to provide storage capacity

equal to the calculated increase or fees shall be required. The decision as to which applies shall be at the

discretion of the director of public works/city engineer. The exact amount of the fee shall be established by the

resolution of this council. For projects involving the subdivision of land payment of storm drainage impact fees

shall be imposed at the time of approval of the tentative subdivision map or parcel map and shall be paid prior to

approval and recordation of the Znal subdivision (or parcel) map. If no subdivision is involved, fees shall be

imposed at the time of site plan and architectural review and paid prior to issuance of the Zrst building (grading)

permit for the project.

B. For Commercial and/or Industrial Development. For such projects, a fee shall be charged at an established

amount per acre foot of additional runo] created by the development. Such fee shall be established by resolution

of this council. For projects involving the subdivision of land, said fees shall be established as a condition of either

the tentative map or parcel map approval. Said fees shall be payable prior to the issuance of the Zrst building

(grading) permit for the development of each parcel of land created.

If no subdivision is involved, fees shall be imposed at the time of site plan and architectural review and paid prior

to the issuance of the Zrst building (grading) permit for the project.

(Ord. 1653 NCS §1, 1986; Ord. 1647 NCS §2, 1986; Ord. 1547 NCS §1, 1983; Ord. 1530 NCS §1, 1982.)

For residential and nonresidential development, the basis for the fee shall be the calculated increase of developed

site runo] expressed in acre feet determined for a one-hundred-year storm (six inches of rain in twenty-four

hours).

The di]erence between developed and un-developed property shall be calculated utilizing the runo] coe\cients

published by the Sonoma County water agency. The proportion of vegetated area to total area may be used to

calculate runo] coe\cients for single and two-family residential projects when the director of public works/city

engineer deems it appropriate and more accurate. (Ord. 1653 NCS §2, 1986; Ord. 1530 NCS §1, 1982.)

The fees required herein for any project may be reduced in a pro rata amount, at the discretion of the city council

and on the recommendation of the director of public works/city engineer if the developer is permitted to

construct, at his own expense, on or o]-site detention areas to accommodate part or all of the incremental runo]

created by the development. (Ord. 1653 NCS §3, 1986; Ord. 1530 NCS §1, 1982.)

All of the funds collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in a storm drainage improvement fund, and

shall be used for the acquisition, expansion, and development of storm drainage improvements. (Ord. 1530 NCS

§1, 1982.)