Watsonville Municipal Code Art. 8 Storm Drainage Facilities Fees

The Council hereby declares that the fees required to be paid by the provisions of this article are imposed pursuant to the taxing powers of the City and Section 66483 of the Government Code of the State solely for the purpose of producing revenue. The continued increase in residential, commercial, and industrial development in the City creates a need to impose fees for the purposes of defraying the actual or estimated costs of constructing planned drainage facilities for the removal of surface and storm waters from local or neighborhood drainage areas.

(§ 1, Ord. 626-83 C-M, eff. January 26, 1984)

The Council adopted a drainage plan entitled “Storm Drainage Master Plan, 1980” by James M. Montgomery, Consulting Engineers, Inc., which contains estimates of the total costs of constructing the local drainage facilities required by said Master Plan and maps of areas showing the boundaries and locations of such facilities. Said Master Plan is subject to amendment, which amendments shall be subject to the provisions of this article.

(§ 1, Ord. 626-83 C-M, eff. January 26, 1984)

Storm drainage fees, to be called the “Storm Drainage Facilities Fees”, are hereby imposed on the privilege of constructing in the City any residential, commercial, or industrial unit or structure and any subdivision, and every person to whom a permit to construct any such unit or structure in the City is issued shall pay to the City such fee as established by resolution of the Council.

(§ 1, Ord. 626-83 C-M, eff. January 26, 1984)

The storm drainage facilities fees required by the provisions of this article to be paid shall be due and payable upon the issuance by the City of a building permit for the construction of any residential, commercial, or industrial unit or structure or upon the approval of a final subdivision map or minor land division as a condition thereof.

(§ 1, Ord. 626-83 C-M, eff. January 26, 1984)

The storm drainage facilities fees shall be paid to the Director of Finance or to an authorized agent at the office of the Director of Finance.

(§ 1, Ord. 626-83 C-M, eff. January 26, 1984)

The fees imposed by the provisions of this article shall not apply to the following:

(a) The reconstruction of a unit or structure which was damaged or destroyed by earthquake, fire, flood, or other cause over which the owner had no control (provided that compliance with any Building Code or other law of the City or of any other applicable law shall not be deemed a cause over which the owner has no control;

(b) The remodeling or alteration of a unit or structure if the building area of such unit or structure is not increased; or

(c) If the Council provides by resolution, in its discretion, for the acceptance of considerations in lieu of the payment of fees.

(§ 1, Ord. 626-83 C-M, eff. January 26, 1984)

All of the storm drainage facilities fees collected pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be placed into the “Storm Drainage Facilities Fund” which is hereby created and established for such purpose. The fees collected pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be used and expended solely for land acquisition and the improvement, construction, and installation of storm drainage facilities according to the Storm Drainage Master Plan. It shall be the policy of the City to expend such fees within the area covered by the City’s Master Plan. The fees shall provide for the implementation of the plan based upon the maximum benefit to the entire City. The reasonable implementation of the plan shall be reflected in the City’s Capital Improvement Program.

(§ 1, Ord. 626-83 C-M, eff. January 26, 1984)

The City may advance money from its various funds to pay the costs of constructing such storm drainage facilities within an area and shall be authorized to reimburse such various funds for such advances from the Storm Drainage Facilities Fund for the storm drainage in which the storm drainage or facility was constructed. The City may incur an indebtedness for the construction of storm drainage facilities within a storm drainage area so long as the sole security for the repayment of such indebtedness shall be the moneys in the Storm Drainage Facilities Fund.

(§ 1, Ord. 626-83 C-M, eff. January 26, 1984)

After the completion of the facilities and the payment of all claims from any Storm Drainage Facilities Fund, the Council shall determine by resolution the amount of any surplus remaining in such fund for an area. Any surplus shall be used, in those amounts as the Council may determine, for one or more of the following purposes:

(a) For transfer to the General Fund provided the amount of transfer shall not exceed five (5%) percent of the total amount expended from the fund, and provided the funds transferred are used to support the operation and maintenance of those facilities for which the fees were collected;

(b) For the construction of additional or modified facilities within the particular storm drainage area; and

(c) As a refund in the manner provided in Section 66483.2 of the Government Code of the State.

(§ 1, Ord. 626-83 C-M, eff. January 26, 1984)