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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />February 9, 2015 <br />7:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 14 of 26 <br /> <br />(9. STORM WATER AND DRAINAGE TRUNK FEE REVIEW continued) <br /> <br />Gaffron stated the funding sources for these projects are broken down into four components: <br /> <br />1. The stormwater and drainage trunk fee, which the Council is discussing tonight, that is charged to new <br /> developments. <br /> <br />2. The stormwater and drainage trunk fee that is charged to redevelopment or expansion. Gaffron noted <br /> the City has chosen in the past not to implement that because of the onerous aspects of it. <br /> <br />3. The stormwater utility fees which are collected quarterly from every property owner in the City that is <br /> part of the Stormwater Utility Program; <br /> <br />4. Grant monies that could be secured from various agencies. Gaffron noted the City received a grant <br /> from the Watershed District for a project on Ivy Place and another grant to conduct a project off of <br /> Tonkawa Bay Road for Stubbs Bay. <br /> <br />Gaffron stated the stormwater and drainage trunk fee established in 2002 was considered a reasonable <br />basis for establishing a dollar figure per acre that should be collected from new developments. That <br />figure at the time was $2,670 per acre based on all property within a development. <br /> <br />Methods for reducing that fee were also put in place. Gaffron noted the Council had some issues at the <br />time with charging on a per acre basis for a 5-acre lot when a 5-acre lot is the least of the City’s concerns <br />since it has a larger area that can absorb runoff. For the 5-acre zone, the City had established a reduction <br />of up to 50 percent of the stormwater fee based on the percentage of the site that was put into drainage <br />way buffer easements or perimeter easements where the buffer areas had to remain in a natural state. <br />Gaffron noted that reduction only applied to the 5-acre zone and not the 2-acre zone and that it is the 2- <br />acre properties that have brought the issue back to the forefront in the past year. Gaffron stated for the 5- <br />acre zone, it was also established that any lot that was developed in that 5-acre zone only has to pay for <br />five acres, and in the 2-acre zone any lot that exceeds four acres has to pay for four acres. <br /> <br />Gaffron stated conceptually the City Ordinance also talks about potential reduction of the stormwater fee <br />based on providing stormwater facilities that provide additional treatment benefits beyond what is <br />required to serve that new development. The City has not formally established policies for that purpose <br />but at least on one occasion in Stone Bay the City did give a rebate essentially for oversizing the pond <br />along Highway 12. Gaffron stated there are a number of issues that have been identified and are as <br />follows: <br /> <br />1. The lack of clarity for dealing with new development activity. <br /> <br />2. The City Ordinance as written requires payment of the fee for all of the acreage and there have <br />been questions as to whether or not they should be paying for areas that are considered wetlands <br />or areas that are stormwater ponding. <br /> <br />3. There are inequities in the calculation of the fee for redevelopment. The Council should review <br /> how the fee relates to hardcover levels and hardcover increases or decreases as well as the use of <br /> BMPs to minimize runoff leaving the site.