Chapter 14.19
SURFACE WATER UTILITY
Sections:
14.19.010 Establishment of surface water utility.
14.19.015 Combination of utilities.
14.19.040 Surface water utility fund.
14.19.050 Surface water utility rates.
14.19.060 Rate review and adjustment.
14.19.070 Billing, collection, interest, sewerage lien.
14.19.080 Reductions and appeals.
14.19.005 Intent.
It is the intent and purpose of this chapter:
(1) To establish a surface water utility for Marysville to be administered by the surface water division of public works;
(2) To establish and define surface water utility rates;
(3) To provide a comprehensive approach to managing surface water in order to respect and preserve the city’s streams, lakes and other water bodies; protect water quality; control, accommodate and discharge storm runoff; provide for groundwater recharge; control sediment; stabilize erosion; establish monitoring capabilities; and rehabilitate stream and drainage corridors for hydraulics, aesthetics, and fisheries benefits. (Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006).
14.19.010 Establishment of surface water utility.
There is hereby established a surface water utility with jurisdiction over all property within the city limits. The function of this utility is to finance, acquire, construct, develop, improve, maintain, and operate public storm water control facilities for the purpose of preventing and solving drainage problems and improving the quality of surface water. (Ord. 3185 § 4, 2021; Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2245 § 6, 1999).
14.19.015 Combination of utilities.
Being fully informed and advised, the city council finds it to be in the public interest that the surface water utility of the city be combined with the waterworks utility of the city. Pursuant to RCW 35.67.010 and 35.67.331, the surface water utility of the city, created and established by Ordinance No. 2245, is hereby combined with and made a part of the waterworks utility of the city. (Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2509 § 1, 2004).
14.19.020 Authority.
(1) Pursuant to RCW 35.92.020, the city of Marysville is authorized to provide storm and surface water management services within its city limits for the benefit of the residents.
(2) Whenever necessary to examine the property characteristics of a particular parcel for the determination of a surface water utility rate, the director may enter any property or portion thereof at reasonable times in compliance with the following procedures:
(a) If such property or portion thereof is occupied, the director shall present identification credentials, state the reason for entry and request entry.
(b) If such property or portion thereof is unoccupied, the director shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other persons having charge or control of the property or portion thereof and request entry.
(c) Unless entry is consented to by the owner or person in control of any property or portion thereof, the director, prior to entry, shall obtain a search warrant as authorized by the laws of the state of Washington. (Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2245 § 6, 1999).
14.19.025 Applicability.
The requirements of this chapter shall apply to all properties located within the city of Marysville city limits. (Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006).
14.19.030 Definitions.
The following words, when used herein, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) “City and county right-of-way” means any strip or parcel of land dedicated to the city or county for public uses including street, mass transit, bicycle and pedestrian uses as well as emergency access, utility, drainage, vegetation management, view corridor or other necessary public uses on a portion of which a street is built.
(2) “Director” means the director the Marysville department of public works or his or her designee.
(3) “Equivalent residential unit (ERU)” shall mean a unit of measurement in the amount of 3,200 square feet of impervious area on a parcel, which is estimated to contribute an amount of runoff to the city’s storm water drainage system, which is approximately equal to the runoff created by an average single-family residential unit, and which is used to calculate the surface water utility fee established in this chapter.
(4) “Impervious surface” means a hard surface area that prevents or retards the entry of water into the soil mantle as under natural conditions prior to development and as a result causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities or at an increased rate of flow from the flow present under natural conditions prior to development. Common impervious surfaces include, but are not limited to, rooftops, walkways, patios, driveways, parking lots or storage areas, concrete or asphalt paving, gravel roads, packed earthen materials and oiled, macadam or other surfaces which similarly impede the natural infiltration of storm water. Open, uncovered surface water management facilities shall not be considered as impervious surfaces.
(5) “Low impact development” means a surface water management strategy that emphasizes conservation and the use of existing natural site features integrated with distributed small-scale surface water controls to more closely mimic natural hydrologic patterns in residential, commercial and industrial settings.
(6) “Nonresidential” means all parcels which are not included within the residential category, including, but not limited to, commercial, multifamily, condominiums and duplexes.
(7) “Parcel” means any area of land within the city of Marysville that is deemed a distinct property as identified by the Snohomish County assessor’s office, whether or not the parcel is considered taxable.
(8) “Rainwater harvesting system” means a system for storing, collecting, and reusing rainwater from a rooftop, installed at a commercial-use building, that has been designed and constructed in accordance with the Washington State Building Code Council’s Permissive Rainwater Harvesting System Guidelines for Nonresidential Occupancies (2002 or as amended), has a storage volume of at least 10 percent of the mean annual runoff volume generated from the contributing roof area, and for which design and construction has been approved by the director.
(9) “Residential” means a single-family residential parcel which has been developed and constructed to contain one dwelling unit and continues to be used solely for each purpose.
(10) “State highway right-of-way” means the right-of-way of a state limited-access highway inside or outside a city or town.
(11) “Surface water management facility” means any facility, improvement, development, property or interest therein, made, constructed or acquired for the purpose of controlling or protecting life or property from storm, waste, flood or surplus waters, or for the purpose of protecting water quality. Such facilities shall include, but not be limited to, the improvements and authority described in Chapter 35.92 RCW.
(12) “Surface water management services” means the services provided by the department of public works to plan, design, establish, acquire, develop, construct, maintain and improve surface water management facilities within city limits for the benefit of the residents.
(13) “Surface water utility rate” means the dollar amount charged per parcel, as set forth in this chapter, based upon the amount of impervious surface coverage for the accommodation of storm and surface water runoff and other surface water management services. (Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2245 § 6, 1999).
14.19.040 Surface water utility fund.
All service charges collected by the city shall be deposited in the surface water utility fund, as established in Chapter 3.20 MMC. (Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2245 § 6, 1999).
14.19.050 Surface water utility rates.
Surface water utility rates shall be based on a commonly accepted rate unit for surface water utilities, the equivalent residential unit (ERU). The ERU is used to relate a base rate fee charged to a single-family residential parcel to that which is charged to a nonresidential parcel. The ERU is determined by using the current best available method, which may include analyzing digital photographs, utilizing satellite imagery, performing field checks for verification purposes of a representative sample of single-family residences within the city limits and/or utilizing civil design and construction plans or record drawings. Using this methodology, the director shall determine the amount of impervious area on each nonresidential parcel. The city’s standard ERU amount is 3,200 square feet of impervious surface area. The specific ERU calculation for each parcel will be rounded to the nearest one hundredth, will be established for each such parcel as the impervious surface information becomes available for such parcel, and will be calculated in accordance with the following table:
Effective January 1, 2021:
|
Customer Class |
|
Rate Calculation |
|
2021 Bi-monthly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(1 ERU = 3,200 sq. ft.) |
||||
|
Residential |
|
1 ERU |
|
$12.43 |
|
Nonresidential |
|
(sq. ft. of impervious surface) |
|
$12.43 |
|
(1 ERU) |
Effective January 1, 2022:
|
Customer Class |
|
Rate Calculation 1 ERU = 3,200 sq. ft. of impervious surface |
|
2022 Bi-monthly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Single-Family Residential |
|
1 ERU |
|
$25.36 |
|
All Other Property Types |
|
Total Impervious Surface/3,200 = Billable ERUs |
|
$25.36 per ERU |
Effective January 1, 2023:
|
Customer Class |
|
Rate Calculation 1 ERU = 3,200 sq. ft. of impervious surface |
|
2023 Bi-monthly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Single-Family Residential |
|
1 ERU |
|
$25.86 |
|
All Other Property Types |
|
Total Impervious Surface/3,200 = Billable ERUs |
|
$25.86 per ERU |
Effective January 1, 2024:
|
Customer Class |
|
Rate Calculation 1 ERU = 3,200 sq. ft. of impervious surface |
|
2024 Bi-monthly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Single-Family Residential |
|
1 ERU |
|
$26.38 |
|
All Other Property Types |
|
Total Impervious Surface/3,200 = Billable ERUs |
|
$26.38 per ERU |
(Ord. 3185 § 3, 2021; Ord. 3043 § 4, 2016; Ord. 2975 § 3, 2014; Ord. 2948 § 3, 2013; Ord. 2918 § 3, 2013; Ord. 2916 § 3, 2012; Ord. 2881 § 3 (App. A), 2011; Ord. 2836 § 3, 2010; Ord. 2815 § 3, 2010; Ord. 2758 § 3, 2008; Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2493 § 1, 2003; Ord. 2486 § 1, 2003).
14.19.060 Rate review and adjustment.
Surface water utility rates will be reviewed and adjusted pursuant to MMC 14.07.075. (Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006).
14.19.070 Billing, collection, interest, sewerage lien.
Surface water utility rates for each parcel served by city water will be collected pursuant to Chapter 14.05 MMC.
Where a parcel is not served by city water, the city shall have a lien for delinquent and unpaid rates, penalties, and interest. Said lien shall be superior to all other liens except the lien for general taxes and local and special assessments. In accordance with the provisions of RCW 35.67.215, said lien shall be effective for a total not to exceed one year’s delinquent service charges without the necessity of any writing or recording of the lien with the county auditor. Unpaid rates shall bear interest at eight percent per annum computed on a monthly basis. Said lien shall be foreclosed in accordance with the provisions for a sewerage lien all as provided by Chapter 35.67 RCW. (Ord. 2726 § 1, 2007; Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006).
14.19.080 Reductions and appeals.
(1) Reductions. Any surface water utility customer making a timely payment of the city’s total utilities bill may apply to the department of public works surface water division for a reduction in their rate. All reductions are applicable from the date the city approves the reduction and are not retroactive. Reductions shall only be allowed pursuant to the criteria set forth in subsections (1)(a) through (e) of this section. The director shall make a written decision on a written request for a reduction within 30 days after receipt of the information, except when additional information is needed, in which case the decision shall be made within 90 days after receipt of the request. The applicant shall be notified in writing of the director’s decision. The burden of proof is on the customer to provide the appropriate documentation to request the utility reduction. If at any time the reduction may not be applicable, the reduction may be reevaluated and removed by the director.
(a) Senior Citizen Low-Income and/or Disabled Low-Income. Senior citizen low-income and/or disabled low-income customers may receive a rate reduction pursuant to Chapter 3.63 MMC.
(b) Public Education Institutions. Publicly funded primary and secondary educational institutions that educate and inform their students about the importance of our surface and ground water resources may be eligible for a reduction in their storm and surface water utility rates in an amount of up to 100 percent. The goal is to reach all students within a school with this information at least once during their time at any one school. The rationale behind this credit is that the information provided by the school will translate into appreciation and stewardship of water resources and thereby reduce negative impacts on local streams, ponds and lakes that can result from uninformed citizens. The curriculum requirements shall be set forth in a contract provided by the education institution and shall include, at a minimum, information on the cause and effects of storm water pollution. The educational institution is responsible for providing all documentation that demonstrates the environmental education curriculum taught is above and beyond state requirements. In order to qualify for the reduction, the educational institution must submit a curriculum plan to the city council, which shall determine the amount of the reduction based on the scope, cost, and anticipated effectiveness of the plan. The reduction will be applicable for five years but may be extended by the city council based on submittal of an updated curriculum plan and documentation of the effectiveness of the preceding plan.
(c) State Highway. State highways shall be eligible for a reduction in the surface water utility rate pursuant to RCW 90.03.525.
(d) Rainwater Harvesting System. Pursuant to RCW 35.92.020(3), the surface water utility rate shall be reduced by a minimum of 10 percent for any new or remodeled commercial building that utilizes a permissive rainwater harvesting system. Rainwater harvesting systems shall be properly sized to utilize the available roof surface of the building. The director shall consider rate reductions in excess of 10 percent dependent upon the amount of rainwater harvested divided by the mean annual runoff volume generated by the total impervious surface area at the parcel.
(e) City-Owned Property. Property that is owned by the city of Marysville as identified by the Snohomish County assessor’s office shall be eligible for a 100 percent reduction in the surface water utility rate.
(2) Appeals. Any surface water utility customer making a timely payment of the city’s total utilities bill who considers the city’s surface water utility rate charge applied to their parcel to be inaccurate or who otherwise disagrees with the utility rate determination may request an appeals form and apply to the director for a rate adjustment. The appeal shall be filed with the director no later than 20 days after initial billing. The burden of proof shall be on the applicant to show that any adjustment in their surface water rate should be granted. The director will review the case file and determine whether an adjustment to the charge is necessary to provide for reasonable and accurate application of the utility fees. The director shall also make a written decision on a request for rate adjustment within 30 days after receipt of the information, except when additional information is needed, in which case the decision shall be made within 90 days after receipt of the request. The applicant shall be notified in writing of the director’s decision. (Ord. 2918 § 4, 2013; Ord. 2706 § 1, 2007; Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006).
14.19.090 Liability.
Administration of this chapter shall not be construed to create the basis for any liability on the part of the city, its appointed and elected officials and employees while working within the scope of their duties for any action or inaction thereof authorized or done in connection with the implementation of this chapter. (Ord. 2654 § 3, 2006).