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Home My WebLink About2024-687 (2) CityClerk From:Williams, Kit Sent:Monday, December 16, 2024 9:55 AM To:Robert Williams; Hertzberg, Holly; Turk, Teresa; Stafford, Bob; Jones, D'Andre; Moore, Sarah; Wiederkehr, Mike; Berna, Scott; Bunch, Sarah Cc:CityClerk; Norton, Susan; Brown, Chris; Pugh, Alan; Pennington, Blake Subject:RE: Proposed Stormwater Fees Attachments:4200_001.pdf Categories:Saved File Mr. Robert Williams, Thank you for your comments on the proposed Stormwater Management Utility Fee ordinance. The Amendment we presented to the Council last week addresses most of your concerns. Attached is that memo and the proposed final code subchapter for the Stormwater Management Utility Fee. As you can see, the appeal procedure is now spelled out in the code with the City Council being the final deciding body. The new definition of “impervious surface or area” removes the chance that city sidewalks, trails, and drainage structures on city right-of-way could be counted against the property owner. City councils like other legislative bodies can apply their common sense, judgment and common knowledge to support their general regulatory legislation. Although some may still try to deny climate change a/k/a global warming, it is clear that warmer air can carry more water vapor which can result in increased severe flooding storms. With continuing increases in the amount of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere, it is prudent for the City Council and citizens to prepare for the likely increased flooding storms by investing more resources into our drainage infrastructure and maintenance of existing infrastructure. The City Council through the years have improved and increased the required infrastructure to reduce damaging flooding. However, much of Fayetteville was built and developed prior our most recent drainage requirements. So new requirements will not solve these drainage problems by themselves. That is why the Administration and Council are considering an additional dedicated revenue source to improve, enlarge and enhance drainage structures and their maintenance. Thank you for your insights and suggestions, many of which are being proposed in the latest ordinance. Kit Williams From: Robert Williams <robertwilliams51@att.net> Sent: Friday, December 13, 2024 4:53 PM To: Hertzberg, Holly <holly.hertzberg@fayetteville-ar.gov>; Turk, Teresa <teresa.turk@fayetteville-ar.gov>; Stafford, Bob <bob.stafford@fayetteville-ar.gov>; Jones, D'Andre <dandre.jones@fayetteville-ar.gov>; Moore, Sarah <sarah.moore@fayetteville-ar.gov>; Wiederkehr, Mike <mike.wiederkehr@fayetteville-ar.gov>; Berna, Scott <scott.berna@fayetteville-ar.gov>; Bunch, Sarah <sarah.bunch@fayetteville-ar.gov> Cc: CityClerk <cityclerk@fayetteville-ar.gov>; Williams, Kit <kwilliams@fayetteville-ar.gov> Subject: Proposed Stormwater Fees CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the City of Fayetteville. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Good Afternoon Council Members, I have a few comments on the proposed stormwater fees (Item B.1) that are going to be determined/assessed by the amount of impervious surface on each property. 1 1. The appeals process needs to be codified in the ordinance and not left up to the City Engineer. The City Council is accountable to the citizens, city employees are not. The current version leaves the appeal process up to the City Engineer, this is not acceptable. As a representative of the citizens, you don't have any idea what you are approving by adopting the ordinance as is. The Council should not surrender it's authority on this matter. 2. Attached is the assessment for my property. I see that I am going to be assessed for the City's sidewalk as an impervious surface. It is highly unlikely, the City would let me pull out the impervious concrete sidewalk and replace it with a permeable surface. Therefore since a citizen does not control that decision or material, we should not be penalized for it. The ordinance should be revised to exclude City sidewalks and approaches in the right of way that are required to be concrete or other hard surface since a property owner has/had no choice in the matter. 3. The appeal process is important to me because my assessment is wrong. There are several large areas of gravel in my yard that are shown to be impervious surface. See notes 2, 3, and 4 on the attachment. Also, note 5 is a wood deck that is porous and allows water into the space below, which is not an impervious surface. These areas should not be considered impervious. Again, when the ordinance is adopted, the appeals process should be part of it. 4. If we had time to figure out what we are going to charge the property owners, than we have time to figure out what the credit amounts are going to be for any desirable changes to the property. I would request the ordinance be sent back to the city staff to put dollar values to any proposed credit for the "Sustainable Credit" before the fees are approved. Any future establishment may never happen. When the ordinance is adopted, any credit for desirable changes should be part of it. 5. The opening statement of the legislation makes a broad claim about "frequency and intensity of major rain storms striking Fayetteville has continued to increase dramatically". Further into the document these claims are blamed on "global warming". Nowhere in the packet, are these claims quantified with scientific data, which should actually be very easily obtained. I would like to see the unfounded and inflammatory claims removed in favor of more generic language. I went to a few of the early stormwater fee meetings and don't recall this data ever supplied. 6. Fayetteville does have a stormwater problem, but it is doubtful that it is caused by "global warming". Much more likely is the maintenance of the existing stormwater conveyance systems. For example, for years each new housing subdivision has been built with detention or retention ponds. These ponds are designed to hold a prescribed amount of stormwater. Over time, silt makes it's way into these ponds and reduces the capacity forcing more excess water into the overflow. These ponds are never checked or maintained. How much capacity is being lost and forced on the City's stormwater system? They are on private property, but they are the critical first step in stormwater planning. There needs to be an enforcement mechanism here, since the developments were approved with the stormwater calculations performed at 100% capacity. 7. If the City feels like this is going to be a growing problem, the development codes should be adjusted to mandate in increase in capacity at each new development to help reduce overflow. In general, I am in support of this ordinance. There is just more work/maintenance than there is money. However, to fully support this ordinance, it needs to be completely written with the property owner protections discussed above included before it is adopted. Thank you for your time. Robert Williams Ward 4 Resident 2