Item 7: PH - Ordinance on Stormwater Development Standards

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In researching how other municipalities have implemented stormwater development standards, ? staff determined that the exemption for single-family residential developments on existing lots, and minor partitions is consistent with how several other agencies have applied these standards, although admittedly there is a wide spectrum of applicability criteria and exemptions. Locally, the City of Springfield likewise exempts single-family in-fills and partitions treating stormwater runoff. On existing residential lots of record, site specific constraints (e.g. steep slopes, soil types, ? sensitive natural resources, limited space) may prevent developers from finding suitable locations for stormwater facilities. Stormwater infrastructure may already in place, further constraining options for pollution reduction and flow control facilities. Lack of proper maintenance is considered to be the leading cause of failure of on-site stormwater ? control facilities. For single-family sites, developers may be responsible for maintenance for a certain period of time (e.g. via a maintenance bond), but at some point the maintenance of facilities would become the responsibility of the property owner and can be overlooked when property owners change. New owners may not adequately understand the requirement for maintenance. In some cases, the need for maintenance may not be acknowledged until a significant problem such as flooding occurs. Stormwater runoff from residential sites has been shown to have lower concentrations of most ? pollutants of concern relative to runoff from industrial and commercial sites. The proposed stormwater development standards comprise one element of a multi-faceted ? stormwater program which includes the following activities expected to help address municipal stormwater, including runoff from small residential sites on existing lots of record and partitions: stormwater education, neighborhood water quality capital projects, bacteria pilot study, erosion prevention and construction site management, street sweeping and other operations and maintenance activities. With the proposed exemptions, staff is comfortable that it can ensure there will be adequate ? resources for permitting, maintenance, inspections, and enforcement, while still maintaining broad coverage of the new standards. Proposed Ordinance and Implementation Stormwater development standards are regulations for locating, designing, constructing, and maintaining stormwater facilities, applicable to new development. The existing land use code addresses only stormwater destination (flood control). The proposed ordinance amends the land use code to also address stormwater quality from new development via pollution reduction, flow control, oil control, and source control requirements as well as operation and maintenance standards for stormwater facilities. A companion design manual, the Eugene Stormwater Management Manual will be adopted administratively. A draft of the manual is available on the City’s web page: www.eugene-or.gov under Public Works>PW Services>Stormwater. RELATED CITY POLICIES The proposed code amendments are intended to implement stormwater development standards as a component of the City’s Stormwater Program initiated with the adoption of the Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan (CSWMP) and as required through the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s issuance of the City’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060508\S0605087.doc