§ 9.6.0. ASSESSMENT OF THE DRAINAGE CHARGE

9.6.1 City Code Section 15-2-8 defines how the drainage charge will be billed.

9.6.2 The fee will be assessed beginning when the Department confirms that a Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Completion has been issued for the property.

9.6.3 If the property owner, or his designee, requests to pay the Drainage charge, WPD may accommodate customer request.

9.6.4 Redevelopment - If there is an existing drainage charge, and additional development or redevelopment on that property occurs, the existing impervious area prior to construction activities beginning will be the basis for the impervious cover amount to generate a charge during construction. Once construction activities are complete and a Certificate of Occupancy/Completion is issued for the new improvement, the new impervious cover area shall be the basis for the impervious cover amount to generate a charge.

9.6.5 Phased Construction - When new construction is phased on a property, and following occupancy or utility activation on part of the property, the drainage charge shall be assessed to the owner in proportion to the amount of impervious cover in the completed phase(s). The City shall determine an equitable method to estimate impervious cover for the completed phase(s).

9.6.6 Any account billing for fewer than 17 days will not be assessed the drainage charge. This ensures that users will not be charged twice in one month if they move within the city limits.

9.6.7 Other clarifications for Section 15-2-8:

A.

Single Account - The drainage charge shall be assessed to the utility account associated with either residential or nonresidential properties with only one account (one service point).

B.

Secondary Residence - For a property comprising solely of two residential units that are not duplexes, townhomes, or condos and that have separate active utility customer accounts, the City shall bill 100% of the charge to the utility customer associated with the primary residence and no charge shall be assessed to the utility customer associated with the secondary residence. For this purpose, a secondary residence is defined as a second dwelling unit under Land Development Code § 25-2-774 or a secondary apartment under Land Development Code § 25-2-1463.

C.

Garage Apartment - For residential property with more than one utility customer that contains an accessory unit or garage apartment, the charge shall be divided equally by the number of utility customers. If utilities have been discontinued and a unit is determined to have been vacant, then the City may move the unbilled vacant charges to the primary residence.

D.

Duplex, Triplex, Fourplex - For duplex residential properties, the drainage charge shall be divided equally between the two accounts regardless of the size of either unit. For triplex and fourplex residential properties, the drainage charge shall be divided equally among the 3 or 4 units, regardless of relative size. If one or more of the units is vacant and/or the utilities have been discontinued, the denominator of 2, 3, or 4 will remain the same. If a unit is determined to have been vacant, then the City may move the unbilled vacant charges to the property owner.

E.

Condominiums - If the common area has a utility account, the drainage charge for condominium properties shall be calculated for the total property and billed to the common area utility account.

F.

Multi-family residential (5 or more units) - The drainage charge shall be calculated for entire multifamily residential properties and billed to the property owner, property manager or the entity associated with the master meter account. If the City cannot reasonably determine or locate a single entity to bill, the City shall determine an equitable method to allocate the drainage charge among utility customers. Equitable methods may include - equal division, approximate ratio estimates, apportionment of impervious cover, or other methods.

G.

Mobile Homes - Properties containing multiple mobile homes shall be billed in the same way as multifamily (5 or more units) residential properties.

H.

For entire multi-tenant non-residential properties and/or non-residential properties with more than one account the drainage charge shall be billed to the owner, property manager or entity associated with the master meter account and/or the drainage charge service point.

I.

For mixed-use properties with multiple tenants (residential and non-residential), the drainage charge shall be billed to the owner, property manager, or entity associated with the master meter account and/or the drainage charge service point.

J.

For properties with only one active utility account, the charge shall be billed to that account even though it may contain multiple units or structures.

K.

In any situation where the owner of a multi-tenant property (residential, non-residential or mixed use) cannot reasonably be determined or located, or if the owner proves to be unresponsive in paying the charge, the total charge may be divided equally among the utility customers associated with the property and billed accordingly.

1.

For initial billing assignments, property owners without existing utility accounts may be considered as "cannot reasonably be determined or located" until a separate drainage utility account is established.

2.

In situations where the non-owner utility customers may be billed and those customers do not occupy the entire property, the City may determine an equitable method for allocation which may include billing those customers up to 100% of the property until the owner has established a utility account.

L.

For properties that are partially inside and partially outside the City limits, the service point should be located on the main structure. If the service point is located outside the City limits, the drainage charge will not be assessed on the property. If the service point is located within the City limits, then the drainage charge shall be assessed, but the fee will be calculated using only that portion of the total property and that portion of the impervious cover that lie within the City limits.

Source: Rule No. 161-15.22, 4-27-16 ; Rule No. 161-17.02 , 3-2-17; Rule No. 161-18.15 , 9-6-2018.