[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
New Glarus 5-19-2009 by Ord. No. 09-07. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Electric utility — See Ch. 145.
Floodplain zoning — See Ch. 169.
Sewer utility — See Ch. 244.
Shoreland-wetland zoning — See Ch. 248.
Stormwater management — See Ch. 260.
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 265.
Water utility — See Ch. 298.
Zoning — See Ch. 305.
A.Â
The Village Board of the Village of New Glarus hereby find that the
management of stormwater and other surface water discharges within
and beyond the Little Sugar River and other bodies of water within
the Village is a matter that affects the health, safety and welfare
of the Village, its citizens and businesses and others in the surrounding
area. All real property in the Village, including property owned by
public and tax-exempt entities contributes runoff and either uses
or benefits from the stormwater system.
B.Â
Failure to effectively manage stormwater affects the sanitary sewer
utility operations of the Village by, among other things, increasing
the likelihood of infiltration and inflow into the sanitary sewer
system. Surface water runoff may cause nonpoint source pollution,
erosion of lands, threaten residences and businesses with water damage,
and create environmental damage to the rivers, streams and other bodies
of water within and adjacent to the Village. A system for the collection
and disposal of stormwater provides services to all properties within
the Village of New Glarus and surrounding areas, including those properties
not currently served by the system. The cost of operating and maintaining
the Village stormwater management system and financing necessary repairs,
replacements, improvements and extensions thereof should, to the extent
practicable, be allocated in relationship to the services received
from the system. In order to protect the health, safety and welfare
of the public, the Village Board hereby exercises its authority to
establish a Stormwater Utility and establish the rates for stormwater
management services.
C.Â
In promulgating the regulations contained in this chapter, the Village
is acting pursuant to authority granted by Chapters 61 and 66 of the
Wisconsin Statutes, including, but not limited to, §§ 66.0101,
66.0621, 66.0809, 66.0811, 66.0813, 66.0703, and 66.0627.
There is hereby created and established a Stormwater Utility
within the Village of New Glarus, effective January 1, 2010. The entire
operation, charge and management of the Stormwater Utility is vested
in the Village Administrator; subject, however, to the general control
and supervision of the Village Board, pursuant to applicable state
law.
The Village, acting through the Stormwater Utility, may, without
limitation due to enumeration, acquire by gift, purchase, eminent
domain, condemnation or otherwise, construct, lease, own, operate,
maintain, improve, update, modify, extend, expand, replace, clean,
dredge, repair, conduct, manage, finance, borrow monies, assess and/or
levy fees for such facilities, operations, maintenance and activities
as are deemed, from time to time, by the Village to be proper and
reasonably necessary for a system of storm- and surface water management.
These facilities may include, without limitation due to enumeration,
surface and underground drainage facilities, inlets, manholes, sewers,
channels, ditches, retention and detention basins, infiltration facilities,
retaining walls, streets, roads, natural drainageways, and such other
facilities as will support a stormwater management system.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply. Words used in the singular shall include the plural, and the
plural, the singular; words used in the present tense shall include
the future tense; the word "shall" is mandatory and not discretionary;
the word "may" is permissive.
The Village Administrator or his/her designee.
The periodic or other fee imposed under this chapter for
the rendering of stormwater utility services by the Village.
The basic unit by which a storm sewer charge is calculated
under this chapter and is based upon the impervious area reasonably
determined by the Village. The term "ERU" means the statistical average
horizontal impervious area of single-family homes and duplexes within
the Village of New Glarus on the date of adoption of this chapter.
A surface which has been compacted or covered with a layer
of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by rainwater.
The term includes, without limitation due to enumeration, all areas
covered by structures, roof extensions, patios, porches, driveways,
loading docks and sidewalks, and semi-impervious surfaces such as
compacted gravel, all as measured on a horizontal plane.
Any residential property having two dwelling units.
A room or group of rooms including cooking accommodations,
occupied by one family, and in which not more than two persons, other
than members of the family, are lodged or boarded for compensation
at any one time.
Any residential property comprised of three or more dwelling
units, including condominiums and manufactured homes.
A lot or parcel of land, with improvements such as a building,
structure, grading or substantial landscaping, which is not residential
property, excluding publicly-owned rights of way, recreational trails,
and publicly-owned or privately-owned rail beds utilized for railroad
transportation.
Each and every property owner and includes, but is not limited
to, natural persons, partnerships, corporations, limited liability
companies, limited liability partnerships, joint ventures, and all
other legal entities of whatever kind or nature.
A lot or parcel of land developed exclusively for residential
purposes, including single-family units, duplexes, and multifamily
units. The term includes condominiums and manufactured homes.
Any residential property consisting of one dwelling unit.
The Village owned and operated utility established under
this chapter for the purpose of managing stormwater and imposing charges
for the recovery of costs connected with such stormwater management.
Real property that is not developed by the addition of an
improvement such as a building, structure, grading or substantial
landscaping. A property shall be considered to be developed if:
A certificate of occupancy has been issued for a building or
structure on the property or, if no certificate of occupancy has been
issued, upon substantial completion of construction or final inspection;
or
Construction of an improvement on the property is at least fifty-percent
completed and such construction has ceased for a period of at least
three months, whether consecutive or not.
The Stormwater Utility finances shall be accounted for in a
separate Stormwater Utility Enterprise Fund by the Village. All income
and revenues shall be retained by the Stormwater Utility Enterprise
Fund. The Stormwater Utility shall prepare an annual budget, which
is to include all operation and maintenance costs, debt service and
other costs related to the operation of the Stormwater Utility. The
annual budget is subject to approval by the Village Board.
The land rights and improvements of the Village, or such rights
determined to exist, for the following components of the public stormwater
system are hereby transferred to the land assets of the New Glarus
Stormwater Utility.
A.Â
Every person shall pay the applicable New Glarus stormwater service
charge when due for each property owned by that person.
B.Â
The basis for computation of the charge for stormwater services to
lots and parcels of land within the Village is established under this
section. The amount of charge to be imposed, the establishment of
formulas for the calculation of charges, the creation of customer
classifications for the imposition of charges, and changes in such
charges, formulas and customer classifications shall be consistent
with this chapter. Each year the Administrator shall determine the
value of one ERU based upon the applicable year's adopted Village
Budget and this chapter, and shall certify such value to the Village
Clerk/Treasurer and Village Board. All charges established pursuant
to this chapter shall be fair and reasonable. A schedule of current
charges shall be maintained and on file in the office of the Village
Clerk/Treasurer.
C.Â
Charges shall be imposed to recover all or a portion of the costs
of the Stormwater Utility. Such charges may include, but are not limited
to, the following components:
(1)Â
Base component. The base component shall include the Stormwater
Utility’s estimated annual administrative and management costs,
water quality costs and other costs not in the components described
below. The base rate shall be calculated by taking the sum of all
base component costs and dividing that by the estimated number of
billable ERUs. The base component costs consist of the following costs:
costs for utility administration, routine storm sewer maintenance,
street sweeping, and leaf and brush collection.
[Amended 7-20-2010 by Ord. No. 10-06[1]]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance provided an effective
date of 1-1-2011.
(2)Â
Operation and maintenance component. The operation and maintenance
component shall include the Stormwater Utility’s estimated annual
operation and maintenance costs for the Village’s stormwater
management system. The operation and maintenance rate shall be determined
by taking the sum of all operation and maintenance component costs,
dividing that amount by the ERUs remaining after the ERUs that the
Village, upon user application, has determined need not pay operation
and maintenance component costs, and making appropriate adjustments
to the rate to account for factors such as changes in stormwater reserves.
The operation and maintenance component will consist of the following
costs: nonroutine maintenance of storm water infrastructure including
basins and greenways, and televising storm sewer infrastructure.
[Amended 7-20-2010 by Ord. No. 10-06[2]]
[2]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance provided an effective
date of 1-1-2011.
(3)Â
Capital and debt service component. The capital and debt service
component cost shall include the capital costs and debt service payments
for the Village's stormwater conveyance system, including retention
and detention facilities. The capital and debt service rate shall
be determined by:
(a)Â
Taking the sum of all capital and debt service component costs;
(b)Â
Dividing that amount by the ERUs remaining after the ERUs which
the Village, upon user application, has determined need not pay capital
and debt service component costs; and
(c)Â
Making appropriate adjustments to the rate to account for factors
such as changes in stormwater reserves.
D.Â
Credits or adjustments may be available to individual property owners
in the nonresidential and multifamily residential customer classes.
It shall be the burden of the property owner to request such a credit
and to demonstrate to a reasonable degree of certainty with evidence
that a fee adjustment is warranted. The credits or adjustments shall
be applied to the operation and maintenance component costs and the
capital and debt service component costs. The base component shall
be charged to all properties regardless of credits. All applications
for credit or adjustments shall be reviewed by the Administrator and
the Administrator may reduce the number of ERUs in accordance with
the credit policy after taking into consideration the demonstrated
reduction in stormwater volume. Credits or adjustments may be applied
to applicable properties based upon the following criteria:
(1)Â
An adjustment may be applicable to some or all of a customer's
property, provided:
(a)Â
Stormwater runoff from the property does not discharge directly
or indirectly to or through any form of conveyance system owned or
operated by the Stormwater Utility; and
(b)Â
The drainage from the property is not in violation of any environmental
code or federal, state or local surface water drainage requirements.
(2)Â
An adjustment may be applicable to some or all of a customer's
property, provided:
(a)Â
Stormwater runoff from the property directly discharges into
Legler School Branch or the Little Sugar River without sending it
through the any form of conveyance system owned or operated by the
Stormwater Utility or across property owned by another person or entity;
and
(b)Â
Where the customer assumes full responsibility for maintenance
of the stream- or riverbank; and
(c)Â
The drainage from the property is not in violation of any environmental
code or federal, state or local surface water drainage requirements.
(3)Â
Credits may be granted to owners of properties who have significantly
reduced the impacts of stormwater discharge on the stormwater utility
system. Owners of property which discharge all or a portion of their
stormwater into privately owned and maintained retention and detention
ponds shall receive a prorated credit to the number of ERUs assigned
to their property as determined by the Administrator. No owner may
be given a credit in excess of 100% of its total number of ERUs.
(4)Â
Prior to receiving a credit or adjustment, the Administrator
or designee shall be allowed access to the property to determine the
amount of credit or exemption to be granted.
The Village Board, from time to time, by budget adoption may
establish classifications other than the customer classifications
set forth in this chapter, as may be likely to provide a reasonable
and fair distribution of the costs of the stormwater utility to all
users.
[Amended 5-18-2010 by Ord. No. 10-02]
The Stormwater Utility billing schedule shall be set by the
Village Administrator and approved by the Village Board. Billing procedure
shall be as per Chapter PSC 185, Wisconsin Administrative Code.
A.Â
Stormwater Utility charges shall be payable upon receipt, subject
to the provisions of this section.
B.Â
Stormwater Utility charges shall not be payable in installments.
C.Â
Charges remaining unpaid for a period of 30 days or more from the
date of the utility bill shall be assessed a late payment penalty
charge. All delinquent utility charges shall be subject to a one-time
penalty of 3% upon the unpaid balance and will be added thereto, in
addition to other charges, penalties or interest, when the delinquent
charge is extended upon the tax roll.
[Amended 8-18-2009 by Ord. No. 09-08]
D.Â
If a charge and/or late penalty remains unpaid for a period of thirty
(30) days after the date of the utility bill, such charge and penalty
shall become a lien upon the real property to which it applies, as
provided in §§ 66.0821 and 66.0809, and other applicable
provisions of the Wisconsin Statutes, as from time to time amended
or renumbered.
E.Â
Delinquent charges and penalties shall be automatically extended
upon the next available tax roll as a delinquent tax against the real
property, and all proceedings relating to the collection, return and
sale of property for delinquent real estate taxes shall apply to such
charges.
A.Â
For the purposes of imposing the stormwater utility charge, all lots
and parcels within the Village are classified into the following customer
classes:
B.Â
The Administrator shall prepare and maintain an updated current list
of all lots and parcels of real property (land) within the Village
of New Glarus and assign the appropriate customer classification to
each customer account. This list shall include the number of ERUs
assigned to each customer account.
C.Â
The average square footage of impervious area of the ERU as of the
date of adoption of this chapter is hereby established to be equivalent
to 3,000 square feet.
D.Â
The ERU charges for the foregoing customer classifications shall
be established as follows:
(1)Â
Residential, single family unit: 1.0 ERU.
(2)Â
Residential, duplex: 0.5 ERU multiplied by each dwelling unit.
(3)Â
Residential, multifamily (including apartments greater than
or equal to three units, condominiums, and mobile homes): The charge
per unit shall be calculated by dividing the number of ERUs calculated
for the entire property by the number of units existing on the property.
(4)Â
Nonresidential, one ERU times a factor obtained by dividing
the total impervious area of the property by the square footage equivalent
for one ERU. Such impervious area shall be determined based upon the
best information reasonably available. The result shall be rounded
down to the nearest 1/10 (0.1).
(5)Â
Undeveloped and agricultural: No stormwater charge shall be
assigned to undeveloped or agricultural land.
E.Â
The Administrator shall be responsible for estimating the impervious
area based on the best available information, including, but not limited
to, data supplied by the Village Assessor, aerial photography, the
property owner, tenant, or developer. The billing amount shall be
updated by the Administrator based on any additions to the impervious
area as approved through the building permit process. Individual property
owners may submit site and building surveys to the Administrator that
help more accurately determine the total area and impervious area.
F.Â
The minimum charges for any parcel shall be equal to the rate for
1.0 ERU, unless it contains no impervious surface.
G.Â
All unoccupied developed lots and parcels with impervious surfaces
shall be subject to a stormwater utility charge.
A property owner shall be responsible for timely submitting
a fully completed and accurate stormwater utility service application
at the time a building permit is issued or a site plan review is conducted.
The application shall be made on a form prescribed by the Village
and provided with each application for a building permit or application
for site plan review. Failure to submit such stormwater utility service
application or providing false information on such form shall constitute
a violation of this chapter. The implementation of stormwater charges
shall commence as set forth in this chapter.
A.Â
The amount of a particular stormwater utility charge may be appealed
to the Administrator by filing a written appeal with the Village Clerk/Treasurer
prior to the due date of the charge or within 30 days of payment.
The written appeal shall specify all grounds for challenge to the
amount of the charge and shall state the amount of charge that the
appellant considers to be inappropriate. Failure to timely appeal
waives all rights to later challenge the charge.
B.Â
In considering an appeal, the Administrator shall determine whether
the stormwater utility charge is fair and reasonable under the particular
facts and circumstances pertaining to that specific property and,
in the event the appeal is granted, whether or not a refund is due
the appellant and the amount of the refund. The Administrator shall
notify the appellant in writing of his determination.
C.Â
The customer has 30 days from the date of the written decision of
the Administrator to file a written appeal.
D.Â
If the Administrator determines that a refund is due the customer,
the refund will be applied as a credit towards the customer's
next stormwater billing charge, if the refund will not exceed the
customer's next stormwater billing charge, or it may be refunded
at the discretion of the Administrator.
A.Â
The Village Board hereby finds and determines that the stormwater
utility charges established under this chapter reasonably reflect
the services rendered to real property and may be, and are hereby
authorized to be, assessed, charged, levied, imposed and collected
upon property as a special charge in accord with all applicable Wisconsin
Statutes.
B.Â
The mailing of the bill for stormwater utility charges to a property
owner shall serve as notice to the property owner that failure to
pay the charges when due may result in the charges being levied upon
the owner's applicable real property.
C.Â
In addition, the Village may provide notice each October of any unpaid
charges to the Stormwater Utility and such charges, if not paid by
November 15, may be placed upon the tax roll and collected in the
manner provided by this chapter and/or the applicable provisions of
the Wisconsin Statutes. The collection method provided in this section
is in addition to the collection method provided for in this chapter.
In the event of any conflict between any provision set forth
in this chapter and any other Village ordinance, the competing provisions
shall be harmonized to the fullest extent possible so as to facilitate
the intent and proper effect of the separate areas of regulation.
A.Â
Any person who violates or causes to be violated any provisions set
forth in this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a forfeiture
to the Village in the amount of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000,
together with the costs of prosecution thereof. Upon default in payment
of the imposed forfeiture, the violator shall be committed to the
Green County Jail for a term of not more than 90 days.
B.Â
The payment of such imposed forfeiture shall be in addition to the
payment of any and all stormwater service charges, fees and penalties
imposed by the chapter.
C.Â
Each day's continuance of a violation shall constitute a separate
offense to which a separate forfeiture may be imposed.
D.Â
It shall be the responsibility of the violator to cease and abate
the violation immediately.
E.Â
In addition to the forfeitures set forth above and payment of the
charges, the Village may seek, obtain and enforce injunctive relief.
