The purpose of this Article
II is to assess all properties receiving benefit or advantage from public sewerage construction within a limited and determinable area, including, but not limited to, as set forth in the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan approved by vote of the Town Council on November 7, 2019, and in accordance with Section 1 of Chapter 83 of the General Laws, any other applicable section of said Chapter 83 and any other applicable general or special law.
For the purpose of this Article
II, the following words shall be considered to have the following meanings:
COMMERCIAL SEWER UNIT
Shall be equivalent to 330 gallons of actual or reasonably
anticipated daily sewage volume, as determined by the Director of
the Department of Public Works based on Title 5 of the State Environmental
Code, 310 CMR 15.203, System Sewage Flow Design Criteria. For purposes
of determining the number of Commercial Sewer Units to be assessed,
volume in an amount up to and including 330 gallons shall be deemed
one commercial sewer unit. An additional commercial sewer unit shall
be assessed for each additional 330 gallons of volume.
COMMERCIAL USE
Occupancy of premises for financial gain, including profit,
such as business and industrial uses.
COMPENSATORY SEWER PRIVILEGE FEE
A fee that is assessed in lieu of a sewer assessment to reflect
the increased use of a property in situations where: (a) a sewer assessment
has been assessed to an undeveloped property based on the number of
potential sewer units and said property is ultimately developed to
accommodate a greater number of sewer units than that originally assessed;
or (b) a sewer assessment has been assessed to a developed parcel
and subsequently the use of that parcel has changed or intensified
to accommodate a greater number of sewer units than that originally
assessed; or (c) no sewer assessment was assessed to an unbuildable
lot and that lot subsequently is issued a building permit.
DWELLING UNIT
One or more rooms providing complete living facilities for one family, including equipment for cooking, or provisions for the same, and including room or rooms for living, sleeping, and eating; provided that, solely for the purposes of this Article
II, such complete living facilities that contain one bedroom or fewer shall be a half dwelling unit.
FORCE MAIN
A line without access from individual properties providing
access from pumping station to pumping station or to trunk and sewer
main.
GENERAL BENEFIT FACILITIES
Improvements, such as pumping stations, trunk and force mains,
acquisition of land or interests in land, which will provide benefit
or advantage to an area exceeding that served by the special benefit
facilities. Ordinarily, general benefit facilities will serve a major
part of a pumping district.
PUMPING DISTRICT
An area, as identified by the Department of Public Works,
which consists of a collection of sewer mains that connect to generally
used infrastructure, such as pump stations, trunk mains and force
mains, that moves sewage from said collection of sewer mains to a
treatment facility.
RESIDENTIAL SEWER UNITS
Equivalent to the number of existing dwelling units, including, but not limited to, accessory dwelling units, affordable accessory apartments and family apartments as defined by the Zoning Ordinance, and the number of potential dwelling units on the property as permitted under the Zoning Ordinance for the district in which the property is located; provided that any accessory dwelling unit, affordable accessory apartment or family apartment that did not exist at the time of assessment shall be assessed a compensatory sewer privilege fee in accordance with §
184-9.4F hereof; provided further that a half dwelling unit shall be assessed as one-half of one sewer unit.
SEMI-PUBLIC USE
Occupancy of premises by private nonprofit organizations,
including without limitation private schools, hospitals, and religious
institutions.
SEWER MAIN
The line serving as a conduit for sanitary sewerage from
the lateral lines from each individual property.
SPECIAL BENEFIT FACILITIES
The sewer main to which a lateral line from an individual
abutting property can be connected, acquisition of land or interests
in land, pumping stations that are required to service a specific
project area and any other costs of improvements required to service
a specific project area.
TRUNK MAIN
The line serving as a conduit for sanitary sewerage from
a number of sewer mains and lateral lines. Trunk mains shall be considered
as those lines 10 inches and over in diameter.
UNBUILDABLE LOT
At the time at which a sewer assessment would have been imposed,
a lot, as determined by the assessors of the Town, on which there
is no apparent legal way to build a legal residence or commercial
building because the lot does not conform to the Town's building
regulations or Zoning Ordinance.
UNIFORM UNIT METHOD
A means by which sewerage construction costs shall be equally
divided between the total number of existing and potential sewer units
to be served after having proportioned the costs resulting from the
construction of special and general benefit facilities.
ZONING ORDINANCE
The Zoning Ordinance in effect in the Town of Barnstable
at the time the sewerage assessment is levied.
The Town Manager shall assess sewerage construction costs to all properties receiving benefit or advantage on the basis of the Uniform Unit Method. The Town Manager shall separate the costs of the general benefit facilities from those of the special benefit facilities. The proportional cost of the special and general benefit facilities shall be assessed in accordance with §
184-9.5 hereof.
The Town may assess and collect estimated sewer assessments in connection with the construction of water pollution collection, pumping, treatment and disposal facilities. The total amount of such estimated sewer assessments shall not exceed the lesser of: (i) one-half of the Town's liability under all contracts it has entered into for the construction of such facilities or (ii) the amount of any cap on sewer assessments as determined under §
184-9.5 multiplied by the total number of residential and commercial sewer units. The total of such estimated assessments shall be determined by the same method to be used for the determination of the actual assessments upon the completion of the work. When the final costs of construction of the facilities have been determined, the Town may assess and collect actual sewer assessments for the balance owed. The interest rate on estimated sewer assessments will be the rate as determined under §
184-9.8.
The cost of connecting the abutter to the completed section
of sewer will be assessed back to the property abutter at 100% of
the cost. Property abutters may elect to pay the entire cost of connection
upon completion or may choose to have it added to their sewer assessment.
Alternatively, property abutters may elect to privately arrange and
pay for the connection to the completed section of sewer.
A property owner aggrieved by a sewer assessment imposed under this Article
II may apply for abatement thereof by filing a request for abatement with the Town Manager on a form provided by the Department of Public Works within six months of the date of notice of such assessment. The Town Manager shall make a final ruling on the application within 45 days from the date of filing. The filing of the application does not stay the payment of the sewer assessment, which must be paid as assessed. If the abatement request is allowed, the appropriate refund will be made by the Town. A property owner who is aggrieved by the refusal of the Town Manager to abate an assessment in whole or in part may within 30 days after notice of the decision of the Town Manager appeal therefrom by filing a petition for the abatement of such assessment in the Superior Court in accordance with Section 7 of Chapter
80 of the General Laws.