ORD 2012-01TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB
ORDINANCE NO. 2012-01
AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS
REPEALING ARTICLE V ENTITLED "STORMWATER DRAINAGE
FEES" OF CHAPTER 11 ENTITLED "PUBLIC WORKS" OF THE CODE
OF ORDINANCES OF THE TOWN AND ADOPTING A NEW ARTICLE V
ENTITLED "STORMWATER DRAINAGE FEES" OF CHAPTER 11
ENTITLED "PUBLIC WORKS" OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES;
PROVIDING FOR THE INCORPORATION OF PREMISES; PROVIDING
FOR AMENDMENTS FOR ARTICLE V TO INCREASE STORMWATER
DRAINAGE UTILITY FEES IMPOSED TO CONSTRUCT, OPERATE,
AND MAINTAIN A STORMWATER DRAINAGE UTILITY SYSTEM
WITHIN THE TOWN; PROVIDING A CUMULATIVE REPEALER
CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A
SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED THE
SUM OF TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS ($2,000.00) FOR EACH
OFFENSE AND A SEPARATE OFFENSE SHALL BE DEEMED
COMMITTED EACH DAY DURING OR ON WHICH A VIOLATION
OCCURS OR CONTINUES; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION;
PROVIDING FOR ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLLMENT; AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, In 2003 by adoption of Ordinance 2003-30 the Town complied with
Subchapter C of Chapter 552 of the Texas Local Government Code, the "Municipal
Drainage Utility Systems Act" (hereinafter the "Act"), and held a public hearing to adopt
the Act and to establish a Municipal Drainage Utility System (hereinafter the "System")
within a designated service area pursuant to the Act (hereinafter "Stormwater Drainage
Ordinance"); and
WHEREAS, With the establishment of the System, the Town Council established
the Service Area for the System as the corporate boundaries and its extraterritorial
jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, it is deemed necessary and essential to ensure that the collection
and disposal of stormwater drainage within the Town limits adequately protects the
health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Trophy Club including, but not limited to, the
protection from loss of life and property caused by surface water overflows and surface
water stag nation; and
WHEREAS, after reviewing an inventory of lots and tracts within the Service
Area and taking into consideration various factors, the Town has determined it
necessary to increase the Fees due to Phase One of a three phase professional
engineering study that has identified solutions to correct portions of the Town's
Stormwater Drainage Utility System; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Town to increase fees to fund the Stormwater
Drainage Utility System that fairly and equitably allocates the cost of drainage to
property owners in proportion to the stormwater drainage runoff potential for each
property and that provides funds necessary to maintain and expand the System for the
protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Town; and
WHEREAS, the Act requires that prior to the passage of the Ordinance
amending the fees, the Town shall publish a notice in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Town, such notice consisting of the full text of the proposed Ordinance,
including the proposed schedule of drainage charges and stating the time and place of
the public hearing to consider the proposed Ordinance, and that the Town shall publish
such notice three (3) times before the date of the hearing with the first notice being
published on or before thirty (30) days before the date of the hearing; and
WHEREAS, the Town has satisfied the procedural requirements established by
the Act as condition precedent to the adoption of this Ordinance amending fees; and
WHEREAS, the Town has found and determined that it is appropriate to adopt
this Ordinance establishing a schedule of drainage charges;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE
TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS:
SECTION 1.
INCORPORATION OF PREMISES
The above and foregoing premises are true and correct and are incorporated
herein and made a part hereof for all purposes.
SECTION 2.
AMENDMENT
2.02 Article V entitled "Stormwater Drainage Fees" of Chapter 11 entitled "Public
Works" of the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Trophy Club is hereby repealed in its
entirety and a new Article V entitled "Stormwater Drainage Fees" of Chapter 11 entitled
"Public Works" of the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Trophy Club is hereby
adopted to be and read in its entirety as follows:
"Section 5.01. DEFINITIONS
When used in this Article, the following terms shall have the respective meanings
ascribed to them:
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A. The Act: Subchapter C of Chapter552 of the Texas Local Government Code, the
Municipal Drainage Utility Systems Act, as amended.
B. Benefitted Property: An improved Parcel or tract to which drainage service is
made available by the Town under this Article.
C. Director: The Town Manager of the Town of Trophy Club, or his/her designee.
D. Drainage: Bridges, catch basins, channels, conduits, creeks, culverts, detention
ponds, ditches, draws, flumes, pipes, pumps, sloughs, treatment works, and
appurtenances to those items, whether natural or artificial, or using force or gravity, that
are used to draw off surface water from land, carry the water away, collect, store, or
treat the water or divert the water into natural or artificial watercourses.
E. Drainage Charge: The levy imposed to recover the cost of the service of the Town
in furnishing drainage for any benefitted property and including an amount made in
contribution to funding of future drainage system construction by the Town.
F. Facilities: The property, real, personal, or mixed, that is used in providing drainage
and included in the System.
G. Impervious Area or Impervious Surface: A surface that has been compacted or
covered with a layer of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water.
Impervious areas include, but are not limited to, compacted soils, buildings, parking lots,
and private ingress/egress roadways.
H. Improved, Improved Parcel, or Improved Lot or Tract: A lot or tract that has a
structure or other improvement on it that causes an impervious coverage of the soil
under the structure or improvement.
I. Parcel: One or more lots or portions of lots that are contiguous and under single
ownership.
J. Service Area: The corporate boundaries of the Town, Trophy Club Municipal Utility
District #1, and any other land areas outside the municipal boundaries which, as a result
of topography or hydraulics, contribute overland flow into the watersheds served by the
Drainage System of the Town; provided however, that to the extent applicable, such
Service Area does not extend further than the boundaries of the Town's extraterritorial
jurisdiction nor does the Service Area extend into the boundaries of any other
municipality.
K. Stormwater Drainage Revenue Bonds: Obligations issued to finance the costs of
Facilities payable and secured by a lien on and pledge of Fees.
L. Stormwater Drainage Utility Fee(s) or Fee(s): The Drainage Charge, including any
interest and penalties, paid by a benefitted or served property for stormwater drainage
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services provided by the System including, but not limited to, the items described as
"Cost of Service" in the Act, as amended.
M. Stormwater Drainage Utility System, Drainage System or System: The
Drainage owned or controlled in whole or in part by the Town, including the Town's
existing drainage Facilities, materials, and supplies, and dedicated to the service of
Benefitted Property, including provisions for additions, extensions, and improvements
thereto and replacements thereof, excluding from the foregoing, however, to the extent
now or hereafter provided by law, facilities of any kind which are declared by the Town
Council, prior to the acquisition or construction thereof by the Town, not to be a part of
the System and which are acquired or constructed by or on behalf of the Town with the
proceeds from the issuance of special facilities bonds in a manner now or hereafter
authorized by law.
N. Town: The Town of Trophy Club, Denton and Tarrant County, Texas.
O. Wholly Sufficient and Privately Owned Drainage System: Land owned and
operated by a person other than a municipal drainage utility system the drainage of
which does not discharge into a creek, river, slough, culvert, or other channel that is part
of a municipal drainage utility system.
5.02. Findings and Determinations
It is hereby found, determined and declared that the Stormwater Utility Drainage Fees
adopted hereunder and the basis for those Fees are directly related to drainage and
that the terms of the levy hereunder, and the classification of the Benefitted Properties
are non-discriminatory, reasonable, and equitable for similar services of the Service
Area property in the Town; and that the Town shall provide drainage for all real property
in the Service Area upon payment of Fees, except real property exempted hereunder.
Further, it is hereby found that the Town Council has based its calculations for the levy
on an inventory of the lots and tracts within the Service Area, and that as allowed by the
Act, the Town Council may consider the land use made of the Benefitted Property and
the size, in area, the number of water meters, and topography of a Parcel of Benefitted
Property, in assessing the drainage charge to the property.
Section 5.03. Stormwater Drainage Utility Fees Schedule
A. For purposes of imposing the Fees, all Parcel(s) within the Town are classified as
Residential, Multi-Family, Duplexes, or Non-Residential. The Fee for Residential
properties shall be $6.00. The Fee for Multi-Family, Duplexes, or Non-Residential shall
be based on a rate of $6.00 per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU). Each ERU equals
3,500 square feet of impervious area. The Fee shall be calculated based on the total
square footage of impervious area for each non-residential parcel. The minimum
monthly Fee for non-exempt properties shall be one (1) ERU.
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Residential Monthly Fee
Single Family $6.00
Multi-Family, Duplexes, and Non-Residential Monthly Fee
Properties
Square Footage of Impervious Area $6.00 per ERU
(each ERU = 3,500 sq. ft. )
B. Director shall be responsible for determining impervious area based on data
obtained from the Denton County Appraisal District. If such information is unavailable
from the appraisal district files, the property owner, tenant or developer may submit a
certified survey and/or a foundation survey to assist the Director in determining
impervious area. The Director may require additional information as necessary to make
the determination. The amount of any fee may be revised by the Director based on any
additions to the impervious area as approved through the building permit process or as
shown from the records of the Denton County Appraisal District.
C. The Town Council may review the foregoing schedule of fees at any time and may,
by ordinance, increase or decrease such Fees within the schedule upon a determination
that such increase or decrease is warranted.
D. The Town Council hereby finds and determines that the Fees have been established
in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
Section 5.04. Billing, Payment, And Penalties
A. The Town is hereby authorized to bill the Fees incurred as a result of the adoption of
the Act and establishment of the Stormwater Utility Drainage System thereunder with its
other public utility billings.
1. The Town shall render bills or statements for Fees monthly for service for
the upcoming month for all properties subject to the fee.
2. Bills shall be payable when rendered and shall be considered as received
by the customer and/or owner, whether actually received or not, when
deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the
customer of Town utility billings.
3. Fees shall be billed with the Town's other public utility billings and shall be
identified separately on the utility billing as a stormwater drainage fee and
shall be consistent with the Act.
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4. Delinquent fees are subject to the same penalties and methods of
collection as other utility charges of the Town and shall be collected in a
manner consistent with the Act, including without limitation the
discontinuance of any utility services provided by the Town. Town shall
have access, at all reasonable times, to any Benefitted Properties served
by the System for inspection or repair or for the enforcement of this Article
or the Act.
5. Unless a Parcel or tract is exempted from the applicability of this Article or
the Public Stormwater Drainage Utility Ordinance, no person shall use the
Drainage System for such Parcel or tract unless such person pays the full,
established, drainage charge.
Section 5.05. Adjustment Of Fees
A. Requests for adjustment of a Fee shall be submitted through the Director, who shall
be given authority to administer the procedures and standards and review criteria for the
adjustment of Fees as established herein. All requests shall be evaluated based upon
the amount of impervious area and vegetated area on the site and total parcel area. No
credit of Fees shall be given for the installation of facilities required by Town
development codes or Texas Water Code requirements. The following procedures shall
apply to all requests for adjustment of the Fees:
1. Any owner or customer who has paid Fees and who believes the
calculation or determination of the Fees to be incorrect may, subject to the
restrictions set forth in this Article, submit an adjustment request to the
director.
2. Requests for adjustment of Fees paid by an owner or customer making
the request shall be in writing and set forth, iii detail, the grounds upon
which relief is sought.
3. The Director shall review adjustment requests made during the first fiscal
year that the Fees were imposed within a four (4) month period from the
date of receipt of the adjustment request. Adjustments resulting from such
request shall be retroactive to the beginning of billings but shall not
exceed one (1) year.
4. Adjustment requests made after the first fiscal year that the Fees were
imposed shall be reviewed by the Director within thirty (30) days from the
date of receipt of an adjustment request. Adjustments resulting from such
a request shall be prospective but may be made retroactive for no greater
time period than three (3) months prior to the receipt of the request, at the
discretion of the Director.
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5. The owner or customer requesting an adjustment may be required, at the
requesting party's own cost, to provide supplemental information to the
Director including, but not limited to, survey data approved by a state
registered professional land surveyor (R.P.L.S.), or engineering approved
by a state registered professional engineer (P.E.), or reports. Failure to
provide requested information may result in the denial of the adjustment
request.
6. Adjustments to the Fees shall be made upon the granting of the
adjustment request, in writing, by the Director. In making a determination
to grant an adjustment request, the Director shall consider the potential for
any adverse impact to the holders of any outstanding Stormwater
Drainage Revenue Bonds. Denials to an adjustment request shall be
made in writing by the Director.
B. Upon receipt of the written denial of the adjustment request, the owner or customer
who initially requested the adjustment may, within 30 days of receipt of such denial,
apply to the Director for review of the denial.
1. The Director shall complete this review within sixty (60) days of receipt of
such request for review. The Director's determination on the review shall
be in writing and set forth, in detail, the reasons for the decision.
2. In reviewing denial of adjustment requests, the Director shall apply the
standards and review criteria contained in this section.
3. All findings and determinations made by the Director arising out of this
section shall be final.
C. Those Improved nonresidential properties (including apartments) that practice
stormwater management are eligible to receive a credit on their monthly billings. The
application for such credit shall follow the procedures for appeal as set forth in
Subsection B above. The credit shall only be for the impervious area that receives the
benefit of the stormwater management.
1. That area which drains into an approved detention basin shall be eligible
for up to a fifteen (15) percent reduction.
2. That area which drains into an approved retention basin shall be eligible
for up to a thirty-five (35) reduction.
3. The credit methodology shall be an administrative policy as established by
written report maintained in the Community Development Department of
the Town.
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Section 5.06. Stormwater Drainage Utility Fund
A. There is hereby established a Stormwater Drainage Utility Fund which may consist
of one or more accounts. All Fees shall be deposited as collected and received into this
fund and shall be used exclusively for the drainage services as stated in the Act which
includes, but is not limited to the following:
1. Operation and maintenance of the System.
2. Funding of pollution abatement and peak flow attenuation devices
constructed on stormwater systems discharging to the surface water of the
Town.
3. Administrative costs associated with the management of the System.
4. Payment of the debt service requirements on any outstanding Stormwater
Drainage Revenue Bonds including any fees and expenses incidental
thereto.
5. Engineering consultant fees.
6. Consultant studies necessary for preparation of the Stormwater
Management Plan.
B. The income derived from the operation of the System shall be segregated and
completely identifiable from other Town accounts. Fees utilized solely for the cost of
service, exclusive of any sums pledged to retire any outstanding indebtedness or
obligation incurred, or any sum attributable to the funding of future improvement to the
System, may be transferred to the Town general fund.
Section 5.07. "Exemption Clause
A. The following shall be exempt from the provIsions of this Article or any other
resolution, rules, or ordinances adopted by the Town pursuant to the Public Stormwater
Drainage Utility Article or this Ordinance:
1. Property with proper construction and maintenance of a Wholly Sufficient
and Privately Owned Drainage System;
2. Property held and maintained in its natural state, until such time that the
property becomes developed property and all of the public infrastructure
constructed has been accepted by the Town for maintenance;
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3. A subdivided lot, until a structure has been built on the lot and a certificate
of occupancy or the equivalent for residential properties has been issued
by the Town.
4. A municipality."
SECTION 3
CUMULATIVE REPEALER
This Ordinance shall be cumulative of all other Ordinances and shall not repeal
any of the provisions of such Ordinances, whether codified or uncodified, except for
those instances where there are direct conflicts with the provisions of this Ordinance.
Ordinances or parts thereof in force at the time this Ordinance shall take effect and that
are inconsistent with this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent that they are
inconsistent with this Ordinance. Provided however, that any complaint, action, claim or
lawsuit which has been initiated or has arisen under or pursuant to any such Ordinance
on the date of adoption of this Ordinance shall continue to be governed by the
provisions of such Ordinance and for that purpose the Ordinance shall remain in full
force and effect.
SECTION 4.
SEVERABILITY
If any section, paragraph, sentence, phrase, clause, or word in this Ordinance or
application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional by a
Court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Ordinance, and the Town Council hereby declares that it would have
passed such remaining portions of this Ordinance despite such invalidity, which
remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 5.
SAVINGS
That all rights and remedies of the Town of Trophy Club, Texas, are expressly
saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of any other Ordinance affecting
Stormwater, Stormwater Drainage, and Fees which have secured at the time of the
effective date of this Ordinance; and, as to such accrued violations and all pending
litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending in court or not, under such
Ordinances same shall not be affected by this Ordinance but may be prosecuted until
final disposition by the courts.
SECTION 6.
PENALTY
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision of this Ordinance, and
any person violating or failing to comply with any provision of this Ordinance shall be
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fined, upon conviction, not less than One Dollar ($1.00) nor more than Two Thousand
Dollars ($2,000.00), and a separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day
during or on which a violation occurs or continues. The penalty provided herein shall be
cumulative of all other remedies available for enforcement of the provisions of this
Article, the Code of Ordinances of the Town, and of all other remedies authorized by
law.
SECTION 7.
PUBLICATION
The Town Secretary of the Town of Trophy Club is hereby directed to the
Caption, Penalty Clause, and Effective Date Clause of this Ordinance as required by
Section 52.011 of the Texas Local Government Code.
SECTION 8.
ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLLMENT
The Town Secretary of the Town of Trophy Club is hereby directed to engross
and enroll this Ordinance by copying the exact Caption and Effective Date in the
minutes of the Town Council and by filing this Ordinance in the ordinance records of the
Town.
SECTION 9.
EFFECTIVE DATE
That this Ordinance shall be published and shall become effective on July 1,
2012.
PASSED AND APPROVED by the Town Council of Trophy Club, Texas, on this
23 rd day of January, 2012.
AWEST:
, I
Ii
[SEAL]
ORO 2012-01
06nnie White, Mayor
Town of Trophy Club, Texas
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Patricia A. Adams, Town Attorney
Town of Trophy Club, Texas
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