June 18, 2009
The new Stormwater fee courtesy of the City of Richmond
7 Comments »Has everyone gotten their “This is not a bill” bill from the City of Richmond for the new stormwater fee? Enclosed is a handy brochure, entitled “Stormwater: What you need to know.” The brochure covers things like why Richmond needs this fee, what is stormwater runoff, and more importantly who pays for this?
In accordance with Richmond City Ordinance 2009-60, property owners of developed property within the city shall pay a stormwater utility fee based upon the stormwater class and the amount of impervious surface area. An impervious surface is one that prevents precipitation from rain or snow from soaking into the ground. Impervious surfaces include, but are not limited to rooftops, streets, parking areas, and any concrete, asphalt or compacted gravel surface.
To learn more about this go to The City of Richmond’s Stormwater Utility site. There you can find an FAQ section, information on how to build a rain barrel and the Stormwater Fee Appeals form.
I got my bill and I was going to appeal it because somehow my “impervious area” is 200 square feet above my living space. Yes I do have a front porch and an 8 x 10 shed in the backyard but couldn’t possibly be 200 square feet! So upon looking at the appeals form I changed my mind. I would have to pay a surveyor or engineer to measure my “impervious area” and that would cost me at least 400 dollars! The City of Richmond is always trying to find new ways to screw us. First they raise my taxes on my house 50k and now this. Lovely. Should have bought in Henrico.
If you have rain barrels attached to each of your downspouts, shouldn’t you be exempt from this fee?
You would think so, or at least get a credit but the answer to your question is no.
vmallonee,
If your shed is 8×10, that’s 80 sq. ft. If your porch is 6×20, then that’s another 120 sq. ft. They are also calculating any sidewalks, etc that we may have. The city is really socking it to its citizens with more and more frequency. The tax hikes are extreme and unreasonable–if it needs to be done it should be done in a more gradual manner. I wondered about the rain barrel thing also. In a beaurocracy, it seems that the burden (and cost) of proving that one is in the right always falls on the citizen, and it’s never cheap or easy. Thanks City Council.
I have rainbarrels, but they fill up with one good shower. I eventually will get additional ones to add to the system. The rainbarrels don’t do all that much to reduce stormwater runoff (although some) because there’s a whole lot of water that comes off a roof, and a few rainbarrels do not have enough capacity to take all that water. They do reduce my water consumption, however, because I use the water from them for my garden and I rarely use the hose.
Where did you get your rain barrels?
I got them from the Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District last year. I got the barrels only, and installed the hardware myself. I think that Tricycle Gardens has some complete barrels available for sale.
I also capture my shower water in the tub and carry it via bucket to my rainbarrels in dry periods. But perhaps I’m a bit obsessive!