FOR THE COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 20, 2024
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: City Council
FROM: Interim City Manager Alex Posada
BY: Assistant City Manager Chuen Wu
SUBJECT: Stormwater Basin Policy
Description:
The City Council will receive information on stormwater basins and provide direction on a policy regulating the ownership and maintenance of stormwater basins.
RECOMMENDATION:
The City Council will r eceive a presentation on stormwater basins and provide direction to staff to implement a policy not to accept ownership and maintenance of any stormwater basins, with exception on a case -by-case basis, provided the basin serves an agreed upon public benefit with an identified funding source.
BACKGROUND:
A stormwater basin is a conventional method for managing flood control. Basins are meant to collect stormwater and slowly release it at a controlled rate so downstream areas are not flooded or eroded. Basins a re often built as part of new development, as new impervious surfaces such as rooftops and pavement create additional stormwater runoff.
While effective for flood control, basins are now also considered for water quality treatment, and expanding regulation s governing water quality treatment are creating additional requirements for maintaining stormwater basins.
The federal Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II regulations govern stormwater discharges from small municipalities that operate storm drain systems. The State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board), and the Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCB), are responsible for the implementation of NPDES regulations for the City of Santa Maria. While the NPDES regulations are intended to prevent further impacts from stormwater runoff on stream systems, they also result in added maintenance, and correspondingly, added costs.
DISCUSSION:
Throughout Santa Maria, both historical basins for managin g floods , and newer Post Construction Required (PCR) basins , that are designed to reduce pollutant discharges , are found. Newer requirements have triggered discussions with the development community on the management of stormwater basins , in particular , basins built in 2 conjunction with single -family neighborhoods that have no management (such as a homeowner’s association.) By comparison, commercial and multi -family developments constructed with onsite basins are privately owned by a corporation and maintain ed through management. These developments may also incorporate other designs to address drainage and treatment of water runoff, such as underground basins, and bio - swales (bioswales are drainage channels with gently sloped sides built into landscaped areas).
The City would like to implement policies not to accept ownership and maintenance of any stormwater basins, due to increasing operations and maintenance costs from additional post-construction stormwater management requirements, as adopted by the RWQCB. The primary objective of these requirements is to ensure the reduction of pollutant discharges to the maximum extent practicable and prevent stormwater discharges from causing or contributing to a water quality violation.
Typical maintenance includes r emoving the accumulation of sediment, litter, or debris; clearing obstructed inlets and outlets; repairing or replacing damaged components; addressing poor, overgrown, or dead vegetation; and repairing and replanting eroded areas. A bioretention basin would also include engineered soil media to remove pollutants to meet water quality standards, yet the engineered media will become less effective over time, as the pollutants are absorbed into and saturate the media. Due to reporting requirements to the RWQCB, bioretention basins need to be monitored and maintained, including the regular testing of soil and media, and site restoration and erosion control.
The requirements to meet increasingly stringent water quality standards pose potential significant long-term costs, should the City assume ownership and maintenance of any additional stormwater basin. The tasks for addressing stormwater quality exceed and are distinguished from typical landscape maintenance. The additional costs are above and beyond typical landscape maintenance costs, and the City has not sufficiently collected the funds needed to cover these additional costs. Moreover, it is difficult to plan for future costs, considering ongoing and evolving water quality regulations.
Staff proposes the following policy for stormwater basins:
The City shall not accept ownership, nor accept maintenance of any stormwater basins required as a condition of approval for any development project.
An exception to this policy may be made on a case -by-case basis provided the basin serves a public benefit, such as a regional recreation space for use by the general public (i.e. sports field), whose design, configuration, size , and public access meets the requirements of the Recreation and Parks Department.
This exception may only be made provided the basin meets the following criteria:
1. The basin does not serve as a stormwater control measure requiring ongoing or perpetual maintenance as identified in a Stormwater Control Plan and is not 3 subject to the post -construction requirements of the Regional Water Quality Control Board (“RWQCB”).
2. The basin is not subject to any other permit from the RWQCB or other regulatory authority.
3. There is a funding mechanism in place to pay for maintenance and operation of the basin, such as being part of a Landscape Maintenance District, Special Benefit Zone, and/or other approved funding mechanism.
The City recognizes the existence of some “orphan basins,” or basins that have no assigned governing ownership. These include Parkside, located east of Preisker Lane and south of Portland Drive; San Ysidro, located south of McCoy Lane and east of Miller Street; and Montealegre, located east of Westgate Road and south of Via Rosa. Two other basins have been identified, but with an active co rporate status, including Bradley Square, located east of College Drive and south of McCoy Lane ; and Eastridge, located east of Panther Drive and south of Willingham Drive. Although these basins have been accepted into the City’s landscape district, and the City is maintaining these basins, staff recommends not including these parcels for ownership, due to added ongoing liability and costs.
In considering the future developments in the City of Santa Maria, staff expect and require basins to be privately o wned, managed, and maintained. Many new residential developments are small-lot residences with private community amenities, managed by a homeowner’s association, such as Blosser Ranch, a large development approved in 2023. Future residential developments are also expected to be built on larger parcels that would be master -planned, and long -term maintenance could be funded by other mechanisms such as a community facilities district (CFD). The CFD can be used to pay for ongoing services, or for other enhanced improvements.
Alternative(s)
The City Council can choose not to provide direction to adopt the recommended policy.
If so, the City may be responsible for ownership and maintenance of future stormwater basins and incur all associated costs, in perpetuity.
Fiscal Considerations
The recommended policy is in line with the City Council’s identified broad goal of long - term financial sustainability. Staff advises against owning and maintaining stormwater basins in future developments due to ongoing operation and maintenance costs, subject to increasingly stringent water quality requirements.
4 Impact to the Community
City staff will work closely with developers of future developments on the ownership and maintenance of stormwater basins. The establishment of a homeowner’s association or a CFD would be needed for a single-family development, to fulfill ongoing responsibilities of stormwater basin management. Staff encourages the development of high -quality projects with improvements that would meet all requirements and serve future residents with good community amenities that would be perpetually and effectively maintained over time.