T H E M I N N E A P O L I S O B S E R V E R A Weekly Digest of All Things Minneapolitan www.mplsobserver.com Vol. 4, No. 13 November 1, 2004
CITY CONSIDERING NEW FEE FOR STORMWATER RUNOFF
City officials next year may begin charging city residents for the amount of storm water that runs off their property into the city's drainage system.
Sounds like a good idea on the surface.
But implementation seems problematic. How can the fees be fairly calculated? The article talks about hard and impervious surface area, rain gardens and so forth.
Does this mean that corner property owners get double-taxed, just because the city owns sidewalks on 2 sides of their property?
What constitutes an impervious surface? I've got lots of brick pavers and turf stone in my yard. It's a hard surface, but the water mostly drains through it to the sand underneath. I've also got a rain garden, but how does the city qualify what constitutes a rain garden and what does not? I've made a great deal of effort and investment over the past 4 years to reduce the run-off from my yard, but will that be recognized in my storm water fee?
Doesn't this mean someone will have to come measure each and every property and the size of various surfaces and structures? How is that practical or cost effective?
If they can solve those kinds of questions and problems in a fair and equitable manner, that would be great. I doubt that will be the case.
Chris Johnson - Fulton
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