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Home My WebLink AboutINS-11-094 - FINAL SWM Rate Credit Policy - Progress Update com1 KITCx~i~~R Staff Report ~nfrastrurture Services Department ~w.k~~~~~r~erca REPORT T0: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: November 28, 2011 SUBMITTED BY: Grant Murphy, Director of Engineering, 741-2410 PREPARED BY: Nick Gollan, Manager, stormwater Utility, 741-2422 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: November 23, 2011 REPORT NO.: INS 11-094 SUBJECT: STORMWATER RATE CREDIT POLICY - PROGRESS UPDATE RECOMMENDATION: For information. BACKGROUND: On June 14t", 2010 City of Kitchener Council approved the implementation of a stormwater utility rate which provides for fair and equitable allocation of stormwater management program costs, based on impervious area, to all property owners in the City of Kitchener. Council also wishes to review options for the implementation of a stormwater credit policy for residential and non-residential properties. Council directed staff to report back before December 31, 2011 with alternatives for a proposed stormwater credit rate policy. The proposed policy would be retroactive to the start of the stormwater utility billing, January 1, 2011. This report provides a progress update on the stormwater credit policy work plan (refer to INS 11-041 dated May 30, 2011) and a brief overview of the preferred alternative that staff are proposing. REPORT: Generally, knowledge of the stormwater rate credit policy encourages the implementation of measures on private property that help reduce total runoff volume and pollutant loading discharge to the city's stormwater management system. Property owners would qualify for stormwater rate credits when they can demonstrate that their existing or proposed stormwater facilities or applied best management practices are functioning as approved. Since May 2011, staff have continued to work collaboratively with the City of Waterloo, to develop a stormwater credit policy, as part of the Shared Services Initiative. Kitchener and Waterloo recognize that it is important to couple the implementation of stormwater rate structure with that of a credit policy for property owners that own and maintain stormwater management facilities. The stormwater credit policy work plan identifies the key activities that have been IF1-1 1 KITCx~i~~R Staff Report ~nfrastrurture Services Department www.k~~~~~r~erca completed (or are in progress) in order to develop a policy for Council's consideration in January 2012. A general task description and status is provided in Table 1. Table 1: General Description of Work Plan Tasks Policy Development Work Plan Task Status 1. Consultation and Communications • Develop stakeholder list Complete • Update website Complete • Stakeholder meetings including 2 public information centres Complete 2. Background Review • Research other municipal credit policies Complete • Detailed review of relevant policies Complete • Follow up interviews with key staff from other municipalities Complete 3. Data Collection • Identify existing properties eligible for a credit or rebate Complete • Conduct a residential sector survey Complete • Identify where property credit information will be stored Ongoing in Dec. 2011 4. Develop Credit Program Alternatives • Alternatives related to eligible property types Complete • Alternatives related to eligible best management practices Complete • Alternatives related to application requirements Complete 5. Impact Analysis of Alternatives • Identify billing system modifications Complete • Identify resource requirements to administer alternatives Ongoing in Dec. 2011 • Identify impact to stormwater revenue Complete 6. Evaluation of Alternatives • Develop evaluation criteria Complete • Evaluate alternatives Complete • Select preferred alternative Complete 7. Refine Preferred Credit Program Details • Communication plan and application requirements Ongoing in Dec. 2011 • Billing system requirements Ongoing in Dec. 2011 • Develop implementation work plan Ongoing in Dec. 2011 • Develop policy and by-law requirements Ongoing in Dec. 2011 8. Present Policy Recommendations to Council • Report to Council with update November 28, 2011 • Report to Council for review and approval January 9, 2012 IF1-2 1 Staff Re ort p Krr~.~-~~,i~iER ~nfrastru~ture Servrces Department www.kitthenerta Research was conducted to identify best practices used by other municipalities in developing a stormwater credit andlor rebate policy as well as to share lessons learned. A total of 13 municipalities from Canada and the United States were selected for tier 1 research which included an Internet scan and summary of the findings. Based on the findings, a selection of municipalities were shortlisted for tier 2 research which involved follow-up phone interviews for more detailed information. The information gathered from those municipalities that could be contacted has further informed the policy development process. In addition to researching other municipalities, the City of Kitchener and City of Waterloo partnered with the University of Waterloo to take part in the 2011 Waterloo Regional Area Survey (WRAS). The survey was a partnership between academic and community researchers, including the Cities of Waterloo and Kitchener, Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, the Crime Prevention Council of Waterloo Region, and researchers from the University of Waterloo and Wilfred Laurier University. One component of the survey was to ask residents in each respective municipality questions about their existing behaviours regarding stormwater management practices as well as to gauge their preference of an incentive program to encourage stormwater management practices. A total of five (5) alternatives were taken into consideration and presented to the public on September 29, 2011 for feedback. The alternatives were: 1. Do Nothing 2. Non-Residential Credits 3. Residential Credits 4. Residential Rebates 5a. Non-Residential Credits and Residential Credits Combination 5b. Non-Residential Credits and Residential Rebate Combination For the purposes of this study, a credit is defined as a reduction to the stormwater portion of the utility bill on a monthly basis and a rebate is defined as a single lump-sum payment with no ongoing billing change thereafter. Further information on all of the alternatives can be found at the City of Kitchener stormwater policy development website at www. kitchener. ca/stormwatercred it. Similarto an Environmental Assessment process, the Project Team and Steering Committee established evaluation criteria which were also vetted to the public and evaluated the alternatives based on the technical, natural, economic and social environments. Public feedback from the first public information centre was integrated into the evaluation. Based on the results of the evaluation process, the preferred alternative was the non-residential and residential credit combination. This alternative offers incentives to all rate payers who demonstrate approved best management practices that reduce the amount and improve the quality of stormwater runoff that goes into the municipal stormwater system. Figure 1 demonstrates how each alternative was ranked relative to the other alternatives that were under consideration. IF1-3 1 KITCx~i~~R Staff Report ~nfrastrurture Services Department ~w.k~t~~~r~erca Figure 1: Evaluation of Credit and Rebate Policy Alternatives ~I~erna~i~re~ Do nothing Non-residential Oredits Residential credits Residential Rebates Norrres Credits ~ Residential Oredits Jon-res Oredifs Residential Rebates ~~~~~~~ ,~]n1~InatlOn '~ ombinatlon Technical Ease of Implementation Erosion control Flood protection ,, _~. ~ f ..~, ~' Adrnin~atrati~e process and resource requirements fVat~ral Ability to meet local goals Aquatic habitat pediment loading I~., ,; ~ ~- ~~ ~ ~--.',,, Tree canopy .___ f Ground~ater resources Economic IVlunlclpal capital ~oSt~ Operations and maintenance casts ~r' _ ~ 'e ~ ~ ~ --~, Effect on property owner ~- - ~ Effect on rate setting social Public education opportunity Public participation opportunity Public reco nition opportunit irr-IDS I o ~ - ~ __ ~; ,.,~ I+'._9~~~ '~: ' _ -.,~ g y Fairness and equity ,._ .~_,~ Visual aesthetics Least Preferred hest Preferred 1 ~,. .~~ • Preferred Alternative -Non-residential and Residential Credit Combination • The credit for each multi-residential/non-residential property will be evaluated based on approved flood prevention (quantity) and pollution reduction (quality) controls. • The credit for each residential property will be evaluated based on the amount of runoff diverted from the municipal stormwater management system. • The maximum amount of credit per property would be 45% of the stormwater portion of the regular utility bill. This amount is based on an assessment of the stormwater program costs that could be influenced by the actions of property owners on the privately owned impervious areas. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENERSTRATEGIC PLAN: Community Priority -Environment "Continue to show leadership in the development of an environmentally sustainable community." The City continues to ensure effective implementation of the stormwater management facilities in a sustainable and optimized manner in order to protect the environment and source water. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: None at this time, as funding is available in the approved 2011 stormwater utility operating budget to develop the stormwater Credit & Rebate Policy. IF 1- 4 1 Staff Re ort p Krr~.~-~~,i~iER ~nfrastru~ture Servrces Department www.kitthenerta It is expected that additional resources will be required to implement and sustain the credit program and some of the activities will be: • Processing credit applications • Responding to customer inquiries • Inspecting private stormwater infrastructure • Administering billing account credits in the billing system • Database entry • Public educationlmarketing. In January 2012, as part of the report to Council on the proposed policy, staff will identify resource and financial implications to implement and sustain the proposed policy. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Public consultation has been a key component of this process and has been integrated as follows: • The Cities have collaborated with the University of Waterloo Survey Research Centre to complete a survey of residential property owners in order to assess their relative preferences of various credit policy alternatives (similar to the Your Kitchener Environics Study (2009}). • The first public information centre to present the five alternatives to the public was conducted on September 29, 2011. Input and feedback was received and incorporated into the evaluation of alternatives. • The proposed preferred alternative was presented at the second public information centre on Wednesday, November 23, 2011. The public will have opportunity to provide input and feedback for the proposed preferred alternative. • The City of Kitchener website has been updated throughout the process to keep the public informed. Consultation has also taken place with the Grand River Conservation Authority, Waterloo Region Home Builders Association, Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, Grand River Property Manager's Association, and the Kitchener Environmental Committee. CONCLUSION: In order to address Council's direction to implement a stormwater rate credit policy for 2012, a detailed work plan has been presented and is largely complete. A proposed stormwater rate credit policy and summary report will be presented to Council for approval on January 9, 2012. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Pauline Houston, Deputy CAO Infrastructure Services Department Attachments: Public Information Centre #2 Boards IF1-5 Welcome Please complete the sign-in display materials. Staff are your questions and address sheet and review the available to answer any concerns. 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