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Town of Chapel Hill Stomiwater Management - Stormwater Utility FAQ Page .3 of 6 <br />///~ <br />services. However, due to new federal, state, and local regulations and limited <br />staff and funding resources, the Town cannot adequately meet the current <br />demand, let alone increasing demands, for stormwater management services <br />such as drainage assistance, infrastructure maintenance and improvements, <br />flood damage reduction, public education, illicit discharge detection, water <br />quality improvement, development review, and administration of the National <br />Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). <br />How would the utility be funded? <br />The utility would be funded by fees collected from all properties contributing <br />stormwater runoff to the stormwater management system.. The fee would be <br />based on the relative impact of each property on the stormwater management <br />system. Sea the following question for fee calculation. <br />How would fees be calculated? <br />Fees would be calculated based on the amount of impervious surface (see <br />question below about impervious surface) existing on each property within the <br />Town Limits. This impervious surface area equates to the "demand" that each <br />property places on the stormwater management system. Apre-determined unit <br />area of impervious surface, called an Equivalent Rate Unit (ERU), would be <br />assessed a set fee, The total utility fee for each property would be determined <br />by the number of ERUs on that property multiplied by the unit fee.. <br />A rate study was conducted to determine the unit fee for one ERU, based on a <br />statistical analysis of the impervious surface area existing on single-family <br />properties Townwide Initial analysis set one ERU at the mean impervious area <br />for single family lots, found by the study found to be 3015 sq.ft. At the request <br />of the Town Council, to more accurately represent the smaller impervious area <br />of many lots, the size of a single ERU was placed at a natural "breakpoint" in <br />the distribution of impervious square footage among the analyzed properties, <br />determined to be 2000 sq.ft. The unit fee per ERU would be calculated by <br />dividing the costs associated with the desired program level and extent of <br />services by the number of ERUs to be assessed Townwide. All types of <br />property within the Town limits would be subject to utility fees, with the <br />exception of State and Town road rights-of-way. <br />How often would 1 get a bill? <br />The billing cycle would likely be on an annual basis and included with the <br />Qrange County property tax bill as a separate fee. Properties in Durham <br />County would be billed separately, also on an annual basis. <br />About how much would the annual utility fee be for a <br />single family property? <br />The utility fee amount would depend on the amount of impervious surface on <br />the property in question. The Manager's recommendation is for a <br />$3.75/month/ERU fee. As an example, if a parcel has 5015 sq,ft, of impervious <br />surface, the fee would be calculated as 3 ERUs x 3,75 x 12 months = $135 <br />http://townhall.townofchapelhill.org/stormwater/utility_faq.lrtml 5/24/2004 <br />