The Town of Kernersville has enacted a Stormwater Ordinance in order to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls to protect and safeguard the general health, safety, and welfare of the public residing in watersheds within this jurisdiction. The Town of Kernersville is the permitting authority for all land disturbing activities and requires the land owner to maintain all on-site stormwater control facilities and all open space areas (e.g. parks or “green” areas) required by the approved stormwater control plan. The Town of Kernersville will only provide construction permits to projects that establish a plan to manage stormwater runoff occurring during the construction process. The Town of Kernersville, under the NPDES program, also has the authority to inspect properties for noncompliance and can issue a notice of violation (NOV) for any deficiency or infraction onsite. Property owners are responsible for the maintenance of any stormwater facilities or practices located on the property. The Town of Kernersville has the authority to inspect stormwater facilities and practices in order to ascertain that they are properly maintained and functioning.
The Town of Kernersville Stormwater and Watershed regulations (Stormwater Post-Construction Controls, Buffer Rules and Water Supply Watershed Protection Regulations) are designed to control stormwater pollutants as well as increased stormwater volume and velocity from new construction, development, and redevelopment so that water quality is protected and downstream flooding is reduced; those regulations are included in the Town of Kernersville Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) with the Chapter C "Environmental Ordinance" as following:
A. Evaluation According to Contents of Design Manual
All stormwater control measures and stormwater treatment practices (also referred to as Best Management Practices, or BMPs) required under this ordinance shall be evaluated by the Stormwater Administrator according to the policies, criteria, and information, including technical specifications and standards and the specific design criteria for each stormwater practice, in the Design Manual. The Stormwater Administrator shall determine whether they will be adequate to meet the requirements of this ordinance.
B. Determination of Adequacy; Presumptions and Alternatives
Stormwater treatment practices that are designed, constructed, and maintained in accordance with the criteria and specifications in the Design Manual will be presumed to meet the minimum water quality and quantity performance standards of this ordinance. Whenever an applicant proposes to utilize a practice or practices not designed and constructed in accordance with the criteria and specifications in the Design Manual, the applicant shall have the burden of demonstrating that the practice(s) will satisfy the minimum water quality and quantity performance standards of this ordinance. The Stormwater Administrator may require the applicant to provide such documentation, calculations, and examples as necessary for the Stormwater Administrator to determine whether such an affirmative showing is made.
A. Function of BMPs As Intended
The owner of each structural BMP installed pursuant to this ordinance shall maintain and operate it so as to preserve and continue its function in controlling stormwater quality and quantity at the degree or amount of function for which the structural BMP was designed.
B. Annual Maintenance Inspection and Report
The person responsible for maintenance of any structural BMP installed pursuant to this ordinance shall submit to the Stormwater Administrator an inspection report from a qualified registered North Carolina professional engineer, surveyor, and soil scientist or landscape architect performing services only in their area of competence. The inspection report shall contain all of the following:
All inspection reports shall be on forms supplied by the Stormwater Administrator. An original inspection report shall be provided to the Stormwater Administrator beginning one year from the date of as-built certification and each year thereafter on or before the date of the as-built certification.
A. In General
Prior to the conveyance or transfer of any lot or building site to be served by a structural BMP pursuant to this ordinance, and prior to issuance of any permit for development or redevelopment requiring a structural BMP pursuant to this ordinance, the applicant or owner of the site must execute an operation and maintenance agreement that shall be binding on all subsequent owners of the site, portions of the site, and lots or parcels served by the structural BMP. Until the transference of all property, sites, or lots served by the structural BMP, the original owner or applicant shall have primary responsibility for carrying out the provisions of the maintenance agreement.
The operation and maintenance agreement shall require the owner or owners to maintain, repair and, if necessary, reconstruct the structural BMP, and shall state the terms, conditions, and schedule of maintenance for the structural BMP. In addition, it shall grant to the Town of Kernersville a right of entry in the event that the Stormwater Administrator has reason to believe it has become necessary to inspect, monitor, maintain, repair, or reconstruct the structural BMP; however, in no case shall the right of entry, of itself, confer an obligation on the Town of Kernersville to assume responsibility for the structural BMP.
The operation and maintenance agreement must be approved by the Stormwater Administrator prior to plan approval, and it shall be referenced on the final plat and shall be recorded with the county Register of Deeds upon final plat approval. A copy of the recorded maintenance agreement shall be given to the Stormwater Administrator within fourteen (14) days following its recordation.
B. Special Requirement for Homeowners’ and Other Associations
For all structural BMPs required pursuant to this ordinance and that are to be or are owned and maintained by a homeowners’ association, property owners’ association, or similar entity, the required operation and maintenance agreement shall include all of the following provisions:
Inspections and inspection programs by the Town of Kernersville may be conducted or established on any reasonable basis, including but not limited to routine inspections; random inspections; inspections based upon complaints or other notice of possible violations; and joint inspections with other agencies inspecting under environmental or safety laws. Inspections may include, but are not limited to, reviewing maintenance and repair records; sampling discharges, surface water, groundwater, and material or water in BMPs; and evaluating the condition of BMPs.
If the owner or occupant of any property refuses to permit such inspection, the Stormwater Administrator shall proceed to obtain an administrative search warrant pursuant to G.S. 15-27.2 or its successor. No person shall obstruct, hamper or interfere with the Stormwater Administrator while carrying out his or her official duties.
A. May Be Required
The Town of Kernersville may, at its discretion, require the submittal of a performance surety prior to issuance of a permit in order to ensure that the structural BMPs are:
B. Amount
The amount of an installation performance surety shall be 100% of the total estimated construction cost of the BMPs approved under the permit.
The amount of a maintenance performance surety shall be the present value of an annuity of perpetual duration based on a reasonable estimate of the annual cost of inspection, operation and maintenance of the BMPs approved under the permit, at a discount rate that reflects the jurisdiction’s cost of borrowing minus a reasonable estimate of long term inflation.
C. Uses of Performance Surety
The performance surety shall contain forfeiture provisions for failure to complete work within the time specified, or to initiate or maintain any actions which may be required of the applicant or owner in accordance with this ordinance, approvals issued pursuant to this ordinance, or an operation and maintenance agreement established pursuant to this ordinance.
Upon default of the owner to construct, maintain, repair and, if necessary, reconstruct any structural BMP in accordance with the applicable permit or operation and maintenance agreement, the Stormwater Administrator shall obtain and use all or any portion of the performance surety to make necessary improvements based on an engineering estimate. Such expenditure of funds shall only be made after requesting the owner to comply with the permit or maintenance agreement. In the event of a default triggering the use of installation performance surety, the Town of Kernersville shall not return any of the unused performance surety, which shall be retained for maintenance.
If The Town of Kernersville takes action upon such failure by the applicant or owner, the Town of Kernersville may collect from the applicant or owner for the difference should the amount of the reasonable cost of such action exceed the amount of the performance surety held.
Within sixty days of the final approval, the installation performance surety shall be refunded to the applicant or terminated, with the exception of any amount attributable to the cost (plus 25%) of landscaping installation and ongoing maintenance associated with the BMPs covered by the surety. Any such landscaping shall be inspected one (1) year after installation with replacement for compliance with the approved plans and specifications and, if in compliance, the portion of the performance surety attributable to landscaping shall be released.
A. Deed Recordation and Indications On Plat
The applicable operations and maintenance agreement pertaining to every structural BMP shall be referenced on the final plat and shall be recorded with the county Register of Deeds upon final plat approval. If no subdivision plat is recorded for the site, then the operations and maintenance agreement shall be recorded with the county Register of Deeds so as to appear in the chain of title of all subsequent purchasers under generally accepted searching principles.
B. Signage
Where appropriate in the determination of the Stormwater Administrator to assure compliance with this ordinance, structural BMPs shall be posted with a conspicuous sign stating who is responsible for required maintenance and annual inspection. The sign shall be maintained so as to remain visible and legible.
The owner of each structural BMP shall keep records of inspections, maintenance, and repairs for at least five years from the date of creation of the record and shall submit the same upon reasonable request to the Stormwater Administrator.
A. Authority to Enforce
The provisions of this ordinance shall be enforced by the Stormwater Administrator, his or her designee, or any authorized agent of the Town of Kernersville. Whenever this section refers to the Stormwater Administrator, it includes his or her designee as well as any authorized agent of Town of Kernersville.
B. Violation Unlawful
Any failure to comply with an applicable requirement, prohibition, standard, or limitation imposed by this ordinance, or the terms or conditions of any permit or other development or redevelopment approval or authorization granted pursuant to this ordinance, is unlawful and shall constitute a violation of this ordinance.
C. Each Day a Separate Offense
Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct violation or offense.
D. Responsible Persons/Entities
Any person who erects, constructs, reconstructs, alters (whether actively or passively), or fails to erect, construct, reconstruct, alter, repair or maintain any structure, BMP, practice, or condition in violation of this ordinance shall be subject to the remedies, penalties, and/or enforcement actions in accordance with this section. Persons subject to the remedies and penalties set forth herein may include any architect, engineer, builder, contractor, developer, agency, or any other person who participates in, assists, directs, creates, causes, or maintains a condition that results in or constitutes a violation of this ordinance, or fails to take appropriate action, so that a violation of this ordinance results or persists; or an owner, any tenant or occupant, or any other person, who has control over, or responsibility for, the use or development of the property on which the violation occurs.
For the purposes of this article, a responsible person(s) shall include the owner of the land on which the violation occurs, any tenant or occupant of the property, any person who is responsible for stormwater controls or practices pursuant to a private agreement or public document, or any person, who has control over, or responsibility for, the use, development or redevelopment of the property. A responsible person(s) may also include, but not be limited to an architect, engineer, builder, contractor, developer, agency, or any other person who participates in, assists, directs, creates, causes, maintains or does not correct a condition that constitutes a violation of this ordinance, or fails to take appropriate action, resulting in a continuing violation.
(a) The schedule of fees and charges set out in this section is hereby adopted and shall apply to all land parcels within the corporate limits of the Town, except as may be altered by credits or exemptions provided in this article.
(1) Individual single-family detached parcels containing one (1) house shall be billed for one (1) ERU.
(2) Each residential unit in a duplex, townhome, condominium, or other multifamily structure shall be billed for one (1) ERU.
(3) All other developed parcels shall be billed for one (1) ERU for up to two thousand nine hundred eighty (2,980) square feet of impervious area plus an additional annual service charge for each additional one thousand (1,000) square feet of impervious surface area, or fraction thereof, on the subject parcel.
(4) The annual service charge per Equivalent Residential Unit is hereby established at thirty-nine dollars and fifty-one cents ($39.51), the same to be amended and established for each successive fiscal year by the Board of Aldermen in its annual budget.
(5) The annual service charge per each additional one thousand (1,000) square feet of impervious surface area is hereby established at thirteen dollars and twenty-six cents ($13.26), the same to be amended and established for each successive fiscal year by the Board of Aldermen in its annual budget.
(b) There will be no service charge for land parcels with fewer than five hundred (500) square feet of impervious surface area.
(c) There will be no service charge for common area parcels within residential townhome and condominium complexes.
(Ord. No. O-2006-14, § 1, 5-2-06)
(a) Method of billing. Billing and collection of the Stormwater Management Utility service charges for stormwater management services and facilities shall be billed with property taxes under the general administration of the Town Manager and shall be payable in the same manner as property taxes.
(b) Delinquencies. Stormwater Management Utility service charge billings that are not paid within the time allowed for the payment of property taxes shall be collected in the same manner as delinquent real property taxes and such delinquent charges shall be a lien on the real property described on the property described in the bill that includes the charge.
(c) Appeal of disputed bills and adjustments. If any citizen wishes to dispute a stormwater utility service charge billing or any other rents, rates, fees, charges, or penalties adopted pursuant to this Article, that citizen must submit a written appeal within sixty (60) days of receipt of the billing, stating the reasons for the appeal, and providing information pertinent to the calculation of the billed charge. A timely appeal shall stay the penalty deadlines. An appeal of a disputed bill shall be filed with the town's stormwater manager for review and disposition. If the citizen is not satisfied with the disposition of the appeal, the citizen may further appeal the disputed charge to the Town Manager or his designee who shall make the final ruling on the validity of the appeal.
(d) Collection of delinquencies. The administrative remedies provided in this chapter shall be exhausted before recourse to a court of competent jurisdiction.
(Ord. No. O-2006-14, § 1, 5-2-06)
Stormwater Management Utility service charge and fee revenues shall be assigned and dedicated solely to the Stormwater Management Enterprise Fund in the Town budget and accounting system, which shall be and remain separate from other funds, and shall be used only to fund identified stormwater management program activities. The services charges and fees paid to and collected by virtue of the provision of this Article shall not be used for general or other governmental or proprietary purposes of the Town, except to pay for costs incurred by the Town in rendering services associated with the Stormwater Management Utility.
(Ord. No. O-2006-14, § 1, 5-2-06)
Exemptions. Except as provided in this Article, no public or private property shall be exempt from Stormwater Management Utility service charges, with the following exceptions:
(1) Public road rights-of-way that have been conveyed to and accepted for maintenance by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and that are available for use by the general public for transportation purposes, shall be exempt from Town Stormwater Management Utility service charges.
(2) Railroad rights-of-way used for trackage and related appurtenances shall be exempt from Town Stormwater Management Utility service charges.
(Ord. No. O-2006-14, § 1, 5-2-06)
Kernersville Stormwater Homepage
Town of Kernersville Watershed and Stormwater Administrative Manual
Town of Kernersville Stormwater Management Ordinance