POLICY STATEMENT 23
WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEM EXTENSION
AND CONNECTION POLICY
Prepared
by: Jamie Revels, P.E., Engineering Department
Supersedes: Policy Statement, No.
23 (
Adopted by Council:
Effective:
1.0
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to
provide an equitable mechanism by which the Town of
2.0
COVERAGE
This policy upon adoption by the
Town Council shall be applicable to all areas within
3.0
GENERAL
All
utility infrastructure including, facility upgrades and system improvements, new
facilities and system extensions shall fully comply with all applicable Town
design standards and shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the
Town’s long-range “Water and Wastewater System Master Plans” where
applicable or as approved by the Director of Engineering.
Requests
for utility extensions and/or connections shall be submitted to the Town.
Applications for utility extensions shall be accompanied by engineering
design plans sealed by a licensed Professional Engineer.
All proposed water and/or sewer extensions or facility upgrades shall be
permitted by the Town prior to construction.
All
new individual connections to the water and/or sewer system whether in a new
development, existing development or newly annexed area shall require the
payment of development/impact fees to reserve capacity in the utility system.
When
tapping new mains under construction or active mains under warranty, developers
shall be required to make their own utility connections, and they are not
required to pay Utility Connection Fees. In
cases where developers must tap existing mains, the developer must submit an
application to the Inspections and Permits Department requesting permission to
connect to the Town water and/or sanitary sewer system.
Developers or contractors are not allowed under any circumstance to
establish a connection to the Town water and/or sanitary sewer system without
the written consent of the Town.
All
utility easements required for system extensions or facility upgrades shall be
dedicated to the Town in accordance with the Town’s Standard Specifications
and Details.
When
a property that has been supplied by a well or alternate source of water
requests a connection to the Town water system, the well shall be completely
disconnected from any structure connected to the Town water system.
Under no circumstance shall a well be connected to the Town water system.
In
the event that a sewer extension is installed within twenty-five (25) feet of a
private well, the well shall be abandoned in compliance with State regulations
and the property owner shall be required to connect to the Town water system
regardless of proximity to the nearest water main.
In
the event that a resident requests sewer service only and the resident is not
required to connect to the Town water system, the resident will be required to
install a meter on their well or other source of water for the purpose of sewer
billing.
In
order to minimize public health and safety risks, such as septic failure, well
failure, inadequate water supply for fire protection or substandard water
quality from well water, the Town Council may order utility extensions into
unserved areas without a request of the property owners in the area.
4.0
FEES
4.1
Development Fees
Development
fees provide a mechanism for the Town to increase the capacity of the overall
utility system as new impacts are added. The
Town requires the payment of water and/or sewer development fees for all new or
existing properties that intend to connect to the Town utility system,
regardless of their location or proximity to the Town Limits.
Payment of development fees shall be made to the Town before a building
permit is issued for new projects.
In
older or previously established areas, the water development fees shall be due
when a water meter is requested. For
sewer connections, the sewer development fees shall be due when a plumbing
permit is issued for the installation of the private, sewer service lateral.
Requests for water meters and/or plumbing permits for private service
lines shall be submitted to the Town before private service lines are
constructed.
The
schedule of development fee rates will be available for public viewing at the
office of the Inspections and Permits Department.
Development fee rates may be updated annually in the “Utility Capital
Improvements Budget Ordinance” and typically become effective on July 1
following adoption of the budget ordinance at the beginning of each fiscal year.
Payment of development fees is the only mechanism that reserves capacity
in the water and/or sanitary sewer system for an individual requesting utility
service.
Development
fees shall be due for all water and sewer connections to the Town utility system
without exception, regardless of who makes the connection.
4.2
Utility Connection Fees
Utility
connection fees shall be collected in instances where a property owner has
requested a connection to an existing or proposed utility main.
The utility connection fees have been established to reimburse the Town
for expenses incurred while Town staff members or staff otherwise under contract
to the Town make the requested utility connection(s).
The schedule of “Utility Connection Fee” rates will be available for
public viewing at the office of the Inspections and Permits Department.
Utility Connection Fee rates may be updated annually in the “Utility
Capital Improvements Budget Ordinance” and typically become effective on July
1 following adoption of the budget ordinance at the beginning of each fiscal
year.
For
individual requests, the total amount due for the payment of utility connection
fees shall be determined by the Inspections and Permits Department after field
evaluations are conducted by the Public Works and Utilities Department to assess
which charges are applicable. Utility
connection fees shall be paid to the Town before a work order will be issued.
The utility connection fees shall include tapping the water and/or sewer
main and providing a utility service connection at the edge of the public
right-of-way or easement. For
individual requests, all required site restoration work including pavement
repair, curb and gutter repair, sidewalk repair and boring shall be included in
the utility connection fee.
For
Town funded projects constructed by outside contractors, utility connection fees
will also be levied. The applicable
utility connection charges for Town funded projects will be the water and sewer
“Full Service Base Tap” charges as adopted annually by Town Council in the
Operating Budget. For Town funded
projects, additional connection charges beyond the standard “Full Service Base
Tap” charges will not be levied. With
Town funded projects, discounts of standard connection charges may be allowed.
See section 6.5 for further details.
4.3
Availability Fees
The
Town may collect availability fees from all property owners inside the corporate
limits where water and/or sewer service has been made accessible and adjacent to
existing developed property but the property owner has chosen not to connect.
Any property with a residential dwelling or operating commercial or
institutional establishment shall be liable for the payment of availability
charges. The availability charges
shall be collected to reimburse the Town for the construction and maintenance
costs of water and/or sewer mains adjacent to the property.
In cases where the property owner chooses to connect to the existing
utility service, the availability charge(s) will cease to be collected upon the
owner’s payment of all applicable development fees and approved connection(s)
to the utility system. The schedule
of availability charges will be available for public viewing at the office of
the Inspections and Permits Department. The
rate for collection of water availability and sewer availability charges may be
updated annually in the “Utility Capital Improvements Budget Ordinance” and
typically become effective on July 1 at the beginning of each fiscal year.
5.0
UTILITY SYSTEM EXTENSION AND CONNECTION
5.1
Improvements to Existing Property
Any
improvements to existing developed property within the corporate limits
requiring either new or expanded well and/or septic capacity shall connect to
the Town utility system when the property is adjacent to an existing water
and/or sewer main and another owner’s private property does not have to be
crossed to make the connection. In
the event that there are no adjacent water and/or sewer mains available, the
property owner may construct a private well and/or septic system as approved by
5.2
Proposed New Development
The
owner or developer of a parcel or tract of land is required by the Code of
Ordinances to construct, at no expense to the Town, all on-site water and/or
wastewater facilities. All water and
sewer extensions shall be made at the sole expense of the Owner unless otherwise
stated by written agreements with the Town that are approved by Council.
The
developer shall provide all connections and extensions of the water and
wastewater facilities from the development, including all properties inside the
development, to the existing utility system of the Town in accordance with all
applicable Town standards, specifications and long range master utility plans.
All planned extensions of the Town water and wastewater system shall have
engineering design plans prepared and submitted to the Town for review and
approval prior to construction. No
water and wastewater facilities, extensions or connections shall be constructed
without written approval and inspection by the Town.
5.3
Utility System Extension and Connection Outside the Town Limits
All
applicants requesting utility connections outside the Town limits are required
to submit a petition of annexation and/or annexation agreement along with a
utility extension and/or connection request.
All voluntary annexation requests accompanied by the corresponding
utility connection requests shall be submitted to the Town for approval.
All requests for utility extensions and connections outside the Town
Limits shall be reviewed on a case by case basis by the Town prior to approval.
A
utility connection outside the Town limits will not be allowed until the Town
Council has adopted the ordinance of annexation, annexation agreement, or except
in cases of emergency. The Town
Council, at its discretion, may incorporate additional requirements as
conditions for adoption of the annexation ordinance.
The
applicant shall pay all required fees and fulfill the developer obligations
outlined herein for providing all on-site water and/or wastewater facilities,
extensions and connections of the proposed water and wastewater facilities to
the existing utility system of the Town.
If
the applicant is allowed to connect to the utility system before the annexation
becomes effective, the applicant shall pay current outside utility rates until
the property is incorporated into the Town limits.
All utility rates are updated annually and are available for public
viewing.
6.0
TOWN FUNDED UTILITY EXTENSIONS
6.1
Existing Developed Property
Owners
of developed property inside the Town limits with existing structures on their
property, including newly annexed residents may petition the Town Manager for
the extension of water and/or sewer mains funded by the Town.
In order to be considered for Town funded utility extension projects, the
property owners must first meet the following eligibility and minimum area
requirements. In compelling cases,
any or all of the following eligibility or minimum area requirements may be
waived.
Applicants
who choose to request water only or sewer only may be required to request both
water and sewer at the discretion of the Town. Factors
that will be considered for approving Town funded utility extension projects are
the size of the area, number of property owners requesting utility connections,
proximity to the existing Town system, buyout arrangements with the current
service provider, funding limitations and the age of existing facilities.
6.2
Eligibility Requirements
Property
will not be considered for Town funded utility extension projects without
meeting the following eligibility requirements.
a.
The property must be within the Town’s corporate limits.
b.
The property must be developed.
c.
The property must have a dwelling or other operational structure onsite.
d.
The property shall be subdivided in accordance with Town zoning codes.
e.
The property shall not be undergoing rezoning.
f.
Individual properties shall not be undergoing expansion or improvement.
Eligible
property owners may formally request utility extensions by submitting a petition
to the Town Manager. The petition
must meet the requirements outlined herein and the property owners requesting
utility extensions must meet the following minimum area requirements.
6.3
Minimum Area Requirements
Property
owners petitioning for Town funded water and sewer service must meet the
following minimum area requirements prior to submitting their petition.
a.
The minimum area shall not be less than a street length between
intersections and shall consist of at least 10-properties requesting utility
connections.
b.
For water extension requests, the area shall extend to the nearest
available Town water main. In
certain cases, it may not be possible to connect the proposed area to the
closest water main because of access limitations.
In these cases, the closest available water main along a passable
alignment shall be considered.
c.
For sewer extension requests, the area shall extend to the closest
available existing sewer main within the same drainage basin as the area under
consideration. For sewer
construction, the closest available sewer main shall be one that is at a lower
elevation than the proposed area and for which a passable route exists between
the proposed area and the existing sewer main.
d.
Additional requirements as recommended by the Engineering Department.
The
Town may decide to increase the minimum area requirements based on the overall
size and type of area under consideration for proposed utility extensions.
6.4
Petition Requirements
Petitions
for Town funded water and/or sewer extensions shall sufficiently satisfy the
following criteria. Petitions that
do not sufficiently meet the following criteria will not be considered.
a.
The petition must be signed by more than fifty (50%) percent of the
owners of property adjacent to the proposed utility extension(s) and those
property owners shall own more than fifty (50%) percent of the road frontage
along the alignment of the proposed extension(s).
The proposed alignment must extend to the existing Town utility system.
b.
If the property deed is registered in the name of one owner or spouse,
then only that person’s signature is required for the petition.
If the property deed is registered in the name of multiple parties, then
all owners’ signatures are required as they are recorded on the property deed.
c.
Property owners who own more than one property adjacent to proposed
utility extensions must sign the petition for each of their properties within
the project area.
All
sufficient petitions shall require language notifying the property owners of the
following items:
a.
A statement of the development fees in effect at the time of petition
signing.
b.
A statement of the connection fees in effect at the time of petition
signing.
c.
A statement of all applicable discounts available by participating in the
petition for water and/or sewer service.
d.
A statement that all applicants registering on the petition will be
required to pay their development fees and applicable connection charges prior
to the Town extending utility mains.
All
petitions shall be submitted to the Engineering Department to verify sufficiency
prior to being considered for approval by the Town Manager.
Only verified, sufficient petitions will be considered.
After a petition has been deemed sufficient and the property owners have
met all established requirements, the Town will prepare a recommendation for the
Town Manager to order the extension of utilities.
The Town Manager shall have the option of ordering the utilities
installed, requesting additions or modifications to the service area, rejecting
the request, or submitting the request to Council for further deliberation.
The Town Manger’s decision shall be final and rejected requests will
not be reconsidered for 2-years after the first request was rejected.
If the improvements are ordered, Town funding will be allocated to
complete the proposed work.
6.5
Incentives and Discounts:
Residents
petitioning for water and sewer service, who have initiated a sufficient
petition that has been approved by the Town for design and construction will be
eligible to waive 50% of the applicable connection charges.
Development fees will not be discounted.
In order to receive the 50% discount of connection charges, residents
must apply with the Town either by petition or by contacting the Engineering
Dept. following petition approval. Requests
initiated after the project begins construction will not be eligible for the
discount.
6.6
Implementation of Town funded Utility Extension Project:
Upon
acceptance of the sufficient petition and issuing an order to proceed with the
extension of the utility mains, the Town will prepare plans to extend utility
mains into the area requesting service. For
requests that meet the requirements described herein, no assessments will be
levied upon the property owners. All
property owners registered on the sufficient petition will be responsible for
paying at least (2/3) two-thirds of their applicable development fees and
connection charges prior to the Town advertising a construction contract to
extend the proposed utility mains.
Property
owners petitioning for utility extensions will have the option of paying their
required development fees and connection charges in full, prior to the Town
advertising the construction contract for the installation of the utility mains.
As a secondary option, the property owners may choose to pay their
development fees and connection charges in (3) three equal installments.
The installment option would consist of (3) separate installment payments
due throughout the design and construction process.
The first installment would consist of (1/3) one-third of the total fee
balance, and this payment would be due within (60) sixty days of the petition
being approved by the Town Manager. The
second installment would be due prior to the Town advertising the construction
contract for installation of the proposed water and sewer mains.
Advertising for a Contractor to install the proposed water and sewer
mains will not begin until the second installment has been received by all of
the petitioning property owners. The
third and final installment will be due at the discretion of the property owner.
For property owners who connect to the newly extended utility service and
initiate a utility account with the Town, the final installment will be due
prior to activating their utility service. For
property owners who do not wish to connect to utility service, their final
installment will be invoiced and billed to them no sooner than (60) sixty days
after the utility construction has been completed by the Town.
Construction will be deemed complete after final payment has been made to
the Contractor.
Property
owners who have paid their development fees and connection charges in full,
prior to construction will be permitted to connect to Town utility service as
soon as the newly constructed water and/or sewer mains have been accepted by the
Town. They will be required to
obtain a plumbing permit from the Inspections & Permits Department prior to
installing their private utility service lines.
Potential water customers will also be required to apply for a water
meter.
The
Town reserves the right to withdraw support for utility extension projects in
cases where petitioned applicants fail to pay the required development fees and
connection charges in accordance with the schedule of payments outlined herein.
6.7
Non-Petitioning Property Owners:
Property
owners who have not paid their development fees and connection charges
prior to construction will have the option of requesting service within 90-days
of being contacted by the Town with no penalty.
The Town will contact property owners after the construction contract for
the utility extension project has been advertised.
Property owners will have 90-days from the date they are contacted to
request a utility connection by paying development fees plus the applicable
connection charges. They will also
be solely responsible for obtaining their plumbing permit and installing the
private service line from their structure to the public right-of-way.
The development fees and connection charges will be due and payable
before the 90-day period elapses. After
the 90-day period expires, any forthcoming requests shall be subject to both
development fees and non-discounted utility connection fees payable prior to the
establishment of a utility connection. Property
owners that choose not to connect to newly extended water and/or sewer service
shall also be liable for the payment of availability fees.
The availability fees will be billed to the property owner after the
service has been made available and the 90-day period has elapsed.
The availability fees will be billed monthly until such time that the
property owner connects to the utility service.
6.8
Alignment and Location of Proposed Utility Mains
The
Town reserves the right to choose the alignment and location of the requested
utility mains. The Town shall not be
obligated to replace landscaping, irrigation systems, or any other privately
owned obstructions within the existing right-of-way or utility easement at the
time of construction, nor will the Town be obligated to compensate property
owners for the removal of such obstructions.
In
isolated cases, sewer connections requested by property owners may not be
feasible, as determined by the Director of Engineering due to the unique
topography of the area. In these
cases, the property owners shall be responsible for installing private pumps
stations or other alternate methods as necessary to connect to an adjacent sewer
main extended by the Town. Should
the property owner decide not to install a private pump station or alternate
connection to the sewer system, the property owner shall be solely responsible
for maintenance and repair of the existing septic or waste disposal system
serving the property.
6.9
Maximum Depth of Sewer Mains
The
Town shall not be obligated to provide gravity sewer service to any structure at
an elevation lower than 8-ft below the crown of the street directly adjacent to
the structure. In these
circumstances, property owners may be responsible for private pump station
construction or other alternate methods as required to serve their property.
In most cases, the Town will not install sewer mains deeper than 8-ft
unless the property owner(s) agrees to compensate the Town for the added expense
of installing the proposed main deeper than 8-ft.
The Town Engineering Department shall be solely responsible for
quantifying the additional expense required for sewer installations deeper than
8-ft.
7.0
UTILITY SYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE REIMBURSEMENTS
7.1
Proposed New Development
In
instances where Town funding is available for the types of system extensions and
facility upgrades that are beyond the scope of infrastructure required for a
specific development project, the developer may enter into a reimbursement
agreement with the Town. Approval of
facilities under reimbursement agreements shall be contingent upon receipt of
all Town and State approvals and the availability of sufficient water supply
and/or wastewater treatment capacity.
The
extension of water and/or wastewater systems beyond the needs of the development
shall be accomplished by one or more of the following methods as recommended by
the Director of Engineering and approved by the Town Council.
7.2
Oversize Reimbursement
Under
this method, the developer shall be responsible for the full cost of installing
water and/or wastewater facilities within their own properties and for the
connection of their system to the Town’s existing utility system.
The Town may share in the cost of constructing oversized facilities when
larger sizes are required to serve other tracts outside of the tract being
developed.
Town
reimbursement of developer funded facilities will be made for the difference in
cost between facilities required for the development and oversized facilities
required by the Town. The
methodology of sizing facilities shall be as specified by the Town’s Master
Utility Plans and as approved by the Director of Engineering.
In no instance shall the Town of
All
applications for reimbursement shall comply with the provisions of Policy
Statement No. 96, Oversize Reimbursement Requests.
7.3
Developer Funded Reimbursement Contracts
In
instances where the Town Council deems it beneficial to approve such a project,
the developer may enter into a reimbursement contract with the Town.
Any reimbursement contract would provide for developer funding of the
entire project with reimbursement to the developer for those costs in excess of
the required payment of development fees, basic infrastructure necessary to
serve the development and assessments where applicable.
Reimbursements paid to the developer would come from development fees
paid by other subsequent developing properties within the service area
benefiting from the facility improvements. Any
reimbursement contract shall comply with the provisions of this policy statement
regarding the details and provisions of reimbursement contracts and shall be
contingent upon approval by the Town Council.
Reimbursement
contracts may be made available as a funding alternative for developing
properties within the “land use” planning areas of the Town and to
intervening properties in the case of satellite annexations.
Costs
eligible for reimbursement under this concept shall include all off-site water
and/or wastewater facilities and on-site facilities of a regional nature.
All
reimbursement contracts shall be two party agreements between the Town of
The
term of any reimbursement contract shall run from the execution of the contract
by all parties until the Town’s obligation for reimbursement has been met up
to, but not exceeding a period of ten (10) years from the date of contract
execution, whichever expires first. The
contract may be terminated (at any time) by unanimous consent of all parties.
The
developer shall prepay all development fees to the Town, prior to award of any
construction contract utilizing reimbursement funding.
Only construction costs shall be eligible for reimbursement or fee
credits.
The
Town shall make reimbursement payments to the developer on an annual basis from
development fees collected within the service area benefited by the project.
A map delineating the benefited service area from which development fees
will be collected and reimbursed will be prepared by the Engineering Department
and made an exhibit to the reimbursement contract.
By
entrance into a reimbursement contract, the Town makes no guarantee as to the
availability of water supply and/or wastewater treatment capacity beyond that
which would be available to any other developing properties.
It
may be feasible in certain cases to utilize developer-funded, reimbursement
contracts in addition to assessments to fully fund utility extensions.
In these cases, the Town shall be responsible for the design,
construction, easement acquisition and all approvals for the utility extension
project and the following conditions shall apply:
a.
The developer shall prepay all development fees as previously stated.
b.
The developer shall remit to the Town in one lump sum the difference
between the total project cost derived from actual bid amounts plus a fifteen
(15%) percent contingency and the prepaid development fees.
c.
The developer shall provide surety in the form of a cash bond.
In lieu of a cash bond, an irrevocable letter of credit with no
expiration date may be posted prior to award of the construction contract.
d.
Progress payments for the construction contract(s) shall utilize the
prepaid development fees prior to drawing upon any letter of credit.
e.
Following completion of construction, the final project costs shall be
calculated, as well as any applicable assessment fees, to determine the
reimbursable amount.
f.
Following acceptance of the project(s) by the Town, the letter of credit
shall be released by the Town of
7.4
Developer Funded – No Reimbursement
In
those instances where funding is not available under any other provisions of
this policy statement, the developer shall fund the full cost of installing all
water and/or wastewater facilities and utility system extensions with no
reimbursement. All facilities
installed under this method shall fully comply with Town design standards and
all master water and/or wastewater system design plans.
No waivers shall be granted without the written consent of the Director
of Engineering.