The City presently has standards in City Code regarding stormwater pollution control. Subdivision II in Chapter 117, Article II, Division 6 outlines the requirements of stormwater management plans associated with proposed development.  However, updates to this Subdivision are now necessary to implement the LRRWMO's 3rd Generation Plan.  The main components of the ordinance amendment related to stormwater pollution control are water quality and volume control.  Water quality standards focus primarily on phosphorous reduction (sixty percent [60%] removal efficiency) and removal of total suspended solids (ninety percent [90%] removal efficiency).

Another component of the ordinance amendment involves removing content that is no longer applicable.  Section 117-395 reviews standards related to vegetated buffer protection for water bodies.  However, in 2009, the City repealed it's wetland buffer ordinance, and thus, this Section is no longer applicable.

The proposed ordinance amendment adds Subdivision III to Chapter 117, Article II, Division 6.  The intent of this Subdivision is to control or eliminate stormwater pollution associated with illicit discharges.   The provisions within the Subdivision outline what constitutes an illicit discharge, what may be exempted from enforcement action related to illicit discharges, and emergency and non-emergency suspension of utility service related to illicit discharges.  Adoption of this amendment would bring the City into compliance with the MS4 permit standards administered by the MPCA.  Finally, in concert with the addition of this Subdivision, several new terms are proposed for inclusion in Section 117-1 (Definitions).

Action Options:

Recommend that the City Council not adopt the proposed ordinance amendments.  The proposed ordinance amendments are intended to bring the City into compliance with the requirements of its MS4 permit and the LRRWMO's 3rd Generation Plan.  Failure to adopt these ordinance amendments may create difficulty for future development projects in obtaining required permits, which may stall or prevent a project from moving forward.

Recommend that the City Council adopt the proposed ordinance amendments.  The need for amending City Code related to stormwater standards can be likened to updating the Zoning Code as a result of a Comprehensive Plan Update.  The standards and goals of the MS4 permit program and 3rd Generation Plan (the LRRWMO's 3rd Generation Watershed Management Plan is their equivalent to a Comprehensive Plan) are implemented through the Zoning Code.   Adopting these standards ensure the City is in compliance with both.