Title
Public Works Stormwater and Grading Design Standards Update
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RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Staff recommends to continue to monitor the implementation of the Public Works Stormwater and Grading Design Standards, work with development stakeholders to address their concerns and questions about the new standards, and improve the efficiencies and process with development stakeholders that are designing stormwater management facilities using the new standards.
BACKGROUND:
Stormwater management is a key element in maintaining and enhancing livability within the City of Oregon City. As land is developed, creation of new impervious surfaces and loss of vegetation increases stormwater runoff during rainfall events, altering the natural hydrologic cycle. In addition, runoff that flows over roadways, parking areas, rooftops, and other impervious surfaces collects pollutants that are transported within the watershed to streams, rivers, and groundwater resources.
The City’s stormwater management standards, set forth in OCMC 13.12 and these Stormwater and Grading Design Standards, emphasize low-impact development (LID) practices, source controls for higher pollutant generating activities, erosion prevention and sediment controls, and operation and maintenance practices designed to properly manage stormwater runoff and protect our water resources. The goal of these updated standards is to provide local engineers, developers, builders, and City staff clear guidance in planning and designing stormwater conveyance and management systems that are appropriate to Oregon City’s climate, hydrogeology, and geology. These standards apply to public and private projects throughout the City.
August 18, 2015, was the effective date of Resolution No.15-14 for implementation of the new Public Work Stormwater and Grading Design Standards. One provision included in Resolution No. 15-14 included a look-back provision:
"Look-back. Within one year after these standards take effect, the City's Public Works staff shall compile and present an impact report to the City Commission explaining how implementation of these provisions have affected the overall cost of development activities within the City. From that report the City Commission may make further amendments."
Impact Report:
As of August 18, 2015, there is very little data to gather about developments that are using the new stormwater standards due to the process from land use to design and construction taking approximately two years minimum to complete. Therefore, the developments that are currently under construction are using the old design standards for stormwater management facilities.
To date, the only proposed developments on record using the new standards include two land use applications for detailed development plans, one land use application for a minor partition, and one land use application for site plan and design review. These development proposals are currently going through the land use approval process and not in the design or construction phases.
The implementation of the new standards has been going well with the development stakeholders because of the following reasons:
• Other city agencies throughout Oregon have adopted similar stormwater design standards due to state and federal regulatory requirements.
• Developer’s engineers are already designing similar stormwater management facilities for other developments located in other Oregon cities.
• Oregon City Development Stakeholders participated in a work session in August 2015 when the standards became effective with City Public Works staff and Brown and Caldwell, City’s stormwater consultant, to learn about the changes from the old standards to the new standards.
• Public Works Engineering staff have been working with developer’s engineers to effectively address and answer questions, provide good support, and work out issues that may arise with the new standards.
Public Works Engineering Development Services staff find that over the course of this year with Oregon City and other neighboring cities' adoption of the new stormwater design standards, the development community has become accustom to the new standards and the engineers preparing stormwater designs have a good understanding of the overall intent of the requirements. Staff recommends to continue to monitor the implementation of the Public Works Stormwater and Grading Design Standards, work with development stakeholders to address their concerns and questions about the new standards, and improve the efficiencies and process with development stakeholders that are designing stormwater management facilities using the new standards.