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Bluffton staff outline fee‑in‑lieu option for stormwater MEP; council asks for details
Summary
Town staff proposed amendments to the Southern Lowcountry Stormwater Design Manual to allow a fee‑in‑lieu for Maximum Extent Practicable (MEP) water‑quality shortfalls; council asked for clarifications about enforcement, cost basis and whether public projects would be exempt and directed staff to return with refined language and fees in March.
Bluffton staff on Tuesday presented proposed amendments to the Southern Lowcountry Stormwater Design Manual to let developers pay a fee‑in‑lieu when site constraints prevent them from meeting water‑quality treatment requirements under the MEP (Maximum Extent Practicable) process.
The amendments would add a formal fee‑in‑lieu mechanism to the town’s stormwater rules and the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), with unit costs tied to stormwater retention volume (SWRV) and included in the town’s FY26 master fee schedule, staff said.
Andrea, a watershed staff member presenting the changes, told council, “we are here to discuss the proposed amendment to the Southern Lowcountry stormwater design manual B and LE program.” She said the fee would be calculated by the shortfall in cubic feet of water‑quality volume a site cannot retain multiplied by a unit cost…
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