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Council amends oversizing reimbursement policy: storm and sump-pump reimbursements removed, sewer/water thresholds reset to 8 inches
Summary
By resolution the council narrowed reimbursable oversized utility categories and revised minimums: the city will no longer reimburse for stormwater pipe or sump-pump collection systems and will reimburse sewer and water upsizes when larger than 8 inches rather than the prior 12-inch threshold.
The Harrisburg City Council adopted a resolution revising the city’s oversized utility reimbursement policy to narrow reimbursable items and align reimbursement thresholds with the city’s minimum pipe sizes.
Planning staff told the council the city has had an oversizing reimbursement policy since 2019 that previously reimbursed developers for material cost differences when utilities were upsized for system benefit. Under the proposed change the council voted to remove storm drainage pipe and sump-pump collection systems from reimbursable items because the city lacks a sufficient dedicated revenue source to fund such reimbursements.
Staff explained that for sanitary sewer and water the city’s minimum pipe size is 8 inches; the revised policy will reimburse developers for any material cost difference when pipes larger than 8 inches are installed (e.g., upsizing from 8 to 15 inches), rather than the former policy that used 12 inches as the baseline. Staff said labor is not reimbursed because equipment and labor are essentially the same regardless of pipe diameter; reimbursements are intended to cover material differences only.
Councilmember [unnamed mover] moved to approve Resolution 2025-13 adopting the changes. The motion passed on a roll-call vote with Carson/Larson/Maxwell/Wazinski/Kent recorded as aye (transcript records Larson — aye; Maxwell — aye; Kuzinski/Wazinski — aye; Kent — aye). The resolution will affect how future development reimbursement agreements are negotiated and will be applied to projects that seek material-cost reimbursement for upsized water or sewer mains.
