Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council adopts updates to stormwater code, including updated rainfall tables and clarified definitions
Summary
Peoria adopted changes to stormwater management rules that update rainfall tables (last revised in 1989), clarify technical definitions and expand fee/permit language; city staff said the changes reflect higher rainfall figures and will modestly affect development calculations.
The Peoria City Council unanimously adopted amendments to Chapter 9.5 (stormwater) and Chapter 31 of the city code on March 11 to update stormwater management policies, adjust technical definitions and adopt revised rainfall tables.
Director of Public Works Powers told the council the update is largely a code “cleanup” but includes a key technical change: rainfall tables used in stormwater calculations were last revised in 1989 and now reflect higher rainfall events, which will affect detention and runoff calculations for new development. He said the 2020 update to rainfall amounts means developers may face modestly higher costs for on-site retention or for permit fees tied to required stormwater management.
Powers said the ordinance also clarifies terms (for example, ‘‘freeboard’’) and adds mobile home parks to the fee and impervious-surface calculations. He said the city is operating within the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit framework and that the city remains in compliance; failure to conform to NPDES standards could affect flood-insurance eligibility under federal rules.
Council and staff discussed applicability: projects with erosion, sediment and stormwater permit applications submitted before adoption of the ordinance will be judged by the rules in force at the time of their submission, while future submissions must meet the new rules. Corporation Counsel Hayes confirmed that section 4 of the ordinance explicitly provides that transition rule.
Council Member Cyr moved adoption; Council Member Valpula seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
