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Manassas to update erosion and stormwater code to match July 2024 state regulation; council asked to place ordinance on June 9 consent agenda
Summary
City staff presented an ordinance rewrite that merges the city's erosion and stormwater chapters to align with Virginia regulation 9VAC25-88875 and an updated state handbook; staff asked council to advance the change for formal adoption at the June 9 meeting.
City stormwater staff told the Manassas City Council Committee of the Whole that the city must update its local ordinance to align with a July 2024 state regulation that consolidated erosion, stormwater and certification rules into a single handbook.
Amy Billman, Manassas stormwater administrator, said the new Commonwealth regulation (9VAC 25-88875) combines previously separate erosion-control and stormwater regulations and that the city’s handbook and local code need to be revised to mirror the state model. Billman briefed council on the code changes and the location of updated fee language.
“There's a new regulation. It came about in July, of 2024, and it's 9 VAC 25-8 8 8 75, and it basically combines the the stormwater regs with the erosion control regs and with the certification regs,” Billman said, explaining the changes in definitions, BMPs and fee references.
Under the draft, Chapter 58 Article 3 (the city’s prior erosion control code) would be repealed and consolidated into Article 4, titled the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program; fee language would be moved into section 58-101(d) and cross-referenced to chapter A130 in the packet. Staff told council the city is already operating under many of the new handbook provisions while it finishes the local ordinance update.
City staff asked council to advance the ordinance to the consent agenda for adoption at the council’s June 9 meeting if members were in agreement. “We can place our consent if it's unanimous,” a city staff member said; council signaled concurrence and staff said they would place the item on the June 9 consent docket.
Why it matters: the rewrite is a state-driven housekeeping change that consolidates technical standards and will affect how development and construction projects comply with erosion and stormwater requirements. Staff described the change as simplifying local code and reducing confusion for developers.
No public hearing or formal vote on the final ordinance was recorded during the work session; staff said they will present the ordinance adoption to council at the scheduled meeting.
Speakers cited in this article are listed below.
