City says sewer‑offset program may shrink after flow study; voluntary opt‑in pilot planned

City utility staff told developers the city’s sewer offset program remains in place but could be narrowed after completion of a new system flow study and capacity modeling.

Staff said a system analysis — the first update in about a decade — is underway and that preliminary results suggest system improvements that would reduce the extent of capacity constraints addressed by the offset program. Staff said they cannot publish the updated offset map yet but described a voluntary, opt‑in approach being considered: property owners who opt into an offsets portal would display a marker on their lateral and provide an inventory that helps identify on‑site or nearby offsets.

Staff said the program will not be eliminated immediately but that they hope to “gradually shrink” the areas subject to offset requirements as modeling data and infrastructure work progress. Staff scheduled a developer roundtable for May 15 to share in‑depth modeling results and tools, and they said a council presentation is expected in June or July with options and next steps.

Developers asked how many projects the offset rule had stopped; staff said the updated map and modeling will better quantify impacts and that they intend to publish more targeted tools and an interactive portal once the mapping is final. Staff emphasized the effort is a mix of infrastructure improvements and administrative changes to make offsets easier to locate and use.