Council creates public reimbursement district for Allen Creek Road regional stormwater pond

The Grants Pass City Council adopted an ordinance establishing public-installed reimbursement district D06598 to fund construction of a regional stormwater pond at 2117 Allen Creek Road.

Staff described the project as a city-led construction of a regional pond (built by the city) that will accept stormwater from nearby lots; estimated project cost is about $456,484. Staff explained the assessment approach: upon issuance of building permits, property owners would pay a stormwater assessment estimated at $43,000 per acre of impervious surface (roughly $4,300 for a typical tenth-acre lot). The pond’s remaining capacity for impervious surface was stated as 10.61 acres; the district lists about 65 total acres but only about 10.61 acres of available impervious capacity for connections.

Staff noted property owners may instead choose on-site stormwater mitigation if the pond reaches capacity and that reimbursements for drainage and street assessments would be due at building-permit issuance; the stormwater reimbursement would occur at time of connection to the pond. The district term will be 15 years; staff said the amounts cannot increase but may decrease based on final costs.

Councilors asked procedural questions about term and capacity and staff clarified notification and administrative details. Council then voted to adopt the ordinance on first reading and later approved second reading; both votes carried by roll call.