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City staff urges Sustainability Advisory Board to wait on stormwater credit workshop until ordinance updates go to council
Summary
Staff told the Sustainability Advisory Board that ordinance updates affecting stormwater (including TSS and TP provisions) are scheduled for City Council on Feb. 10 and recommended postponing a board workshop on stormwater utility credits until after those council actions; board members raised concerns that ordinance changes could reduce credit incentives and asked to revisit credits after council action.
City staff told the Sustainability Advisory Board on Feb. 2 that planned ordinance updates affecting stormwater — including provisions tied to total suspended solids (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP) — are expected to go to City Council on Feb. 10, and recommended the board delay a workshop on the stormwater utility credit policy until after the council action.
A staff member said policy and application edits are under review and that Department of Public Works (DPW) prefers the board wait to provide feedback until the ordinance and related policy text are stable. One board member warned that if the ordinance becomes more stringent, property owners might meet the new code baseline and therefore qualify for credits without making additional improvements, undercutting the incentive function of a credit program. "You don't need to get credit for meeting law," the member said, arguing the board should ensure credits remain an incentive and not merely a compliance recognition.
Board members and staff agreed to reconvene the discussion after the Feb. 10 council meeting. Several members requested that staff gather preliminary information ahead of that council date so the board can resume consideration in March and avoid duplicative work. No formal motion on policy language or credit thresholds was taken at the Feb. 2 meeting.
What happens next: DPW's ordinance and policy updates are scheduled for City Council on Feb. 10; the board expects DPW staff to share the updated policy/application text with the Sustainability Advisory Board afterward for review and possible workshop scheduling.
