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Lambertville council advances updated stormwater ordinance to capture smaller projects and require onsite retention
Summary
City Engineer Doug presented an amended stormwater ordinance that adds a 'minor development' threshold (400 sq ft+), requires onsite retention of 1.25 inches over two hours, and aims to capture cumulative small impervious changes; councilmembers and residents questioned enforcement, driveway permits and how the rule will affect redevelopment sites.
The Lambertville City Council advanced a major update to the city's stormwater regulations after a technical presentation by City Engineer Doug and extended public Q&A.
Doug told residents and councilmembers that the amended ordinance establishes a new minor-development band (projects from 400 square feet up to the major-development trigger at 5,000 square feet) to capture cumulative impervious-area increases that previously escaped regulation. He said the ordinance includes a new onsite retention requirement—1.25 inches of rainfall retained on-site for two hours—to reduce downstream runoff effects.
"We tailored the ordinance beyond the state model to reflect Lambertville’s circumstances," Doug said, noting that some projects (such as Phils Harbor) had already been engineered to meet future rainfall expectations. He also described green-roof and blue-roof options, rain gardens and porous pavement as potential BMPs (best management practices) the ordinance would recognize.
Residents and councilmembers asked detailed questions about implementation and enforcement: whether simple maintenance (mill-and-overlay of driveways) would trigger review, how the Construction Office would detect unpermitted work, and how planning-board relief requests interact with the requirements on large redevelopment projects such as the High School site. Doug said zoning permits will identify projects that exceed thresholds and that planning-board review can require higher standards or deny relief when warranted; he said some enforcement and inspection tasks depend on staffing and budget decisions.
Councilmembers emphasized the need for public education and phased implementation. Staff said they are pursuing grant opportunities to upgrade permitting and inspection capability and will revisit the ordinance after a trial period to refine enforcement mechanisms. The ordinance moves forward to adoption steps and will be subject to follow-up work by staff and potentially by a newly formed housing committee when appropriate.
The meeting did not include a final adoption vote on the full stormwater package; technical clarifications and enforcement details remain to be finalized with staff and the state.
