by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
If the Jacksonville City Council approves the new stormwater management fee to go into effect in July, every property owner will get a bill, but only one group of property owners will get a discount.
The City held the first of a series of meetings with those groups — 501(c)3 non-profits, churches and other charitable organizations — on Wednesday to explain the fee, how it is calculated and what can be done to obtain the maximum discount.
The Stormwater Advisory Committee (SWAC) is recommending a $5 per month charge for the average single-family, free-standing residential unit (SFU), based on 3,100 square feet of impervious surface area. The fee for commercial properties is based on equivalent units of impervious surface compared to the SFU.
The City has calculated the bills for the 875 church-owned properties in Duval County. The largest bill will be sent to Mandarin Christian Church on Greenland Road, calculated at 223.97 SFUs for an annual charge of $13,438.40. The smallest annual bill, $15.02, will be received by Dunns Temple On Woodland Street.
During a meeting of the full SWAC on Tuesday, the discounts and credits subcommittee plans to recommend that 501(c)3 corporations receive a 50 percent discount on the fee, and the mayor’s office has added an additional discount of up to 50 percent of the remaining balance based on the property owner providing on-site stormwater volume and quality management. That could include design elements like retention ponds or designing parking lots to drain into surrounding grassy areas instead of into City storm drains.
“There are many ways for property owners to be good stewards of their runoff,” said Steve Sedgwick, the City’s stormwater utility consultant.
He pointed out if both discount options are approved, a church-owned property could pay as little as 25 percent of the base fee.
That news was well-received during Wednesday’s meeting in the Renaissance Room at City Hall, where the audience consisted of three Council members, three people from the mayor’s office and representatives from only two of the 875 affected properties.
“We had this meeting here because this is where the City Council members are,” said Council member Johnny Gaffney. “I wanted to be here to listen to the faith-based community’s concerns because I’m going to have to vote on this ordinance at some point.”
His fellow Council members Mia Jones and Don Redman also attended the meeting.
The City will hold four more meetings to engage the faith-based community on the stormwater fee issue: Feb. 7 from 3-4 p.m. at the Bradham Brooks Northwest Library; Feb. 8 from 10-11 a.m. at the West Regional Library; Feb. 11 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at the Mandarin Regional Library; and Feb. 12 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Southeast Regional Library.
For a complete schedule of public meetings concerning the stormwater fee, visit www.coj.net.
Churches with highest annual stormwater fees