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County work. Mr. Davis indicated that his portion of City taxes is $980.00 a year and it seems <br />unreasonable that a zoned agriculture homestead should have their taxes increase to $4,600 per <br />year. <br /> <br />Councilmember Zimmerman replied that the City has to follow the Clean Water Act which <br />requires that all run off going into streams, lakes and rivers are the cleanest they can be. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen inquired if the property were zoned business and the property had a <br />holding pond on site what would his utility fee be. <br /> <br />City Engineer Olson replied that he would be able to receive a 50 percent credit for a holding <br />pond that is owned and maintained by the property owner. Mr. Olson reviewed the modified <br />method that is used for parcels that have a lot of land, but only a small portion of the land being <br />impervious. In the case of Green Valley Greenhouse he did not feel that the property is similar to <br />a farmstead use and for that reason it was handled differently than an agriculture property. <br /> <br />Councihnember Hendriksen inquired if Mr. Davis would be allowed to apply for a credit for the <br />wetland under the modified method. <br /> <br />City Engineer Olson replied no, explaining that according to the ordinance once a portion of the <br />property is removed from the factor they could not receive a credit for the pond, but it is <br />something the Council could consider. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen stated that Mr. Davis could construct small ponds on his property to <br />hold the run-off prior to draining into the wetland and then he would be eligible for a credit. <br /> <br />Mr. Davis replied that in his opinion the entire ordinance needs to be revisited. He explained that <br />there is a movement going on that involves local business opposing the ordinance. Mr. Davis <br />stated that if the City needs money to maintain the storm system then they should increase taxes <br />because the way it is currently is being handled is unfair. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen replied that if the ordinance has problems then the Council will <br />work to try and correct those problems. The City is attempting to do its best to allocate the costs <br />based on those who create the issue. If it was handled by a tax levy the fee would be based solely <br />on evaluation and businesses that have done a great deal of work to maintain run-off would get <br />no credit for the work they have done. In his opinion the underlying concept of the ordinance is <br />fair. <br /> <br />Mr. Davis stated that he disagrees because the City tells the businesses how they need to <br />construct their buildings according to ordinance and they do everything right which includes <br />spending thousands of dollars on managing their own runoff and know they are receiving a bill to <br />pay for a storm water utility. He stated that County ditches are a problem for the entire City not <br />only the businesses. <br /> <br />Public Works Committee/September 19, 2000 <br /> Page 6 of 13 <br /> <br /> <br />