City Code, ExplainedBetaPardon our dust while we build this out — expect some changes along the way.

This chapter regulates stormwater runoff from land development and earth disturbance activities, requiring approved stormwater management (SWM) site plans, volume and rate controls, and green infrastructure/low impact development practices to protect water quality and reduce flooding.

Who this affects

It affects developers, landowners, and applicants undertaking land development or earth-disturbing construction, as well as property owners who end up responsible for operating and maintaining stormwater facilities built to satisfy the ordinance.

Key rules

• No regulated activity may commence until the municipality issues written approval of an SWM site plan demonstrating compliance with the chapter, unless specifically exempted.
• Regulated activities with cumulative earth disturbances of less than one acre are exempt from the volume control, rate control, and SWM site plan article requirements.
• Agricultural activity and forest management/timber operations are exempt from SWM site plan preparation requirements if performed according to 25 Pa. Code Chapter 102.
• No waiver or modification of a regulated stormwater activity involving one acre or more of earth disturbance may be granted without advance DEP or county conservation district approval.
• Post-development runoff volume may not increase for storms up to the two-year, twenty-four-hour storm (Design Storm Method), or alternatively the Simplified Method requires capturing the first two inches of runoff from new impervious surfaces and permanently removing at least the first inch.
• Post-development discharge rates generally may not exceed predevelopment rates for the one-, two-, five-, ten-, twenty-five-, fifty-, and one-hundred-year, twenty-four-hour storm events.
• Applicants must justify in the SWM site plan if BMPs other than green infrastructure/LID methods are proposed, and the municipality will not approve such plans unless it determines green infrastructure/LID is not practicable.
• The municipality must notify an applicant in writing within 45 days (or 90 days if a subdivision/land development plan is involved) whether an SWM site plan is approved or disapproved.
• Approval of an SWM site plan is valid for a maximum of five years, or a shorter term specified by the municipality.
• Developers must submit as-built plans and a completion certificate signed by a qualified professional verifying that permanent SWM best management practices (BMPs) were built as approved.
• Property owners must sign and record an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Agreement for privately owned stormwater facilities before final SWM site plan approval, and the O&M plan must be recorded as a restrictive deed covenant.
• Owners must keep contact information for whoever is responsible for maintenance on file with the municipality and update it within 10 working days of any change.
• Discharges into the storm sewer system or waters of the commonwealth that are not composed entirely of stormwater are prohibited, except for specifically listed exceptions (e.g., firefighting water, potable water line flushing, noncontaminated groundwater) unless those are found to significantly contribute to pollution.
• No person may modify, remove, fill, landscape, or alter any stormwater BMP installed under this chapter without written municipal approval.
• Landowners must inspect stormwater BMPs annually for the first five years, then once every three years, and after any ten-year or greater storm, with written inspection reports submitted to the municipality within 30 days.

Penalties

Violations are a summary offense punishable by a fine of not more than $500 per violation, with each day of continuing violation treated as a separate offense; the municipality may also seek injunctive, mandamus, or other legal/equitable remedies, and may suspend or revoke SWM approvals and permits for noncompliance.

Notable and archaic details

• Decks, parking areas, and driveway areas are not counted as "impervious surfaces" under the chapter's definition if they do not prevent infiltration.
• Cost or financial burden alone cannot be considered "undue hardship" to justify a waiver of the chapter's requirements.
• Where no FEMA floodway maps exist, the ordinance assumes the floodway extends 50 feet from the top of the stream bank absent evidence to the contrary.
• A permit or approval obtained through false, misleading, or erroneous information is automatically void, with no revocation proceeding required.