Commissioners OK storm-water changes

by Jason Gonzales
Herald Staff Writer

Article Last Updated; Wednesday, July 29, 2009 8:36AM

The Durango Planning Commission approved amendments Monday night that will make the city's storm-water regulations more consistent with the state's regulations with a 4-1 vote.

The amendments will make their way to City Council sometime in the near future for final approval.

The amendments adhere to state standards, which address a few key points, said Kinsey Holton, storm-water quality program coordinator for the city:•A permit now can be issued to a developer or general contractor along with the property owner.

•A lot without landscaping that is sold to a homeowner can be removed from storm-water management coverage.

•The city now has the power to enforce a fee schedule. The fee schedule will allow inspectors to cite permit holders without stopping work entirely, Holton said.

"It gives us an alternate tool instead of having to issue a stop-work order for a site that isn't in compliance," he said. "When stop-work orders are issued it sends everyone home, from the electrician to the plumbers who don't have anything to do with the regulations."

However, the approval of the amendments weren't without contention Monday night.

Planning Commissioner Joe Lewandowski said he voted against the amendments because they did not include that houses half an acre and larger be made to follow storm-water regulations.

"The city engineer did an evaluation and looked at building sites in the last two years," Lewandowski said. "Of all those, about 50 percent were smaller than 1 acre in size."

He said if an inspector has a problem with the drainage at the site, there is nothing in the storm-water regulations that covers sites smaller than an acre.

"We are a town of many small building sites," he said. "If we have potential runoff from this many sites, it is this kind of ordinance we want."

Holton, however, said there are regulations for sites smaller than 1 acre, and the city believes those are strict enough.

"The city believes that our staff can address those issues," Holton said. "Although they aren't in the amended regulations, it doesn't mean that sites that are less than an acre won't be enforced."

He said the 1-acre rule also falls in line with the state's regulations.

Tim Zink, general manager of Three Springs development, said the city listened to the concerns of developers and did a great job addressing the needs of both the environment and builders.

"One of the things that came out of the talks is a flexibility of the city engineer to accept drainage solutions that may not be identified yet," Zink said. "New technology and new techniques are hitting the market every day, and we appreciate the added flexibility."

Ty Churchwell, backcountry coordinator for Trout Unlimited, spoke during the public hearing and said the city is doing a great job keeping the Animas River clean.

"We had some good storm-water rules in effect, and this just steps things up a hair," he said.

jgonzales@durangoherald.comJason Gonzales is a summer intern at the Herald.