Sec. 75-35. - City participation in drainage projects across private property.
The city may participate in the correction of private storm drainage problems which occur on private property as follows:
(1) Single owner problems. Single owner private storm drainage problems may be addressed when the following conditions are met:
a. City street water must be carried.
b. The property involved in the project must be zoned residential and must be improved with by one single-family residential dwelling unit. Examples of qualifying properties are single-family homes and individual condominiums units or townhouses. Examples of non-qualifying properties are duplexes and apartment buildings or complexes.
c. The property owner must have been issued a certificate of occupancy for at least two years prior to the request for assistance.
d. The assistant city manager, in his sole discretion, must determine that the drainage condition is an immediate threat to the structural integrity of the dwelling, causing flooding of the dwelling, causing severe erosion of the drainageway (factors considered may include size of drainageway, linear footage of erosion, slope of drainageway, frequency of erosion causing events and location of eroded area in relation to residences), denying or threatening to deny access to property that would be accessible but for the degradation of the drainageway, or impeding the flow of water due to fallen brush and vegetative debris.
e. The action taken must significantly improve conditions described in subsection (1)d. of this section.
f. Minimum size pipe shall be 15-inch reinforced concrete pipe = (R.C.P.).
g. The city's contribution to the project shall not exceed 70 percent of the cost of improvements, or $35,000.00, whichever is less.
h. The proposed project, in the opinion of the assistant city manager, shall not be a threat to the downstream property.
i. All storm drainage improvements constructed under this policy shall be deemed to be the property and responsibility of the private property owner, and such improvements shall not become part of the storm drainage system of the city.
j. After review and approval by the public works department, the request must be approved by the city council.
k. The property owner, upon the project being approved by the city council, must pay to the city 30 percent of the estimated project cost, including clearing and grubbing, purchasing and installation of pipe, and dirt to cover the pipe, and enter into an agreement satisfactory to the city attorney for the completion of the project, or in lieu of such payment, must enter into an agreement satisfactory to the city attorney, which shall be in the form of a note and deed of trust with an interest rate as provided by law for assessments, the payment schedule of which shall not exceed five years.
l. No action or inaction of the city pursuant to this article shall impose upon the City of Winston-Salem, its agents, officials, officers, or employees, any responsibility or liability of any kind, past or future, relating to any person or property. The property owner shall agree to release, indemnify, and hold the city harmless from any death, personal injury, or property damage resulting from the construction of the drainage system improvements or other work done on the property.
m. The property owner must sign a right of entry agreement form to allow access to the work area and a hold harmless agreement. In addition to the indemnification provided the city by subsection 75-35(1)(l), above, the city will also be held harmless for any damages to private property resulting from the city's entry onto said property, but not directly resulting from the work, as long as reasonable care is exercised.
n. If, in order to construct the drainage system improvements, or to access the site where such improvements will be constructed, the city requires access across adjoining properties, the property owner whose property will be improved, must secure rights-of-entry across the adjoining properties, and shall agree to indemnify and hold the city harmless from any death, personal injury, or property damages resulting from the city's entry onto the adjoining properties.
(2) Multiple owner problems. Multiple owner problems may be addressed when the following conditions are met:
a. City street water must be carried.
b. The properties involved in the project must all be zoned residential, at least one such property must be occupied by a family, and each dwelling unit must be individually deeded to a person. Examples of qualifying properties are single-family homes, duplexes, condominium units, townhouses and property used as a common area for multiple property owners, though owned by a single entity, such as a home owner's association, but not apartment buildings or complexes.
c. Each property must have been issued a certificate of occupancy for at least two years prior to the request for assistance.
d. The drainage condition must be judged by the assistant city manager to involve flooding of a dwelling or dwellings, or must represent an immediate threat to the structural integrity of a dwelling, represent severe erosion of the drainageway (factors considered may include size of drainageway, linear footage of erosion, slope of drainageway, frequency of erosion causing events and location of eroded area in relation to residences), or impede the flow of water due to fallen brush and vegetative debris.
e. The action taken must significantly improve conditions described in subsection (2)d. of this section.
f. The proposed project, in the opinion of the assistant city manager, shall not be a threat to the downstream property.
g. After review and approval by the public works department, the request must be presented to the city council for its approval and determination that funds are available.
h. If all owners of the properties involved request the improvement, payment of the owners' shares shall be made in the same manner as provided for payment by single property owners in subsection 75-35(1)(k) of this section. In that event, all storm drainage improvements shall be deemed to be the property of and the responsibility of the private property owners and shall not become a part of the storm drainage system of the city.
i. If fewer than all of the owners of all properties involved in the project request the improvement, the city council may order down the project as an assessment project pursuant to the provisions of Private Laws of 1927, chapter 224. In such circumstances, the requesting property owners shall provide the city with both construction and permanent easements in amounts sufficient for the project, in the opinion of the assistant city manager, and the costs of the project shall include the cost of acquisition or condemnation, if necessary, of similar easements across the property of non-requesting property owners. The cost of acquisition or condemnation shall be included in the project costs for purposes of proration between the city and the property owners. The assessments in such cases shall be for 30 percent of the estimated project cost. Such assessment projects will only be undertaken where closed system storm drainage improvements are undertaken. In such cases, the permanent easement and all improvements included within the project shall be deemed to be the property and responsibility of the city, such improvements shall become a part of the storm drainage system of the city, and no private property owner shall have any interest therein.
j. Except where the project is ordered down as an assessment project, pursuant to subsection 75-35(2)(i), above, the following requirements shall also apply:
i. No action or inaction of the city pursuant to this article shall impose upon the City of Winston-Salem, its agents, officials, officers, or employees, any responsibility or liability of any kind, past or future, relating to any person or property. The property owners shall agree to release, indemnify, and hold the city harmless from any death, personal injury, or property damage resulting from the construction of the drainage system improvements or other work done on the property.
ii. All property owners must sign a right of entry agreement form to allow access to the work area, as well as a hold harmless agreement. In addition to the indemnification provided the city by subsection 75-35(2)(j)(i), above, the city will also be held harmless for any damages to private property resulting from the city's entry onto said property, but not directly resulting from the work, as long as reasonable care is exercised.
iii. If, in order to construct the drainage system improvements, or to access the site where such improvements will be constructed, the city requires access across adjoining properties, the property owners whose properties will be improved, must secure rights-of-entry across the adjoining properties, and shall agree to indemnify and hold the city harmless from any death, personal injury, or property damages resulting from the city's entry onto the adjoining properties.
iv. If any of the properties upon which the drainage system improvements will be constructed belong to a homeowners' association, then the homeowners' association shall secure a written insurance policy to indemnify the city, its officials, officers, agents, and employees for the damages specified in subsections 75-35(2)(j)(i), (ii), and (iii), above, during the course of construction, and for a period of one year thereafter.
k. The city's total contribution to the project shall not exceed $35,000.00 per property, or 70 percent of the total cost of improvements, whichever is less.
(Ord. No. 4536, § 3, 10-24-05; Ord. No. 4552, § 1, 5-15-06; Ord. No. 4562, § 1, 10-23-06; Ord. No. 4589, § 1, 6-18-07; Ord. No. 4632, § I, 9-15-08; Ord. No. 4683, § I, 5-17-10)
