Adjustment of stormwater user fees, correction of stormwater user fees and exemption procedures; hearings and appeals; due notice; inspection.
Cape Coral Code of Ordinances § 22-8
in effect§ 22-8 - Adjustment of stormwater user fees, correction of stormwater user fees and exemption procedures; hearings and appeals; due notice; inspection.
(a) Procedures. Except as otherwise provided in §§ 22-4 and 22-5 concerning certain corrections to the stormwater user fee, the following procedures shall apply to all requests for correction of, adjustment of or exemption from the stormwater user fee:
(1) Any property owner who has paid his or her stormwater user fee and who believes the calculation or determination of his or her stormwater user fee to be incorrect may, subject to the restrictions set forth in this article, submit a correction request to the Stormwater Director.
(2) Requests by an owner of property for adjustment of, correction of or exemption from stormwater user fee shall be in writing and shall set forth, in detail, the grounds upon which relief is sought. The requests shall include the STRAP number for each parcel for which the request is being made and such other legal description requested by the city. By making the request, the owner of property grants the city the limited right to inspect the subject property to determine the validity of any facts set forth in the request for adjustment, correction or exemption.
(3) Corrections or exemptions to a stormwater user fee shall be made only if the property owner has demonstrated that an error in the calculation of the stormwater user fee has occurred with respect to his or her property. Denials of the correction or exemption requests shall be made in writing by the Stormwater Director. Property owners whose requests for correction or exemption have been denied may appeal the denial in accordance with § 22-8(b).
(4) Requests for adjustments to a stormwater user fee shall be forwarded by the Stormwater Director to the Special Master in accordance with § 22-7(b) hereof.
(b) Appeal to Special Master. Upon receipt of the written denial of the correction request or of the request for exemption pursuant to § 22-7(a)(1) or (2), the owner, who initially requested the correction or exemption may, within 30 days of receipt of the denial, appeal to the Special Master for review of the denial by filing with the Stormwater Director an application and notice of appeal specifying the grounds for the appeal, the owner(s) name, the STRAP number and any other pertinent information. The Stormwater Director shall promptly forward such appeal request to the Special Master for hearing. The Special Master shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the application, and provide due notice to the party who requested the appeal. The owner may appear in person and/or by agent or by attorney.
(c) Powers of Special Master. In exercising his or her powers, the Special Master, in conformity with the provisions of this Chapter 22 may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, the decision of the Stormwater Director with respect to corrections or exemptions in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter 22 and the following criteria. With respect to adjustment pursuant to § 22-7(b), the Special Master may determine adjustments in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter 22 and the following criteria.
(1) Corrections. Except as provided in §§ 22-4 and 22-5, a correction to the stormwater user fee shall be granted by the Special Master during the appeal process only if the owner first establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that an error has occurred in the calculation of the stormwater user fee for his or her property.
(2) Exemptions pursuant to § 22-7(a)(1). An exemption to the stormwater user fee pursuant to § 22-7(a)(1) shall be granted by the Special Master during the appeal process only if the property owner first establishes that the property meets the criteria established by § 22-7(a)(1) of this Chapter 22 for the exemption.
(3) Exemptions pursuant to § 22-7(a)(2). An exemption to the stormwater user fee pursuant to § 22-7(a)(2) shall be granted by the Special Master during the appeal process only if the property owner proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the property meets the criteria established by § 22-7(a)(2)a. or b.
(4) Adjustments pursuant to § 22-7(b). An adjustment to the stormwater user fee pursuant to § 22-7(b) of this Chapter 22 shall be granted by the Special Master during a hearing on the issue only if the property owner proves by a preponderance of the evidence that without the adjustment the stormwater user fee which would be applicable to the subject property under this Chapter 22 would be unduly burdensome and inequitable in light of the impact of the property on and the benefit received by the property from the stormwater system. Factors the Special Master may consider in determining whether the aforesaid circumstance(s) exist with respect to a particular parcel, include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. The existing drainage patterns on the property;
b. The nature of the use which is extant on the property;
c. The drainage structure(s), retention ponds or other retention or drainage devices, if any, extant on the property;
d. The place and manner in which stormwater drainage occurs on the subject property;
e. The topography of the property including, but not limited to, the slope and elevation of the property;
f. The proximity of the property from roads, canals or other waterways;
g. The composition of the soil(s) on the property;
h. The extent and type of natural vegetation extant on the property; and
i. Other factors resulting from the application of drainage engineering principles which are prevailing in the community.
(d) Due notice by the Special Master. Due notice for the notice of hearing by the Special Master shall be by certified mail return receipt requested (or its equivalent for foreign countries) ten days prior to the hearing for those with mailing addresses within the State of Florida, or 14 days prior to the hearing for those with mailing addresses in Canada or Mexico, or 21 days prior to the hearing for mailing addresses in all foreign countries. If no return receipt is received by the hearing date, the case will be continued for a period of 60 days pending notification from the Lee County Property appraiser of a change in address or owner.
(1) No change in address or owner. In the event there is no change in address or owner submitted to the Property Appraiser and transmitted to the city, the case will be scheduled for the next regularly scheduled hearing and shall be considered withdrawn.
(2) Change in address. If the city has received transmittal from the Property Appraiser of a change in the address of the owner, a notice of hearing shall be sent by certified mail return receipt requested (or its equivalent for foreign countries) shall be forwarded to the owner utilizing the mailing schedule identified in this § 22-8(e).
(3) Change in owner. If the city has received transmittal from the Property Appraiser of a change in the ownership of the property such that the owner submitting the application is no longer an owner of the subject property, the case will be scheduled for the next regularly scheduled Special Master hearing and shall be withdrawn. The application or request shall be forwarded to the Stormwater Director who will notify, by regular U.S. mail, the current owner of the request of the previous owner and provide an opportunity to the new owner to make application. If the Stormwater Director does not receive a response from the new owner within 30 days of the notification sent, the application will be considered withdrawn.
(e) Special Master qualifications and Special Master hearings.
(1) The city shall utilize the services of one or more Special Masters to conduct hearings concerning adjustments to and exemptions from the stormwater user fee. The Stormwater Director shall, at least annually, recruit qualified persons to serve as Special Masters. The Council shall, on an annual basis, appoint at least one qualified person to serve as the Special Master and if possible, at least one qualified person to serve as an alternate Special Master in the event the Special Master is unable to attend a meeting. No person shall be appointed to the position of "Stormwater Special Master" unless he or she possesses at least a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering or environmental engineering and is a registered professional engineer holding an active license in good standing with the State of Florida. In making the aforesaid appointment(s), preference shall be given to applicants who have prior experience dealing with surface water in a design or management capacity. The appointment(s) shall be in the sole discretion of the Council. Each Special Master shall serve for a term of one year though Special Masters may be reappointed for consecutive one year terms. Although appointed for one year terms, Special Masters shall be subject to removal, with or without cause, from their positions at any time during their term by the Council in its sole discretion. Special Masters shall not be considered to be city employees though, if authorized by the Council, they may receive compensation for their service and also may be reimbursed for the travel, mileage and per diem expenses as may be authorized by the Council.
(2) The Stormwater Director shall provide clerical and administrative personnel as may be reasonably required by the Special Master for the proper performance of his or her duties.
(3) Minutes shall be kept of all Special Master hearings.
(4) All Special Master hearings shall be open to the public.
(5) The city shall have the right to provide testimony or evidence at the Special Master hearing.
(6) The property owner, as petitioner, or the city, as respondent, shall have the right to request postponement of a decision for up to 60 days for the purpose of providing additional testimony or evidence to the Special Master.
(7) It is the responsibility of the petitioner to provide a preponderance of evidence. The Special Master shall consider the educational background, technical expertise and any active license of any witness giving testimony (verbal or written) during the hearing. Written or verbal testimony given by the city's Public Works Director shall be considered expert testimony. The Special Master shall have the right to request additional evidence from the petitioner. The request must be necessary in order for the Special Master to render a decision in the petitioner's favor. Special Master will reschedule hearing of the case for up to 90 days in order to provide time for the petitioner to obtain the requested evidence. Failure of the petitioner to provide such necessary evidence will cause the Special Master to deny the petitioner's request.
(8) All decisions of the Special Master shall have the caveat that the decision is valid so long as the conditions upon which the decision was made remain the same. All decisions of the Special Master shall be reduced to a formal written document within 30 days of the date of the hearing. A copy of the formal written document shall be provided to the property owner and to the Stormwater Director for implementation. Administrative reviews shall be conducted in accordance with § 22-8(f).
(f) Inspections. The city retains the right to inspect properties that have previously applied for and been granted a correction, adjustment or exemption because of private stormwater facilities on the property to determine that the stormwater facilities are in compliance with the conditions for which the correction, adjustment or exemption was approved. If the conditions for which the correction, adjustment or exemption was approved have changed or no longer exist, the city will notify the property owner that he or she has 30 days to correct the problem. If the problem is not corrected within that 30 day period, the city will submit to the Special Master a request for the Special Master to revoke the correction, adjustment or exemption. All such administrative reviews by the Special Master shall be reviewed prior to any scheduled hearing and a decision rendered at the scheduled hearing. A summary document of the administrative decisions shall be prepared and forwarded to the Stormwater Director for implementation. If in the future the property qualifies for a correction, adjustment or exemption, the property owner may reapply following the guidelines set forth in this Chapter 22.
(Ord. No. 43-17, § 1, 1-8-2018) (Ord. No. 43-17, § 1, 1-8-2018) (Ord. No. 43-17, § 1, 1-8-2018) (Ord. No. 43-17, § 1, 1-8-2018) (Ord. No. 43-17, § 1, 1-8-2018) (Ord. No. 43-17, § 1, 1-8-2018) (Ord. No. 43-17, § 1, 1-8-2018) (Ord. No. 43-17, § 1, 1-8-2018) (Ord. No. 43-17, § 1, 1-8-2018)
Source: City of Cape Coral, Florida, Code of Ordinances, City Charter and Land Development Code (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/cape_coral/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH22STMAUT_S22-8ADSTUSFECOSTUSFEEXPRHEAPDUNOINFetched: 11/4/2026