Definitions.
Memphis Code of Ordinances § 13-41-1
in effectSec. 13-41-1. - Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Bonds means revenue bonds, notes, loans or any other debt obligations issued or incurred to finance the costs of construction, engineering, and other studies.
City means the City of Memphis.
Contributor or user means any person owning, operating, or otherwise responsible for property within the city which directly or indirectly discharges stormwater, surface or subsurface waters, to any portion of the stormwater system, including direct or indirect discharges to the city's stormwater drainage system, or which is directly or in directly protected by the city's flood protection system or stormwater drainage system. The term "contributor" or "user" means any person responsible for the direct or indirect discharge of stormwater (surface or subsurface waters) to the city's stormwater drainage system.
Costs of construction means costs reasonably incurred in connection with providing capital improvements to the system or any portion thereof, including but not limited to the costs of the following:
1. Acquisition of all property, real or personal, and all interests in connection therewith including all rights-of-way and easements therefor;
2. Physical construction, installation and testing including the costs of labor, services, materials, supplies and enterprise services used in connection therewith;
3. Architectural, engineering, legal and other professional services;
4. Insurance premiums during construction, to the extent not paid for by a contractor for construction and installation;
5. Any taxes or other charges which become due during construction;
6. Expenses incurred by the city or on its behalf with its approval in seeking to enforce any remedy against any contractor or subcontractor in respect of any default under a contract relating to construction;
7. Principal and interest on any bonds; and
8. Miscellaneous expenses incidental thereto.
Debt service means the amount of money necessary annually to pay the interest on outstanding debt and pay the principal of maturing debt.
Developed property means real property upon which a structure or impervious surface has been placed or constructed, thus increasing the amount of rainwater or surface water runoff.
Director means the director of the division of public works or designee.
Dwelling unit means a singular residential housing unit or apartment providing complete, independent living facilities for one or more persons including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.
Exempt property means public rights-of-way including public streets, alleys, sidewalks, and public drainage facilities.
Extension and replacement means costs of extensions, additions and capital improvements to or the renewal and replacement of capital assets or purchasing and installing new equipment for the system or land acquisition for the system and any related costs thereto or paying extraordinary maintenance and repair, including the costs of construction, or any other expenses which are not costs of operation and maintenance or debt service.
Fiscal year means a 12-month period commencing on July 1, and ending on June 30 of the succeeding year.
Flood protection system means the system of levees, floodwalls, floodgates, storm sewer gatewells, and stormwater pumping stations lying adjacent to rivers, creeks, and streams within the city, including associated control and operating equipment and facilities whether adjacent to such rivers, creeks, or streams or remotely located, which are intended to provide flood protection to properties adjacent to such rivers, creeks, and streams.
Impervious area means the number of square feet of hard-surfaced areas which either prevent or retard the entry of water into the subsurface soil, as it entered under natural conditions as undeveloped property, and/or cause water to run off the surface in greater quantities or at an increased rate of flow from that present under natural conditions as undeveloped property, including but not limited to roofs, roof extensions, patios, porches, driveways, sidewalks, concrete/asphalt pavement, gravel surfaces and athletic courts.
Implementation date means the date that the City of Memphis will begin charging the storm water fee to its customers (May 1, 2006). The fee will become due at the end of the month upon which it is charged and will be payable in the following month. For example, the first charge will be due on May 31, 2006. Depending upon the billing cycle it will appear on MLGW utility bills sometime during the month of June 2006. The fee will then be collected in the month of July 2006 when those bills are paid.
Multi-family residential property means a residential structure designed with two or more dwelling units to accommodate two or more families or groups of individuals living separately and not sharing the same living space.
Nonoperating revenues refers to revenues derived from activities other than the basic operations of the stormwater enterprise fund, but excluding interest income on bond proceeds and on contributed capital.
Nonresidential property means any property developed for commercial, industrial, governmental, or institutional use, including churches, hospitals, and other eleemosynary institutions and including multiuse properties incorporating residential uses, but excluding undeveloped property, golf courses, nurseries, and property used exclusively for agricultural purposes.
Operating budget means the annual operating budget for the stormwater enterprise fund adopted by the city council for the succeeding fiscal year.
Operations and maintenance expense means the current expenses, paid or accrued, of operation, maintenance and current repair of the system, as calculated in accordance with sound accounting practice, and includes, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, insurance premiums, administrative expenses including recordkeeping, the cost of materials and supplies used for current operations, and charges for the accumulation of appropriate reserves for current expenses not annually incurred, but which are such as may reasonably be expected to be incurred in accordance with sound accounting practice.
Revenues means all rates, fees, assessments, rentals, civil penalties, fines, or other charges or other income received by the enterprise fund, in connection with the management and operation of the system, including amounts received from the investment or deposit of moneys in any fund or account and any amounts contributed by the city, all as calculated in accordance with sound accounting practice.
SFU rate means the dollar value periodically determined and assigned to each SFU as a charge for stormwater services, and expressed as a dollar value per SFU per month.
Single-family residential property means a detached residential structure designed as a single dwelling unit to accommodate one family or group of individuals living together and sharing the same living space, but excluding multi-class (i.e., commercial, residential, industrial, institutional etc.) properties which include single-family residential uses.
Single-family unit or SFU means the average impervious area of a single-family detached residential dwelling unit located within the city as periodically determined and established as provided in this chapter.
Stormwater drainage system means the system of publicly or privately owned or operated rivers, creeks, ditches, drainage channels, pipes, basins, street gutters, and lakes within the city through which or into which stormwater runoff, surface water, or subsurface water is conveyed or deposited.
Stormwater fee means the fee authorized by state law and this chapter which is established to pay operations and maintenance, extension, replacement and debt service of the stormwater drainage system.
Stormwater enterprise fund or enterprise fund means the enterprise fund created by this chapter to operate, maintain and improve the storm drainage system and for such other purposes as stated in this chapter.
Stormwater system or system means the existing stormwater facilities, stormwater drainage system, and flood protection system of the city and all improvements thereto which by this chapter are constituted as the property and responsibility of the enterprise, to be operated as an enterprise fund to, among other things; control discharges and flows necessitated by rainfall events; and incorporate methods to collect, convey, store, absorb, inhibit, treat, to prevent or reduce flooding, overdrainage, environmental degradation and water pollution or otherwise affect the quality and quantity of discharge from such system.
Total annual revenue requirements refers to the total amount of revenue required in one year to meet all expenditures incurred during that year for the financing of construction and for the operations and maintenance, including administration and renewal and replacement funding, of the stormwater drainage system, including facilities for the collection, transportation, and treatment of stormwater, and of the flood control protection system, including river levees and stormwater pumping stations.
Undeveloped property means real property that has no impervious area.
(Ord. No. 5135, § 1(part), 2005; Ord. No. 5157, § 1, 2006)
Source: City of Memphis, Code of Ordinances and Charter and Related Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tn/memphis/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT13PUSE_CH13-41STENFU_S13-41-1DEFetched: 10/28/2026