MOUNT VERNON — Until a chance conversation with a council member, Vicki Fitzgerald did not know that she was paying more than she should in stormwater fees.
Other residents might be in the same situation.
The problem stems from a glitch in meshing fees with zoning districts.
When the city created the stormwater utility in 2019, the consultant calculated stormwater rates based on the zoning classification. Residential districts pay a residential rate; general business (GB) and office/institutional (O/I) properties pay a higher rate.
Fitzgerald discovered that because her East High Street home sits in an area zoned O/I, she has been paying the higher O/I fee. She estimates there are potentially 70-plus residences in her neighborhood that might also be paying the higher fee.
At one time, 302 E. High St. was a commercial building. The current occupant, who moved in 14 months ago, did not know it was zoned O/I.
Similarly, residences in GB zoning, such as 302 W. High St., might also be paying a higher rate than they should be.
After discussions with the city, Fitzgerald received a credit on her account for the overpayment. Statutorily, the city cannot grant a refund, but it can apply a credit.
Compounding the problem, however, is that according to city code, residential use in O/I zoning must be approved by a conditional use zoning permit.
“So in essence, even though my home, which I purchased in 2001 from a family, has never been an ‘office/institution’ and has always been used for residential use, there is some discussion that I will need to get a conditional use zoning permit — as I would guess the other 70-plus residences would need to do, too — so I can live here,” she told Knox Pages in a June 5 email.
To seek a conditional use permit, residents must pay a fee and apply to the city’s zoning appeals board.
The city’s Utilities Commission discussed the problem at its June 1 meeting. City council took up the issue in a Utilities Committee meeting on June 13.
“We have an area from Park Street to McKenzie Street and High Street to Gambier Street that is all zoned office institutional,” Councilman Mike Hillier said. “There is also an area on Chestnut.
There are a few businesses, but most is residential.
“We have a lot of people that I feel that the city has overcharged.”
The question “what’s the plan?” from Council member Tammy Woods, chair of the Utilities Committee, sparked a discussion on how best to determine which structures are residential and which are O/I or GB.
“I don’t think the onus should be on the homeowner,” Councilman Josh Kirby said.
“If you are choosing to use it as a residence, you need to let us know,” responded Law Director Robert Broeren.
Noting that everyone is “hostage to the zoning code,” Safety-service Director Richard Dzik said that if residential within O/I is a conditional use, then that is the process that has to be followed.
He also said that because of the number of structures in the O/I districts, it would be a massive undertaking to ask everyone if they are using it as O/I or residential.
Council ultimately agreed with Councilman Mel Severns’ suggestion to waive the fee for homeowners applying for a conditional use permit and credit homeowners for any overpayment.
The next step is for council to decide whether to waive the permit fee via legislation or by granting that authority to administration. Additionally, in the upcoming weeks, the city will include educational material in residents’ water bills.
Meanwhile, residents in an O/I or GB district who think they might be paying more than they should for stormwater fees can call the water office at 740-393-9504 or the city engineer’s office at 740-393-9528.
