§ 17-133. Administration and procedures

(a) Review and decision-making entities.

(1) Stormwater administrator.

a. Designation. A stormwater administrator shall be designated by the town council to administer and enforce this division.

b. Powers and duties. In addition to the powers and duties that may be conferred by other provisions of the town and other laws, the stormwater administrator shall have the following powers and duties under this division:

1. To review and approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove applications for approval of plans pursuant to this division.

2. To make determinations and render interpretations of this division.

3. To establish application requirements and schedules for submittal and review of applications and appeals, to review and make recommendations to the town council on applications for development or redevelopment approvals.

4. To enforce the provisions of this division in accordance with its enforcement provisions.

5. To maintain records, maps, forms and other official materials as relate to the adoption, amendment, enforcement, and administration of this division.

6. To provide expertise and technical assistance to the town council and the Town of Kure Beach Stormwater Committee, upon request.

7. To designate appropriate other person(s) who shall carry out the powers and duties of the stormwater administrator.

8. To take any other action necessary to administer the provisions of this division.

(b) Review procedures.

(1) Permit required; must apply for permit. A stormwater permit is required for all development and redevelopment unless exempt pursuant to this division. A permit may only be issued subsequent to a properly submitted and reviewed permit application, pursuant to this section.

(2) Effect of permit. A stormwater permit shall govern the design, installation, and construction of stormwater management and control practices on the site, including structural BMPs and elements of site design for stormwater management other than structural BMPs.

The permit is intended to provide a mechanism for the review, approval, and inspection of the approach to be used for the management and control of stormwater for the development or redevelopment site consistent with the requirements of this division, whether the approach consists of structural BMPs or other techniques such as low-impact or low-density design. The permit does not continue in existence indefinitely after the completion of the project; rather, compliance after project construction is assured by the maintenance provisions of this division.

(3) Authority to file applications. All applications required pursuant to this Code shall be submitted to the stormwater administrator by the land owner or the land owner's duly authorized agent.

(4) Establishment of application requirements, schedule, and fees.

a. Application contents and form. The stormwater administrator shall establish requirements for the content and form of all applications and shall amend and update those requirements from time to time. At a minimum, the stormwater permit application shall describe in detail how post-development stormwater runoff will be controlled and managed, the design of all stormwater facilities and practices, and how the proposed project will meet the requirements of this division.

b. Submission schedule. The stormwater administrator shall establish a submission schedule for applications. The schedule shall establish deadlines by which complete applications must be submitted for the purpose of ensuring that there is adequate time to review applications and that the various stages in the review process are accommodated.

c. Permit review fees. The town council shall establish permit review fees as well as policies regarding refund of any fees upon withdrawal of an application, and may amend and update the fees and policies from time to time.

d. Administrative manual. For applications required under this Code, the stormwater administrator shall compile the application requirements, submission schedule, fee schedule, a copy of this division, and information on how and where to obtain the design manual in an administrative manual, which shall be made available to the public.

(5) Submittal of complete application. Applications shall be submitted to the stormwater administrator pursuant to the application submittal schedule in the form established by the stormwater administrator, along with the appropriate fee established pursuant to this section.

An application shall be considered as timely submitted only when it contains all elements of a complete application pursuant to this division, along with the appropriate fee. If the stormwater administrator finds that an application is incomplete, the applicant shall be notified of the deficient elements and shall be provided with an opportunity to submit a complete application. However, the submittal of an incomplete application shall not suffice to meet a deadline contained in the submission schedule established above.

(6) Review. Within fifteen (15) working days after a complete application is submitted, the stormwater administrator shall review the application and determine whether the application complies with the standards of this division.

a. Approval. If the stormwater administrator finds that the application complies with the standards of this division, the stormwater administrator shall approve the application. The stormwater administrator may impose conditions of approval as needed to ensure compliance with this division. The conditions shall be included as part of the approval.

b. Fails to comply. If the stormwater administrator finds that the application fails to comply with the standards of this division, the stormwater administrator shall notify the applicant and shall indicate how the application fails to comply. The applicant shall have an opportunity to submit a revised application.

c. Revision and subsequent review. A complete revised application shall be reviewed by the stormwater administrator within fifteen (15) working days after its re-submittal and shall be approved, approved with conditions or disapproved.

If a revised application is not re-submitted within thirty (30) calendar days from the date the applicant was notified, the application shall be considered withdrawn, and a new submittal for the same or substantially the same project shall be required along with the appropriate fee for a new submittal.

One re-submittal of a revised application may be submitted without payment of an additional permit review fee. Any re-submittal after the first re-submittal shall be accompanied by a permit review fee additional fee, as established pursuant to this division.

(c) Applications for approval.

(1) Concept plan and consultation meeting. Before a stormwater management permit application is deemed complete, the stormwater administrator or developer may request a consultation on a concept plan for the post-construction stormwater management system to be utilized in the proposed development project. This consultation meeting should take place at the time of the preliminary plan of subdivision or other early step in the development process. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the post-construction stormwater management measures necessary for the proposed project, as well as to discuss and assess constraints, opportunities and potential approaches to stormwater management designs before formal site design engineering is commenced. Local watershed plans, the Kure Beach Land Use Plan, and other relevant resource protection plans should be consulted in the discussion of the concept plan.

To accomplish this goal, the following information should be included in the concept plan, which should be submitted in advance of the meeting:

a. Existing conditions/proposed site plans. Existing conditions and proposed site layout sketch plans, which illustrate at a minimum: existing and proposed topography; perennial and intermittent streams; mapping of predominant soils from soil surveys (if available); boundaries of existing predominant vegetation; proposed limits of clearing and grading; and location of existing and proposed roads, buildings, parking areas and other impervious surfaces.

b. Natural resources inventory. A written or graphic inventory of natural resources at the site and surrounding area as it exists prior to the commencement of the project. This description should include a discussion of soil conditions, forest cover, geologic features, topography, wetlands, and native vegetative areas on the site, as well as the location and boundaries of other natural feature protection and conservation areas such as lakes, ponds, floodplains, stream buffers and other setbacks (e.g., drinking water well setbacks, septic setbacks, etc.). Particular attention should be paid to environmentally sensitive features that provide particular opportunities or constraints for development and stormwater management.

c. Stormwater management system concept plan. A written or graphic concept plan of the proposed post-development stormwater management system including: preliminary selection and location of proposed structural stormwater controls; low-impact design elements; location of existing and proposed conveyance systems such as grass channels, swales, and storm drains; flow paths; location of floodplain/floodway limits; relationship of site to upstream and downstream properties and drainages; and preliminary location of any proposed stream channel modifications, such as bridge or culvert crossings.

(2) Stormwater management permit application. The stormwater management permit application shall detail how post-development stormwater runoff will be controlled and managed and how the proposed project will meet the requirements of this division, including section 134, standards. All such plans shall be prepared by a qualified registered North Carolina professional engineer, surveyor, soil scientist or landscape architect, and the engineer, surveyor, soil scientist or landscape architect shall perform services only in their area of competence, and shall verify that the design of all stormwater management facilities and practices meets the submittal requirements for complete applications, that the designs and plans are sufficient to comply with applicable standards and policies found in the design manual, and that the designs and plans ensure compliance with this division.

The submittal shall include all of the information required in the submittal checklist established by the stormwater administrator. Incomplete submittals shall be treated pursuant to subsection 133(b)(4).

(3) As-built plans and final approval. Upon completion of a project, and before a certificate of occupancy shall be granted, the applicant shall certify that the completed project is in accordance with the approved stormwater management plans and designs, and shall submit actual "as-built" plans for all stormwater management facilities or practices after final construction is completed.

The plans shall show the final design specifications for all stormwater management facilities and practices and the field location, size, depth, and planted vegetation of all measures, controls, and devices, as installed. The designer of the stormwater management measures and plans shall certify, under seal, that the as-built stormwater measures, controls, and devices are in compliance with the approved stormwater management plans and designs and with the requirements of this division. A final inspection and approval by the stormwater administrator shall occur before the release of any performance securities.

(4) Other permits. No certificate of compliance or occupancy shall be issued by the building inspector of the town without final as-built plans and a final inspection and approval by the stormwater administrator, except where multiple units are served by the stormwater practice or facilities, in which case the building inspector of the town may elect to withhold a percentage of permits or certificates of occupancy until as-built plans are submitted and final inspection and approval has occurred.

(d) Approvals.

(1) Effect of approval. Approval authorizes the applicant to go forward with only the specific plans and activities authorized in the permit. The approval shall not be construed to exempt the applicant from obtaining other applicable approvals from local, state, and federal authorities.

(2) Time limit/expiration. An approved plan shall become null and void if the applicant fails to make substantial progress on the site within one (1) year after the date of approval. The stormwater administrator may grant a single, one (1) year extension of this time limit, for good cause shown, upon receiving a written request from the applicant before the expiration of the approved plan.

In granting an extension, the stormwater administrator may require compliance with standards adopted since the original application was submitted unless there has been substantial reliance on the original permit and the change in standards would infringe the applicant's vested rights.

(e) Appeals.

(1) Right of appeal. Any aggrieved person affected by any decision, order, requirement, or determination relating to the interpretation or application of this division made by the stormwater administrator, may file an appeal to the town council within thirty (30) days.

(2) Filing of appeal and procedures. Appeals shall be taken within the specified time period by filing a notice of appeal and specifying the grounds for appeal on forms provided by town. The stormwater administrator shall transmit to the board of adjustment all documents constituting the record on which the decision appealed from was taken.

The hearing conducted by the board of adjustment shall be conducted in the nature of a quasi-judicial proceeding with all findings of fact supported by competent, material evidence.

(3) Review by superior court. Every decision of the board of adjustment shall be subject to superior court review by proceedings in the nature of certiorari. Petition for review by the superior court shall be filed with the clerk of superior court within thirty (30) days after the latter of the following:

a. The decision of the board of adjustment is filed; or

b. A written copy of the decision is delivered to every aggrieved party who has filed a written request for such copy with the town clerk at the time of its hearing of the case.

(Ord. of 7-17-07(2), § 2)