Flood control map a guide to the starsRichard HalsteadMarin Independent Journal Article Launched:04/07/2007 11:28:35 PM PDT The Ross Valley Flood Control District has created what amounts to a regional "map of the stars." Like to know where filmmaker George Lucas, the Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh or actor Sean Penn live, as well as how much they will have to shell out if a proposed flood tax is approved? From Kentfield and Ross to Fairfax, the names and addresses of the rich and famous, as well as everyone else, are a mouse click away. The Ross Valley Flood Control District has posted the names of 15,010 property owners in the district, their property addresses and parcel numbers, and how much they will pay if the measure is approved. All of this information is posted on the district's Web site at www.RossValleyWatershed.org. - in its library section. Lucas would have to pay $2,343 for his 16 properties in the district. Property owners will not be charged by the amount of land they own. Their tax will instead be based on the estimated amount of "impermeable" surfaces on their properties. The flood district's statistician estimated what percent of each property is impermeable, and thus generates runoff, after sampling 750 of the district's properties, said Joyce Vollmer, a spokeswoman for MIG Inc., a Berkeley-based consulting firm hired to help the flood control district mount its billing effort. The flood charge is based on the amount of runoff produced by an average-sized, single-family residence in the district. The average single-family residence is .192 acres and is 31.13 percent impermeable, and multiplying these factors the district arrives at a storm water "run-off factor" of .05977. The district has established this factor as its "basis drainage unit" and assigned it an annual fee of $125. If another property has a run-off factor twice that amount, then the owner would pay $250 per year. If the run-off factor was half that, they would be charged $62.50 While a single-family residence of .151 to .25 of an acre is about 31 percent impermeable, a condo/townhome is 29 percent impermeable - so its owner would pay less. By the same token, the owner of a multi-family home on a lot of .151 to .25 of an acre would pay slightly more than a single-family homeowner because his property is more than 35 percent impermeable. Commercial-industrial properties tend to have the highest percentage of impermeable surfaces. A commercial-industrial parcel on a lot of .151 to .25 of an acre is nearly 74 percent impermeable. Fees for multi-family and commercial-industrial properties larger than one acre were calculated individually because of the properties' unique characteristics. The owner of a single-family residence would pay a maximum of $180 per year, regardless of the property's size. The maximum for a commercial-industrial owner would be $6,000 a year. Condo fees were not capped. In a letter of protest to the flood control district, Joe Fugazzotto of Kentfield criticized the decision to cap the fee for single-family residential parcels at $180 per year. The district's rationale is that smaller parcels have more impermeable area than larger developed parcels because the smaller parcels have less undeveloped ground to absorb storm water. But Fugazzotto asserts that "once the ground is saturated, the run-off from these parcels of two, three, four or more acres is more than two to three to four times as much than the average parcel and therefore, under your proposal, the owner of that property is not paying their fair share." Contact Richard Halstead via e-mail at rhalstead@marinij.com |