HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-1867 - Ordinance No. 1867 - To Amend Chapter 21, Article III, Water, Replacing Section 21-32 Connection Fees and Expenses, Fairhope Code of Ordinances - SDC'sORDI NAN CE 0. 1867
AN ORD INANCE AMEN DING ORDIN A CE 0. 953 AND ORDINANCE
NO. 1658 ; AN D REP EA LIN G AND REPL ACING ORDIN ANCE 1745 ;
AND AMEN DI G CH APTER 21 , ARTICLE III , WATER,
RE PL CING EC TIO 2 1-32 CONNECT IO FEES AND
EX PENSES FA IRHOP E CODE OF ORDIN ANCES
WHE RE AS , the City of Fairhope has established system development charges fo r connection to
the water system of Fairhope Public Uti l ities; and
WHEREAS, in 2025 , the City engaged Jackson Thornton, certified public accountants and
consultants, to analyze the costs for expansion of treatment capac ity for the water system of
Fairhope Public Utilities and to make recommendations for an update to the system development
charges based on the cost of expanded infrastructure necessary to address additional capacity
needs ; and
WHE RE AS , it is nece ary for new deve lopment u ers of the water system to share in the cost of
the expansio n of treatment capacity to th e ystem ; and
WH ERE AS , the system development charges provide an incremental cost approach to treatment
for water capacity based up on maximum rated flow an d the City Co unci I be lieves the charges are
necessary to provi de for the sustainabi li ty of the system and to support the health, safety, and
general welfare of the community ; and
WH ERE AS, the City Council has accepted the recommendations of Jackson Thornton for the
updated sy tern development ch arges for new connections to the water system of Fairhope Public
Utilities .
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF FAIRHOPE ,
ALABAMA , as follows :
ARTICLE III . WATE R
Sec. 21 -32 CONNE CTION FEE S AND EX PEN SES:
(a) The City of Fairhope ha estab lished fees for metered connections to the water system .
The total co nnection fee is a combination of costs that inc lude a System Deve lopment Charge
(SDC) and an Installation Fee (Tap Fee). The SDCs , for each new service , is to recover costs
relating to the capital investment required to provide the source water (groundwater wells),
treatment facilities and gro und or elevated storage tanks and capita l funding necessary to expand
said facilities. The fee wi ll also provide capita l funding for capacity improvement projects where
growth or hydraulic capacity requirements to support needed fire flows are recommended .
1. The owner of the property requesting service shall be responsible for providing Water
connection to the property . The City of Fairhope may connect the property to Water
service at th e fees shown in the Connection (Tap) Fees Sche dule if Water is immediate ly
avai lable , may provide a cost estimate of labor , materials , and any repair of concrete or
aspha lt to the owner for the work if Water is not currently available , or based upon
capacity or locat ion lim itations, may state th at Water is unavailab le for the property. A ll
taps into Water mains hall be performed by a vendor approved by the City of Fairhope
Uti litie Water/Wastewater Superintendent. All materials required for the connection
sha ll be approved by the City of Fairhope Utilities Water/Wastewater Su perintendent.
Ordinance No. 1867
Page -2-
2. All work shall be in strict accordance with the current plumbing codes and the latest
version of the City of Fairhope "Standard Specifications for Constructing Sanitary Sewer
Facilities and Water Facilities." All applicable SDCs and Tap Fees sha ll be paid prior to
the be ginning of construction.
3. The City of Fairhope sha ll maintain a separate accounting for all collected Water SDCs
and In sta llation Tap Fees to ensure the Water SDC s and Tap Fees are exclusively
expended on capital infrastructure expansion and capacity improvements to the Water
System .
4. The Water SDC s are established to recover incremental costs for capital needs rel ated to
expansion of capacity, treatment, and transmission infrastructure of the Water System
based upon the demand created by new customers and connections .
(b) The In sta llation (Tap) Fee, if required, is to recover the material and labor costs of the
City to install the service when an existing serv ice to the residential property is not connected to
the Water System. The SDCs and the Instal lation (Tap) Fee are one-time fees to pro vide water
service to a specific location and cannot be transferred to another ite. Any water ervice upgrades
to a loc atio n will be determined as the difference between the existing SDCs and the proposed
SD Cs. Installation upgrade s wil I be based on the Insta ll ation (Tap) Fee schedule for the Meter size
of the requested upgrade , up to a 2" for residential ervice.
(c) There are hereby established connection fees for new connections to City Water service
as follows :
Conn ecti o n Fees (based on Maxim u m R ated F lo w GPM fo r Pipe S ize)
Maxim um Size SD C Wate r SD C Fire R esi d enti al Meter
Ra ted F lo w L in e T ap Fee Bo x o r
GPM Va ult
50 1" $2,700 N I A $1,000.00 Meter Box
160 2" $8,64 1 N I A $2,8 00 .00 Meter Box
AT OWNER
320 3" $17,282 $2,000 EXPENS E Vault
AT OWNER
500 4" $27,002 $3,000 EXPENSE Vault
AT OWNER
1,000 6" $54 ,005 $5,000 EXPEN SE Vault
AT OWNER
1,600 8" $86,408 $7,500 EXPENSE Vault
10 ,500 AT OWNER
4,200 1 0" $226 ,82 0 EXPENSE Vault
14 ,000 AT OWNER
5,300 12 " $286,225 EXPEN SE Vault
1. Irrigation:
Where an existing water customer desires a separate water meter for irrigation , the City of
Fairhope may install a second water meter , using the existing serv ice main at a cost equal to the
Installation Fee sta ted above, to be used with an automatic sprinkler system. The size of the
Irrigation meter shall be no larger than the existing meter. The Irrigation (water only) service shall
be billed at the same rate of the primary meter of the existing service, or an approved "Irri gatio n
Rate ." The usage will not be included in the Sewer portion of the bill for the acco unt.
Ordinance No. 1867
Page -3-
2 . Miscellaneous Fees and Charges:
A. Where water main extensions or upgrades are required to serve a customer or a new
development, the cost to provide needed wate r capacity, including fire protection , will be
the responsibility of the customer or develo per.
B . Where a fire protection system require an unmetered fire main/sprinkler system, the
customer shall be responsible for all costs associated with the unmetered service ,
including a service tap on the main , with isolation va lve and approved backflow
prevention device at the edge of Right of Way or easement. A fire department connection
sha ll be included on the discharge side of the backflow prevention device. A fire line
SDC charge wi ll be required for all fire line connections.
C. Where reduced pressure backflow devices are required , the customer shall be responsible
for the in tallation and maintenance of such devices .
3 . Penalty for Violation :
Any person found guilty of violating any provi ion of this ordinance or of doing any act made
unlawful by this ordinance shall be punished as provided in Section 1-8 of the Code of Ordinances
of the City of Fairhope , Alabama .
SEVERABILITY
The sections , paragraphs, sentences , clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severab le , and if
any phrase , clau e , entence , paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared
uncon stitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such ruling shall not affect any other
paragraphs and sections , since the same would have been enacted by the municipality council
without the incorporation of any such uncon st itutional phrase, clause , sentence , paragraph or
section.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Ordinance shall take effect on August 1, 2026 for all new or unpaid applications upon its
due adoption and publication as required by law .
ADOPTED THIS THE 29TH DAY OF JUNE, 2026
Attest:
ADOPTED THIS THE 29TH DAY OF JUNE, 2026