I. Project Sizes and Types that are Regulated by this Ordinance

Any residential, commercial, industrial, or institutional construction project or development that lies within the Regulated Area and has a combined impervious and/or semi-impervious surface area of 4,000 square feet or greater shall be regulated by this ordinance. This includes site improvements as well as buildings. Sites shall be subject to this ordinance when the accumulated sum of the improvements, initiated after the effective date of this ordinance, has a combined impervious and/or semi-impervious surface area of 4,000 square feet or greater.

Furthermore, this ordinance also regulates all major or minor subdivisions, as regulated by the Subdivision Control Ordinance 1481, Plymouth, Indiana, effective Dec. 11, 1989, as amended; and planned unit developments as regulated by the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Plymouth, Ordinance Number 1396, as amended.

For proposed improvements to an existing developed site, the City Sewer Superintendent and the Sanitary Board of Trustees can require additional remedial action to be performed at the site.

The City Sewer Superintendent together with the Sanitary Board of Trustees, after thorough investigation and evaluation, has the authority to waive the requirement of this ordinance.

II. Exempt Projects

The intent of this ordinance is to control runoff and minimize urban flooding. Property owners shall be responsible to minimize runoff of storm water onto neighboring properties. Improvements exempt from this ordinance because of size restrictions, are still required to satisfy the intent of this ordinance. If urban flooding occurs because of an improvement, the owners will be required to take remedial action.

Projects with less than 4,000 square feet of impervious or semi-impervious surfaces are exempt from this ordinance. However, a site shall be subject to this ordinance when the combined sum of the impervious and/or semi-impervious surface area of the improvements initiated after the effective date of this ordinance is 4,000 square feet or greater. This ordinance shall apply to all projects and improvements which have been initiated since the effective date of this ordinance.

III. Legal Drains

Permission must be obtained from the Marshall County Surveyor to outlet any piped or runoff drainage into a legal drain. Furthermore, if the drainage is piped to the legal drain, any pipe outlet 12" or larger in diameter must also be approved by the Marshall County Drainage Board.

IV. Application and Review Procedure

The Sanitary Board of Trustees may appoint a representative to act on its behalf, including but not limited to: the City Sewer Superintendent, the City Engineer, or a firm appointed for the purpose of carrying out this ordinance. Said representative may be given the authority to approve drainage plans, without the assemblage of the entire board. Said representative will have thirty (30) days to act on a project, once a complete submission has been made.

A. An Application for Drainage Plan Approval shall be obtained from and filed with the Plymouth City office at 124 North Michigan Street. The completed Application must be filed at least twenty-one (21) days prior to the regularly scheduled meeting of the Sanitary Board of Trustees. The Application must be accompanied by five (5) copies of the Preliminary and/or Final Drainage Plan, and all required information and data.

B. Upon receipt of the Application for Drainage Plan Approval, the City Sewer Superintendent will review the proposed drainage plans to determine whether they have been prepared in accordance with the terms of this Ordinance.

(1) If the City Sewer Superintendent finds that the Application and plans have been submitted with the correct informational requirements and has been prepared in accordance with the terms of this ordinance, then he shall forward a report so stating to the Sanitary Board of Trustees for their consideration.

(2) If the City Sewer Superintendent finds that the Application and plans have not been submitted with the correct informational requirements or has not been prepared in accordance with the terms of this Ordinance, he shall advise the applicant in writing of the items of non-conformance.

a. If the applicant submits additional and/or revised information and plans as requested, at least one week prior to the regularly scheduled meeting, the City Sewer Superintendent shall re-review said drainage plans to determine their conformance prior to the regularly scheduled meeting.

b. If the applicant fails to submit additional and/or revised information and plans in a timely manner, the Sanitary Board of Trustees shall not review the drainage plans until such time that all additional and/or revised information has been submitted and reviewed by the City Sewer Superintendent.

(3) The City Sewer Superintendent may contact the City Engineer for technical assistance at any time during this process.

(4) Financial guarantees are a prerequisite to approval of a Final Drainage Plan. See Section 2-V.

C. Upon receipt of the report from the City Sewer Superintendent, the Sanitary Board of Trustees shall, at their regularly scheduled meeting, review the Preliminary and/or Final Drainage Plan along with the accompanying data and determine whether or not the Drainage Plan meets all of the minimum requirements and standards of this Ordinance. The Sanitary Board of Trustees shall then take one of the following actions on the application within thirty (30) days after all completed information and plans have been submitted, or an extension is mutually agreed upon.

(1) Conditional Approval. If the Sanitary Board of Trustees determines that upon the satisfactory completion of one or more specified conditions consistent with the requirements, standards and specifications of this Ordinance, the Sanitary Board of Trustees may give conditional approval to the Drainage Plan.

(2) Approval. The Sanitary Board of Trustees shall give Drainage Plan Approval only after it has determined that the Drainage Plan meets the requirements of this Ordinance. Approval of a Final Drainage Plan requires that sufficient financial guarantees have been submitted in accordance with this Ordinance.

(3) Disapproval. Should the Sanitary Board of Trustees disapprove the Drainage Plan, written notice of such action, together with reasons therefor, shall be transmitted to the applicant. Such action shall also be entered on the official records of the Board. If disapproved, the applicant may at any time reapply for Drainage Plan Approval.

(4) Refer to City Sewer Superintendent. Should the Board of Sanitary Trustees have a question about a specific technical aspect of the Drainage Plan, the Sanitary Board of Trustees may refer a question to the Sewer Superintendent for a finding. The Sewer Superintendent may request the assistance of the City Engineer if he so desires.

D. Upon approval of the Preliminary/Final Drainage Plan, the City Sewer Superintendent shall affix his signature to the Application for Drainage Plan Approval. Action taken by the Sanitary Board of Trustees shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting along with the written reasons for said action.

(1) No Building Permits or Improvement Location Permits will be issued by the City Building Commissioner or other co-adopting localities for any construction, improvements, or developments that are regulated by this ordinance unless they receive a copy of the Application for Drainage Plan Approval signed by the City Sewer Superintendent, or a waiver signed by the City Sewer Superintendent.

(2) Copies of the Application for Drainage Plan Approval, signed by the City Sewer Superintendent, shall be submitted to the Plymouth Plan Commission along with submission of the final plat. The Plymouth Plan Commission shall not approve a final plat without reviewing the signed Application.

(3) Real estate may not be sold until such time that the Application for Drainage Plan Approval has been signed by the City Sewer Superintendent, financial guarantees have been satisfied, and the Final Plat has been approved by the Plymouth Plan Commission and has been recorded.

(4) Final approval of the Drainage Plan by the Sanitary Board of Trustees shall not be construed as an acceptance of any street dedication or approval of any building permit which requires the approval of other state or local agencies which have jurisdiction.
E. Approval of the Preliminary Drainage Plan only authorizes the developer/builder to begin grading and installation of drainage improvements, after securing other necessary approvals and permits.

V. Financial Guarantees

Financial guarantees, provided by the property owner, shall be a prerequisite to the Sanitary Board of Trustees' action on the application for the approval of the Final Drainage Plan. The Sanitary Board of Trustees shall approve the Final Drainage Plan only after one of the following actions has been taken:

A. A certification has been submitted to the effect that the drainage improvements have been graded and installed in accordance with the specifications of this Ordinance, following Preliminary Drainage Plan approval.

B. A performance bond is posted with the Board of Public Works and Safety. Said bond shall:

(1) Run to the City of Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety.

(2) Be in the amount equal to 100 percent of the cost, as estimated by the Board of Public Works and Safety, of all improvements and installations as required under this Ordinance, excluding, however, the cost of any said improvements and installations which have been constructed, installed and completed in compliance with the requirements of this Ordinance prior to the providing of this bond and for which sufficient written proof of such construction, installations and completion has been furnished to the Board of Public Works and Safety and the Sanitary Board of Trustees.

(3) Be satisfactory to the Board of Public Works and Safety.

(4) Run until and terminate sixty (60) days after the filing of a Completion Affidavit with the Plymouth City Office and obtained from the Plymouth City Office.

(5) This bond may be in conjunction with the finanacial guarantees required by the Plymouth Plan Commission for water, sanitary sewer, and road improvements.

C. Cash bonds, certified checks, or certificates of deposit with joint ownership between the Board of Public Works & Safety and the property owner, or other negotiable securities acceptable and assigned to the Board of Public Works & Safety are posted in lieu of the performance bond.

Any funds received from the financial guarantees required by this Ordinance shall be used only for the purpose of making drainage improvements for which said guarantees were provided, in accordance with the specifications and requirements of this Ordinance.

If maintenance is required in the future to bring the drainage features back to design standards, the property owner(s) shall be responsible for providing said maintenance. Should the property owner(s) fail to provide necessary maintenance, the City may provide said maintenance and the property owner(s) will be assessed for the amount of the work.

VI. Certifications Required

After completion of the project and before final acceptance can be made, a professionally prepared and certified "As Built" set of plans and a Completion Affidavit shall be submitted to the City Sewer Superintendent (through the Plymouth City Office) for review.

The plans shall include all pertinent data relevant to the completed storm drainage system and shall include:

A. Pipe size and pipe material.

B. Invert elevations.

C. Top rim elevations.

D. Lengths of all pipe structures.

E. Data and calculations showing detention basin storage volume.

F. Certified statement on plans stating the completed storm drainage system substantially complies with construction plans as approved by the Sanitary Board of Trustees.

All such submitted plans of completed projects shall be reviewed for compliance within 30 days after submission to the City Sewer Superintendent. If notice of non-compliance is not given within 30 days of submission of the plans, the plans shall be construed as approved and accepted.

VII. Changes in Plan

If the applicant wishes to amend the site plan in any way after the Drainage Plan has been approved by the Sanitary Board of Trustees, the applicant must inform the City Sewer Superintendent of the mandated or proposed change. If the City Sewer Superintendent determines the change in the building or site plan significantly changes the drainage as proposed under the currently approved Final Drainage Plan, he may require additional information and that the change be reviewed by the Sanitary Board of Trustees subject to their approval.

VIII. Time to Commence Work

Work shall be commenced within 24 months of approval of the Final Drainage plan or approval shall be withdrawn and the financial guarantees forfeited.