Decatur Next

Decatur Diary | September 18, 2020

Crowd Tunes in for Virtual Storm Water Master Plan Meeting

With the steady rains of Tropical Storm Sally saturating the soil outside their homes, roughly 60 Decatur residents tuned in to an online meeting on Wednesday, September 16, to discuss exactly that: storm water, and the city’s plans to address it in the years ahead.

The timing couldn’t have been more appropriate.

For nearly two years, the city and its AECOM consultant team have been working with the community to update Decatur’s Storm Water Master Plan. A draft of that work was posted for review at the start of September, kicking off a month-long comment period in advance of formal consideration by the City Commission later this year.

The Wednesday evening meeting was an opportunity for the project team to provide an hour-long overview of the plan’s proposed prescriptions and recommendations, then address questions submitted by residents.

City engineer, Jennings Bell, together with consultants Kat Gurd and Kristin Rowles, ran the session, first orienting everyone in the process to date, then laying out the three sections of the evening’s presentation:

  • The infrastructure projects recommended in the plan.
  • The regulatory changes recommended in the plan.
  • The changes to taxpayer utility fees recommended in the plan.

Collectively, these components of the plan work together to decrease flooding, protect water quality, provide flexibility in implementation, and increase the capacity and stability of stormwater management in the city.

Community questions and comments in the meeting fell into three general categories: ways in which homeowners can comply with the proposed regulations; streams and water quality; and how development — both downtown/commercial and neighborhood residential — will be addressed.

NEXT STEPS

The current public review period continues through October 2. Residents can download the draft, submit comments, or connect with the consultant team as follows:

1. Review the draft

The following draft plan files are organized by section. Just click to download.

Storm Water Master Plan: Executive Summary (3.3mb .pdf)
Storm Water Master Plan Volume 1: Report (16.4mb .pdf)
Storm Water Master Plan Volume 2: Appendices (32mb .pdf)

2. Submit your comments

Send comments directly to the consultant team by using the submission form here.

3. Engage with the consultant team

If you’d like to talk about the plan but were unable to participate in the meeting, get in touch. We’ll find a way to make sure your input is linked into the process.


Thereafter, changes based on public input will be implemented and the draft will work its way towards adoption — first in a City Commission work session, then a formal vote in a subsequent meeting.

Any recommended changes to existing regulations, or go-ahead on specific projects, will subsequently become follow-through initiatives of their own, to be brought before the City Commission in a public meeting for approval and/or fund allocation as applicable.

Stay tuned as details become available.

Consultant Kat Gurd talks the community through the Storm Water Master Plan.

   

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