§ 47-802. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Benefitted property means a lot or tract within the drainage service area that discharges directly or indirectly into the drainage system and that, according to a determination by the director, does not fall within an exemption.

Billing year means each 12-month period that begins on July 1 ^st of one year and ends on June 30 ^th of the ensuing year.

Cost of service, as applied to the drainage service for any benefitted property, means but shall not be limited to, the prorated cost of the following:

(1)

The acquisition of interests in real property relating to drainage structures, equipment and facilities;

(2)

The acquisition, construction, repair, and maintenance of drainage structures, equipment, and facilities;

(3)

The acquisition of drainage-related architectural, engineering, legal, and related services, plans and specifications, studies, surveys, estimates of cost and of revenue, and all other expenses necessary or incident to planning, providing, or determining the feasibility and practicality of drainage structures, equipment and facilities;

(4)

Providing and operating all drainage-related machinery, equipment, furniture, and facilities;

(5)

Start-up costs of drainage facilities; and

(6)

Administrative costs including direct and indirect costs.

County means any of the counties of Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery, Texas.

County-exempt property means real property owned by a county and administered or used by that county for a public purpose that is primarily supported by general county tax revenue, including, but not limited to, courthouses, emergency management facilities, jails, libraries, offices for county officers, parks, transportation facilities, flood control facilities, and other similar properties. County-exempt property shall not include real property owned and administered or used by county-wide entities that are largely self-sufficient, are primarily supported by fees and charges or a separate tax, and are not primarily funded by general county tax revenue, including, but not limited to, the Port of Houston Authority, the Harris County Astrodome and Reliant Stadium complex, and other similar properties. For the purposes of this article, real property owned and administered or used for a public purpose by the Harris County Flood Control District, the Harris County Hospital District, and toll road authorities shall be considered county-exempt property.

Curb and gutter drainage means drainage primarily removed from a benefitted property by use of street curbs and gutters to channel the water to a system of underground pipes or culverts.

Department means Houston Public Works.

Director means the Director of Houston Public Works or the director's designee.

Drainage means streets, curbs, bayous, bridges, catch basins, channels, conduits, creeks, culverts, detention ponds, ditches, draws, flumes, inlets, pipes, pumps, rivers, sloughs, treatment works, and other means and appurtenances to those items, whether natural or artificial, or using force or gravity, that are used to draw off surface water from land, carry the water away, collect, store, or treat the water, or divert the water into natural or artificial watercourses or into which the surface water flows; drainage shall also mean the water so transported.

Drainage charge means the charge imposed by the city herein, including penalties, to recover the city's cost in furnishing drainage services for any benefitted property and the cost of funding future drainage system improvements.

Drainage system means the drainage owned or controlled in whole or in part by the city and dedicated to the service of benefitted property as provided for in section 47-804 of this Code, as well as provisions for additions to the system and any drainage system for which a Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) permit is held by the city alone or in conjunction with others. Drainage system components, including but not limited to streets, sidewalks, other dedicated improvements, and supporting rights-of-way, shall not be considered residential or nonresidential property as defined herein.

Impervious surface means any area that has been compacted or covered such that it does not readily absorb water or does not allow water to percolate through to undisturbed underlying soil strata. Surface materials considered impervious shall include, but not be limited to, bricks, pavers, concrete, asphalt, compacted oil-dirt, compacted or decomposed shale, oyster shell, gravel, or granite, and other similar materials. Surface features utilizing such materials and considered impervious shall include, but not be limited to, decks, foundations (whether pier and beam or slab), building roofs, parking and driveway areas, sidewalks, compacted or rolled areas, paved recreation areas, swimming pools, and other features or surfaces that are built or laid on the surface of the land and have the effect of increasing, concentrating, or otherwise altering water runoff so that flows are not readily absorbed.

Initial billing year means the City of Houston's initial billing year for drainage charges, which began on July 1, 2011, and ended on June 30, 2012.

Notification letter means the letter the city mails to a user, informing the user of the drainage charge the user shall be billed. The notification letter will also inform the user of the frequency of billing for drainage charges and the amount per bill due the city, based on the number of billing cycles per year. Changes to the drainage charge caused by changes in the square footage of impervious surface or otherwise may prompt a new notification letter.

Nonresidential property means any property that is not classified as residential under this article.

Open ditch drainage means drainage primarily removed from a benefitted property by use of an open ditch or ditches.

Parcel means one or more lots or tracts of land, or portions of lots or tracts.

Public or private institution of higher education means a public institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003 of the Texas Education Code or a private college or university that issues degrees in the state of Texas and is accredited by a recognized accrediting agency as defined by Section 61.003 of the Texas Education Code.

Public utility means drainage service that is regularly provided by the city through municipal property dedicated to providing such service to the users of benefitted property within the service area, and that is based on an established schedule of charges, the use of police power to implement the service, and nondiscriminatory, reasonable, and equitable terms as provided under this article.

Record review panel means a panel of three hearing examiners that, upon a user's request, conducts a record review of a hearing examiner's decision pursuant to section 47-826 of this Code.

Religious organization means a religious organization exempt from taxation pursuant to the current provisions of Section 11.20 of the Texas Tax Code.

Residential property means any property upon which two or fewer single family residential units have or had been constructed or placed, including manufactured homes.

School district means any independent school district, as constituted by the laws of this state, located wholly or partly within the service area.

Service area for the drainage system, or drainage service area, means the corporate limits of the City of Houston, as those corporate limits are altered from time to time in accordance with state law and the Charter and ordinances of the city. Land annexed for limited purposes shall become part of the service area upon annexation for full purposes.

State agency means an administrative agency of the State of Texas; for the purposes of this article, state agency shall not include counties, special districts, or independent school districts.

User means the person or entity who owns or occupies a benefitted property.

Wholly sufficient and privately owned drainage system means land owned and operated by a person or entity other than the city's drainage utility system, the drainage of which does not discharge into a street, ditch, culvert, creek, river, slough, or other channel that is a part of the city's drainage system.

(Ord. No. 2011-254, § 2, 4-6-2011; Ord. No. 2014-336, §§ 3—5, 4-23-2014; Ord. No. 2018-11 , §§ 49, 50, 1-10-2018)