Rising Sun adopts stormwater management code and new fee schedule

The Rising Sun Board of Commissioners voted to adopt an updated Stormwater Management Code and a companion fee schedule on Jan. 10, 2023, moving formal plan review, recordation and inspection responsibilities for stormwater projects within town limits from Cecil County to the Town of Rising Sun.

Town Administrator presented Ordinance 2023-01, saying the ordinance replaces most of Chapter 13 of the town code, retains Article 10 (illicit discharge detection and elimination) and attaches the full, 35-page stormwater code as an exhibit. "We're not creating new stormwater management regulations," the Town Administrator said. "These are essentially going to be identical to the counties because the law regarding stormwater comes from the Maryland state law." He described a model in which the town will retain oversight while using a third-party engineering firm to review plan submittals, similar to the arrangement used by nearby Elkton.

Commissioners made and seconded a motion to adopt Ordinance 2023-01 as an emergency ordinance so the town could exercise review authority before several land-development projects advance. The board voted to enact the ordinance as an emergency measure.

Alongside the ordinance, the board adopted Resolution 2023-01 to amend the town's fee schedule. The resolution adds stormwater management plan-review, recordation and inspection fees and restructures land-development fees so applicants pay costs associated with advertising, engineering review, attorney services and recordation rather than using general tax revenue. The Town Administrator walked commissioners through several fee items, including a $350 sketch-plan fee, differentiated charges for minor versus major subdivisions (a minor subdivision creates up to three lots; four or more is a major subdivision), caps on per-project review charges to avoid per-lot runaway costs, and charges to offset planning commission stipends for appearances before that body.

According to the administrator, the changes are intended to align the town with industry norms and ensure the town can provide oversight without ceding responsibility entirely to private engineers. The board voted to approve the fee-schedule resolution.

What happens next: the ordinance, adopted as an emergency measure, takes effect immediately as provided by town code; the updated fee schedule becomes part of the town's official fees and will be applied to future land-development and stormwater plan reviews. Copies of the adopted ordinance and fee schedule were attached to the meeting materials for public inspection.