Staff: new development has increased tax revenue and not pushed wastewater system over trigger

City staff presented fiscal and infrastructure metrics tied to recent development, saying tax revenue and permit fees have grown while system loads remain below regulatory triggers.

Steve Kleppin cited WPCA data showing average daily flow declined from about 14.2 million gallons per day in the 2005–2009 period to roughly 12.2 million per day through 2024. He noted the current treatment capacity is about 18,000,000 gpd and that a 90% threshold—16,200,000 gpd—is the regulatory trigger that would require an action plan; Norwalk remains below that level.

On fiscal impacts, staff presented comparisons of tax revenue before and after development for example projects. Kleppin said one development (the Curb/BLT project) now contributes about $4,000,000 in annual taxes and that nearly $1,800,000 in permit fees were collected at construction on certain projects. He and other staff said, overall, many recent projects are net positive in the city tax vs. school-cost calculations they showed.