Chehalis City Hall as seen on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016
The Chehalis City Council approved an amendment Monday identifying fees to allow developers who raise the base flood elevation to pay instead of the city mitigating the increase as required under the zero raise policy.
The city adopted the policy in April 2016, and it included language to allow for a fee in place of mitigation, according to a staff report. However, the ordinance did not identify how to calculate those fees. The fee or mitigation is required on projects that add 500 cubic yards of fill to the flood basin if an engineering report shows it will raise the base flood elevation.
The amendment passed on Monday states the calculator for the fees is based on the prevailing wage rate and how much it will cost to move the amount of fill added to the floodplain. For example, the current rate is $8.72 per cubic yard of material. If the project adds 500 cubic yards that raise the base flood elevation, the fee would be $4,360.
The fee will be updated periodically to reflect the current prevailing wage rate, gas prices, equipment costs and other factors, according to the staff report.
The money collected will be added to the city’s Compensatory Excavation Mitigation Fund, which will only pay for capital projects providing flood storage and habitat enhancements on the Chehalis River and its associated floodplain within the city limits, according to the staff report.
