5.65.060 FFBC rates and calculations.
Annually, following a public hearing, WSSC establishes a base water and sewer rate which is used to assess properties abutted or served by WSSC water and/or sewer lines. The water and sewer rates established are intended to recover all costs associated with the construction and financing of these water and sewer lines. Once the base rates are set they cannot be increased.
After the base rate is established, a property’s front foot benefit charge is determined by multiplying its assessment rate(s) by its assessable “front footage.” A property’s assessment rate and its assessable front footage are determined by its “classification.”
(a) Classification. WSSC classifies properties based on their actual or intended use, not necessarily on the basis of county zoning codes. There are currently six property classifications:
(1) Subdivision residential.
(2) Multi-unit residential (townhouses, condominiums, apartments).
(3) Small acreage.
(4) Industrial or single business.
(5) Multi-unit business.
(6) Agricultural.
(b) Assessment Rate. The assessment rate applicable to each WSSC classification is as follows:
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Subdivision Residential, Small Acreage and Agricultural: |
|
|
Initial 150 feet of assessable front footage |
Base rate |
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Next 150 feet of assessable front footage |
75% of base rate |
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Additional assessable front footage |
50% of base rate |
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Multi-Unit Residential: |
|
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Townhouse (standard 50 feet) |
Base rate |
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Condominium (standard 26 feet) |
Base rate |
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Apartments (standard 26 feet) |
Base rate |
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Business or Multi-Unit Business: |
|
|
All assessable front footage |
133% times base rate |
(c) Front Footage and Abutment. A property’s front footage or street frontage is the total length of its boundary that faces or borders a street, road, etc. A property’s assessable front footage may or may not equal its actual front footage depending on its classification and type abutment. A property’s abutment by a WSSC line can be one of four types as follows:
(1) Full Abutment. A WSSC line has been built in a street or in a right-of-way procured by WSSC that is parallel/adjacent to the property. The line abuts the total length of the property’s single street frontage.
(2) Partial Abutment. A WSSC line has been built in a street or procured right-of-way that is parallel to the property. The line abuts only a portion of the property’s street frontage.
(3) Multiple Abutment. The property has more than one street frontage. WSSC lines have been built in streets or procured rights-of-way which are parallel to the property. The lines fully or partially abut two or more of its street frontages.
(4) Nonabutment. A WSSC line does not abut any portion of the property’s street frontage(s).
The front footage used to assess properties classified as subdivision residential, small acreage and agricultural is generally affected by the type abutment. The footage used to assess properties classified as multi-unit residential, business and multi-unit business is generally not affected by the property’s type abutment. Subsequent sections on each property classification detail how a property’s assessable front footage is affected by its type abutment and other factors. (Property assessments manual § 1.3, dated October 1998)