Saving Funds and Requesting Reimbursement for SCMs

Collecting and Retaining Funds for SCMs

Private SCM Owners Required to Collect and Retain Funds for SCM Maintenance and Repair in Separate Accounts Established for Such Purposes 

For projects submitted for review after November 3, 2024, the City’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) requires that the owner/responsible party of privately owned and maintained stormwater control measures (SCMs) collect and retain funds for the maintenance, repair, replacement, and reconstruction of their SCM(s). The UDO requires retaining funds in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the SCM(s) estimated original cost of construction and those funds must be held in a separate account used solely for the purposes of maintaining, repairing, replacing, and reconstructing the owner’s/responsible party’s SCMs. The owner/responsible party has five years from the date the City has accepted the as-built certifications for the SCMs to collect and retain such funds. 

Note: These requirements are found in UDO §§ 9.2.2.G.2.t and 9.2.2.G.3.d. The UDO requires that the recorded Stormwater Maintenance Covenant for shared SCM devices and the recorded Maintenance Instrument for Non-Shared SCM devices include these maintenance fund requirements as part of their terms and conditions.

Refund Program Overview

Refund Program for Previously Collected General Replacement Account Contributions 

Per Session Laws 2023-108 and 2024-49 the City is now making previously collected general replacement account contributions available to SCM Responsible Parties for reimbursement.

For privately owned and maintained SCM(s) that were part of a development project approved by the City before August 16, 2023, the City has retained general replacement account contributions for such SCMs unless these funds have previously been disbursed by the City to the SCMs’ Responsible Party.   If the City continues to retain such contributions for a development’s SCM(s), the Responsible Party for such SCM(s) may request reimbursement of these funds to cover costs for necessary maintenance, repair, replacement, and reconstruction of these SCM devices. 

For development projects approved by the City after August 16, 2023, the City did not collect general replacement account contributions for the maintenance and repair of SCM devices constructed, or to be constructed, as part of these developments.  As such, the City retains no such general replacement account funds associated with these development projects and these projects are not eligible for this refund program.

How to Request Reimbursement

Responsible Parties responsible for the maintenance, repair, reconstruction, and replacement of SCM device(s) may request reimbursement for the general replacement account contributions still held by the City for SCMs associated with development projects approved by the City before August 16, 2023. To do so, the Responsible Party must complete and submit a Request Form for Stormwater General Replacement Account Reimbursement.

Information Needed to Complete the Request Form

• Address for the lot where the SCM(s) is located 
• The N‑file number associated with the Site requesting reimbursement (this can be located on the last SCM Annual Inspection Report)
• The Project Name from the last SCM Annual Inspection Report 
• If the request is for a residential subdivision, the name of the Subdivision 
• Name of the Responsible Party: 
  • In the case of non-shared SCM devices, the Responsible Party is the current record owner of the property served by the SCM device(s).   
  • For shared  SCM devices, the Responsible Party is the party responsible for the maintenance, repair, reconstruction, and replacement of SCM device(s) as identified in either a recorded Declaration of Maintenance Covenant and Grant of Protection Easements for Stormwater Control Facilities (Maintenance Covenant) or recorded Stormwater Replacement Protection Easement and Access Maintenance Agreement and Installment Replacement Contribution (Stormwater Agreement), whichever applies. 
• If the Responsible Party is a homeowners’ association (HOA) or property owner’s association (POA), you must provide documentation to satisfy the City that the Developer has assigned ownership of the SCMs to the HOA or POA. 
• If completing the Request Form on behalf of a corporate entity, the Signatory must be a corporate officer (corporation), manager or managing member (limited liability company), general partner (limited partnership) or other authorized representative. Otherwise, documentation demonstrating authority to bind the Responsible Party must be provided.

Optional Supporting Documents

There are optional supporting documents and information the Responsible Party can provide to help Stormwater staff process the request more efficiently: 

• City Case File Number/Development Number
• Record Book & Page Number of the SCMs’ “Declaration of Maintenance Covenant and Grant of Protection Easements for Stormwater Control Facilities” (Maintenance Covenant) or “Stormwater Replacement Protection Easement and Access Maintenance Agreement and Installment Replacement Contribution” (Stormwater Agreement), or Amendment to the Stormwater Agreement, whichever applies 
• Copy of the Sites’ last SCM Annual Inspection Report accepted by Stormwater staff
• Proof of Payment, or receipt(s) for original contributions made to the City’s stormwater general replacement account 

Submitting the Request Form

Once the Request Form is complete, email the form and any supporting documents as PDF attachments to: reimbursementscm@raleighnc.gov.

What Happens After Submission

Once Stormwater staff receives the completed Request Form, they will:

1. Verify the Responsible Party of the SCM(s)/Site associated with the requested reimbursement. 
2. Verify contributions that remain in the City’s stormwater general replacement account that are associated with that specific site. 

Once this information is verified, Stormwater staff will email a Reimbursement Affirmation and Release Form (Release Form) to the Responsible Party at the email address provided by the Responsible Party. This Release Form will state the amount of the previous stormwater general replacement account contributions to be reimbursed. 

The Responsible Party must sign the Release Form and have its signature notarized, and provide a copy to the City as a PDF attachment to reimbursementSCM@raleighnc.gov.

Once the City has received a copy of the executed and notarized Release Form, the City will release the funds. 

Important Note:

Reimbursement of these stormwater general replacement account contributions can only be issued to the Responsible Party as follows:

• Owners’ Associations (per the recorded Maintenance Covenant or recorded Stormwater Agreement, whichever applies): reimbursement will be issued to the responsible Association at the address listed on their business registry with the North Carolina Secretary of State.
• Commercial Lot Owners (per the recorded Maintenance Covenant or recorded Stormwater Agreement, whichever applies): reimbursement will be issued to the responsible Commercial Lot owner at its mailing address listed on the Wake County tax record for that commercial lot. 
• Property Owners of lots served by non-shared SCM(s): reimbursement will be issued to the responsible property owner at the mailing address listed on the Wake County tax record for the lot served by the applicable SCM(s).

*If any information is outdated or incorrect, the Site is responsible for updating it with the appropriate agency and notifying City Stormwater staff once the changes appear on the North Carolina Secretary of State or Wake County website.