Baxter Municipal Planning Commission discussed stronger stormwater regulations to protect existing neighborhoods from flooding Thursday.
Staff Planner Tommy Lee said the commission is considering a more comprehensive stormwater ordinance that would establish clearer requirements for subdivision developers. That would include when detention systems must be installed and how drainage concerns should be addressed.
“We’re growing, we’re running more and more water off,” Lee said. “Every time you put a rooftop, paved driveway, or build a sidewalk, you’ve taken away some pervious property that can no longer absorb water, and water’s going to become a big issue in Baxter.”
Lee said the proposed regulations would establish expectations earlier in the development process, allowing developers to account for drainage infrastructure before finalizing lot layouts. The commission also discussed establishing responsibility for maintaining detention ponds after developments are completed.
“I’m in favor of a storm water ordinance that protects Baxter’s storm water infrastructure that has a more robust definition of what detention requirements are,” Lee said. “It probably needs to be dealt with at this level. Is there going to be detention? Where’s it going to be? How does that impact the lot layout? That’s big picture.”
Codes Enforcement Officer Bob Lane said the city has already encountered drainage problems at developments where stormwater detention became necessary. Lane said the ordinance should establish when engineering studies and detention systems are required rather than leaving those decisions until later in the approval process.
“If you’ve got a creek behind you and you ain’t affecting nobody, it ain’t an issue,” Lane said. “If you’ve got a subdivision behind you and you’re dumping it in a guy’s backyard, you’re going to have to have detention.”
Commissioners also raised concerns about development spreading into low-lying properties that previously absorbed runoff from surrounding neighborhoods. Officials discussed the need to prevent new construction from redirecting water onto neighboring properties and creating additional problems for the city’s drainage infrastructure.
The commission discussed reviewing stormwater regulations used by Algood as a possible model. No new ordinance was adopted, and additional work will be necessary before specific requirements can be considered for approval.
