Sandy Springs Wants To Tighten Stormwater Rules

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- The Sandy Springs City Council at its July 19 meeting directed staff to begin the process of adopting the Atlanta Regional Commission's updates to its Georgia Stormwater Management Manual.

Better known as the Blue Book, the manual provides communities with tools for managing stormwater and is a required state standard.

In addition, the City Council also favored staff recommended changes which go further than the Blue Book to enhance water quality, especially related to residential requirements.

The proposed changes reduce the recommended trigger point for needed stormwater enhancements from 5,000 square feet to 1,000 square feet and changes retention requirements from one inch to 1.2 inches.

Commercial projects would trigger stormwater management at 500 square feet of impervious surface.

“We’re seeing a great deal of infill development, and the code as written does not adequately address our stormwater needs when several houses along a single street redevelop," said Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul. "These changes address the cumulative affect of this type of construction in addition to supporting efforts to clean our streams."

The reduced threshold will require homeowners who create 1,000 square feet of new impervious surface to install stormwater management devices or plantings and drainage systems. This requirement would encompass most new requests for home additions. The infiltration device would be sized for the amount of new impervious surface. Plan review would also include a required infiltration method for the first 1.2 inches of rainfall off any new impervious surface.

“This is a significant change, and we realize will be added cost and inconvenience to some individual projects," Paul continued. "However, we must do a better job of managing stormwater at the source because new construction is having adverse effects on surrounding neighbors, and we need a better set of solutions to deal with it."

The city will hold a public hearing on adoption of the Blue Book and added amendments in August, with a formal vote taken by the Council following that hearing.

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