Court Upholds Village’s Stormwater Fee Ordinance

In 2014, the Village of Winnetka adopted a storm water ordinance that imposed a fee on the owners of property in the Village in order to provide a dedicated funding source for various improvements to the Village’s storm water system. That fee was calculated based on the “equivalent runoff value” (ERU) of 3400 square feet of impervious surface area on lots within the village. No fee was assessed on properties with less than 170 square feet of impervious surface area, and roads, sidewalks, and alleys were also not subject to the fee. Properties that do not discharge storm water into the Village’s system could obtain a 100% credit of the fee, and...