Property owners may apply for a Lake Whatcom Stormwater Utility Service Charge Rate Adjustment Request within 30 days of the date of their property tax statement (the bill). Late requests will still be accepted until April 30, 2020 and responded to as staff resources allow. Submitting a request does not extend the due date for your property taxes. If your request is approved and your annual charge reduced, a credit will be applied to your next property tax bill.
Service charge rate adjustments are allowed for the following reasons:
- The amount of impervious area used to calculate the charge is incorrect
- The property is undeveloped with no impervious area
- All stormwater runoff from the property is directed to a permanent stormwater system built in compliance with the Lake Whatcom Watershed Overlay code
- The property has a new or remodeled commercial building with a rainwater harvesting system sized to utilize the available roof surface
- The property is contiguous (shares a border) with another parcel and the combined parcels function as one single-family residence with a single owner
- The property is owned by a person approved by the Whatcom County Assessor for a senior citizen or disabled persons tax exemption (visit the Whatcom County Assessor page for details)
- The property is taxed as forestland or timberland
- The property is misclassified
Apply for a Service Charge (Rate) Adjustment
Download a copy of the Service Charge Adjustment Request Form. Directions are included in the form. Please call the Stormwater Division at (360) 778-6230 for information about how your current charge was calculated and to ask for assistance completing your request. Please understand that staff resources are very limited during the COVID-19 outbreak. It will take longer than normal to receive a response during this period of time.
Read the Code
Service charge rate adjustment requests are considered and approved based on definitions and provisions included in Whatcom County Code Chapter 16.30.