Public Works Fee Schedule

Engineering and Design Services Fee Schedule

The following fees would apply to full or partial street construction and/or improvements and/or utility service improvements. 

Note:  Fees charged to UNC, UNC Hospitals, OWASA, and Chapel Hill‐Carrboro City Schools are related to work performed within the right‐of‐way and/or to be maintained by the Town.

Traffic Engineering Fee Schedule

*Fee charged each day inspections are conducted (regardless of number of inspections per day). Typically, inspections occur 2-3 days per week for large scale projects (may be more or less depending on need as determined by staff).

Streets Fee Schedule

The following policy and fee structure is consistent with ITRE’s recommendations.

1. Each utility and private contractor is responsible for street repairs to be made either by the respective utility or its choice from a list of approved sub-contractors.
2. The Town retains the responsibility for inspections of repairs to cuts.

Fee Assessments:*

1. $120 per square yard for each of the first ten square yards
2. $50 per square yard for each subsequent square yard
3. $30 per square yard for work on gravel roads and/or borings/jackings (open trench/pit area) and/or other work outside the roadway, but within the right-of-way

*These fees are doubled if the street has been resurfaced within the previous two years, or increased one and one half times if the street has been resurfaced within two plus to five years. In addition, on major projects for which the road is severely impacted, especially streets recently resurfaced, the Town may require restoration to include street milling and a complete overlay. Fees may be waived when milling and/or a complete overlay are required.

Penalties:

1. $150 for failure to obtain a permit prior to starting the project (not applicable for emergency street cuts)
2. $150 for failure to repair initial street cut within thirty calendar days
3. $150 for failure to undertake warranty repair within fourteen calendar days

The Town requires a 5-year warranty on all cuts and restoration work performed by the utility company or private contractor.

Additional sub-base and pavement restoration work required (beyond the area of trench repair) as a result of a major failure (i.e., water line main break) will be billed at the stated square yard rates above, or $625 (whichever is the lesser of the two amounts).

This policy referenced above has been phased in since fiscal year 2000-2001.

Solid Waste Services Fee Schedule

Basic Service (Front Load):  There is one exception to the below fees. Multifamily developments are eligible for one 8-yard dumpster collection per 25 units per week at no charge.

Delinquent accounts are subject to cancellation of service.

Commercial Roll-Cart Service:  Entities that do not qualify for front loading commercial collection service due to space restrictions and safety concerns may qualify for service via roll carts. The basic fee provides up to three carts per entity for collection once per week. Additional carts can be provided and serviced for a fee.

Delinquent accounts are subject to cancellation of service.

Collection of White Goods, Bulky Items, and Electronics:  This fee is for collection of large household items and electronic equipment (e.g., refrigerators, stoves, chairs, tables, sofas, televisions, computers, cell phones, printers, etc.). Residents shall contact the Public Works Department to request pickup and make payment prior to collection. The service fee is a minimum of $15 for up to three items, and $5 for each additional item.

**If deemed appropriate by the Public Works Director or their designee due to special circumstances (not routine household garbage collection service), this fee may apply to the special collection of extra bags of trash (i.e., cleaning out, moving, etc.). Each bag of trash will be considered a separate item. The minimum fee for collection is $15 for up to three bags, and $5 for each additional bag.

*$15 Minimum for Each Collection

Compactor Service (annualized cost):  Each business in the downtown compactor district is subject to compactor service fees. The fees are based on volume of generation. Examples of high volume generators may include:  restaurants and bars with onsite dining, movie theaters, and drug stores. Examples of medium volume generators may include:  ice cream and coffee shops. Examples of low volume generators may include:  small clothing stores, small retail stores, or small business offices.

Delinquent accounts are subject to cancellation of service.

Curbside Collection of Brush and Limb Piles:  A per truckload fee is charged for the collection of loose piles of brush and limbs. Residents must contact the Town to pay and make arrangements for the collection of yard waste piles by the Town.

Collection of Large Yard Waste Piles 

Yard Waste Container

Single-family residences are eligible for one Town provided household waste roll cart at no charge. A fee is charged for each additional roll cart.

Extra Household Waste Container

Stormwater Management Fee Schedule

Utility Fee Policy

Fees are charged on all properties within the corporate limits of the Town and are based on the area of impervious surfaces. Impervious surfaces are hard surfaces such as concrete, gravel driveways, asphalt and roofs. These surfaces significantly reduce or prevent rainwater and snow melt from seeping into the ground, and increase flooding and water pollution from stormwater runoff. Impervious surface areas are determined through aerial photography conducted in winter when impervious surfaces can be identified.

Bills for the stormwater utility fee are included on Orange County tax bills for Chapel Hill properties in Orange County, and as a separate billing for Chapel Hill properties in Durham County. The fee is payable September 1 of each year and past due after January 5 of the following year. The bills cover the period from January 1 through December 31 of each year, as do the tax bills. The property owner of record on January 1 of each year is responsible for payment or for pro-rating and paying the fee at closing. For more information on fee calculation and appeals, check out the Billing & Funding section on the Stormwater Utility page.

Single Family or Single Owner Properties

The fee increases by $40.27 for every additional 1,000 square feet or portion thereof.

Condominiums and Townhomes

In most cases, the fee for each multi-family unit, such as a condominium or townhouse, is determined by adding all impervious surfaces in the development and dividing the area by the number of residential units. 

The Town also has alternate fee calculation methods for multi-family residential and similar commercial attached developments (such as townhouses and condominiums) to address concerns with homeowner’s associations and differently-sized units. The Stormwater Management Fee Redistribution Request Form(PDF, 123KB) allows owners of units or their owners’ association to change the way the total fee for their development is distributed among them. To change fee calculations in time for the next billing, forms must be submitted by May 1. The options for fee distribution are:

1. Billing shared equally by unit owners (default billing method): The fee for the entire development is calculated from the sum of all impervious surface areas on both private and common property. The fee for each unit is the total fee divided by the number of units. Owners receive one bill for each unit; an association that may own common property in the development is not billed. This method is used for all multi-unit developments unless another option is requested.
   
   
2. Consolidated billing to an association or designated agent: The fee for the entire development is calculated from the sum of all impervious surface areas on both private and common property, and the association or designated agent receives a single consolidated bill. Generally, an association then distributes this cost to property owners in the development.
   
   
3. Shared billing between unit owners and an association: The fee for impervious square footage on common areas is calculated and billed to the association separately from the fee for private property. The remaining impervious surface areas on private properties are summed, and the total fee divided by the number of units.  Each Owner receives a bill for his/her unit. If this option is selected, common area must be clearly delineated on a map accompanying the request to change the fee distribution.
   
   
4. Proportional billing of unit owners: The fee for the entire development is calculated from the sum of all impervious surface areas on both private and common property. To determine the fee for each unit, the total fee is divided proportionally according to each unit’s share of square footage inside a building (interior floor area) as compared to the total interior floor area within the development as a whole. If this option is selected, interior floor area square footage for each owner’s property, plus the total interior floor area for the development, must accompany the request to change the fee distribution.

In some instances, exterior surfaces such as roofs and ground are owned by a single entity, and not by the unit owners.  Please submit sections of the Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions delineating ownership if this is the case for a recalculation.

Other Stormwater Fees