City stormwater chief Paul Wiebke made a good impression on City Councilman Eugene Brown Wednesday night.

Brown said he had some questions about an upcoming agenda item regarding the Jordan Lake Rules. It was around 9 p.m.

"So I decided to call Paul to leave a message on his answering machine," Brown said. "And, lo and behold, guess who answered the phone! He was there, working, at 9 o'clock. I was really impressed."

Chapel Hill will hold a public information meeting from 5:30 to 7 p.m. today about proposed stormwater changes that could help homeowners but reduce local stream buffers.

The meeting will be held in the first-floor conference room at Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

The Jordan Lake ordinance requires 50-foot buffers to protect streams, lakes, ponds and reservoirs. It also limits the way development can disturb the land within those buffers.

The town’s resource conservation district typically requires wider buffers. It also requires engineered stormwater controls, including bio-retention ponds, when a single- or two-family home disturbs 5,000 square feet of land or more. That can increase a home’s price by $25,000 to $30,000, plus maintenance costs. It also creates aesthetic and safety issues, homeowners said.

The proposed change would increase the area that can be disturbed to 20,000 square feet. New homes that fall below the threshold would be charged a $5,000 stormwater permit fee.

The town also would reduce its stream buffers to 50 feet required under the Jordan Lake rules.

A second community meeting could be held in January. A public hearing on the changes is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 18.

This being hurricane season, it seems appropriate that Paul Wiebke of Durham’s stormwater department is holding classes on “Stormwater 101” and “Stormwater 201” next Thursday.

It’s a comprehensive look at our stormwater services and what we do,” Wiebke said. “All aspects of it.”