BY DEBBIE PAGE
The Troutman Planning & Zoning Board voted to deny recommendation of a change brought forward by planning staff, at the direction of the Town Council, to amend the water and sewer section of the Unified Code of Ordinance.
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to limit the number of developments, both residential and commercial, in the town limits that utilize septic systems.
Council members have concerns that developers may try to install septic systems in developments in town limits with the current 30-month building moratorium in place until sewer capacity issues are resolved.
Increased septic system and well use within Troutman’s planning jurisdiction would damage the long-term financial health of the town’s water and sewer infrastructure, town officials said. Numerous septic systems, which are not as closely monitored as a municipal system is, would also add more potential for environmental harm if they malfunction.
The proposed language in the UDO amendment would require a developer to connect all lots shown on a subdivision plat with the municipal water supply and sanitary sewer systems for any residential or commercial development in the town limits
The amendment would also require any single-lot residential property in the town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) requesting annexation for town water must also connect to town sewer system if the lot is within 500 feet of an existing sewer line, unless the extension of the sewer line is deemed unfeasible by the town’s engineer.
Residential subdivisions greater than five lots in the ETJ that request town water must also be required to connect to town sewer if within 1,000 feet of an existing sewer line, unless the extension of the sewer line is deemed unfeasible.
Also, all non-residential (commercial or industrial) development in the ETJ requesting town water would also be required to connect to an existing sewer line unless the extension of the sewer line is deemed unfeasible, if the amendment is approved by Town Council.
Developers must also present the director of Public Works with a certification from the appropriate agency which regulates the types of water supply and/or sewage disposal facilities that those facilities proposed for the development in the town complies with all relevant standards and requirements.