Agenda - 08-01-1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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PAGE 5 and additional information on soil. The Planning Board recommended approval with 36 conditions. The complete presentation is incorporated herein by reference. A copy of said report is in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's office. COMMISSIONER HALKIOTIS stated that in the 36 conditions, the county is mentioned repeatedly. He questioned if this means the expansion of county bureaucracy to meet the needs of these special kinds of systems. It appears that another substructure of government to handle these types of systems may be necessary. COUNTY MANAGER JOHN LINK indicated that additional staff would be needed within the Environmental Health section of the Health Department. However, he stated that they have determined that the best approach to fund additional personnel would be through user fees and assessments on those who benefit directly from these systems. He assured the Commissioners that the County taxpayers would not be burdened with monitoring these alternative systems. He also stated that he wanted to separate this from the other issue of monitoring and repairing septic tanks. Some of that work may in fact be suitable to be financed by county tax revenue. The Health Board has not yet reported on exactly how the revenue would be generated. He stressed that alternative systems need to be funded by the homeowners and beneficiaries of that system. CHAIRMAN CAREY agreed that a mechanism needs to be set up to be sure these systems are self-supporting. JOHN LINK and the Health Department agreed with the recommendations of the water subcommittee of the joint Orange/Chatham work group as it pertains to alternative systems. The Health Board's recommendations go beyond alternative systems but also deal with the monitoring and operation of septic tanks. He indicated that the latter recommendations will be even more important because septic tanks fail daily. Citizens who wished to speak on the McLennan's Farm proposal were sworn in by Clerk Beverly Blythe, MS. VERLA INSKO, a citizen of Orange County and a consumer of water from University Lake, emphasized how fortunate it is to have clean water. She urged the Commissioners to take steps that would prevent degradation of the University Lake water supply. Early intervention is the least costly way to deal with the problem. She requested that the Board of Commissioners take into consideration the deliberations of other committees. She asked that all their decisions have as a high priority the preservation of the quality of the water in University Lake. MR. ALAN SPALT, of James Street in Carrboro and a member of Protect Our Water, asked that the Board of Commissioners reject this subdivision because it is not in accordance with the OWASA Watershed Study. The issue is that the area in question is about twice as dense as the recommended density for the preservation of water quality in University Lake. He stated that it would be very difficult for anyone to follow the 36 conditions as recommended by the Planning Board and even more difficult to enforce them. He mentioned some of the difficulties he saw in attempting to enforce these conditions. He stated that 1 the real problem is that this development should not be permitted. He asked that the Board of Commissioners enact a moratorium, as OWASA and Carrboro did in the watershed until the recommendations of the Watershed Study are considered and adopted. MR. LEON TODD stated that this alternate waste system is different from other systems only because it has one extra tank with a pump. Another difference is that these systems are going to be monitored on a regular, routine schedule. No septic system in the county