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18 <br /> Craig Benedict said as soon as the reservoir was contemplated, people started <br /> subdividing around the lake, as was done at Lake Orange as well. He said during his tenure <br /> with the County, staff has had to make determinations that the lots were roughly concurrent <br /> with the reservoir, and people want to live next to a future reservoir. He said people can rebuild <br /> to the standards of the size of their house. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos asked if a resident has perkable land, can the resident extend <br /> the septic, add another bedroom, etc. <br /> Craig Benedict there is a four-bedroom maximum. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos asked if anyone will be prevented from replacing a septic <br /> system. <br /> Craig Benedict said no, everyone can replace the septic system, as long as it meets <br /> Health Department standards. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the reservoir would impact the issue of a septic <br /> system meeting Health Department standards. <br /> Craig Benedict said it would be the same standard as if it were next to a reservoir, or <br /> not, except the resident would have to work with the Planning Department to find out which <br /> location is best. He said around Lake Orange, there are one or two cases where a resident <br /> cannot fit a septic field, because of the land size, and there are other devices that are approved <br /> by the State, which can replace the normal, conventional septic system. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos asked if there is anything Hillsborough could have done to <br /> make this process better from the beginning. <br /> Craig Benedict said that is conjecture. He said reservoirs are rarely built, but when they <br /> are it is rare for excess land to be purchased. He said his reading of the issue is that they do <br /> not purchase out to 300-feet beyond where the water level will be. He said if the Town had <br /> purchased out that far, then all lands would have been unencumbered by the setbacks, but this <br /> is not the County's standard to take a look at. <br /> Marie Strandwitz, Utilities Director for Town of Hillsborough, said she appreciated the <br /> staff presentations. She said it is her understanding that the Town planned the reservoir <br /> starting around 1993. She said the Town started acquiring properties, and is some cases there <br /> was condemnation, and other times the Town was able to negotiate successfully for the land. <br /> She said the permit from the Corps was issued in the fall of 1997, or early 1998, which <br /> consisted of both phases. She said the Town had the foresight to see that it would need more <br /> water one day, and the permit from the Corps, and accompanying 401 permit from the State, <br /> covered both phases. She said the 1994 date correctly had the 643 elevation based on the <br /> datum used by surveyors at that time. She said since 1994, the LIDO has stated the correct <br /> phase 2 elevation (or expansion), and to get to this point the Town has conducted public <br /> hearings, and all the property owners around the reservoir boundary, at that time, were notified. <br /> She said anyone who had purchased a property since that time has been subject to the set <br /> back that already exists in the UDO. She said she does not know if realtors have <br /> communicated this information to the property owners at time of purchase. She said expansion <br /> of phase 2 physically started in 2018, as the permit from the Corps was set to expire. She said <br /> the Town did not need the extra water at that time, but as the permits are difficult to obtain, the <br /> Town chose to move forward with the phase 2 expansion. She said the raising of the damn <br /> structure has been completed, as well as the clearing around the damn structure. She said the <br /> Town has approved for its Manager to sign the contract to raise the surrounding roads, which is <br /> the last piece of the puzzle before the Town can start letting the reservoir fill to its new level, <br /> which is contour 642.2, according to the new survey datum of NAVD 88. <br /> Marie Strandwitz referred to the question about fishing and hunting, and said as part of <br /> the state mitigation, the Town is to put the area around the reservoir in a conservation <br /> easement. She said she has seen documents that state the Town has bought all the necessary <br />