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DRAFT
<br /> 500 conservation subdivisions which would be reliant on more innovative wastewater
<br /> 501 treatment, there was no explicit recommendation to use community systems or not, but
<br /> 502 there was, I think, an action to investigate these further and figure out how they might
<br /> 503 work in Orange County. One thing that Tom and I have kicked around, and with some
<br /> 504 others, Perdita, Patrick, others, is do we have the legal authority to require performance
<br /> 505 guarantees for these community systems? Because we're a land-use department, right?
<br /> 506 And that falls under the environmental health codes. So, can we navigate, similar to what
<br /> 507 we do with stormwater or roads, private roads, can we require a performance guarantee
<br /> 508 for 20 years, for example? That we hold a bond at the county, should these fail, the bond
<br /> 509 is posted by the developer and can be transferred to the HOA, and that would provide
<br /> 510 some sort of insurance to the county so that the taxpayers of the county are not on the
<br /> 511 hook for repairing these systems, should they fail. And I don't have that answer today, but
<br /> 512 it is something that we've brought up for discussion in the draft plan, but I don't have an
<br /> 513 answer for you today.
<br /> 514
<br /> 515 Charity Kirk: So, getting back to like the homework, are these systems more expensive when there's
<br /> 516 more houses involved? Or is it better to put these systems in when there's more houses
<br /> 517 involved because there's a scale factor for this? So, can we limit these systems to 30-
<br /> 518 house developments and more, or would that make any difference?
<br /> 519
<br /> 520 Tom Altieri: I would say generally what you say is correct; that there's an economy of scale there
<br /> 521 where you distribute the cost across more homes. Yes, and there could be thresholds or
<br /> 522 caps in terms of, you know, how large a subdivision might we have in the county that
<br /> 523 utilizes these types of systems as part of the infrastructure.
<br /> 524
<br /> 525 Charity Kirk: Have you seen this? Because I think the research in the past was kind of, we're going to
<br /> 526 go look at Chatham County, and it sounds like you've done a lot of looking around. Are
<br /> 527 there caps in other areas for these systems? Or what makes it so these systems were
<br /> 528 allowed? Is it just people say, "This is cool, and I like the development"?
<br /> 529
<br /> 530 Tom Altieri: So, we have done a lot of research, and as Cy had mentioned, there weren't as many of
<br /> 531 these types of systems as maybe we would have thought, and you know, we have to, to a
<br /> 532 degree, venture to guess as to why that is. And, in my opinion, that is probably largely
<br /> 533 due to, you know, higher density would typically go on your public utilities, your water and
<br /> 534 your sewer, which we don't have a lot of in Orange County planning jurisdiction. We've
<br /> 535 seen these systems in place. Many of them were serving multifamily units like
<br /> 536 condominiums, and they were serving like small shopping centers; not large, but maybe
<br /> 537 let's say an Ace Hardware, doctor's office, and a couple of small offices. You know, a little
<br /> 538 small strip center, possibly an out-parcel or two.
<br /> 539
<br /> 540 Charity Kirk: But the strip center just has one owner though, right?
<br /> 541
<br /> 542 Tom Altieri: Potentially, yes.
<br /> 543
<br /> 544 Charity Kirk: Okay.
<br /> 545
<br /> 546 Venkat Yendapalli: I think you answered your own question, Charity. If you don't mind me answering. When
<br /> 547 you have a large community with so many homes, the management falls on HOA, and
<br /> 548 that's a factor that actually discourages going into the system, because somebody has to
<br /> 549 take ownership of managing these community systems. It's a lot of responsibility for the
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