Council takes second look at tough sewer ordinance

By Steve Enders

The Saratoga City Council on April 7 obliged City Manager Larry Perlin's request to take another look at the city's new sewer ordinance, and has now cleared up the foggy language in the document.

When the changes are made by City Attorney Mike Riback, the amended ordinance is going to be clear and tough, and will also outline an appeals process. The revised ordinance is expected to come back to the council on April 27.

If it's approved that night, the law will go into effect after 30 days, and mark the beginning of the five-year period residents will have to convert their septic systems.

The new ordinance states that if a property is within 200 feet of a sewer line and is currently using a septic system, the property owner must convert and connect to the line within that five-year period.

But after passing the first draft of the ordinance a month ago, Perlin and Riback noticed that the law is open to interpretation.

"Essentially, it says that if you're within 200 feet of the sewer line, you must hook up. That's what the language states," Riback told the council.

He also said, however, that the ordinance was confusing, and not clear enough as to how the city was going to carry out the law, and how residents were going to have to comply.

"They're relatively minor little matters that need to be resolved and to clarify the intent of the City Council," he said.

The ordinance states that upon transfer of property, the condition of the septic system must be tested. But it was unclear, if the system passed the test, whether property owners would still have to convert and hook up to the sewer if they were within 200 feet of the sewer line.

That's now going to be the case.

Additionally, the city wanted to fix some of the procedural aspects of the ordinance, outlining how to notify septic tank users that they're within the specified distance, how to enforce compliance and help those who may not be able to afford the pricey conversion.

Councilmember Evan Baker, who also serves as the city's representative to the West Valley Sanitation District, said that nearly 350 homes in Saratoga are now using septic systems. Of those, he said, about 150 are within the 200 feet prescribed by the ordinance.

The new and improved version will call for notices to be sent out by the city to those who fall under the new law. Perlin said that the ordinance will be enforceable like any other city code, and if the city receives complaints about a septic system or finds that a resident is not complying with the law, then eventually the city could declare it a public nuisance, abate it and charge the owner against the lien of the property.

The revised ordinance will also outline an appeals process which was lacking in the first draft.

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