Council Assists Those Who Need Help Complying With Abatement
Noncompliant households must apply for exemptions
Cost of transition an issue
By Kara Chalmers
The Saratoga City Council on Sept. 20, agreed to give residents a little more leeway in changing from septic systems to the city's sewer line, a transition that a recently enforced city ordinance requires.
"For those who want the help, the city should do whatever we can to assist," said Councilman Evan Baker at the meeting.
The council directed city staff to come back within a month with a specific enforcement plan, so that households on septic systems would be clear about how to comply with--or get exemptions from--the ordinance. At that point, the council will enforce a rule that property owners will have 45 days before the city puts liens on the properties.
When the two environmental groups--San Francisco BayKeepers and the Friends of Santa Clara County Creeks--settled their lawsuit against the city for pollution in Saratoga Creek, the Saratoga City Council adopted an ordinance in spring 1999, requiring the abatement of septic systems in the city.
The ordinance requires all new homes to hook up to the sewer system, and all homes using septic systems to hook up to a sewer when a line is available within 200 feet of their property. Some have suggested the hook-up cost to be around $20,000.
The deadline for compliance with the ordinance was Aug. 21. As it reads, the ordinance requires that a lien be placed on noncompliant properties, so that title companies, lenders and future owners would know that a sewer connection must be made before the property could ever be sold, used for equity financing, changed or improved.
But on Sept. 20, the council decided to give the noncompliant property owners more time.
According to the council, the settlement agreement was not the only basis for the ordinance. The council believes that the ordinance would help to improve creek water and underground water in the surrounding region.
"I'm convinced it was the right thing to do," said Mayor Stan Bogosian about passing the ordinance. "We're too far into the future to do anything else."
The ordinance has provisions to ensure that no resident would have to sell his or her home to comply with the law, according to council members. Residents can get exemptions if the slopes of their properties do not allow for a gravity-based connection, or if they don't have legal rights-of-way to the sewer line. They also can ask for up to a five-year extension to connect to the sewer, if their septic systems are functional. They have the option of paying nothing for the work until they sell their houses, at which time the cost would be discharged as a lien against the property.
Of the properties subject to the ordinance, the city has granted 35 exemptions and 36 extensions so far, according to Community Development Director James Walgren. But 221 properties are still noncompliant.
Property owners facing financial hardships can apply for funds from the Community Development Block Grant to pay for the cost of the conversion from septic to sewer. According to Walgren, only one person out of the handful of residents who have applied so far is eligible for the funds.
In addition, for property owners served by the West Valley Sanitation District, the cost of conversion to the sewer can be financed over 10 years on the property tax roll. The Cupertino Sanitary District does not offer this option.
Now that one source--a leaking sewer line in Saratoga Village--has been identified, some think the city council should reassess their position on abating septic systems.
According to one irate resident, David Dolloff, who spoke publicly at the meeting on Sept. 20, it was obvious that council members had already made up their minds on the subject.
"What I really wanted was for them to back off the abatement program, because it is unjust," he said after the meeting.
But Dolloff, a resident who falls into the "noncompliant" category, said he would now get an inspection and apply for an extension from the city.
"They've made their decision, a lot of us disagree with it," he said. "At least now the city is taking an interest in the people who are left. These people are mostly elderly and on a fixed income."
Saratoga, California Since 1955
