Cheektowaga amends sewer-inspection rule to let property owners schedule lateral connections; board says change avoids duplicate work

The Town of Cheektowaga on Wednesday adopted Local Law No. 3 of 2025 to amend the town sewer ordinance27s inspection provisions, a change supporters said will streamline private sewer connections and avoid duplicate contractor work.

The amendment to Section 198-27 requires that “the applicant for a building sewer connection permit shall notify the town when such sewer is ready for connection to the town's POTW; such connection and testing deemed necessary by the town shall be made by the property owner at the expense of the property owner. Upon completion, said connection will be inspected by the town engineering department,” according to the resolution text read into the record.

Sponsor Council member Anthony Phillipski said the town27s existing code was inconsistent and that the change matches neighboring jurisdictions. “I did extensive research—Amherst, Depew, Tonawanda, Erie County, Orchard Park, Lancaster—27We were the only town that had this code written this way,27" Phillipski said, arguing the amendment reduces duplicate billing when both a homeowner27s contractor and a town-hired crew do the same connection.

Opponents raised concerns about how the change could interact with the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) consent order and town-initiated sewer repairs. Supervisor Brian Nowak and other board members said the law, as written, applies when a property owner is the permit applicant; they said the town27s authority to make repairs under the consent order would remain intact because the town itself would not be an "applicant" under the code provision.

Council member Diane Benjkowski and others said the change should save residents money by avoiding duplicate contractor charges: "that subcontractor that the homeowner had hired is charging them for that connection. And then we were paying for another subcontractor to make that connection," Benjkowski said.

The resolution carried on a roll-call vote. The board asked engineering staff for follow-up clarifications; the sponsor said engineering questions raised in a same-day email would be addressed after the vote and that if changes are needed the board could amend the local law in the future.

Ending: The town attorney and engineering staff were asked to confirm how the amendment will interact with town-initiated repairs tied to regulatory obligations and to propose any clarifying language for a future amendment if staff finds the need.