Van Zandt County commissioners considered a request related to on-site sewage facilities (OSSF) for a property at 4542 Mazak Henry Road in Precinct 2 and concluded a formal variance was not required after staff and legal review.

A family requested permission to place a single-wide mobile home behind an existing house on a 1.54-acre parcel so the applicant’s mother could live nearby. The applicant’s representative told the court the existing house sits at the front of the lot and the balance of the acreage lies about 150 feet behind it; topography and the placement of the existing septic field preclude tying the back unit into the front system. A larger centralized system between the two homes was described as cost prohibitive.

County staff and the court discussed the county’s OSSF rules, which generally require one single-family residence per one acre, and noted the county’s agreement with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the county’s OSSF policy adopted in 2009. A county staff member said the agreement with TCEQ does not prohibit two separate OSSF systems on a single parcel if each system complies with health and safety standards and does not overlap spray fields. The county’s OSS designer and installer on the record said the proposed layout meets applicable health and safety spacing standards.

A commissioner initially moved to grant a variance to permit the additional system, but the motion was withdrawn after legal staff and the fire marshal’s office confirmed that the OSSF agreement with TCEQ does not, on its face, prevent two compliant systems on 1.54 acres outside of a platted subdivision. The court clarified that, where systems are not in a subdivision and spacing/spray-field overlap are managed, the fire marshal’s office retains the authority to approve installations that meet state and county standards.

The court discussed safeguards and potential deed language or conditions commissioners could add in exceptional cases, but the commissioners agreed not to impose a variance for this property and to allow the applicant to proceed with the installer’s design subject to required inspections and TCEQ-compliant construction and spacing. The court emphasized the decision applied to this specific circumstance and that future applications could require different review or conditions.

What the court decided: no variance needed; the applicant may proceed with plans for a separate aerobic system for the back dwelling so long as the installation complies with TCEQ and county OSSF safety standards and the fire marshal’s inspection and approval.