Public works committee approves stormwater diversion at Camelot Condos entrance on Lancaster Road

The Public Works Committee on July 21 approved a plan to install a raised stormwater diversion at the entrance to Camelot Condos on Lancaster Road after staff told the committee runoff from the condo driveways has been entering a nearby homeowner’s yard.

Public works staff member Kale Smith said the homeowner at 2014 Lancaster reported stormwater running over the road and into her front yard and under her house. Smith told the committee he had contacted Bart Jones, the property manager with Metcalf Realty, and that Jones was agreeable to the proposed work. The committee voted to approve the installation on a 4-0 voice vote after a motion by Councilor Hardin and a second by Councilor Gere.

The diversion will be a raised concrete or asphalt curb — described by staff as a small raised curve similar to a speed bump — positioned at the end of the condo driveway to redirect water across the roadway into the gutter on the opposite side. Smith said there is no nearby storm inlet to tie into; the closest inlet, he said, is “all the way down” near Thomas Water’s office, making a conventional pipe connection impractical.

Committee members asked whether the raised curb would handle large volumes of water and whether it could cause overtopping. Smith and other participants discussed a driveway-level berm as an alternate or additional measure, noting the homeowner’s yard sits lower than the street. No cost estimate, construction schedule, or funding source was given during the discussion.

The motion to install the diversion was made by Councilor Hardin, seconded by Councilor Gere, and passed 4 to 0. Committee members did not specify a date for construction; Smith said the work had not yet been performed. The item was the only new-business item on the committee’s agenda that day.

The committee’s action directs staff to proceed with the diversion as described; staff will coordinate with the property manager at Metcalf Realty and the homeowner on implementation details. Funding and a precise construction timeline were not specified in the meeting record.