Committee conditions sewer category change for Ridge Drive properties on WSSC approval; staff to draft precise language

Montgomery County’s Transportation and Environment Committee on Monday recommended a conditional approval path for a proposed sewer service category change for a Ridge Drive property in the Glen Hills area and directed staff to draft precise conditioning language that will link approvals to Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) review and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) approvals.

The committee considered two adjacent, approximately 1-acre, unimproved properties in the Potomac subregion master plan area: the Bagheri request (which abuts the planned sewer service envelope) and a neighboring property (referred to in the hearing as the Lou property) that does not abut the envelope and therefore lacks peripheral eligibility unless a main is extended along Ridge Drive.

Council staff and Department of Environmental Protection staff explained the technical and policy pathway. Staff member Levchenko said the Bagheri parcel “is eligible for consideration under the peripheral sewer service policy” because it abuts the planned sewer envelope, and that one feasible route to serve it would be a longer main following public rights-of-way that would abut about 12 additional properties. DEP and planning staff noted the county executive and the Planning Board recommended approval of Bagheri conditioned on WSSC Water approving the longer Ridge Drive main and completing the necessary hydraulic analysis.

Committee members discussed who pays for a main extension and how costs are apportioned. Staff explained that the applicant(s) are responsible for the extension cost unless WSSC builds it as part of its capital program; WSSC can reduce an applicant’s cost by applying front-foot benefit charge revenue estimates and system development charges, but DEP said typical construction costs for the kind of extension discussed range “from about $700 to $900 a linear foot.” The committee heard that these extensions are often expensive (DEP estimated roughly 1,600 feet for the longer Ridge Drive alignment) and that several property owners sometimes join as joint applicants to share cost.

On the Bagheri request (identified as S‑3 in committee materials), the committee indicated support for the executive and Planning Board recommendation to approve the category change conditioned on WSSC confirming by hydraulic/design review that the extension can be constructed and will function as proposed. If WSSC determines the proposed extension will not work, staff said they will bring the matter back to council to consider alternative service options (for example, an easement-based, shorter connection).

On the Lou property, staff initially recommended denial because it does not meet any existing sewer-policy eligibility absent an approved main. Committee members pressed for parity between the two adjacent parcels and expressed concern that denying Lou while conditionally approving Bagheri could make cost-sharing and project feasibility harder to achieve. Department staff and WSSC staff clarified that a property can qualify under the abutting-main policy if WSSC has approved the main for design and construction (the main need not yet be built in the ground), and that conditional approvals must be carefully worded to avoid unintended piecemeal extensions.

The committee directed staff to draft specific conditional language tying any approval for the Lou property to the same Ridge Drive alignment and to WSSC’s design/approval and MDE review. Committee members said they expect those conditions to be strict enough to prevent partial extensions that stop short of the alignment needed to make both properties economically viable. Committee members also asked staff to circulate the proposed language to committee members before the item goes to the full council for a vote.

No final council action was taken at the meeting; the committee’s recommendation was to advance the Bagheri request with conditions and to prepare conditioned language for the Lou request that could be adopted by the full council after staff finalizes wording and confirms WSSC/MDE concurrence.