City staff to clarify sewer lateral responsibility after commission questions

Commissioners asked city staff to clarify who is responsible for maintenance and repair of sewer laterals after constituent questions. At the conference meeting, utility staff and the city manager said the city’s current practice is to inspect and repair the lateral in the public right‑of‑way up to the property line; private property owners are responsible for the lateral from the property line into their building.

Al Carbon, the city’s new utility services director, said utility crews respond to calls for sewer backups and inspect to determine whether the blockage or failure is on the city side (main line to property line) or on the private side (property line into the residence). Roberto Van Cort, stormwater engineering division manager, added that code language is ambiguous in one place and staff will bring clarifying code amendments for the commission to consider.

Commissioners asked for a draft code clarification and a policy memo explaining how the city handles existing laterals, new construction reconnections and any cost implications of proposed code changes. Staff said they would return with language and an analysis of potential fiscal impacts before any policy change is adopted.