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Council and planning commission discuss housing constraints, septic requirements and future sewer options
Summary
Mendon planning-and-zoning and council members discussed code language for accessory dwelling units, septic and open-area requirements that limit multiunit housing, and the possibility of future sewer connections; the mayor said preliminary discussions are underway with Wellsville about regional sewer options.
Planning-and-Zoning Chair Kehlani Ludlow told the council that the commission has been refining code language on family food production, hammerheads and developer water delivery, and that the next PNZ meeting will present draft language for council review.
Ludlow and other council members discussed regulatory obstacles to multiunit housing in Mendon, including Bear River Health requirements that typically require one septic system per unit and substantial open-area allocations per dwelling unit. Council members said these on-site septic and soil constraints make fourplexes or higher-density multiunit structures expensive or infeasible in many locations.
"You have to have a specific amount of open area per unit...the problem is that it gets so expensive for a fourplex that it really doesn't the numbers just don't work out for a fourplex out here," Ludlow said.
Council members also talked about state pressure to allow more low-income and higher-density housing in municipalities that have available water, and the mayor reported preliminary discussions with Wellsville City about sewer regionalization. The mayor warned that tertiary treatment will be required for any discharge to Cutler Reservoir because phosphorus allocations are already assigned, which would increase treatment costs.
Ending: The council asked planning and zoning to continue refining code language related to accessory dwelling units and developer requirements; the mayor and staff said they will continue preliminary talks with Wellsville about sewer options, with no agreements reached at the meeting.
