Residents ask to reconfigure adjacent lots; meeting leaders advise checking health department septic rules

Austin and Rachel Dixon told meeting attendees they would like to adjust the boundary between two adjacent lots so the vacant parcel would reach the minimum lot size required for a building permit.

The Dixons said the two lots are recorded by the county at roughly 0.36 and 0.38 acres and that moving the dividing line “a tiny bit” would make the vacant parcel about 0.41 acres, the figure several attendees said is the bare minimum cited by the health department for an on-site septic system.

A staff member and other meeting participants urged the Dixons to consult the health department before expending further time and money on engineering work. The staff member said the health department’s minimum for separate septic systems is roughly 18,000 square feet (about 0.41 acre) and noted that altering lot lines could eliminate any grandfathered status for the existing house’s septic arrangements.

The Dixons said the house on the occupied lot currently has two septic systems because a prior addition added plumbing, and they are exploring whether the older systems could be modernized or consolidated. They said they are having the parcel surveyed and would prefer to know whether pursuing a boundary adjustment is feasible before commissioning detailed plans.

Meeting participants raised practical constraints. A staff member warned that creating a new, smaller buildable lot could set a precedent for allowing reduced-acreage lots elsewhere, and several speakers said the county could refuse a split if the lots cannot meet the health department’s spacing and sizing requirements for separate septic systems.

The presiding official said the body could not grant a tentative approval at this meeting because the matter was not on the agenda; staff suggested placing the request on next month’s agenda if the Dixons want to proceed. Meeting participants also suggested the Dixons contact the health department to confirm where leach lines and septic tanks sit and whether the department would permit separate systems or require consolidation.

Participants discussed alternatives the Dixons might consider, including selling the back parcel or building an accessory dwelling unit that could share septic service; the Dixons said they were not planning an ADU and prefer to sell the rear lot or build a new house there.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve the agenda — motion made and seconded; voice vote, passed (no roll call recorded). - Motion to approve minutes for June 12 — motion made and seconded; voice vote, passed (no roll call recorded). - Motion to adjourn — motion made and seconded; voice vote, passed (no roll call recorded).

The Dixons said they will contact the health department, obtain a survey and return for a future agenda item if the agency indicates the lot split might be possible.