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Board begins review of fee schedule and discusses implications of ADU rules; no vote taken
Summary
The Lakeville Board of Health reviewed comparative fee schedules and discussed raising selected fees — notably camp permits — and the coming wave of accessory dwelling unit (ADU) questions under new state guidance; no fee changes were voted and staff will return with proposals and cost estimates for a public hearing.
Ed presented a comparison of Lakeville’s current public-health fees with neighboring towns and recommended the board consider updates. He noted some fees are substantially lower than comparable communities; as an example he pointed out the town’s camp permit fee is $10 despite a substantial staff time burden to review and inspect camps under current state requirements.
"Our permit for camps is $10. We put in about 10 hours to permit those camps," Ed said, noting the current fee does not reflect staff time. Board members agreed the low fees warrant a systematic review but that any changes would require a public hearing and select board action. The board discussed steps: staff will calculate estimated staff time and comparable town totals, propose revised fees, and bring a package back for a public hearing.
The board also discussed the arrival of new state ADU guidance and how it could affect septic permitting. Members noted the town has few public water connections and that ADU approvals may raise complex septic, zoning and curb-cut questions. Board members suggested handling ADU septic decisions on a case-by-case basis and flagged potential topics for fee consideration (e.g., separate septic-permit fees for ADUs or requirements for separate tanks in some circumstances). Ed noted pending DEP guidance expected imminently and said staff would monitor state changes before drafting local fee/regulatory proposals.
No votes were taken on fee changes. The board asked staff to prepare a fee revision proposal, including time-cost estimates and comparisons to neighboring towns, for discussion at a future meeting and eventual public hearing.
