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Pine County board reviews septic ordinance changes to ease lot splits; zoning board to hold public hearing
Summary
County staff proposed administrative-variance language to allow certain unplatted lot splits without proving two Type 1 septic sites, suggesting consistent countywide thresholds (a 1.5-acre buildable-area recommendation); board directed zoning board to refine language and schedule a public hearing.
County administrators presented proposed updates to Pine County—s subsurface sewage treatment ordinance aimed at reducing the burden on property owners who seek to split lots but cannot demonstrate two Type 1 septic sites.
Kelly Schroeder, county administrator, told the board that "Minnesota rule 70 80 0 100 sub part 3 f states that any new lots of record created after 01/23/1996 must have a minimum of 2 soil treatment areas that can support a type 1 septic system." Schroeder said many existing lots in Pine County routinely use Type 3 mound systems, which require more sand and have different limiting conditions than Type 1 systems, creating situations where designers must bore widely across a parcel just to demonstrate two potential Type 1 sites.
To address that, the zoning board drafted language for an administrative-variance procedure. Under the draft, unplatted minor subdivisions of 2.5 to 4.99 acres would need 60% buildable area demonstrated via wetland delineation, while new lots larger than 5 acres would need at least 1 acre of buildable area. Several commissioners questioned the inconsistency between the thresholds and suggested a single consistent countywide requirement of 1.5 acres of buildable land for small-lot splits.
Commissioners debated whether wetland delineations should be required for smaller lots or whether staff should rely on soil borings and licensed septic designers. Schroeder said the county currently relies on soil-boring logs submitted by licensed designers and that site visits are not performed for every minor subdivision, although a site-visit process could be added at the cost of extra steps in the subdivision review.
Board members requested the zoning board consider a consistent standard (commissioners favored an across-the-board 1.5-acre threshold) and scheduled the ordinance language for further zoning-board review and a public hearing before adoption. Schroeder noted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and other agencies had proposed additional edits that the county would review with the zoning board before public notice.
No ordinance amendment was adopted at the meeting; the board directed staff to return revised language to the zoning board and to proceed to a public hearing.
