Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident’s request for new culinary water service postponed while council checks sewer feasibility
Summary
KC Larson told the council he wants an additional culinary water meter to split his property; the council postponed action for two weeks and directed staff to shoot sewer-line grades to determine whether a sewer connection is feasible and whether the ordinance requires connection to sewer.
KC Larson spoke to Mount Pleasant’s City Council on July 22 seeking a new culinary water service and meter to split his property and build a shop. Larson told the council he and family members have lived on the property since the 1980s and said he and his partner installed a main water line decades ago and that four meters are currently served from that line.
Council members reviewed the city ordinance that governs culinary water connections outside city limits, which requires (in part) that new culinary water connections also include a connection to the city sewer system if feasible. Several council members expressed concern about setting a precedent by relaxing sewer-connection requirements and discussed the possibility of a hardship appeal to the board of adjustments if sewer physics (grades and elevation) make a sewer tie-in impossible.
Because the feasibility of a sewer tie-in was unclear, council directed staff to "pop the sewer"—to locate the nearest sewer and shoot grades toward Larson’s property to determine whether a gravity connection or a pump station would be required. The council made and seconded a motion (moved by Kate, seconded by Lynn in the meeting record) to postpone a final decision while staff evaluates sewer grades and prepares a written request that aligns with ordinance procedures. The item will return to council in two weeks with the engineering grades and a written application.
Larson emphasized he wants to do the work "the right way," described constraints with a septic system on the existing parcel layout, and noted he is willing to accept annexation conditions if annexation becomes necessary. Council members repeatedly raised concerns about fairness and about creating a standard that other applicants might cite in the future.
Next steps: staff will locate the sewer, shoot grades toward the property, and report back at the next meeting so the council can apply the ordinance consistently and determine whether a hardship adjustment or board-of-adjustments review is appropriate.
