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Board directs staff to survey undevelopable parcels and study septic alternatives instead of pursuing a LAMP now
Summary
After a detailed briefing on the Local Area Management Plan (LAMP) and its staffing, monitoring and enforcement obligations, the Trinity County Board directed staff to run a targeted survey of realtors, septic contractors and developers to collect APN-specific barriers and to report alternatives (incinerators, composting toilets, regional board repair pathways) within about 60 days, rather than adopting a LAMP immediately.
Trinity County Environmental Health presented a multi-hour review of the Local Area Management Plan (LAMP) concept and recommended the county not pursue a LAMP at this time, citing staffing limits, long-term monitoring and enforcement costs, and uncertain applicant numbers.
Environmental Health staff explained that a LAMP authorizes advanced onsite systems in constrained areas but requires annual water-quality assessments, five-year evaluations, increased staffing, tracking and enforcement resources. The staff example showed the county's Adult Protective and environmental workloads were already at capacity and noted two recent denials in Lewiston where parcels either did not perk or were within sewer district boundaries.
Kelsey Cody, supervising environmental scientist with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, told the board the regional board can authorize repairs that substantially conform to the statewide onsite policy, but the board typically avoids imposing state-level enforcement on individual homeowners because the state's enforcement tools (civil liabilities, cleanup orders) are geared toward large dischargers.
Public commenters, contractors and developers urged the board to pursue flexible alternatives to preserve the ability to develop housing and ADUs on constrained lots: suggestions included composting and incinerating toilets, community or clustered wastewater, using consultants to build a phased program, and exploring regional-board repair approvals. Contractors said an active program would support housing and private investment in the county.
After discussion, the board directed staff to prepare a targeted survey of realtors, septic installers, developers and property owners to gather APN-level details (setback problems, perk results and other constraints), to research alternatives such as whole-house incinerators and composting systems, and to consult the regional board on repair pathways in the absence of a LAMP. Staff estimated the initial survey and analysis would take roughly ten staff-hours and requested up to 60 days to return with results.
