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Board discusses 20-year sanitary-code overhaul and approves minor fee and refund-policy updates
Summary
Tompkins County health staff outlined comprehensive sanitary-code revisions (first update in about 20 years) and recommended chunked board review leading to a single public hearing; the board also approved minor fee changes and shortened the permit-refund window from six to three months.
Tompkins County health staff told the Board of Health that they are preparing a comprehensive revision of the county sanitary code — the first substantive update in roughly 20 years — and asked the board how it wants to review the changes.
Staff said the proposed revisions would address on-site wastewater rules, alignment with state definitions (for example, units in mobile-home parks), and a possible new transfer-notification program to flag on-site sewage and water-supply conditions during real-estate transactions. Because the changes require review by county attorneys and planning, staff recommended presenting code sections in manageable "chunks" at regular meetings, with a single public hearing on the completed revised code (likely targeted for 2027).
Board members preferred periodic chunked reviews while retaining a sense of the overall package to avoid re-opening settled items later. Members said they did not want routine subcommittee meetings for the work but supported broken-up presentations and asked staff to prioritize corrections that are urgent or clearly out of date.
Separately the board approved two administrative items: minor fee adjustments (reducing on-site wastewater permit renewal from $80 to $50 and swapping late/expedited fees to $50 and $75 respectively) and a revised refund policy that shortens the allowable refund request window from six months to three months for permits. Staff said the date references in the refund policy document would be updated to reflect the June 2026 meeting.
Staff will return with prioritized sections of the draft sanitary-code amendments, implementation timelines, and a plan for the required public hearing when the package is ready for formal notice.
