Board grants septic-system variance for Alex Lang’s 11.33-acre parcel

The Morrison County Board of Adjustment on June 23 granted a variance allowing Alex Lang to develop an 11.33-acre parcel using a type‑3 (mound) septic system after staff said soils on the parcel do not provide the minimum separation required for a type‑1 system.

Amy, land services staff, told the board that state rules and county practice require at least 12 inches of separation between the soil surface and the seasonally high water table for a type‑1 drainfield; the on-site test found only about 4 inches of separation, so a type‑3 mound system is necessary. The parcel was created in 2007 (split from a larger parcel) before the county required soil-boring documentation for new lots; the state standard for separation has been in place since 1996.

Board members who inspected the site and reviewed the packet generally agreed the lot is suitable for a home and that a type‑3 system is a reasonable accommodation where soils do not support a type‑1 system. "I think for going for a type three for this one, I think when we look at the site... this does meet that," one member said during the finding-of-fact discussion.

The board voted unanimously to answer the required findings of fact in the affirmative and approved the variance. Staff instructed Lang to submit the septic design and permit documentation to Land Services to proceed with permit processing.

Next steps: applicant to provide final septic design and building square-footage to Land Services to obtain permits and clear the prior hold on processing.