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Dennis Board of Health approves multiple septic variances and plan modifications with conditions
Summary
At its May 14 meeting the Dennis Board of Health approved several septic variances and plan modifications for projects across Dennis, including voluntary upgrades and new construction, attaching conditions such as no garbage disposals, water-saving devices and recorded deed restrictions limiting bedroom counts.
The Dennis Board of Health on May 14 approved a slate of septic variances and plan modifications across town, requiring engineers and property owners to meet specified conditions before systems may be placed into service.
Asa Mintz of AJM Site Design presented a voluntary upgrade for 25 New Boston Road that replaces the 1982 system with a 2,000-gallon septic tank, 1,000-gallon pump chamber and a 54.5-by-11-foot pipe-and-stone leaching field sized for four bedrooms. The Board granted variances for setbacks and groundwater separation and approved the application “with the following conditions: No garbage disposal; water-saving devices installed and verified by the Health Department; no alteration of the floor plan without further Board review; exposed retaining walls finished with soil or vegetative cover; variances to be recorded at the Registry of Deeds; and a certified as-built plan to be submitted,” the Board recorded. Asa Mintz presented the design and Mr. Covell led the motion sequence; the vote was 4-0.
For 96 Gages Way in South Dennis, the Board approved plans for a new three-bedroom principal dwelling and a two-bedroom accessory dwelling unit (ADU) after the applicant agreed to oversize the septic to show six-bedroom capacity on the plans and accept a deed restriction limiting the property to five total bedrooms and prohibiting short-term rentals. Member Chamberlain asked specifically about the “bonus room” qualifying as a bedroom; Mr. Mintz said the design could not exceed five bedrooms under the 440 rule and proposed a deed restriction as a remedy. The motion carried 4-0.
Other approvals included finishing basement space at a multiunit property at 992 U-H Route 134 in East Dennis (owner Damian Grozier) with revised floor-plan requirements, and approval for demolition and rebuild of a three-bedroom home at 48 Arrowhead Drive (presented by Dan Ojala of Down Cape Engineering). For each approval the Board attached standard conditions—no garbage disposals, required water-saving devices, submission of certified as-built plans and recording of conditions at the Registry of Deeds.
The Board also approved modifications to previously authorized plans at 544 Old Chatham Road (adjusted floor area and a MicroFAST .5 internal unit with UV disinfection) and an updated septic tank/pump-chamber location at 20 Oak Street, Dennisport, that improved a granted setback variance and retained a two-bedroom restriction. Both motions carried unanimously.
Most approvals reiterated the Board’s operating standard: requiring as-built plans, restrictions where necessary to keep nitrogen loadings and bedroom counts within approved limits and documented operation and maintenance agreements for alternative systems.
The Board’s actions reference state and local code including Title 5 (310 CMR 15.000) and the Town of Dennis Regulations for Subsurface Disposal of Sewage.
