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Falmouth Board approves septic upgrade with coastal-bank setback reduction, requires deed restriction
Summary
The board approved a renovation at 57 Captains Lane with setback variances from the coastal bank, finding the proposed Title 5-compliant replacement is an improvement but requiring a deed restriction limiting the property to three bedrooms and standard IA conditions if sewer does not arrive.
The Falmouth Board of Health voted to approve a septic-system renovation at 57 Captains Lane that requires setback reductions from the coastal bank, with conditions including a deed restriction limiting future bedroom count to three. Engineer Mike Borselli told the board the existing system is substandard and in portions seaward of the coastal bank; his plan replaces the tank and leaching field and, he said, would reduce total daily flow compared with current conditions.
Borselli described the coastal-bank area as a gradual yard slope that meets the definition of a coastal bank but has minimal ecological function and is not actively eroding. "The actual existing house ... existing septic system that serves that house sit on what would meet the definition of a coastal bank," he said. Members questioned buoyancy calculations and whether an innovative/alternative (IA) nitrogen-reduction system should be required; the presenter offered to provide buoyancy data and accepted a deed restriction and a condition that the system be sized and conditioned so that an IA can be added or sewer installed in the future. The board voted to accept the proposal "as it states" with the standard set of conditions and a deed restriction capping the property at three bedrooms.
Why this matters: The vote allows the owner to replace a substandard system and reduces current daily flow while the deed restriction and monitoring give the board a mechanism to protect coastal resources and future watershed-based sewer planning. The board signaled the installation should be designed to accept future IA retrofit or sewer connection if required.
