Compromise Would Ease Sewer Cost To Developers Of Small Subdivisions

Some Spokane Valley landowners could get a reprieve from county sewer restrictions if officials approve a compromise.

County Utilities Director Bruce Rawls said a change he proposed last month would allow some people to build small subdivisions that are not connected to sewer.

Right now, Spokane County requires all new buildings inside the urban growth area - where dense development must take place under the state’s Growth Management Act - to connect to sewer immediately.

Rawls said under his proposal people who own about five acres or less could receive approval to build subdivisions that have a community septic system to treat wastewater. They would have to build the sewer connections to each home but they would be capped until the main sewer lines were extended into the area. That would save the developers the high cost of extending lines to their subdivision right away.

He said he hopes it will help those who bought a small chunk of land they expected to develop and sell to pay for their retirement.

“This doesn’t apply to that many people,” Rawls said. Officials are still trying to count the lots that could be affected by the change.

“My instinct is maybe there would be 10 to 20 per year or fewer,” he said this week at a Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce meeting. The change could balance the county’s commitment to eliminate septic systems over the aquifer with people’s right to use their land, Rawls said. It wouldn’t have a serious effect on the aquifer because the county is connecting about 2,000 homes and businesses to the sewer system every year, he added.

Rawls introduced the proposal to a steering committee of Spokane County officials last month. The committee is made up of Spokane County commissioners, officials from the city of Spokane and elected officials from small towns around the county.

The steering committee is expected to revisit the proposal at its meeting in January. At the last meeting, confusion ensued when the group voted on whether to revisit the planning policy for sewers. Nine of the steering committee’s 12 members must agree to revisit a countywide planning policy before it can be changed.

Commissioner Kate McCaslin, who was acting chairwoman at the meeting, recorded the vote as 9-0 in favor of reviewing the policy. However, at least two committee members said they voted against considering the proposal.

County commissioners would have the final say on any change to the policy on sewers.

Rawls also told Valley Chamber members that residents should consider the wastewater treatment capacity concerns as they discuss forming a new city in the Spokane Valley.

Right now, Spokane County wastewater - about 6 million gallons a day - is sent to the city’s treatment plant. The county has an agreement with the city to treat up to 10 million gallons of waste per day. However, the county expects to need more capacity by the end of 2007.

Rawls said the county is in the process of considering several alternatives for sewer treatment, including expanding the city’s plant, building a new treatment plant in north Spokane or the Spokane Valley, or building several smaller plants around the county.

The new city would have to decide whether to take over the county’s sewer program in the Valley or contract for the service.

This sidebar appeared with the story: More hearings

County officials will hold a second round of public hearings on the planning for wastewater treatment in January. At the meeting, officials will give residents and business owners an update on the alternatives and take public comments. One of the meetings will be held in the Valley at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10 at North Pines Junior High School, 701 N. Pines Road.