11-26-1990 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Septic System Management Program August 24, 1990 Page 5 of 16 The Orono Comprehensive Land Use Management Plan is keyed toward preservation of Lake Minnetonka by allowing only low density development in the areas away from the Lake. To a great extent, the success of that Land Use Plan relies on the ability of the City to avoid installation of municipal sewers. The City's committment to protection and preservation of Orono's unique natural resources, coupled with land use, utility, and transportation policies geared toward low density development, all rely to a great degree on treatment and disposal of sewage on individual properties without the need for municipal sewers. If septic systems in rural Orono don't work, the City will be forced to install municipal sewers, which will ultimately lead to the higher density development which the City is attempting to avoid. Metropolitan Council Requirements The Metropolitan Council recently amended its guidelines for reviewing-'local comprehensive plans and plan amendments. Those guidelines require local controls including biennial inspection and maintenance of existing systems. While Orono's code would appear to generally meet the Metropolitan Council criteria, in actual practice the requirements of the code have not been effectively carried out. Perceived Problems with Current Program Status In order t^ provide a better perspective on the current status of the program, I would make the following comments. 1. Record keeping, requiring approximately 1 hour per new system (to assemble data to create inventory cards, mail out inspection reports, etc.) has been in a '*catch-up" mode for the last 5 years. Because of this, records have been lost in a few cases. Translation of information has often been inconsistent and less than thorough due to multiple staff member involvement in the plan approval/inspection/ record keeping process. V'