Title
Discussion and action regarding Water Service Line Extension on Peachtree Drive-Variance Request
Body
SUMMARY: On March 16, 2023 the Crossville Regional Planning Commission met for its monthly meeting and discussed a variance request. A property owner on Peachtree Drive is requesting a variance to the City’s Policy for Water and Sewer Line Extensions and the Water and Sewer Main Line Extension Ordinance (18-107). Peachtree Drive is in a failed subdivision, a portion of Hide A Way Hills.
The property owner is requesting to set a meter at the end of the existing water line and run a 1-inch service line to be installed along the unimproved right-of-way of Peachtree Drive, approximately 700 feet from the existing water line to their property at their expense. This private service line would be in lieu of a mainline extension as would be required by the aforementioned ordinance and policy.
If a main water line were to be extended into a failed subdivision with a potential high number of buildable lots, a minimum of a 6-inch line would be needed to provide adequate fire protection, as well as water service.
If the property owner wants to run a private line, the required criteria of permission from the county or private easements would have to be provided BEFORE the City could even consider the proposed private line extension, which has not fully been granted. Attached is an email staff received from the County Mayor Foster. Planning Staff then reached out to the County Planner to fully explain the situation and the City’s need for a more defined answer. In addition to the missing criteria, the statement of, “Private lines will not be approved in an existing subdivision,” does not differentiate between a failed subdivision or not.
The policy states, “Unless otherwise approved by City Council, service line will extend no further than 75’ from a utility main line.” This request is almost 10 times the allowed distance.
The policy gives a path forward for the extensions of water lines into a failed subdivision. The reason and purpose of the policy is to prevent a “cluster” of water meters and service lines extending down unimproved rights-of-way. It does appear that two meters have been placed at the end of the main utility and service lines have been extended approximately 190 feet and 280 feet. However, there are a potential 14 other lots between the end of the main line utility and the property currently requesting a service line variance. Beyond the requesting property are a great many more properties.
Attached are the full copies of the Ordinance and Policy pertaining to this request, as well as an email with the request.
After reviewing and discussing this request, three motions were made by Planning Commission members. The first motion was to not recommend this request by the property owner for approval by Council. A second motion was made to recommend to Council to approve a new variance if the property owner obtained an easement from a neighbor to run a meter to an existing waterline on Sycamore Drive. The third and final motion made was to recommend to Council a long term solution to amend the water and sewer mainline extension ordinance and policy for special tap fees for water.
Recommended Action
NECESSARY COUNCIL ACTION: Approve or deny the request.