TOWN OF
BOARD OF APPEALS RESOLUTION 2011 - 01
CONCERNING THE REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT
OF CERTAIN EXISTING,
FAILING, PRIVATE ON-SITE WASTEWATER TREATMENT
SYSTEM
IN THE
OVERLAY DISTRICT IN THE TOWN OF
WHEREAS, St. Croix County
("County") and the Town of Troy ("Town") have enacted and
enforce separate zoning ordinances regulating land use and structures in the
Lower St. Croix River Rural Residential Management Overlay District (the "District");
and
WHEREAS, the County treats private
on-site waste water management systems ("POWTS") as a use accessory
to a single-family home while the Town treats such POWTS as accessory
structures; and
WHEREAS, because of this distinction
and because of the zoning regulations protecting slope preservations zones, the
repair or replacement of POWTS in certain areas of the District will require a
Town variance plus County zoning and sanitary permits; and
WHEREAS, the soils, surface and
ground waters in the District are best protected by the prompt and responsible
review process, followed by the repair to or replacement of an existing, failed
residential POWTS.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, THAT:
A) Owners
of property located in the Town's Lower St. Croix River Rural Residential
Management District ("the District") that is:
1. Used for single family residential
purposes;
2. Has a failing POWTS that requires
repair or replacement; and
3. Requires a variance from the
requirements of the Town's St. Croix Riverway Zoning Ordinance
("LRZO") to undertake the required POWTS repairs or replacement
because the POWTS is:
a) located in slope preservation zones; or
b) otherwise determined to be a
non-conforming accessory structure under the LRZO;
may henceforth receive a variance for
that purpose without a hearing before the Board of Appeals on their specific
application, following an administrative determination by the Town Engineer
that the application meets all the criteria, findings and conclusions set out
in this Resolution and the LRZO.
Property owners seeking to use this procedure shall first provide the
Town Engineer with the information and documentation required under paragraph
B) of this Resolution. The Town Engineer
must be able to determine from the materials provided by the applicant that all
applicable requirements of the LRZO will be met before, during and after POWTS
repair or replacement in order to issue the variance authorized by this
Resolution.
B) Property
owners seeking a variance through the procedure in this resolution must provide
the Town Clerk/Treasurer with the required fee and two copies of the following
information and documentation:
1. The County/State sanitary permit and
County land use permit authorizing the repair or replacement of the existing,
failed, residential POWTS;
2. All site plans and detailed scale
drawings of the area served by the existing, failed, residential POWTS and
provided to the County;
3. The grading and erosion control plans
showing grading limits and provided to the County;
4.
The vegetation plan provided to
the County;
5. The project contractor's project
schedule; and
6. At
least six different ground level photographs of the existing vegetation in the
project area and the property and that clearly identify all proposed changes to
the existing vegetation as a result of the project.
C) The
Board of Appeals hereby delegates its authority under LRZO section 171-M.2. to
the Town Engineer, to issue variances for the repair or replacement of failing
single family POWTS anywhere in the District when the Town Engineer is able to
determine from the application materials provided that before, during and after
the repair or replacement of the existing, failed, residential POWTS:
1. The filling and grading activities
described in the application will disturb less than 10,000 square feet of area
in any slope preservation zone;
2.
No wetlands will be filled or
graded;
3.
All vegetation removed during any
filling and grading is replaced with native vegetation;
4.
All filling and grading activities
are designed and will be implemented in a manner that will minimize erosion,
sedimentation and impairment of fish and wildlife habitat;
5.
All filling and grading is
visually inconspicuous and;
6. As part of an erosion control plan for
the site, all applicable portions of the Wisconsin
Construction Site Erosion Technical Standards and Wisconsin Post-Construction Stormwater Technical Standards as
included in Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Stormwater Management Standards are implemented to control erosion.
D) In
support of its delegation of authority to the Town Engineer to administratively
issue variances for the repair or replacement of existing, failed, residential
POWTS meeting the criteria set forth in this Resolution, the Board of Appeals
finds and concludes that when a LRZO variance is sought to repair or replace an
existing, failing single family residential POWTS under the circumstances
described in paragraph A) of this Resolution:
1. Expedited processing by the Town that
follows County sanitary and land use permit issuance for the same purpose is
not contrary to the public interest and supports the responsible continuation
of a pre-existing use by allowing for the repair or replacement of a failed,
residential POWTS presently serving a residence.
2. The inability to use a single family
residence when an existing POWTS fails is a special condition such that literal
LRZO enforcement by following the full variance procedure upon receipt of a
County sanitary permit and land use permit for the same purpose can result in
unnecessary hardship to the residents and the delay can increase the risk of
surface, groundwater and River water pollution.
3. Requiring full compliance with Town
LRZO regulations after receiving a County sanitary and land use permit for
POWTS repair or replacement is unduly burdensome because of the surface,
groundwater and River water pollution that can occur during the additional Town
review period otherwise required.
4. Prompt repair or replacement of a
failed, existing, residential POWTS puts property in compliance with other
important state and local regulations designed to protect surface, ground and
river water from pollution and, in that way, protects the public interest and
that of adjacent property owners and protects the scenic, recreational and
natural values of the
E) As
additional support for its delegation of authority to the Town Engineer to
administratively issue qualifying variances, the Board of Appeals finds and
concludes that when a LRZO variance is sought to repair or replace an existing,
failing, single family residential POWTS under the circumstances described in
paragraph A) of this Resolution:
1.
The lengthy County and Town review
procedures required effectively and unreasonably prevent property owners from
use of their property for a permitted purpose and in that way create hardship.
2.
The public interest is not harmed
if this Board of Appeals prospectively authorizes variances for any single
family residence whose POWTS requires repair or replacement and delegates to
the Town Engineer the authority to issue the variance under the circumstances
described in this Resolution, where doing so allows an existing use to continue
without expansion and since current standards for the operation of a
residential POWTS are such that the surface, ground and River waters will be
better protected after repair or replacement than if the existing, failed
system is not repaired or replaced.
3.
The information requirements for
administrative variance processing as set forth herein provide sufficient
information to allow for an administrative determination that the applicable
core concerns of the Ordinance will be met in individual cases.
4.
A repaired or replacement
single-family residential POWTS is visually inconspicuous from the River due to
the nature of the structure's installation underground, and the requirements of
vegetation plans.
5. Best management practices concerning
erosion control and surface water degradation are followed when the plans
required by this Resolution are followed and a failing single family POWTS is
installed or repaired in accordance therewith.
6.
The effect on the neighborhood is
positive and property values are stabilized when the adverse effects of an
existing, failed, residential POWTS are promptly repaired or the system
replaced.
F) The
regular LRZO application review fee should be paid to the Town Clerk/Treasurer
for the administrative processing by the Town Engineer of an application for a
variance for the repair or replacement of an existing, failed residential
POWTS. The concept review fee should be
waived.
G) The
Town Engineer is authorized to issue the variance authorized by this Resolution
on behalf of the Board of Appeals only for those applications that meet all
standards and requirements in paragraphs A), B), and C) of this Resolution,
including all qualifying and pending applications at the time the Resolution is
approved. All other applications to repair
or replace an existing, failed, residential POWTS shall be decided by the Board
of Appeals.
H) The
Town Engineer shall provide a report to the Board of Appeals on the
administration of this delegation of authority to issue variances for the
repair or replacement of existing, failed residential POWTS during October of
2012, with any recommendations for improvement of the process.
I) This
procedure can be used only for a stand-alone project for the repair or
replacement of existing, failed, residential POWTS.
Dated this _______ day of
_____________, 2011.
Approval by the Board of
Appeals:
_____________________________________
Raymond H. Knapp, Chair