Letter | Can Greene County’s infrastructure support any more building?

The subdivision ordinance requires, as a condition of preliminary subdivision review, letters from the county certifying that the “existing” (not planned) public water and sewer systems “can [not may] adequately serve the proposed subdivision.”

It is my understanding that upwards of 2,500 new dwelling units (give or take 1,000?) have received at least preliminary approval from the Planning Commission. Unless the county has chosen to ignore its own subdivision ordinance, it must therefore have certified that its existing water and sewer systems can meet the needs of all those new units.

Based on the recent letter from the state health department, it appears that the county’s water and sewer systems can barely meet the needs of current users, let alone the thousands of new units that have received preliminary (if not final) approval.

So I have the following questions, which I trust you’ll answer at your next meeting:

1. Is the county legally obligated to furnish public water and sewer services to those projects for which the Planning Commission has issued its preliminary approval under the subdivision ordinance?

2. If the answer to No. 1 is yes and the county does not meet that obligation, what is the extent of the county’s legal exposure and does it have insurance to cover the loss?

3. If the county elects to fulfill that obligation, what will be the cost and how will it be met? What portion, if any, will be imposed upon taxpayers who are not within the water and sewer service areas, and who will not be serviced by the additional facilities?

I realize the answers to these questions (particularly Nos. 2 and 3) may require some time to answer, but I think they go to the very heart of what your board is now wrestling with — especially in light of the health department’s recent letter. If the answer to question No.1 is no, then I’d imagine you have far greater latitude in dealing with the issues before you.