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Red dot delay restriction may be tweaked
By Pru Sowers
Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN — The water and sewer board may overturn an unexpected hardship caused by restrictions put on “red dot delay” properties.
Under current town bylaw, the remaining 34 red dot delay properties — properties that have been allowed to delay hooking up to the municipal sewer system — must connect if the property is sold, the on-site septic system fails or if a building permit is pulled. It’s that last restriction that has brought complaints from some of the red dot delay property owners. A building permit is required for even normal maintenance, such as replacing a window.
Astrid Berg, owner of Pepe’s Wharf Restaurant, complained earlier to selectmen that under a negotiated settlement with the state over her Chapter 91 license, she has agreed to increase public access to the shoreline from her property. As a result, she needs to pull a building permit for the alterations, which would have required her to connect the waterfront restaurant to the sewer system.
“I have to take off part of my decking on the first floor. I’m not changing the use or increasing the use or changing the footprint. It’s ridiculous,” she said.
Jonathan Sinaiko, board chair, agreed that the building permit restriction was not intended to apply to routine maintenance but to major renovations such as adding a dormer or an addition. The thinking behind the requirement was that if a property owner had enough money to pay for major construction, she or he could afford to hook up to the sewer system.
“It wasn’t intended for maintenance,” Sinaiko said. “Unfortunately people make mistakes, including me.”
As a result, the water and sewer board intends to look at amending the rule, perhaps by specifying a specific dollar amount on the permit. Sinaiko mentioned $200,000 as a potential threshold for the connection requirement to kick in.
However, the board’s best intentions might be thwarted by the current bylaw. Sinaiko said he had been told by town counsel that the building permit restriction may have set a precedent that cannot be amended or reversed. If any property owner previously connected to the sewer system because they pulled a building permit, it might be unfair to change that restriction for other residents, Sinaiko said. Town counsel is researching the issue and will report to water and sewer board members.
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Sep 6th, 2007