Auburn council tables vote on Lake Auburn septic standards

AUBURN — City officials will wait until at least June to consider an updated septic ordinance at Lake Auburn.

The council on Monday voted unanimously to postpone the vote after several council members said they were not ready to go ahead without further consideration from the planning committee as well as the adviser who issued a report on the lake last year.

Earlier this month, the council signaled its support for the septic design updates, which would allow owners to use alternative soils when designing septic systems – something that was not allowed in the watershed but also restricted development in the watershed Has.

While city officials and employees said the updated standards will result in better-performing sewage systems, some argued the changes should be tied to development restrictions, as the new ordinance could allow for some level of increased development.

In response to the concerns, the planning board recommended that the city move to a minimum lot size of 3 acres in the watershed, and city officials said last week a consultant from FB Environmental had been hired to conduct a new round of modeling based on the proposed ones changes.

While the original report included modeling that predicted the construction of about 100 homes under certain scenarios, officials say the number would be drastically reduced due to larger lot sizes.

But councilors said Monday they would await those dates, as well as the planning committee’s actions on the zoning change, before voting.

Prior to Council Member Dana Staples’ submission of the motion, several members of the public spoke about the proposal.

Bruce Rioux asked who would benefit from the change, arguing that only a small group of landowners who were suddenly likely to develop would benefit. Rioux, like others, said he was concerned Auburn would lose its filtration waiver and be forced to build a costly filtration facility.

“The total number of people who will benefit from this can be counted on two hands,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff in Auburn that stinks, but none of it has to do with sewage treatment.”

Officials, including Mayor Jason Levesque, have argued that the new standards, combined with the phosphorus control standards approved Monday, will provide a net benefit to the lake even with a small number of new homes.

The council on Monday unanimously backed new phosphorus control measures that require the submission of a phosphorus control plan for every new building or structure larger than 200 square feet.

Levesque said much of what he’s heard about the process recently has been “rumours, untruths and slanders about who will benefit. The vast majority is untrue.”

Staples said he wants to see the new modeling from FB Environmental before making a decision. And, he said, if they think more housing will come, he wants to know, “what’s the impact?”

“I don’t feel 100% okay with that until we’re told we’re not going to lose the (waiver of filtration),” Councilor Leroy Walker said.

Planning and permitting director Eric Cousens said staff recently wrote to the Maine Drinking Water Program regarding the changes but were not given a “final opinion” or position. He said the city plans to rebroadcast a request based on the latest proposals.

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