City to tighten water/sewer connection rules

The Statesville City Council is poised Monday evening to adopt more stringent rules governing water and sewer connections.

The rules would require that all habitable buildings connect to the city’s public water system and that all new nonresidential buildings and subdivisions with more than 10 lots must connect to the city sewer system. Previously, only buildings located within 400 feet of an existing sewer main were required to connect.

If the regulations are adopted Monday, as expected, any exceptions will have to be approved by the council itself before development plans are approved. The changes were requested by the council in the wake of a recent hearing on a new Dollar General Store, which sought approval to install septic tanks instead of connecting to the city sanitary sewer system.

“This law reflects the stated sentiment of the council’s majority,” said Planning Director David Currier. “That is, if you are going to build in our city, then you should be using the city’s water and sewer systems.”

Not everyone agrees with the city’s approach. At the first reading on the new measure held Jan. 14, builder Howard Bryan urged the council not to adopt the new law. “This will only complicate the current system, which is working well. It will be confusing to businesses and cost them more time ... just another impediment to bringing new business into Statesville.”

However, the council voted unanimously to approve the new law and scheduled the final reading for Feb. 4. If approved, it will go into effect immediately.

Also at the January meeting, the council:

• Approved spending $5,376 from insurance proceeds to repair a damaged Statesville police car. The vehicle was involved in a chase on Broom Street in November, and as it approached the dead end, it slid on leaves in the roadway, rolling over. The officer was not injured.

• Adopted the State’s Department of Cultural Resources Records Retention and Disposition Schedule. According to Assistant City Manager Lynne Smith, without approving this schedule, the city would be obligated to obtain the state’s permission to destroy any record, no matter how insignificant.