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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-09-20; City Council; 7507; Request to address City Council: Mr. ConstansRB# 73-07 MTG. 9/20/83 DEPT. ENG RECOMMENDED ACTION: REQUEST TO ADDRESS CITY COUNCIL - PIR. JOHN N. CONSTANS CITY MOR. a Mr. John N. Constans has requested permission to address the City Council concerning the septic system failure of all four houses within his minor subdivision and the need to connect to the City sewer system. ITEM EXPLANATION: An outline of the problem and possible solutions is contained in the attached memorandum to the City Manager from the Acting City Engineer. EXHIBITS: 1. Letter from Mr. John N. Constans, dated 9/8/83. 2. Location Map 3. Memo to City Manager, dated 9/15/83. -- Joh'.2. Constans 3881 El Camino Real Carlsbad, CA 92008 September 3, 1983 Ph. 729-3891 City Council City of Carlsbad 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, CA 92008 Dear Sirs: The urgency cn your taking innnediate action in providing a functioning sewer line for, at this time, 3061 through 3891 El Camino Real cannot be overemphasized. The four homes involved (valued at approximately $1,000,000) represent a lCO% total septic ,system feilure within one housing development. constructed during the sewer moratorium, and the developer circumvented the sewer constraint b.9 designing seepage pits. ;he city apparently approved these pits based on datg supplied by the developer and his soils eng!neer. The developer was to place a dry sewer line in the access road for future hook-up in the Event the sewer moratorium was lifted and the sewer line extended in El Camino Real. No evidence has been found of this dry 'iewer line, and the developer has disclaimed any responsibility saying that once the "city" has inspected his development and given final approval he is no longer li.jSle, or responsible [see encl. 1 & 2). The digging of "repair" seepage pits has been deemed a waste of time and mot'ey since all contractors contacted would g.ive no guarantees that the repair pits would function properly. In dddition to the daily. inconvenience of having a failed septic system, the pot- ential health and safety hazards are already quite apparent. Health Department for raw sewage coming from one of the affected houses is row a ccmmon occurrance. As those from the City's Planning and Engineering Depts. are well aware, our frustration is extremely high. developer has not helped the situatior). A proposed condominium project at the corner of El Camino Real and Chestnut buoyed all our hopes for a concrete and permanent solution to our dilemma, but that project seenis to be slow in getting off the ground at best ... further adding to our fru: tration. With the Fainy season almost upon us and the inherent problems involved with septic systems, plus the hazards already mentioned, quick action on your part is essential. After exploring every possible solution, from pumping our sewage up to Skyline, to pumping our sewage up the hill to Chestnut, we have been advised that a sewer line placed in El Camino Real flowing down to Tamarack, would be our best remedy. The cost of the installation of a sewer line from Tamarack to these homes would be approximately $100,000. be formed between the property owners and the city for the immediate construction of the sewer line. We feel the cost should be shared with the developer of our subdivision, and all future developments. agree to share a reasonable portion of the expense. We iirgently need your help, and ask that our request be heard at the Septemlier 20, 1983 council meeting. is 729-2364 (evening ft 729-5510) or mys.elf at 729-3391. These homes were Citings by the County Lack of genuine help or even a response from the . ille are reqursting that a special assessment district As our properties would benefit from such a district, we Our contact person is Or. Ellie Wattles, day phone number Sincerely , &fl* /John N. Constans on behalf of the affected property owriers cc: Heinbers of City Council City Engineer Jim Hirschberg, President Carlsbad Board of Realtors Scott Christianson, Attorney at Law ExW3I-r I 3 SEPTEMBER 15, 1983 TO: CITY MANAGER FROM: Acting City Engineer SEWER LINE IN EL CAMINO REAL: REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE BY JOHN N. CONSTANS Mr. Constans is one of four owners of houses on El Camino Real constructed under Minor Subdivision 381. These houses were built during the sewer moratorium by using septic systems. All four septic systems have now failed and the owners need to connect to the sewer system. The nearest point of connection is El Camino Real and Tamarack Avenue, a distance of 4200 feet. Construction cost is estimated at $105,000. If an assessment district is formed, the assessment and engineering design costs would add an additional $25,000, for a total of $130,000. This line would serve a small area of appproximately 19 parcels with a future housing count of appproximately 42. Seven of the parcels are included in a proposed subdivision at the intersection of El Camino Real and Chestnut Avenue. This project, CT 82-22 (Humphreys) will be considered for a tentative map by the Planning Commission September 28, 1983. One of the conditions of approval of this project is to install the sewer line in El Camino Real to Tamarack Avenue. There is no assurance, however, that the line will actually be built in the near future since the map approval will be good for two years. The fastest (and most expensive) way to get the sewer line built is for Mr. Constans to hire an engineer to design it and then hire a contractor to build it. He may be able to do this as a joint venture with Mr. Humphreys if he will cooperate. If Mr. Humphreys does not contribute, Mr. Constans and his 3 neighbors would have to bear the entire cost. A more economical (and slower) method is to form an assessment district. This permits the spreading of the costs over the district and may be paid off over a period of 10 or 15 years. Forming an assessment district will add about $20,000 to the costs of the project. EXHIBIT 3 cc 2 "d SEPTEMBER 15, 1983 ASSISTANCE FOR MR. CONSTANS Page 2 If Mr. Constans wishes to form an assessment district, his first step is to get affected owners in the proposed district to sign a petition. The Engineering Department will be glad to furnish him with the area he should cover, the names and addresses of the property owners, and a petition form. If a majority of owners sign, an agenda bill will be prepared and the request presented to the City Council. RICHARD H. ALLEN, JR. RHA:hmj C: Assistant City Manager/Developmental Services