After the failure of a home’s septic tank on the outskirts of town, the Urbana City Council will discuss an emergency connection to city sewers at its regular meeting Monday. If the connection is approved, the property will be designated within Urbana’s city limits.
Susan Bruce’s family was in the process of putting their Coler Avenue home on the market this winter when they noticed a problem with their septic tank.
Because a city sewer line runs through the property’s back yard, the family is requesting that the Urbana City Council approve an emergency connection to the city line.
Bruce said the annexation is necessary because they were not given the option to replace the septic tank.
“This was a surprise,” she said. “We never had any problems with it. But as part of an inspection, it’s something you discover.”
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Robert Myers, planning division manager for Urbana, said failure of the septic tank is leading to sewage that is not properly disposed.
“They need to either install a new septic, which is very expensive — $6,000 to $10,000, typically — or they need to hook up to the public sewer system.”
If the annexation is approved, the property will be designated within the Urbana city limits. This means the homeowners will have access to all city services but will have to pay higher taxes. To offset the increased tax burden, annexed property-owners are offered a tax rebate for several years.
Brad Bennett, senior civil engineer of Urbana, said homeowners wishing to be annexed into the city lines incur the costs to run their line to the city line, but there are no associated fees with annexation.
Myers said rural properties ask to be annexed into the city sewer lines once or twice a year, but the requests are becoming more frequent than in years past.
Alderman Eric Jakobsson, Ward 2, said the annexation will be routine for the city council. However, he said it is still important to discuss zoning for the property, as it will be considered a part of the city of Urbana.
“I think the area will be annexed to the city and will rezone to a single-family residential district, which I think is highly appropriate,” Jakobsson said. “This is a very successful residence. I don’t think that area is appropriate for multifamily zoning.”
Corinne can be reached at [email protected].
