VICTORY!

SSBR & Stagecoach Lot Owners Squash MCWD’s Plan to Limit Sewer Vaults!

… Morrison Creek Water District made it clear property values would drop to near $1000 under the proposed plan, but that property values weren’t their responsibility. They also responded to SSBR’s letter to the County Commissioners in a power point presentation. They agreed to SSBR’s assertion that MCWD is unwilling to construct the necessary infrastructure for development. MCWD argued that in order to achieve development for all of Stagecoach, MCWD would end up in Bankruptcy again. MCWD also believes they cannot legally develop some subdivisions and not others.

There was an endless line of lot owners speaking against the proposal, how it would effect their property values, their ability to get sewer, and water, to their homes, and to the jaded process of approval by SPOA and MCWD. Suggestions were made to address the vault issues, such as allowing lot owners to aggregate parcels to achieve the 5 acres necessary for an individual leechfield-but allowing those parcels to not be contiguous. SSBR’s cap and trade recommendation, to allow permits to be transferred once a property owner has installed central sewer, was well-received, and even MCWD felt it was worthy of studying the possibility. Another suggestion was to create a local improvement district(LID) to fund infrastructure in Stagecoach. MCWD felt strongly that it would not happen because 76% of property owners would have to sign a petition to get it approved.

The County Commissioners made it clear to everyone in the room that if Stagecoach were developed today, it would have been done differently. The commissioners also wanted to make sure lot owners understood there is no “right” to a sewer vault in Stagecoach, and that many will never have access to sewer and water.

One of the most legitimate concerns made by the Commissioners was that many lot owners will be paying fees to MCWD and will never receive service. They felt this will be taxation without representation, and that lot owners may begin to petition to get out from under MCWD.

After 3 hours of debate, the Board of County Commissioners ultimately voted no to the MCWD’s proposed 2nd amendment.

The post Vote Allows Stagecoach CO Vaults…..for now appeared first on Stagecoach CO Real Estate.

Most of the building lots in Stagecoach, Colorado are less than 5 acres.  But if you want to install a septic system, you need five acres of land.  So what’s a landowner who wants to build a home supposed to do if they have a single lot smaller than 5 acres?

There are two choices.

The first is to purchase land (either as a single parcel or combine the purchase of several lots) which will total five acres. This choice can be difficult because there are over 1400 separate landowners in Stagecoach who live all over the world.

The other choice is to get a vault, which Stagecoach permits as an alternative to a septic field.  The vault is then pumped regularly (which can be expensive) until public utilities go through the area.

You can build anywhere in Stagecoach, Colorado, but there are a few things that need to be done before you get a building permit.

1. The roads must be up to grade before you can get a vault permit. Roads must be 16′ wide by 8′ deep and have culverts where applicable (specs are the same as the Oak Creek Fire Dept. specifications). If the road to your lot isn’t up to grade, you can pay for the improvements and possibly see a refund as more people build.

2. Sewer and Water Update–If your lot is not on the public water system, you’ll need a well and sewer vault. Vault fees (including the Vault Impact Fee, Lot Owner Agreements and Well applications) totaled $4666 as of March, 2008. Each Stagecoach neighborhood allows a certain number of vaults. The homeowner agrees that if the public sewer line comes within 100 feet of their property, they will tap into the public system.

***The tap fees for water and sewer and fees for vaults increased significantly in January 2009.  Click here to read about rate increases.

3. Moratorium on Vaults–Morrison Creek Water is talking about a moratorium on vaults. That means they would stop issuing vault permits. Of course, it is all just talk right now, but the current system where homeowners pump out their vaults and transport the waste to the sewer plant is getting to be a burden on the system.

4. Developments in line for public utilities–Morningside will be first. Their Master Plan is okay’d and they only have 8 vault permits left, but no funding is in place to actually do the work.  South Shore and Horseback could be after that.

5. Developments where there is water, sewer, and electric to the lot line: Meadowgreen, Neighborhoods at Youngs Peak, Coyote Run.

The post 5 Things To Know Before Building in Stagecoach appeared first on Stagecoach CO Real Estate.