In Potomac, and in Montgomery County as a whole, sewer access can often be used as a check on development.
Parcels which are approved for sewer access can typically be developed at a higher density than those without. This is why some residents on Lloyd Road are concerned about the potential for giving sewer access to a property there.
“They want to build five houses,” said Elizabeth Grusin, a neighbor. “That’s specifically why they asked for it.”
The property currently has a functioning septic system, according to documents filed with the Department of the Environment.
However, the property in question, an approximately 13-acre parcel owned by Bernard Fulk, already has a sewer line traversing the land. There is currently only one house on the land, which is zoned for one house per acre.
Fulk declined to comment on his request.
Normally, when a sewer line is already on a piece of property or abuts a property, the owner automatically qualifies for approval of one connection, but this case is complicated by the house being separated from the sewer line by the Piney Branch Stream.
“Originally it had been proposed for administrative approval,” said Alan Soukup, senior environmental planner with the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection.
The proposal was removed from administrative approval by Councilmember Howard Denis (R-1). Councilmembers can withdraw any proposal from administrative approval at their discretion.
When this is done, the proposal will be discussed in more depth by the council.
“I thought that reasonable,” Denis said.
Controversy had been generated by neighbors who fear more development on the property.
“It seemed the overwhelming concern opposed the resubdivision of the property,” Soukup said.
The parcel is, theoretically eligible for sewer service, as a result of the sewer line. “Any approval would be restricted to one connection,” Soukup said.
Further complicating the possible addition of new houses, the property has a pipestem configuration, with a narrow lot that fronts Lloyd Road granting access to the larger area where the house is.
The neighbors contend that there is a covenant, entered into with a previous owner, which bars using the frontage lot as access, essentially a driveway, to the bulk of the land except for the single house on the property.
“They’d have to build a road to service the five houses,” Grusin said.
“The issue is whether or not there is a covenant that can be used,” said David Brown, one of the attorneys hired by the neighbors.
However, the issue before the Council now is whether or not to allow sewer access to the land.
Sewer Category Changes, the technical term for such requests, are typically transmitted to the council in groups of approximately 20 several times per year.
The group including Lloyd Road will likely be transmitted to council this month, and a public hearing may be held in March, Soukup said.
“Our first line of defense is to stop them from getting sewage,” Grusin said.