Travis County Commissioners Court

July 17, 2012 - Item 17
Agenda

17 is to consider and take appropriate action on the following requests in precinct 1.
A, a variance to state and county septic regulations to allow a septic drain field to encroach on a 10-foot set back to a drainage easement at 20712 Live Oak Lane.
And B, authorization to file an instrument to vacate the drainage easement portion of the five-foot wide public utility and drainage easements located along the side and rear lot lines of Lot 8, Block 2 in Kingsberry Park Section One.

>> Good morning, anna bolin and stacy with tnr.
Stacy will be speaking to part a and part b, but as a reminder we had a public hearing on this earlier.
And now we are ready to come back with this part a and part b.

>> Remind me of what we heard during that public hearing.

>> Well, there was basically the request to vacate an easement.
There was -- there was controversy because of a hair salon on site.
This originated with a septic -- a failing septic system.

>> I remember now.
Okay.

>> The hair salon

>> [inaudible] for the neighborhood.

>> [one moment, please, for change in captioners]

>> Whattist staff's recommendation and why?

>> We recommend that you do vacate the easement and grant the variance so that we can issue a permit for the septic system for the house to remedy the -- the health and safety issue of the failing septic system.
We also recommend that there's a note put on the permit that's stating that this does not authorize the salon and there might be issues with in a, but this is purely for the house and the septic.

>> Okay, and we have citizens here to address this?

>> Yes, sir.
Viola gonzales, I'm the next-door neighbor.
I came in and I was opposing the easement release.

>> Okay.
Because of the fact everything was built without permit to begin with.
The house, the salon.
Even though they knew that they were eventually going to have a problem with the septic system, this has been going on for about three or four years.
All of the sewage has been traveling into my property.
I have property damage that I need to replace soil and would have you -- I ask Travis County to accommodate me with getting a soil sample, and they say they cannot do that.
However, every morning the past two, three years, and it will be for a couple of more years, I'm sure, you get up in the morning, raining or no raining, the dew stinks, the vehicles, all of that stuff is in the vehicles.
I have people living in my house that is starting to get sick from that.
So if they are going to allow them to have the septic system for the homes, I believe it should be for the home only because of the simple reason that she stated, that salon is industrial.

>> Well, they seem to be recommending that the permit be issued for the home, not the hair salon because we're not authorized to do that.

>> That is -- that is fine and I understand all of that, but the homeowners don't seem to understand that.
Irregardless of -- we came last time and I don't have a copy of what was recorded last time and what the restrictions were as far as the usage of the building.
But during the week they might not have their signs up, but come Friday evening after 5:00 Travis County is not going to be around.
They have the signs up.
And like mr. Tom castle said, it's my word against theirs, but I decided I was going to take pictures.
And mr. Castle has a copy of those.
So there's -- even if you tell them not to use the building, they are going to go against that.

>> What's your name again?

>> And up to this day I don't know that Travis County has approached them about this.
Supposedly they are supposed to be penalized and what have you.
And nothing has been done.

>> What's your name again?

>> Viola gonzales, sir.

>> Miss gonzales.
Yes.

>> My english not perfect.
For me I speak the lady in --

>> Would you all see if you could come down.
My staff normally goes to lunch at 12:00.
We close the office.
Chelsea, if you are there and can come down to interpret for us or if you know somebody else who can, we need them now.

>> Yeah.
My -- a little english is the lady -- everything.
My house, the brother and my husband, it's ex-husband.
My --

>> [speaking in spanish]

>> 31 years so you know that relation is no working.

>> My brother, my brother --

>> Aside from the personal issues that are involved, is it okay if I ask some questions?

>> Yes.

>> So what you all said there's more here than a septic system problem.

>> For myself, for my -- too much pain, money for to clean the septic.
My husband working out where it's --

>> For $8 an hour.
That's impossible to pay out -- change the septic tank.
I got everything the city has showed me doing, I have it all in the paper here.
I got the money for replace septic tank.
Three or four years.
Only to wait for the permits.
I got the old paperwork here.

>> Do they know what problem we see today?

>> Yes.
As far as no hookup for a hair salon.

>> No.
No.
My family is two weeks my cousin

>> [indiscernible] my family.

>> [speaking in spanish]

>> I just want to make sure they absolutely understand that they cannot use that building.
The permit is only for the house.
Not for the building.

>> [speaking in spanish]

>> So they have turned those design plans for the septic over to stacy.
For the house and the septic septic?

>> There is a design we have in for it, we can't approve that design without the variance and/or the easement.
House only.

>> House only.

>> [speaking in spanish]

>> He's talking about that I think staff told him that there was an alternate method of dealing with this while they put in a new septic tank.
And they would have to pump water or something.

>> They are currently utilizing pump and haul for the household waste.

>> Doing what?

>> Utilizing pump and haul.

>> No, they are not.
They are not.
I have papers.
They might have papers, but they do not have the unit.
It's been removed.
Every time that we go through a process, they get everything in line according to what is supposed to be happening.
After we come into the courthouse and nothing is going to happen again, I don't know how many times this has happened, they pull everything out.
They don't care.
That's why I'm saying that even if the septic system is approved for the house, there's still violations going on with the salon and I've told mr. Tom and I've gotten pictures, I've emailed to them and nobody has done anything about it.

>> What are the -- what are the remedies if -- if they do not follow through with the septic plan.
Say we approve the variance, the septic goes in for the house and they later do hook up to the salon.
I'm not saying you all will, I'm just saying hypothetically if there are violations because the septic has been hooked up to the business, who regulates.
That's us, right?

>> We regulate it, issue ann.o.v.
This is already an enforcement case.
We've gone working through this since March of 2010.

>> So we already have an active enforcement for failure to comply with septic regulations.

>> That is correct.

>> And what we're trying to do is to be able to get to where we can issue a permit nor the septic system for the house only.

>> Judge, I had an opportunity to go out and visit this particular area with county staff and I got a chance to see exactly what -- firsthand what the issue really is.
And I saw that.
And really we're talking about a health issue here.
I think we need to take care of that first.
Which is a part of what we're doing here.
It is definitely a public health issue dealing with the septic system.
So apparently, you know, health is something -- public health is -- we have to oversee those things whether we like it or not, this is what we're charged with.
And, of course, this is what's part of this process.
So first things first, I think the first thing we need, we need to, I think, move toward what staff is recommending here to take care of those things that are readily at hand with us now.
And because of the health concerns about this.
And thank goodness I had a chance to go and see exactly what's going on at the particular location and site.
Otherwise I wouldn't be as firm as I am now not seeing it -- not going.
But I really feel that we need to go ahead and move forward with this under health concerns.

>> A and b will fix the problem.

>> The septic for the home, the failing septic system.
Obviously outstanding is the salon issue.

>> You've already told them this doesn't help the salon and that's not legal, right?

>> [speaking in spanish]

>> Second?

>> To not get the salon involved at all.

>> 17 a and b.

>> Miss gonzales, I don't know that we have much choice.
If a and b --

>> As long as the stuff isn't running over to my property, I don't care.

>> The salon shouldn't be hooked up.

>> I have no problems with that.

>> The point of discussion on the motion, though, this came to our attention because there was an active enforcement case, that this is a violation of the deed restrictions.

>> Yes.

>> And I would like us at some point to have a discussion about some protocol with regard to looking at permits against deed restrictions in the instance there is a health and human safety issue with a conflict.
But as in this case.
I mean, I'm not interested in the pink flamingos or political will signs in front yards or how high the grass is, but if it's a deed restriction and violate the permit would violate the restriction I think we ought to be against those deed restrictions.

>> You will find in manor in our subdivision there's not only this one particular address that has this problem.
I could give you a couple of other ones.

>> Yes, ma'am, and that's exactly what I'm trying to get is that we do have health and human safety deed restrictions that we could be a help mate to the residents in identifying other -- instead of just saying oh, this is the permit I'm looking at and I'm not going to.

>> Exactly.

>> Any more discussion on the motion?
All in favor?
That passes by unanimous vote.

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