It could cost more than $10 million for a large subdivision proposed in southeastern McCall to connect to central sewer service.
Last week, the Payette Lakes Recreational Water and Sewer District Board of Directors set conditions of annexation for Pine Creek Ranch, a subdivision that could build more than 600 homes on 158 acres near Payette Lakes Middle School.
Pine Creek Ranch would be built on two parcels, including a 90-acre parcel that is currently not eligible to connect to the sewer system because it is not within the sewer district’s boundaries. Developer Craig Groves of Donnelly filed a petition to annex the 90 acres into the district earlier this year.
The annexation conditions approved by the board outline about $1.6 million in specific projects that Groves would need to fund to annex the 90-acre parcel into the sewer district. A host of other work with no estimated cost was also included in the conditions.
If the annexation is completed, Groves would then need to pay a $13,784 connection fee for each home, which could total more than $8 million.
If Groves chooses to continue the process, the district will hold a public hearing on the annexation request, which had not been scheduled as of Thursday afternoon.
Jeff Bateman, the sewer district’s manager, told Valley Lookout the board could still add or remove conditions during the public hearing process.
“The board’s announcement of the terms and conditions does not indicate board support for or opposition to the petition and should not be interpreted as such or as a determination by the board on the merits of the petition,” Bateman said.
Groves told Valley Lookout that plans for Pine Creek Ranch likely cannot move forward without annexing the 90-acre parcel into the sewer district, as well as the City of McCall, because there would then be only one road in and out of the subdivision through the Woodlands Subdivision.
Engineering recommendations
The conditions approved by the board are a combination of recommendations by Bateman and JUB Engineers, the district’s contract engineering firm.
The engineering recommendations are based on a model run of how sewer flows generated by Pine Creek Ranch would affect existing sewer infrastructure.
The model determined that about 300 feet of new sewer line would need to be installed along Deinhard Lane, with another 900 feet of sewer line upsized to accommodate increased flows.
Meanwhile, nearly 1,300 feet of sewer line on Woodlands Drive would need to be upsized, according to the modeling.
The Deinhard Lane work is estimated to cost about $950,000, while the Woodlands Drive work is estimated to cost about $425,000, according to a sewer master plan the district completed earlier this year.
The engineering model also indicates that the additional sewer flows would require installing a larger pump in a lift station near the North Fork Payette River bridge on Deinhard Lane. There is no estimated cost for that work.
District manager’s recommendations
Additional conditions recommended by Bateman include repairs to eight manholes through which Pine Creek Ranch’s sewage would pass.
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Groves would also be required to contribute about $242,000 to a phosphorus offset project the district is being required to complete by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
The offsets are associated with repairs planned for a leaking liner in a storage pond containing treated wastewater on the south side of Deinhard Lane.
The offsets would grant the district a set amount of phosphorus that can legally be discharged to the North Fork each year in exchange for work that limits other phosphorus sources, like building fences to keep cattle away from water or connecting homes that currently use septic systems to central sewer.
Bateman’s other recommendations include design standards for lift stations in Pine Creek Ranch.
Developer doubts proportionality
Groves responded to the conditions approved by the board in a May 22 letter to the district that questions the proportionality of Bateman’s recommendations.
“As affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court…government-imposed development conditions must show both a nexus and a proportionality to the project’s actual effects,” the letter said. “We are concerned that this standard is not being met in several instances.”
The letter asks for more information on existing sewer flows, the phosphorus offset calculation, and a schedule for the improvements to be completed based on phasing for Pine Creek Ranch.
“This information is necessary to assess whether the additional improvements requested are proportionally related to the actual impact of Pine Creek Ranch,” the letter said.
The letter also questions a requirement for lift stations in Pine Creek Ranch to be built with a double chamber design that Groves says could increase costs by two to three times. That design, Groves said, is usually reserved for “larger regional infrastructure.”
“We request the district provide any written policies or standard operating procedures that support this design mandate as well as why the on-site lift stations cannot be built per the district’s current Standard Revisions to the 2020 ISPC & Supplemental Specifications,” the letter said.
