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USC approves ordinance requiring sewer inspections before property sales

By Terry Kish For The Almanac Writer@thealmanac.Net 4 min read
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Upper St. Clair commissioners unanimously approved an amendment to the township code dealing with sewer laterals and drains that will require closed circuit televising inspection of sanitary sewer lateral inspections under certain conditions.

The change approved during the township’s Sept. 5 meeting requires CCTV sanitary sewer lateral inspections at the time of sale or conveyance of a property, or for improvements to an existing home that require a building permit and a plumbing permit. Video results from the televised inspection will then be reviewed by the township.

Using National Association of Sewer Service Companies standards, or NASSCO, if the sewer lateral is not in compliance, the property owner is responsible for repairs to bring the line into compliance. The CCTV inspection of the sanitary sewer lateral is valid for three years.

The township also requires dye testing at the time of sale or conveyance of a property.

Township engineer Ruthann Omer commented that the new amendment should help reduce or eliminate stormwater and groundwater infiltration and inflow into the sanitary sewer collection system.

The change will be used as a demonstration project as part of an interim administrative consent order, and the township will monitor the effect on stormwater reduction as people sell their homes and corrective action is implemented.

Several other communities already require sewer lateral inspection like the one adopted by Upper St. Clair, and Omer expects that the other 83 communities that are under a consent order will also adopt similar requirements.

A copy of the amendment is available on the Upper St. Clair Township website. Commissioner Rex Waller was absent.

Also during the meeting, the board approved an amendment to the township code – public and private improvements – to update the specifications for street and site lighting.

The change was prompted by an agreement that Upper St. Clair entered into with First Energy, where First Energy replaced the township’s existing high-pressure sodium streetlight fixtures with light-emitting diode fixtures, better known as LEDs, at no cost to the township. The change in the amendment incorporates the requirements for the LED streetlight fixtures and updates the specifications for site lighting on public and private property.

The board also granted final approval to 1810 Woodlands Circle, the last undeveloped property in the six-lot Woodlands subdivision near McLaughlin Run Road.

During the public hearing portion of the meeting, the board heard testimony relating to an amendment to the township zoning code to expand the definition of massage therapy establishment, amend the hours of operation for such establishments, and add massage therapy establishment as a permitted non-residential use in the special business mixed use zoning district.

Specifically, the new amendment would include day spa services, including personal hygiene, grooming, relaxation therapy and massage services, and would extend hours of operation from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Developer Gerrard Cipriani told the board that the changes in the township code would be needed to bring spa services like Massage Envy or La Pomponnee to Upper St. Clair. He said there is interest in bringing the upscale day spa Hand & Stone to Sienna at St. Clair. The board voted to continue the public hearing at its Oct. 2 meeting.

Also continued until Oct. 2 was a public hearing requesting final approval for planned office development at 2600 Old Washington Road, the former site of a branch of Northwest Bank. Plans are to enclose the former bank’s drive-thru and create additional indoor space.

The board approved a facility assessment proposal from Ballard*King & Associates to consider physical and programming enhancements for the Community & Recreation Center at Boyce Mayview Park, which will help the township in its short- and long-term budgeting process. The cost of the study, including reimbursable expenses, is $25,200. Also approved was a still to be determined survey component at a cost not to exceed $17,500. Money for the assessment proposal was included in the township’s 2017 budget.

In other business, the board heard from Dave Klaber of Redfern Drive asking the board to reconsider the township’s animal control policy of not dealing with skunks. Klaber said the Woodland Hills Swim Club had problems this summer with skunks nesting over the hill from the pool and coming onto the property at night. He said the pool hired an outside contractor, which trapped 14 skunks. Klaber asked the board to think about getting the equipment needed to safely deal with skunks so in the future, the township’s animal control officers could help residents dealing with a skunk problem.

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