With nearby subdivision planned, town’s residents fume over $17K sewer bill

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More than 50 Ingersoll landowners are facing a bill of $17,000 each to replace their septic systems and bring them onto the municipal sewer pipeline, leaving some fuming that it’s all to accommodate a nearby new subdivision.

A letter received by 55 Ingersoll property owners near Hamilton Road (King Street West) affected by Oxford County’s construction project states the “main objective” is to extend “sanitary servicing to areas reliant on septic systems and service future development lands,” at a maximum cost of $17,646 to each property.

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But affected residents who are satisfied with their existing septic systems are pushing back, saying it’s a residential development planned nearby that’s behind the pipeline plan. Oxford County officials say they’ve received a subdivision application for 593530 Hamilton Rd. W. proposing between 355 and 664 lots.

“That’s our biggest issue . . . residents are fine with what they have. Septic tanks are working,” homeowner Darryl Hall said, adding the sewer-system expansion “would not have been necessary if not for the new residential development, so why are they pinning (the costs) on existing residents?”

Hall, a four-year resident, said he’s not opposed to more residential development. But landowners have gathered three times to discuss their options after being notified by Oxford County about the looming $17,000 bill. “(We’ll) fight this as long and as hard as we can,” Hall said.

Like Hall, 30-year homeowner Dave Ulch was supportive of more housing for the growing municipality east of London, but not at a cost to existing homeowners. “Just don’t cram it down our throats to pay for it.”

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Jennifer Lavallee is Oxford County’s manager of capital planning. She said that although Ontario’s Development Charges Act requires the local government to go through numerous steps, including the process to determine if residents on septic would benefit from the project, developers can’t be charged for benefits to existing residents.

“Even though the developer is sort of the driver of this project, there are benefits that those (neighbouring) residents will experience as a result of that sanitary system being extended beyond their property,” Lavallee said, adding that 75 per cent of the cost is covered by the developer and the rest by existing nearby homeowners.

Lavallee said the charge provided on the letter isn’t set in stone, noting it was an information letter, not a bill. The cost to property owners won’t be known until after the project’s completion, which she estimates to be in 2026.

Residents were also concerned costs could exceed the county’s estimate, such as hook-ups to each home that could result in amounts of up to $15,000 in additional fees, Hall said.

Lavallee said the direction will ultimately be decided by Oxford County politicians.

“We encourage residents to delegate at council to request anything different,” she said.

Oxford County has set up a meeting on Sept. 10 to provide more information to residents.

bwilliams@postmedia.com

@BrianWatLFPress

The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada

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