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Wells may be added to Orange inspections
(by Sali McSherry - November 05, 2008)
Wells may be added to Orange inspections
By SALI McSHERRY
Orange Village Council is scheduled to vote next week on an amended version of an ordinance requiring point-of-sale inspections. A major addition to the legislation would require that water wells be inspected.
Village Law Director Stephen Byron gave the modified draft to council last week. The legislation would require a certificate of septic-system evaluation by the Cuyahoga County General Health District prior to the transfer of the property.
The ordinance also addresses procedures for vacant dwellings.
The village building department would collect a $50 fee for coordinating the point-of-sale inspection and defray the cost of the fire department's inspection of the dwelling.
Resident Edward Bonk had told council there should be point-of-sale inspections for rental houses, including corporate-owned houses. He said he's concerned that failing septic systems could affect the health of village residents. Ninety septic systems failed out of 629 licensed systems in the village, he said.
Mayor Kathy U. Mulcahy said the legislation could be amended in the future to include other regulations and issues that come up. However, at this point, the most important thing is to address the inspection of septic systems, she said.
Ms. Mulcahy said the Cuyahoga County Board of Health suggested that water wells be inspected at point of sales, in addition to septic systems, as a safety issue. At the time of a sale when there is money on the table -- that's when the village has the power to enforce a "fix" if needed to make sure the house in question is safe, she said.
The village needs to get something on the books about point-of-sale inspections, Councilman Herbert Braverman said.
Cuyahoga County does not typically perform point-of-sale inspections, village Building Inspector Louis Hovancsek said, because it routinely performs septic-system inspections by the quadrant and on a five-year rotation.
He made the request to council last summer, because there had been several cases in which buyers had to deal with failing septic systems after the county board of health did not perform point-of-sale inspections. When someone buys a home, Mr. Hovancsek said, the septic system should be in working order. It's a way of protecting buyers, he said of the inspections.
While the village requires owners of dwellings to maintain functional septic tanks and septic systems, there are no teeth to it, according to Mr. Byron.
The new ordinance says that a septic system must be functioning properly before a property transfers. It would require money to be put into escrow in case a septic system needs to be replaced.
Mr. Byron said, if the legislation is approved, the building department would serve as the clearinghouse for the county board of health and for the fire department.
A second proposed ordinance would require point-of-sale verification by the fire department that the house has smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors located in required areas.
Councilman Mark Bram made a motion in September to eliminate those inspections, but no council member seconded it.
New home construction is required to have hard-wired carbon-monoxide and smoke detectors in Orange.
Council members Carmen Centanni and Frances Kluter previously said the inspections were overkill and unnecessary.
Mrs. Kluter chairs the safety committee, which voted 5-2 against the ordinances. She said educating residents about septic-system inspections and the importance of using smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors is the best way to handle the issue.
Mr. Bram said most buyers want their own house inspections before making the purchase.
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