Mendon struggles with water issues

By Bryan Hinton

February 18, 2005 | MENDON -- A third lot split in a week was delayed in Mendon due to an insufficient amount of water on new plats.

Dan Hunsaker's proposed lot split was the latest victim, as the Mendon Planning and Zoning board informed him that he had not allocated enough water to his new lot.

The board members all said the last year has been rough as the city has tried to get a handle on water issues.

"We try to make sure from the outset that there is enough water [on new lots]," acting board member Leslie Larson said.

Hunsaker said the city code requires too much water on new lots.

"I think this is ridiculous," he said. "I've been in the sprinkler business for years. Based on the guidelines, I can't use all of my allocated water."

Hunsaker said the city should not try to implement a blanket policy on the entire city, citing how his property has much more underground water compared to his next-door neighbor.

"That's the irony of this whole discussion," Larson said. "That land is really wet.

Last week at the City Council meeting, two lot-split proposals were held up to some degree due to water issues.

Justin Anderson's proposal was not signed by the city council because he did not have the certificates he needed to prove he had the proper amount of water shares. Jon Kirschbaum also had a lot-split proposal turned down because he did not have enough shares of water on his new proposed plat.

Larson said the biggest problem city faces when it comes to approving water issues is to ensure that the water shares can be delivered to the property.

"People used to be able to buy water shares from New Jersey," Larson said. "But the law is catching up to prevent that."

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