This piece of news was in today's Boston Globe. It seems that strict septic laws in both Dover and Sherborn are under attack and both towns will have to prove the science behind such restrictive laws. The only way to get around the laws now is to meet them or sue the town. It seems that Dover settles out of court and the houses get built. If the science is so strong, why not fight it and win. Well that's about to happen in Dover. It's going to trial and the outcome could affect Sheborn as well. Buy all the land now before the regulation changes and the price goes up.
DOVER
Home builders challenge town on septic rules
Numerous lawsuits against board drive up legal budget
By Alison O'Leary Murray, Globe Correspondent, 3/6/2003
March begins a curious annual ritual in Dover. As crocuses and new grass blades begin poking through the muddy soil, a number of would-be residents can be seen out digging holes - test holes for septic systems.
These prospective home builders are praying that they will find good soil and a low water table, which often means that the town will approve a septic system for a new house. If they find undesirable conditions, it can mean months of wrangling with the Board of Health and, in some cases, expensive litigation.
George and Janet Stephens know the drill well, having spent the past 29 years trying to build a house on Donnelly Drive. After being rejected several times for a septic permit by the Board of Health, the Stephens filed a lawsuit last year, challenging the town's stringent septic regulations.
Disappointed at not being able to build, the Stephens, now comfortably settled in Connecticut, hope to win their case simply to sell the lot in buildable condition. They want to recoup some of the property taxes they have paid over the years on their land.
''We love Dover; it's a great town,'' George Stephens said. ''But it's very restrictive and exclusionary.''
Five such lawsuits have been filed in Norfolk Superior Court since 1995. The town has settled out of court twice, resulting in property owners being allowed to build on their lots. Other than that of the Stephenses, cases are currently pending on lots on Grand Hill Drive and Hartford Street, which were denied for septic systems by the Board of Health last year.
Each lawsuit challenges virtually the same thing - the rationale behind Dover's restrictive local septic bylaws.
Dover has some of the toughest septic regulations in the state, besting the already strict regulations imposed by Massachusetts. While the state requires septic test holes to show 4 feet of pervious soil above the high-water mark, Dover requires 5 feet.
But, although prospective home builders in most towns throughout the state may add soil to meet the restriction, in Dover no such fill may be brought in to qualify a septic system for a new house.
To prospective home builders, Dover's regulations are a manifestation of the town's antidevelopment attitude. To some town officials, even as the costs of lawsuits climb - and the town has not prevailed in them - it is paramount to protect the drinking-water supply.
Dr. Harvey George, a nine-year member of the Dover Board of Health, said it is more sanitary to keep septic systems at grade, whereas mounded systems may promote bacteria and virus growth.
''We feel the best system is one that is built on naturally occurring soil,'' George said. ''These suits are a function of the availability of open land. People buy up marginal land and, when they can't build, they sue us.''
But Vincent O'Brien, a Dover attorney who filed two of the three pending suits, said there is no scientific evidence for such a defense.
''The Dover regulations serve one purpose, and that is to stop building,'' he said, noting that mounded septic systems are allowed when a house is renovated, but not in the case of new construction.
According to Peter Liffiton - a Board of Health member in Sherborn, which has almost identical septic regulations - the 5-foot separation and prohibition on mounded systems is scientifically sound. Creating artificial mounds, he said, could result in septic waste going directly into the ground water.
But Nancy Roberts, a former member of the Dover Board of Health, agrees with the plaintiffs, saying the town enforces regulations out of tradition instead of science.
''This affects real people, not just builders out to make a quick buck,'' said Roberts, who thinks she lost a bid for reelection to the board last year when she was branded ''prodevelopment'' for advocating changes in the septic rules.
O'Brien said the town's stringency means that prospective homeowners and Dover taxpayers alike are wasting dollars on legal fees.
''Each side spends about 30 grand on attorneys, and then we [plaintiffs] get exactly what we wanted,'' he said.
Although it is unclear exactly how much Dover has spent fighting these specific cases, since last summer, when the last three lawsuits were filed, the town has spent more than $80,000 in litigation costs. The Warrant Committee acknowledged at a recent meeting that the Board of Health litigation was driving up the town's legal budget.
But George said his board enjoys wide support for its tough stance.
''We are pleased to have the support of other town boards and the citizenry,'' he said.
Selectman Doug Scott said it would be ''dangerous'' to toy with Dover's appropriately strict septic regulations.
''We always want to contain any expenses like that, but there are trade-offs,'' he said. ''If something happens to our water supply in Dover, we're talking about a serious public health problem.''
This story ran on page W1 of the Boston Globe on 3/6/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
