Nineteen properties in Mount Dora are currently expected to receive notices requiring them to connect to the city’s central sewer system, a change that city documents estimate could cost an individual property owner about $20,000, depending on the property.
The City of Mount Dora told News 6 the notices are expected to be mailed Sept. 30. Once the notices are issued, affected property owners will have 365 days to complete the connection, according to the city.
The requirement itself comes from Florida law, not a new Mount Dora ordinance. Florida Statute 381.00655 requires the owner of a properly functioning septic system to connect to an available publicly owned or investor-owned sewer system within 365 days after receiving written notice that the system is available. Online Sunshine
Why the number dropped from about 90 to 19
A Sept. 15 Mount Dora City Council packet originally estimated that approximately 90 properties served by Wastewater Plant No. 1, on the west side of Old U.S. 441, could be affected by the state-mandated conversion requirement. 7845
The city now says 19 properties are currently identified, and that number could decrease further.
City officials told News 6 that properties generally must be within 200 linear feet or less of a central gravity sewer system. The city said many properties included in the earlier estimate did not meet that requirement.
Topography was also a factor, according to the city. Officials said some properties do not have enough slope to move wastewater through a traditional gravity sewer connection.
The city also said some of the 19 properties may ultimately be unable to connect or may already be connected, meaning the final number could fall again.
News 6 requested the addresses or parcel identification numbers for the affected properties but had not received that information as of Tuesday.
What could it cost?
The Sept. 15 council packet estimates the cost to an individual property owner at approximately $20,000, though the city stresses that the amount will depend on conditions at each property.
The estimate includes a $7,795 sewer impact fee and approximately $12,000 for permits and plumbing work. 7845
The city has since provided additional clarification about who pays those costs.
According to Mount Dora officials, only the sewer impact fee and permits charged through the city are paid directly to the city. Those city expenses can be placed on a payment plan of equal monthly installments for up to two years.
The private plumbing work is the responsibility of the property owner and is not covered by the city’s two-year payment arrangement.
The city has not provided News 6 with a separate dollar figure showing exactly how much of the roughly $12,000 estimate represents city permit costs and how much represents private plumbing work.
What homeowners will be required to do
The city’s draft notification says affected property owners must connect the plumbing serving the property to Mount Dora’s central sanitary sewer system, stop using the existing septic system and properly abandon the septic tank and associated system. 7845
The city told News 6 the 365-day period will begin with the issuance of the notices expected Sept. 30.
Officials also said that, in most cases, the affected properties had previously been notified and the owners elected not to connect at that time.
News 6 has asked for additional information about when those earlier notifications were issued and why homeowners were previously able to decline the connection.
What financial help is available?
That remains an open question.
The Sept. 15 council packet said city staff was pursuing possible grant assistance for affected property owners but cautioned that grant funding was not guaranteed. 7845
Asked what grants, hardship programs, exemptions or other financial relief are currently available, the city told News 6 that it is “currently reviewing what options would be available to the properties affected.”
The city did not identify a confirmed assistance program currently available to those property owners.
Mount Dora officials also said properties that do not connect within the 365-day period could be subject to administrative fines from the state and the Department of Health. The city did not provide the amount of those potential fines in its response to News 6.
Mount Dora residents react to potential cost
News 6 spoke with Mount Dora residents who are not confirmed to be among the affected property owners but were asked how they would react if they received such a notice.
Mikayla Dolnack said the potential expense would be difficult for many households to absorb.
“If you don’t have $20,000, you’re not gonna magically have it in the next year,” Dolnack said. 0929 MOS MOUNT DORA WOMAN FULL
She also questioned whether one year would provide enough time for many families.
“Not for most people,” Dolnack said. “One year to make $20,000 and pay that off, not reasonable.” 0929 MOS MOUNT DORA WOMAN FULL
Mount Dora resident Dominick Dolnack said receiving a notice with a potential five-figure cost would immediately leave him looking for more information.
“Immediately I’d be confused and probably alarmed,” he said. 0929 MOS MOUNT DORA MAN FULL
He also questioned adding penalties if a property owner is already struggling with the cost.
“Adding fines to a situation that already is costing people more money is just gonna add to the issue,” he said. 0929 MOS MOUNT DORA MAN FULL
Why other Mount Dora properties are not being required to connect yet
The requirement does not currently apply to every septic property in Mount Dora.
The council packet says approximately 92 additional properties served by Wastewater Plant No. 2, on the east side of U.S. 441, could eventually be affected.
However, the city says it currently does not have enough permitted wastewater capacity at that plant to serve those properties. Because the sewer system is not yet considered available to them, the state-required 365-day connection period has not been triggered.
The city estimates the Wastewater Plant No. 2 expansion project will be completed in 2030. 7845
For the properties currently identified on the west side, the next major step comes Wednesday, when Mount Dora says the notices are expected to be issued.
The city says the property owners will then have one year to complete the required connection, while officials continue reviewing what financial assistance — if any — may ultimately be available.