Littleton Board of Health Adopts Title V Septic Waiver Process for Sewer-Transition Properties

LITTLETON — October 11, 2023 — Littleton's Board of Health unanimously adopted a formal Title V septic waiver process Wednesday night, giving property owners with failing systems on the town's planned sewer route a legal pathway to avoid costly full replacements. The 4-0 vote approves both an application procedure and a template waiver agreement — drafted by board member Kevin Davis, reviewed by Health Agent Jim Greffy, and vetted by town counsel — requiring a DEP-certified inspection, a public hearing before the full board, and binding mitigation conditions including the board's right to order more frequent pumping if the system poses an imminent health hazard. The first application under the new process, from Thumbtack Realty Trust at 23-31 Stevens Street where a property sale is pending, was continued to October 25 pending receipt of a completed certified inspection report. The board also voted 4-0 to approve a septic variance at 22 Jennifer Street — reducing the groundwater offset from four feet to two feet and allowing fill grading within 10 feet of the lot line — and granted a one-year housing code ceiling-height variance at 37 Dogwood Street, with the order-of-correction hearing at that address continued to November 8 pending inspection of a newly installed basement dehumidification system.