By Elizabeth Cloutman

Los Altos Hills

Los Altos Hills temporarily will administer applications for all new sanitary sewer connections to the Los Altos Basin until a new Master Sewer Plan is completed in about two-and-a-half years.

The city managers and public work directors of Los Altos Hills and Los Altos agreed to the administrative arrangement Friday to ensure Los Altos Hills residents won’t experience lengthy delays obtaining needed connections. As part of the agreement, Los Altos Hills will provide documentation verifying sewer capacity rights to Los Altos.

“We’re closer to (the town’s) development. It makes sense we monitor the issues,” said Los Altos Hills City Manager Maureen Cassingham. “(The meeting) went very smoothly and was done in a few minutes.”

The administrative agreement was necessary because Los Altos has approved about 200 more sewer capacity applications than the 1,100 allotted Los Altos Hills residents in a 1985 agreement. Cassingham said the 1985 agreement was amplified in recent months to 1,265 new connections in anticipation of needing new sanitary connections for the Mora Drive Sewer Project and annexing the unincorporated side of Ravensbury Avenue.

The Los Altos Hills City Council approved prezoning for the homes involved in the Mora Drive Sewer Project in unincorporated San Antonio Hills.

The Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission required the prezoning for the sewer project to receive approval. Many of these residents needed to replace aging septic systems with sewer connections, and their homes were within Los Altos Hills’ sphere of influence.

The Los Altos Hills City Council is set to consider the annexation of the unincorporated side of Ravensbury Avenue at its Jan. 3 meeting, Cassingham said.

“I’m not concerned about a shortage of new sewer connections,” Cassingham said.

She explained some town residents have purchased extra connections in anticipation of subdividing multiple-acre lots.

“Some owners of lots, tremendously disadvantaged, due to slope, have purchased as many as 10 connections, even though they could only use two (based on the lot utility factor ordinance now in force).”