Commissioners press Public Works on permeable pavement in county right-of-way

Commissioner Adrienne Hampton asked staff about a struck line in the draft road standards (page 23, Section 3.6) that previously would have allowed permeable pavement in county rights-of-way. Anthony Burgess said the deletion is intended to prevent new installations in county-owned rights-of-way because the county typically maintains those assets and would not want to accept maintenance responsibility for broad new permeable surfaces unless they were part of a county pilot program. "For new construction, if it's in the right of the way, typically, it is the county road department's responsibility for maintenance," Burgess said.

Commissioners discussed where the county’s stormwater manual should be referenced to encourage low-impact techniques such as permeable materials in appropriate contexts while clarifying maintenance responsibilities. Burgess said stormwater language lives in the stormwater manual and staff will clean cross-references so readers know where to find guidance on low-impact technologies.