Empire hosts Village Design and Community Septic Systems conference

From staff reports

The Michigan Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism and Sam Marts Architecture and Planning have organized a one-day conference at the Empire Township Hall on Friday, Oct. 22, that will focus on village design and community septic systems.

Conference attendees can learn how to provide a village, small town or neighborhood with an affordable community septic sewer system. Knowledgeable speakers will address the engineering parameters and costs. Michigan State Land Bank Director will outline possible financing arrangements.

Planners and architects will show how village design can be enhanced, legal experts will outline legal arrangements to support a system, State Department staff will outline necessary guidelines.

The village of Empire has an excellent water system but like many old settlements has no public sewer. In 2001 Quercus Alba LLC started building an extension of Empire Village which was about five blocks of traditionally designed, village sized lots with sidewalks, alleys, and narrow streets. However the 81 lots (126 allowed dwellings) of the “New Neighborhood” have a community septic sewer system that makes possible a walkable neighborhood. At the conference you can visit the New Neighborhood and hear how it came about from the designers and developers.

Click here to register online. The conference costs $45 ($25 for members of the Congress for the New Urbanism).