(A) The design and development of subdivisions shall preserve the natural terrain, natural drainage, existing topsoil, trees and natural vegetation to the maximum extent possible.
(B) All subdivisions shall be designed to be consistent with the need to minimize flood damage.
(C) All subdivision proposals shall have public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems located and constructed to minimize flood damage.
(D) All lots, improvements, structures and utilities shall comply with the applicable Areas of Environmental Concern (AEC) Standards and any other rules promulgated pursuant to the Coastal Area Management Act of 1974.
(E) (1) The lengths, widths, and shapes of blocks shall be determined with due regard to:
(a) Provision of adequate building sites suitable to the special needs of the type of use contemplated;
(b) Requirements of the Zoning Code of Dare County;
(c) Needs for vehicular and pedestrian circulation;
(d) Control and safety of street traffic;
(e) Limitations and opportunities of topography; and
(f) Convenient access to water areas.
(2) Length shall not be greater 1,400 nor less than 400 feet. Blocks shall have sufficient width to allow 2 tiers of lots of minimum depth except where single tier lots are required to separate residential development from through vehicular traffic or another type of use, in nonresidential subdivision, or where abutting a water area.
(3) If there are more than 4 lots fronting on a highway, a frontage road may be required.
(4) If more than 4 lots front on a public or private street, a frontage access easement may be required to alleviate driveway cuts on the street. The access easement shall be paved to the NCDOT criteria for subdivision streets and shall be 20 feet in width unless a greater width is required for emergency access vehicle service as determined by input from the Dare County Fire Marshal and/or Emergency Medical Services Director. The access easement shall be located across the front of all proposed lots between the front property line and the building setback line for each lot. The impervious area of the access easement shall not be calculated in the lot coverage limitation applied to each lot in the division. Required parking for the individual lots shall be provided outside of the access easement, however parallel parking along the frontage access easement may be provided for compliance with the parking standards of Section 22-56 of the Dare County Zoning Ordinance. Maintenance of the access easement shall be the responsibility of the abutting property owners and addressed in restrictive covenants for the subdivision that are recorded in the Dare County Register of Deeds in conjunction with the final plat of the subdivision.
(5) Where deemed necessary by the Planning Board, a pedestrian walk may be required to provide convenient access to a public area such as a park or school, to a water area or to areas such as shopping centers, religious or transportation facilities.
(F) Lots shall comply with the following requirements:
(1) Orientation of lot lines. Side lot lines shall be substantially at right angles or radial to street lines.
(2) Minimum lot width. Lots should have a minimum width of not less than 75 feet measured at the front building setback line.
(H) (1) All lots in new subdivisions shall conform to the requirements of the Zoning Code for the district in which the subdivision is located. Conformance means, among other things, that the smallest lot in the subdivision must meet all dimensional requirements of the Zoning Code. It is not sufficient merely for the average lot to meet such requirements.
(2) No land area shall be omitted from a plat when to do so would have the effect of creating a residual parcel of inadequate lot size.
(3) In unzoned areas, lots shall meet the following requirements:
(a) Area. All lots served by an approved central water supply system shall have an area of not less than 15,000 square feet; all lots served by individual well sources shall have an area not less than 20,000 square feet. Additional lot size may be required when soil conditions in the area to be subdivided are classified as provisionally suitable as currently defined by the North Carolina Department of Human Resources, Division of Health Services, Environmental Health Section (codified as 10 NCAC 10A. 1934-1968).
(b) Building setback lines. The minimum setback from property lines shall be as follows and shall be recorded on the final plat:
1. From the front property line – 25 feet;
2. From the side property lines – 10 feet;
3. From the rear property lines – 20% of lot depth but not to exceed 20 feet; except, in the case of an accessory building the setback shall be no less than 5 feet; and
4. From the side property line which abuts a street – 15 feet.
(I) The Planning Board may recommend the use of a buffer strip adjacent to major roads and to commercial or industrial development which would be part of the platted lots but have the following restriction on the face of the plat:
This strip reserved for the planting of trees or shrubs by the owner; the building of structures prohibited;
(J) All telephone, electric, cable, television, and other utility service within subdivisions shall be installed underground.
(Prior Code, § 153.32) (Ord. passed 11-29-1982; Am. Ord. passed 6-1-2021)