§ 153.40 STREETS.
   (A)   Public streets. All subdivision lots shall abut a public street. All public streets shall be built to the standards of this chapter and all other applicable standards of the county and the State of North Carolina. Public streets which are eligible for acceptance into the state highway system shall be constructed to the standards necessary to be put on the state highway system and shall be put on such system. Streets which are not eligible to be put on the state highway system because there are too few lots or residences shall, nevertheless, be dedicated to the public and shall be built in accordance with the standards necessary to be put on the state highway system so as to be eligible to be put on the system at a later date. An executed maintenance agreement with provisions for maintenance of the street until it is put on the state highway system shall be included with the final plat.
      (1)   All street improvements shall consist of a minimum 45-foot-wide right-of-way, with 20-foot-wide paved improvements located internal to this 45-foot right-of-way. All pavement and sub-base materials used in the construction of the street improvements shall be consistent with applicable NCDOT standards for acceptance into the state highway maintenance system. All proposed street improvements shall be built to be consistent with all other applicable NCDOT standards, including but not limited to, roadway design, utility placement, drainage improvements.
      (2)   The subdivider shall submit, as a part of the preliminary plat, the signed statement of a North Carolina-licensed professional engineer, stating that the proposed streets as designed will meet all of the requirements of this section. The subdivider shall provide for inspections to ensure that the streets are being constructed in accordance with the approved preliminary plat, by an independent, licensed professional engineer during the construction process, whose reports are to be submitted to the Planning Board in accordance with a schedule submitted, and approved as part of the preliminary plat. As a part of the final plat, the subdivider shall submit a certificate of an independent, licensed professional engineer that the streets have been constructed in accordance with the approved preliminary plat.
      (3)   The ownership of the streets shall be conveyed to a home or lot owners’ association or similar organization. The subdivider must submit evidence that the ultimate owner of the streets will be institutionally and fiscally capable of maintaining the streets and rights-of-way to the specified standards in perpetuity. The subdivider must agree to maintain the streets until the owners’ organization is fully functional, and must agree to contribute to that organization its share of the maintenance for all lots retained by the subdivider or successor.
      (4)   The final plat, the uniform covenants and each deed conveying lots in the subdivision shall plainly indicate that the streets are dedicated to public use, and their maintenance is the responsibility of the owners' organization in perpetuity, or until the streets are accepted into the state highway system.
   (B)   Private streets. (Reserved)
   (C)   Subdivision street disclosure statement. All streets shown on the final plat shall be designated in accordance with North Carolina state law and designation as public shall be conclusively presumed an offer of dedication to the public. Where streets are dedicated to the public but not accepted into the state highway system, before lots are sold, a statement explaining the status of the street shall be included with the final plat.
   (D)   Conformity of proposed streets to existing maps or plans. The location and width of all proposed streets shall be in conformity with official plans or maps of the county and with existing or amended plans of the Planning Board.
   (E)   (1)   Continuation of existing streets. The proposed street layout shall be coordinated with the existing road system of the surrounding area and where possible, existing principal streets shall be extended. However, no new subdivision shall be approved if the primary means of ingress and egress to the subdivision connects to a road that is not eligible for, and cannot be upgraded to meet the standards for, acceptance into the NCDOT’s secondary road system. When a new subdivision is proposed to interconnect to a non-eligible road, that road must be upgraded to meet eligibility standards. Such upgrades may be established as a condition of approval of the preliminary plat of the new subdivision, and must be completed prior to the approval of the final plat of the new subdivision.
      (2)   Exemption of land otherwise inaccessible. If a tract or parcel is proposed to be subdivided and the only means of ingress and egress is by way of an existing interconnecting road ineligible for inclusion on the NCDOT secondary road system, the proposed subdivision may be approved once the Board of Commissioners has concluded that the existing interconnecting road to the proposed new subdivision does not pose unacceptable risks to public health and safety.
   (F)   Access to adjacent properties. Where in the opinion of the Planning Board, it is desirable to provide access to an adjoining property, proposed streets shall be extended by dedication to the boundary of such property, and a temporary turnaround shall be provided.
   (G)   Large tracts or parcels. Where land is subdivided into larger parcels than ordinary building lots, the parcels shall be arranged so as to allow for the opening of future roads and logical further subdivision.
   (H)   Common driveways. Common driveways may be permitted from public or private streets, upon a determination by the Planning Board in which the Board of Commissioners concurs that such driveways will not endanger or diminish the public health, safety and welfare. The following standards shall apply to common driveways:
      (1)   A common driveway is constructed to serve as supplemental access along elongated portions of flag lots or irregular-shaped lots. FLAG LOTS shall be defined as a lot design that features an elongated portion or “pole”, the length of which extends to the remaining portion of the lot area. Common driveways shall be a minimum of 12 feet in width, and shall be paved consistent with the standards of § 153.40(A)(1). Additional width may be required by Dare County, depending on the design and location of the proposed common drive. An individual common driveway shall not be used to provide access to more than 4 lots.
      (2)   Common driveways shall not exceed 200 feet in length, and a turnaround area for maneuvering of public service vehicles shall be required at the terminus of the common driveway. For common driveways that are 100 feet or less in length, a turnaround area shall not be required. The design of common driveways and turnaround areas shall be reviewed and approved by the Dare County Fire Marshal, Dare County Public Works, Dare County Emergency Services Director and the Dare County Engineer before any preliminary plat featuring common driveways is reviewed by the Dare County Planning Board.
      (3)   All common driveway improvements shall be constructed following preliminary plat approval by the Dare County Board of Commissioners. As part of the final plat review, a certificate from a North Carolina-licensed professional engineer shall be submitted, stating that all common driveways have been constructed as depicted on the preliminary plat.
      (4)   Maintenance of the common driveways shall be the responsibility of the subdivision homeowners’ association and/or the individual lot owners using the common driveway. The final plat shall include language to this effect and such information shall also be noted in homeowners’ documents created for the subdivision.
      (5)   Common driveways shall not be used to facilitate the platting of additional subdivision lots which would be better served by a street. Common driveways may be used in lieu of a frontage road for lots fronting on a highway as detailed in § 153.32(E)(3) of this chapter, upon a determination by the Planning Board in which the Board of Commissioners concurs that the use of common driveways better serves the public health, safety and welfare.
      (6)   Individual flag lots shall provide access along the elongated or pole portion of the lot with a minimum width of 12 feet. This access area shall be improved with gravel, stone, rock, marl, clay, turf-stone, or other surface that will accommodate access by emergency service vehicles.
(Prior Code, § 153.40) (Ord. passed 11-29-1982; Am. Ord. passed 1-7-2008; Am. Ord. passed 6-2-2008; Am. Ord. passed 6-1-2021)