(A) Design standards for municipal streets, those within the corporate limits of the Town of Fairmont shall be regulated by municipal policy and standards.
(B) Streets located outside the municipal limits of the Town of Fairmont but within the territorial jurisdiction of the town shall be regulated by the design standards and requirements of the North Carolina Department of Transportation as set forth in their publication “Subdivision Roads; Requirements and Minimum Construction Standards” and any subsequent publications regulating subdivision streets.
(1) Street arrangement. Street layouts shall be designed and located with proper consideration of and coordination with: existing and planned streets; topographical conditions; natural terrain features such as streams, lakes, flood plains, other waterway features, existing tree growth and other local environmental factors; public convenience and safety; and other proposed uses of the land to be served by the street layout.
(2) Street patterns. Provided that due consideration is given to the coordination and continuation of existing and proposed street networks, there shall be no requirement for the subdivider to adhere to a rectangular grid street pattern; rather, in many cases, due to the irregular shape of land parcels being developed, the use of curvilinear streets, cul-de-sacs and other street patterns may be a more desirable layout.
(3) Coordination and continuation of streets. The proposed street layout within a subdivision shall be coordinated with the existing and proposed system of thoroughfares and dedicated rights-of-way as established on any officially adopted plans. Further, the proposed street layout shall extend existing streets on their proper projection at the minimum width required in this chapter, or at the option of the subdivider, a greater width than the minimum required by this chapter.
(4) Street names. Proposed street names shall not duplicate nor too closely approximate phonetically the name of any road or street within Fairmont. Where proposed streets are extensions of existing streets, the existing street names shall be used except where a new name can reasonably be used to facilitate the proper house numbering or to avoid further name duplication. In assigning new names, duplication of existing names shall be avoided and in no case shall the proposed name be phonetically similar to existing names irrespective of the use of a suffix, such as street, road, drive, place, court and the like. Street names shall be subject to the approval of the Planning Board.
(5) Road access to adjacent and unsubdivided property. The proposed street layout shall be designed to provide for desirable access to and not to impose undue hardship upon unsubdivided property adjoining the subdivision, thus proposed streets shall be extended and/or extended by dedication to the boundary of the subdivided tract, and a temporary turn-around shall be provided to the extension.
(a) Where street extensions are prevented by topographical or other natural features, or where, in the opinion of the Planning Board, extensions are not necessary or desirable for the coordination of the proposed street layout with existing road networks or the most advantageous future development of adjacent tracts, the Planning Board may grant a variance to this requirement.
(b) Reserve strips adjoining road rights-of-way for the purpose of preventing access to adjacent property shall be prohibited.
(6) Private streets. Private streets shall be prohibited within any platted subdivision, unless, in the opinion of the Planning Board private streets are in keeping with the spirit of this chapter, where streets enhance the quality of the subdivision, meet all road specifications and standards of the town or N.C. Department of Transportation and further, where provisions have been assured for the permanent maintenance of streets, a variance allowing private streets may be granted by the Planning Board.
(7) Subdivision street disclosure statement; public or private street designation. All streets shown on the final plat must be designated either “public” or “private,” and designation as “public” is to be conclusively presumed an offer of dedication to the public.
(G.S. § 136-102.6)
(8) Half streets. The dedication of half streets at the perimeter of a new subdivision shall be prohibited. If circumstances render this impracticable, adequate provision for the concurrent dedication of the remaining half of the street must be furnished by the subdivider. Where there exists a half street in an adjoining subdivision the remaining half shall be provided by the proposed development.
(9) Access roads and the like. Where a tract of land to be subdivided adjoins an arterial road, the subdivider may be required to provide a marginal access road parallel to the arterial road or reverse frontage on an interior road for the lots to be developed adjacent to the arterial road. Where reverse frontage is established, deed restrictions or other means shall be provided to prevent private driveways from having direct access to the arterial road.
(10) Cul-de-sacs. Roads designed to be permanently closed at 1 end, or roads which may not reasonably be expected to be extended in the future unless an exception is granted by the Planning Board, shall not be more than 500 feet in length. The vehicular turn-around shall have a street right-of-way diameter of 80 feet. Cul-de-sacs shall not be used to avoid connection with an existing street or to avoid the extension of a street.
(11) Right-of-way.
(a) A proposed municipal street right-of-way shall be of sufficient width to accommodate the proposed road and appurtenances, but in no case shall the right-of-way be less than 50 feet. The following subdivision road classifications indicate the road right-of-way requirements:
Major collector | 100 feet |
Minor collector | 90 feet |
Local road | 50 feet |
Marginal access (frontage) | 50 feet |
Cul-de-sac | 50 feet |
Cul-de-sac turn-around | 50 feet radius |
(b) Right-of-way for streets outside the municipal limits shall be those established by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
(12) Additional right-of-way width on existing streets. A subdivision that adjoins existing streets shall dedicate an additional right-of-way if needed to meet the right-of-way width requirements. The entire right-of-way shall be provided where any part of the subdivision is on both sides of the existing street. When the subdivision is located on only 1 side of an existing street, 1/2 of the required right-of-way measured from the center line of the existing roadway shall be provided.
(13) Road and street surfaces and pavement widths. All roads and streets within the town limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction of the Town of Fairmont, North Carolina shall be of a hard surface material, and surface materials and underlying base shall be in compliance with the specifications and standards of the Town of Fairmont and/or those established by the N.C. Department of Transportation. Streets and roads constructed in the Town of Fairmont and its extraterritorial jurisdiction which are not required to have curb and gutter shall conform to the following hard surface pavement widths:
Street Type | Desirable Width | Minimum Width |
Major thoroughfares and highways | 48 feet | 40 feet |
Local roads | 24 feet | 20 feet |
One-way roads | 16 feet | 14 feet |
Cul-de-sac streets | 24 feet | 20 feet |
Cul-de-sac turnaround | 50 foot radius | 40 foot radius |
(14) Curves. Where a deflection angle of more than 10 degrees in the alignment of a road occurs, the right-of-way shall be curved. The minimum radius of curvature at the center line of proposed road rights-of-way shall not be less than 100 feet on local roads and 300 feet on collector streets.
(15) Reverse curves. Reverse curves in road right-of-way shall be connected by tangents of not less than 100 feet.
(16) Street intersections. Street intersections shall be laid out as follows:
(a) All streets shall intersect as nearly as possible at right angles and no street shall intersect at less than 70 degrees.
(b) Intersections with a major street shall be at least 1,000 feet apart measured from centerline to centerline.
(c) Off-sets are to be avoided unless an exception is granted by the Planning Board. Intersections which cannot be aligned shall be separated by a minimum 125 feet between center lines.
(d) Property lines at street intersections shall be rounded with a minimum radius of 20 feet. At an angle of intersection of less than 90 degrees, a greater radius may be required.
(e) Triangular sight distance easements at all street intersections shall be shown in dashed lines and so noted on the final plat. These easements shall remain free of all structures, trees, shrubbery, driveways and signs, except utility poles, fire hydrants and traffic control signals. There shall be a clear sight distance of 150 feet for all major streets and 75 feet for all other streets from the point of intersection as measured along the centerline.
(17) Grades. The longitudinal grade on any proposed road shall be subject to the approval of the Code Enforcement Officer. However, the minimum grade on any proposed road shall not be less than 0.5% and the maximum grade shall not exceed 7%. Grades approaching intersections shall not exceed 5% for a distance of not less than 100 feet from the centerline of the intersection. Grades of streets outside the municipal limits of the Town of Fairmont shall conform to the N.C. Department of Transportation standards.
(18) Alleys. An alley shall be provided to the rear of all lots used for other than residential purposes. Alleys are prohibited in residential blocks unless approved by the Planning Board. All alleys shall be designed in accordance with the N.C. Department of Transportation specifications and standards and shall meet the following requirements:
Right-of-way width | 20 feet |
Property line radius at alley intersection | 15 feet minimum centerline radius when deflection |
Angle of more than 10 degrees occurs | 35 feet minimum turn-around diameter of dead end |
Alley (right-of-way width) | 80 feet |
(Ord. passed 5-31-1977)