6.5. Townhouse and condominium developments.

   A.   In general.

      1.   Townhouses and townhousedevelopment occur in two different patterns:

         a.   Condominium (development with private drives and a homeowner's association); and

         b.   Fee simple townhouse (development with public or private streets and a homeowner's association).

      2.   The standards for each type of townhousedevelopment are listed below.

   B.   Condominium. This form of townhousedevelopment occurs on a unified parcel, where multiple townhouse units may lie on a single tract of land. The units may be made available through sale as condominium, or through lease (rental).

      1.   Homeowner's association.

         a.   Homeowner's association declaration and by-law documents shall be submitted to the Town of Garner for acceptance.

         b.   Such homeowner's association documents shall have adequate provisions to insure proper maintenance of all privately-owned areas such as, but not limited to, open space, recreational facilities and areas, parking lot areas and private drives.

         c.   Applicants are encouraged to submit homeowner's association documents which contain provisions addressing exterior appearance and maintenance standards according to a set of architectural design criteria.

         d.   The homeowner's association documents shall clearly state that the Town of Garner shall be held harmless from liability responsibility relative to the delivery of Town services on privately-owned property in the townhousedevelopment .

      2.   Interior roads.

         a.   Determination of whether interior roads shall be constructed as public streets or private drives or a combination of public streets and private drives shall be based upon recommendations from the Planning Department and Engineering Department. Consideration shall be given to the adopted major transportation plan, existing and proposed neighborhood streets and circulation needs, to the relationship of the site to adjoining lands, the size and shape of the tract to be developed, to the number of ultimate dwelling units to be constructed on the tract and on adjoining lands and to anticipated traffic volumes.

         b.   The determination of whether interior roads shall be public or private will consider only the minimum needs of the public for the public streets and will recognize the privacy, security and safety advantages of private drives. All public streets shall have curb and gutter according to Town standards. Private drives are interior circulation roads designed and constructed to carry vehicular traffic from a public street within or adjoining the site to terminal parking areas and service areas, or back to said public street .

         c.   The design and arrangement of private streets shall be subject to review and approval by the Planning Department and Engineering Department.

            (1)   When there is a distance of 150 feet or more between an existing public street and points of refuse collection, a private drive shall be required.

            (2)   All portions of such private drives shall not be more than 1,000 feet from their point of public access.

            (3)   When the development is required to have a private drive, the private drive shall be paved to a minimum width of at least 27 feet, measured from edge of pavement. Concrete curb and gutter sections may be required, if determined necessary by the Planning, Engineering and Public Works Departments.

            (4)   A private drive may be constructed in the peripheral yard provided it is located a minimum distance of 25 feet off any property line or complies with the provisions of Article 7.

            (5)   A base course shall be applied to the entire required paved width of private drives and parking lots and shall consist of at least eight inches of compacted crushed stone.

            (6)   A surface course shall be applied to the entire required paved width of private drives and parking lots and shall consist of at least two inches of 1-2 asphalt paved surface.

            (7)   Cul-de-sac or dead-end streets shall be provided with a vehicular turning circle at least 80 feet in diameter, measured on the center line of the street or other acceptable design criteria for dead-end streets .

            (8)   Street jogs, intersections block lengths including cul-de-sac, street deflections shall conform to the design criteria set forth in Article 8.

            (9)   A permanent street address approved by the Planning Department shall be assigned to the private drives.

      3.   Maintenance required. Homeowner's association documents shall include adequate provisions to ensure proper maintenance by the homeowner's association of private drives, units, their structural components and exteriors, yard spaces and other commonly owned property and shall be recorded with the final plat .

      4.   Minimum lot size. There is no minimum lot size for individual units; density is controlled by district regulations. However, every individual lot shall meet the following criteria:

         a.   The minimum lot width is 16 feet;

         b.   The minimum frontage on a public street is 16 feet; and

         c.   The minimum front yard setback is 25 feet. (This setback is not in addition to the development -wide standard. However, where a 50 feet setback is required under development -wide standards, each affected lot must maintain the minimum 50-foot setback rather than the 25-foot setback.)

   C.   Fee simple townhouse.

      1.   Special provisions. This form of townhousedevelopment involves attached housing units purchasable on a fee simple basis, on individual lots meeting minimum requirements and fronting on a dedicated public street , with or without provisions for commonly owned property controlled by a homeowner's association. This form of townhousedevelopment differs from other townhousedevelopments in that no common areas may be required. Developers are encouraged to utilize restrictive covenants for townhousedevelopments that address architectural standards, exterior maintenance of units and other appropriate matters through homeowner association documents. It is strongly recommended that such agreements be made to insure the proper maintenance of units, their structural components and exteriors, and yard spaces. Where there is the provision of commonly owned land in a fee simple townhousedevelopment a homeowner's association shall be required. Such documents shall be subject to the provisions of Article 6.

      2.   Interior roads.

         a.   Determination of whether interior roads shall be construed as public streets or private drives or a combination of public streets and private drives shall be based on recommendations from the Planning and Engineering Departments.

         b.   Consideration shall be given to the adopted major transportation plan, existing and proposed neighborhood streets and circulation needs, to the relationship of the site to adjoining lands, the size and shape of the tract to be developed, to the number of ultimate dwelling units to be constructed on the tract and on adjoining lands, and to anticipated traffic volumes.

         c.   The determination of whether interior roads shall be public or private will consider only the minimum needs of the public for the public streets and will recognize the privacy, security and safety advantages of private drives.

         d.   All public streets shall be constructed according to Town of Garner standards. All private drives shall be constructed according to the provisions of Article 6.

         e.   The issuance of any building permits shall not be permitted until a major subdivision final plat , meeting the appropriate requirements, has been approved by the Planning Director as set out in this UDO.

      3.   Minimum lot size. There is no minimum lot size for individual units; density is controlled by district regulations. However, every individual lot shall meet the following criteria:

         a.   The minimum lot width is 18 feet;

         b.   The minimum frontage on a public street is 18 feet; and

         c.   The minimum front yard setback is 25 feet where garages are accessed from the front. If rear access to garages is provided, the minimum front yard may be reduced to 15 feet, except that in the Central Business District, the minimum front yard may be reduced to 5 feet.

(Ord. No. 3761, § 1, 2-2-15; Ord. No. 5006, § 2, 1-4-21; Ord., 3-16-21)