A road may be accepted into the county system if it satisfies 1 of the following conditions:
(1) Construction meeting the requirements of the county subdivision regulations. These roads may be accepted by the county planning commission.
(2) Construction as provided by ordinance of county council in area not subject to subdivision regulations. These roads may be accepted by the county engineer in accordance with the provisions of Ordinance No. 885, article II of this chapter.
(3) Satisfaction of the following criteria:
a. Continuous, unrestricted use by the general public, as evidenced by aerial photographs, affidavits, maps or deeds of record.
b. Upon submittal of a petition and right-of-way dedication form by adjoining property owners which collectively own 75% majority of the abutting road frontage on each road being considered.
c. The road must have served 3 or more properties at the time of designation for general public use as ingress and egress, and be evidenced by maps and deeds of record.
Roads established on or after January 1, 1989, shall not be eligible for acceptance under these provisions.
d. Whenever a specified right-of-way width has not been recorded, a minimum 50-foot right-of-way must be established. Provided, however, due to the circumstances and nature of the road, the county engineer may authorize a right-of-way less than the minimum required. The requesting parties must forward to the county a sealed survey plat of the right-of-way being dedicated. The map must be suitable for recording in the register of deeds office.
e. The road must serve at least 1 residence per 1,500 feet of centerline length.
f. Roads which have served the public for less than 20 years must have provided access for permanent residential/business purposes to more than 50% of the adjoining parcels for 3 continuous tax years prior to acceptance.
g. Roads within platted subdivisions where the original developer(s), or their successor’s in interest, retain more than 20% of the available parcels, or 10% of the total land area made accessible by the road, shall not be eligible for acceptance.
h. Provisions for a cul-de-sac or other appropriate turning area must be made within a dedicated right-of-way on all dead-end roads.
A road meeting the criteria set forth in § 18-34(3) above may be accepted by the director of public service. Any road not meeting such criteria may be accepted by county council if it determines that special circumstances exist. Roads accepted under these provisions must be maintained by the county for 4 years to be eligible for paving consideration.
Where improvements on any road being considered for acceptance under this policy requires replacement or installation of drainage structures larger than 36 inches in diameter, bridges or other appurtenances, excavation of rock, unstable materials or significant quantities of earthwork (no more than 500 cubic yards) to provide a full width roadway, the property owner or other responsible parties must provide funding to offset the additional expenses incurred prior to the road being accepted.
Removal or relocation of utilities, fences, and other encroachments to accommodate any proposed road construction within the designated right-of-way shall be the responsibility of the requesting parties.
No exceptions will be granted to this policy.
(4) Roads and/or bridges found by the state department of highways and public transportation to be of little traffic importance and deleted from the state system are hereby found by the county council to be useless and therefor abandoned. Such abandoned roads shall not be added to the county system without specific approval of county council.
(1976 Code, § 18-34) (Ord. 1222, § 5, passed 2-21-1984; Ord. 1265, § 1, passed 6-5-1984; Ord. 1997, § 1, passed 6-20-1989; Ord. 2181, § 5, passed 11-6-1990)