(A) General easement requirements.
(1) No permanent structure shall be located within any easement. Driveways, sidewalks, and other similar means of ingress and egress shall be permitted to perpendicularly cross any easement where necessary for access.
(2) Any lot area contained within an easement shall not be utilized to achieve the minimum square footage required for the lot.
(3) Unless justification can be made by the applicant as to why it is not feasible, all easements shall follow property lines.
(4) All easements identified and/or proposed on a plat/plan shall be referenced in the Deed of Record for the subject property.
(5) The county’s Development Review Board may require easements of widths deemed adequate for the intended purpose where necessary or advisable for water, electric power, conduits, storm and sanitary sewers, street trees, and gas, water, and other utilities. Specifically, all public utilities shall be included within easements, in accordance with the development of water and sewer utilities in the county’s Water and Sewer Districts.
(B) Minor subdivision easements. Access easements provided for minor subdivisions shall be identified for ingress/egress and utility purposes and shall meet the following requirements. Additionally, streets required as part of a minor subdivision shall meet the requirements of § 153.151(M).
(1) Easements for minor subdivisions shall be created only off of a state-maintained road and shall be a minimum of 50 feet in width, unless otherwise stated.
(a) Where an existing easement is utilized and intersects with two or more properties under separate ownership, the easement shall be a minimum of 30 feet in width. In such cases, the subdivider shall provide that the easement be 50 feet in width for the entire length of any property on the easement and under the ownership of the subdivider.
(b) Easements not legally binding or less than 30 feet in width shall not meet the purpose of this section unless specifically included as part of a court order.
(2) The maximum length of an easement shall be 2,000 feet.
(3) Each lot shall abut the easement, and street when required, for the entire length of the minimum lot width in the zoning district in which it is located, or 40 feet when located on the bulb of a cul-de-sac.
(4) Easements required as part of a subdivision for access to proposed lots shall be kept clear of obstructions and debris.
(5) In no case shall an easement be created off of an existing easement when proposed as part of a subdivision, with the exception of easements for utility purposes only.
(C) Drainage easements.
(1) Drainage easements shall be required for any development that involves more than one lot including residential and nonresidential development. All drainage easements shall be designed to tie into existing easements, existing watercourses, or to other appropriate locations when possible. Maintenance of easements is the responsibility of the facility owner or homeowners association. Drainage easements shall be provided for the following conveyance structures outside of NCDOT right(s)-of-way:
(a) All culverts;
(b) All new or existing open channels on or near the site perimeter or development;
(c) All new or existing storm drainage pipes and points of concentrated flow;
(d) All attenuation facilities, including berms, primary and emergency spillways, and the like; and
(e) Other locations deemed appropriate by the Development Review Board.
(2) The following minimum easement widths shall be provided.
(a) Culverts.
1. For culverts less than 72 inches diameter, the minimum easement width shall be 20 feet;
2. For culverts greater than 72 inches diameter, the minimum easement width shall be the diameter of the culvert plus 20 feet; or
3. For multiple culverts, the minimum easement width shall be total width of the pipes measured from edge to edge plus 20 feet.
(b) Open channels.
Contributing Drainage Area | Minimum Easement Width |
< 10 acres | 20 ft. |
10 acres to 25 acres | 50 ft. |
25 acres to 100 acres | 50 ft. |
> 100 acres | The floodway width or 50 ft., whichever is greater. |
(c) BMPs and stormwater ponds. Easement shall be in accordance with North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual.
(D) Maintenance easements. A maintenance easement shall be required on all lots of 9,000 square feet or less, or lots with a five-foot building setback. The maintenance easement shall be provided along the side property lines for the purposes of future building maintenance and upkeep of both the structure on-site and adjacent structure(s).
(E) Cross-access easements. When required by this chapter, cross-access easements shall be included as part of a development plan. Such easements shall be properly identified on the required plat/plan, including details regarding maintenance, when required.
(F) Off-site septic easements. In cases where suitable soils are not available for the establishment of on-site septic system and repair area, off-site septic easements shall be permitted according to the following requirements.
(1) General off-site septic usage requirements.
(a) Prior to approval of an off-site septic easement, applicants shall attempt to adjust lot lines or recombine parcels to acquire adequate, suitable soils for an on-site septic system.
(b) All septic systems, septic lines, and repair areas shall be designed by a professional engineer or licensed soil scientist, both of which shall be licensed in the state.
(c) Any lots for which an off-site septic system is either used or located shall be identified on the Deed of Record.
(2) Major subdivisions.
(a) Individual off-site septic systems shall be limited based upon the number of lots on the approved preliminary subdivision plat. No more than 10% of the total lots shall utilize off-site septic systems. In cases where the number of lots changes, the number of allowable off-site septic systems shall be adjusted accordingly.
(b) Off-site septic easements shall be contained only within common, unimproved open space of the subdivision.
(c) Such common open spaces areas shall have a minimum of one access easement to allow for utilization by all owners of property within the subdivision. Access easements shall be a minimum of 12 feet in width and shall include an identification sign.
(d) All off-site septic easements shall be separate and distinct from one another and shall be of sufficient size to accommodate the total area required by the county’s Department of Public Health, plus any additional area necessary to allow vehicular movement for repair or expansion purposes in case of future system failure.
(e) All supply line systems shall be installed by a professional licensed to do the work and shall be inspected and approved the county’s Department of Public Health prior to approval and recordation of the final subdivision plat.
(f) A declaration of covenants and/or homeowners association by-laws shall state the following:
1. All benefits and burdens of the covenants and restrictions shall be binding upon the successive owners of each parcel;
2. Those lots burdened by access easements shall be explicitly identified; and
3. Homeowners association shall conduct a program of regular septic easement monitoring and site maintenance. The program shall be published and recorded in the county’s Register of Deeds including a reference of the map book and page of the final subdivision plat map. The homeowner of each respective off-site septic easement shall be responsible for system maintenance and repair.
(3) Minor subdivisions. No minor subdivision shall utilize off-site septic easements.
(4) Existing lots. Regulations regarding location of off-site septic systems and easements within common open space areas shall not apply to septic system failures on existing lots.
(a) Any failure shall be determined by the county’s Department of Public Health or other appropriate local, state, or federal agency.
(b) Applicant shall attempt to locate off-site septic systems on a lot immediately adjacent to the lot on which the failure occurred. Lots separated by right(s)-of-way shall not be considered immediately adjacent for the purpose of this section.
(Ord. passed 10-17-2011)