(A) Natural terrain to be preserved. The design and development of subdivisions shall preserve the natural terrain, natural drainage, existing topsoil, trees and natural vegetation to the maximum extent possible.
(B) Flood precautions. All subdivisions shall be designed to be consistent with the need to minimize flood damage.
(C) Utilities. All subdivision proposals shall have public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems located and constructed to minimize flood damage.
(D) AEC compliance. All lots, improvements, structures, and utilities shall comply with the applicable Areas of Environmental Concern (AEC) Standards and any other rules promulgated pursuant to the Coastal Area Management Act of 1974.
(E) Blocks. The lengths, widths, and shapes of blocks shall be determined with due regard to: provision of adequate building sites suitable to the special needs of the type of use contemplated, requirements of the zoning code, needs for vehicular and pedestrian circulation, control and safety of street traffic, limitations and opportunities of topography, and convenient access to water area. Length shall not be greater than 1,400 nor less than 400 feet. Blocks shall have sufficient width to allow two tiers of lots of minimum depth except where single-tier lots are required to separate residential development from through vehicular traffic or another type of use, in nonresidential subdivisions, or where abutting a water area. If there are more than four lots abutting on a highway, a frontage road may be required. Where deemed necessary by the Planning Board, a pedestrian walk may be required to provide convenient access to a public area such as a park or school, to a water area, or to areas such as shopping centers, religious or transportation facilities.
(F) Non-residential and multi-family lots. The size, shape and orientation of lots for purposes other than single-family and duplex residential uses shall be such as the Planning Board deems appropriate for the type of development and use contemplated.
(G) Single-family and Duplex Residential lots. Residential lots shall comply with the following requirements:
(1) Lots shaped and filled. Any lot shaped or filled must be approved as to quality and content by the Dare County Health Department.
(2) Orientation of lot lines. Side lot lines shall be substantially at right angles or radial to street lines.
(3) Minimum lot width. Lots within the Ocean Impact Residential Zone (OIR) shall have a minimum lot width not less than 50 feet measured at the front building setback line. Lots in all other zoning districts shall have a minimum width of not less than 75 feet measured at the front building setback line.
(H) Lot size.
(1) All lots in new subdivisions shall conform to the requirements of the zoning code for the zoning district in which the subdivision is located. Conformance means, among other things, that the smallest lot in the subdivision must meet all dimensional requirements of the zoning code. It is not sufficient merely for the average lot to meet such requirements.
(2) No land area shall be omitted from a plat when to do so would have the effect of creating a residual parcel of inadequate size.
(a) Area. All lots served by an approved central water supply system shall have an area of not less than 15,000 square feet. Additional lot size may be required by the zoning code or when soil conditions in the area to be subdivided are classified as provisionally suitable as currently defined by the North Carolina Department of Human Resources, Division of Health Services, Environmental Health Section (codified as 10 NCAC 10A.1934-1968).
(b) Building setback lines. The minimum setback from property lines shall be recorded on the final plat.
(3) Residential subdivisions in the Residential Low Zoning District on parcels greater than five acres shall comply with the following:
(a) Lot size shall be a minimum of 7,500 square feet;
(b) Lot width shall be a minimum of 50 feet;
(c) Right-of-ways shall be dedicated to the town and must have a sidewalk or multi-use path on at least one side;
(d) Five percent open space shall be provided; and
(e) Twenty-five percent of the lots shall exceed the minimum lot size requirements.
(I) Buffer strips. The Planning Board may recommend the use of a buffer strip adjacent to major roads and commercial or industrial development which would be part of the platted lots but have the following restriction on the fact of the plat: "This strip reserved for the planting of trees or shrubs by the owner; the building of structures is prohibited."
(J) Utilities franchise services. Telephone, electric, and cable television service within subdivisions shall be installed underground.
(Am. Ord. 04-20, passed 10-27-04; Am. Ord. 08-01, passed 1-2-08; Am. Ord. 10-02, passed 1-27-10; Am. Ord. 16-5, passed 9-11-17; Am. Ord. 18-3, passed 6-14-21)