11-1-26: PRIVATE STREETS:
   A.   Private Streets Permitted. Private streets may, upon application, be permitted by the Mayor and City Council within major subdivisions, subject to the requirements of this section. Applications for approval of private streets shall be considered by the Mayor and City Council at the time of preliminary plat approval by the Planning Commission. Following a recommendation by the Planning Commission to authorize private streets in a major subdivision, the Mayor and City Council shall consider the application and may impose conditions on the approval of private streets to ensure various public purposes and to mitigate potential problems with private streets. No final plat involving a private street shall be approved unless said final plat conforms to the requirements of this section.
   B.   Construction Plans Required. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to construct a new private street or alter an existing private street or to cause the same to be done without first obtaining approval of construction plans from the City Administrator and a development permit issued in accordance with the requirements of this ordinance.
   C.   Standards. All private streets shall be constructed to all standards for public streets as required by this ordinance for public streets, applicable construction specifications of the City, and as approved by the City Administrator.
   D.   Street Names And Signs. Private streets shall be named, subject to the approval of the City Administrator. The subdivider of land involving a private street shall install street signs with content containing the street name and the designation “private,” as approved by the City Administrator. The sign signifying the private street may be required by the City to be a different color than that of street signs provided for public streets, in order to distinguish maintenance responsibilities in the field.
   E.   Easements. Easements for private streets shall be designated on final plats as general-purpose public access and utility easements, along with the name of said private street. Said easement shall at minimum be of the same width as that required for the right-of-way of a public street by the major thoroughfare plan and the City for the type of public street (local, collector, etc.) most closely resembling the proposed private street. Easements for private streets shall not be included in any calculation of minimum lot size or density limitations established by local land use regulations. In the cases of private streets, the general-purpose public access and utility easement for the private street shall either:
      1.   Be shown in a manner on the final plat such that each lot fronting the private street extends to the centerline of the private street. No lot shall be permitted to be divided by the general purpose public access and utility easement required and established for a private street; or
      2.   Shall be drawn as its own discrete parcel to be dedicated to a private homeowners association (i.e., not shown to be a part of any lot).
   F.   Maintenance. The City shall not maintain, repair, resurface, rebuild, or otherwise improve streets, signs, drainage improvements or any other appurtenances within general purpose public access and utility easements established for private streets. A private maintenance covenant recorded with the Clerk of Stephens County shall be required for any private street and other improvements within general-purpose public access and utility easements established for private streets. The covenant shall set out the distribution of expenses, remedies for non-compliance with the terms of the agreement, rights to the use of easements, and other pertinent considerations. The Covenant shall specifically include the following terms.
      1.   The Covenant shall establish minimum annual assessments in an amount adequate to defray costs of ordinary maintenance and procedures for approval of additional needed assessments. The Covenant shall also specify that the funds from such assessments will be held by a homeowners or property owners association in cases of a subdivision of seven or more lots fronting on a private street.
      2.   The Covenant shall include a periodic maintenance schedule.
      3.   The Covenant for maintenance shall be enforceable by any property owner served by the private street.
      4.   The Covenant shall establish a formula for assessing maintenance and repair costs equitably to property owners served by the private street.
      5.   The Covenant shall run with the land.
      6.   The Mayor and City Council may, at its discretion, as a condition of approving private streets, require a performance bond and/or maintenance bond be submitted by the subdivider and held by a homeowners or property owners association, or the Commission may require that the subdivider pay an amount of money as recommended by the City Administrator into an escrow account or other suitable account for the maintenance and repair of private streets and stormwater management improvements, to be drawn from by the homeowners or property owners association as maintenance and repair needs may arise.
   G.   Specifications For Final Plats Involving Private Streets. The City Administrator shall not approve for recording any final plat involving a private street unless and until it shall contain the following on the face of the plat:
      1.   Deed book and page reference to the recorded covenant required by this section;
      2.   “WARNING, City of Marlow has no responsibility to build, improve, maintain, or otherwise service the private streets, drainage improvements, and other appurtenances contained within the general public purpose access and utility easement or easements for private streets shown on this plat.”;
      3.   “Grant of Easement. The general purpose public access and utility easement(s) shown on this plat for private street(s) is hereby granted and said grant of rights shall be liberally construed to provide all necessary authority to the City, and to public or private utility companies serving the subdivision, for the installation and maintenance of utilities, including, but not limited to, electric lines, gas lines, telephone lines, water lines, sewer lines, cable television lines, and fiber optic cables, together with the right to trim interfering trees and brush, together with a perpetual right of ingress and egress for installation, maintenance, and replacement of such lines.
      ____________________________
      Signature of Property Owner”; and,
      4.   (The following certificate of dedication shall be required, unless the Mayor and City Council waives the dedication requirement.)
      “Certificate of Dedication. All water and sewer lines installed within the general purpose public access and utility easement(s) shown on this plat for private street(s) are hereby dedicated to the City of Marlow.
      _____________________________
      Signature of Property Owner.”
   
   H.   Requirement for Purchaser’s Acknowledgment of Private Responsibilities. Prior to the sale or as a condition of the closing of a real estate transaction involving any lot served by a private street in the city, the subdivider or seller of said lot shall execute a notarized purchaser’s acknowledgment of private street construction and drainage maintenance responsibilities as set forth below. A copy of the purchaser’s acknowledgment shall be retained by the purchaser and shall be required to be submitted as a condition of a building permit for a principal building on said lot:
   “Purchaser’s Acknowledgment of Private Street and Drainage Maintenance Responsibility
   (I) / (We) have read the Declaration of Covenant which pertains to the lot that is the subject of this real estate transaction ______________ (insert address or attach legal description). (I) / (We) understand that the Declaration of Covenant applies to the lot that (I am) / (we are) purchasing and requires (me) / (us) to provide a specified percentage or amount of the financing for the construction and maintenance of any private street and drainage facilities serving the lot which (I am) / (we are) purchasing, and that owners of other lots in this plat may sue for and recover those costs which this covenant requires (me) / (us) to pay, plus their damages resulting from (my) / (our) refusal to contribute, plus reasonable attorneys fees. (I) / (We) further understand that the City has no obligation to assist with the maintenance and improvement of the private street, drainage facilities, and other appurtenances within the general purpose public access and utility easement for the private road serving the lot in question. (I) / (We) understand that a copy of this purchaser’s acknowledgment shall be required as a condition of the issuance of a building permit for a principal building on the lot (I am) / (we are) purchasing.
   __________________________
   Purchaser
   __________________________
   Purchaser”
(Ord. 437, - -2020)