The proposed street system shall extend existing and projected streets at not less than the required minimum width and shall be in conformance with the following criteria.
(A) Conformance with Land Development Guidelines.
(1) The location and design of streets shall be in conformance with the Land Development Guidelines. Where the conditions warrant, right-of-way width and pavement width in excess of the minimum street standards may be allowed or required. In any case where any part of a subdivision lies within the corridor of a thoroughfare shown on a Gaston-Cleveland-Lincoln Metropolitan Planning Organization (GCLMPO) or NCDOT Map adopted pursuant to G.S. Chapter 136, Article 2E, no subdivision approval shall be granted with respect to the property in the roadway corridor. Provided, however, no subdivision plat approval shall be delayed by the provision of the Gaston-Cleveland-Lincoln MPO or NCDOT Map procedure for more than three years from the date of its original submittal.
(2) Development that takes place along designated thoroughfares identified in local or regional planning documents should be well planned. At some point in the future, widening or construction of these roads will take place. In order to minimize any negative impacts to adjoining property owners occurring as a result of such widening projects, and to require that all new structures lying on properties along these roads be adequately set back from existing and/or projected road rights-of-way. In this manner, all structures built will be adequately set back from the road when it is widened. The thoroughfare roads are shown on the adopted thoroughfare map, not the official zoning map. This thoroughfare is addressed when a development is submitted for review.
(B) Street classification.
(1) The final determination of the classification of streets in a proposed subdivision shall be made by the Planning and Development Department.
(2) Thoroughfare streets provide for movement of high volumes of traffic throughout the city. In general, thoroughfare streets consist of numbered state roads and other major streets as described in the NCDOT, County or City Thoroughfare Plan. Design criteria for thoroughfare streets shall be on a case-by-case basis. Direct driveway access onto thoroughfares is prohibited.
(3) Commercial streets provide direct access to commercial property and may be served by either thoroughfare or collector streets. Design shall be on a case-by-case basis.
(4) Collector streets connect the residential and commercial streets to thoroughfare streets, and may supplement the thoroughfare system by providing a limited amount of through traffic. Collector streets are required when directly serving more than 150 residential units, when connecting adjoining residential areas, or as determined necessary by the city.
(5) Residential streets provide a dual service of lot access and traffic movement between local residential streets and collector streets.
(6) Private streets may be used within commercial and multi-family developments. Design requirements will vary depending on utility and vehicular traffic needs and should be sufficient for service and emergency vehicles. Private streets within subdivided single-family developments are generally prohibited.
(C) Conformance with adjoining street system. The planned street layout of a proposed subdivision shall be compatible with existing or proposed streets and their classifications on adjoining or nearby tracts.
(D) Access to adjoining property. When it is desirable to provide for street access to adjoining property, proposed streets shall be extended to the boundary of such property. For stub out streets, roads shall be built to the property line. Temporary hammerhead turnarounds are required for stub out streets over 200 feet long.
(E) Reserve strips, half streets and private streets. Reserve strips and non-access easements adjoining street right-of-way for the purpose of preventing access to or from adjacent property (except those required to prevent access to thoroughfares), and half-streets shall not be permitted under any condition. Private streets shall be permitted only in specific developments as permitted by the Zoning Ordinance. Easements for sole access to lots are permitted only in accordance with § 153.005(F).
(F) Intersections. Streets shall be designed so as to intersect at 90 degrees unless approved by the city, and no street shall intersect any other street at an angle of less than 60 degrees. Streets crossing natural areas or streams shall cross at or near to right angles as possible within limits of topographic conditions. Offset intersections are to be avoided. A minimum intersection offset of 125 feet shall be maintained.
(G) Cul-de-sacs.
(1) Cul-de-sacs should not be used to avoid connection with an existing street, to avoid the extension of a thoroughfare or collector street, or to avoid connection to adjoining property.
(2) Cul-de-sac streets shall not exceed 900 feet in length. Measurements shall be from the point where the centerline of the dead end street intersects with the centerline of a through street to the center of the turnaround or the cul-de-sac. Cul-de-sacs shall be provided with a turnaround meeting city standards.
(3) Where one cul-de-sac extends from another cul-de-sac, the end of each cul-de-sac shall be no more than 500 feet from a through street as measured by the centerline of the streets.
(H) Marginal access streets. Where a tract of land to be subdivided adjoins a thoroughfare, the subdivider and/or applicant may be required to provide a marginal access street parallel to the thoroughfare or provide for through lots on a local street for the lots to be developed adjacent to the thoroughfare. Where through lots are established, such lots may be prevented from having direct access to the thoroughfare by driveways through the use of reverse strips or non-access easements.
(I) Water, sewer, street lights and storm drainage within streets. Water, sewer, street lights, sidewalks, storm drainage and other such facilities to be placed within the street right-of-way shall be placed in accordance with latest adopted Land Development Guidelines. All utilities shall be placed underground.
(J) Pavement, curb and gutter and pavement and side ditch. Pavement, curb and gutter to be placed in public streets shall be placed in accordance with latest adopted Land Development Guidelines. All utilities shall be placed underground.
(K) Street design criteria. All street designs and construction within public street right-of-way shall be in accordance with latest adopted Land Development Guidelines. All private street designs and construction shall be in accordance with the latest adopted Land Development Guidelines. All utilities shall be placed underground.
(L) Connection to state streets.
(1) An approved NCDOT permit is required to connect to any existing state system street.
(2) G.S. § 136-102.6, “Compliance of Subdivision Streets with Minimum Standards of the Board of Transportation Required of Developers”, requires that new public streets outside the city limits and changes to existing streets inside the city limits that are the responsibility of NCDOT be in accordance with the Minimum Right-of-Way and Construction Standards established by the Board of Transportation for acceptance on the state highway system. It is the intent of these standards and requirements, as set forth, to complement and not to conflict with the requirements of NCDOT as stated in G.S. § 136-102.6. In all cases, the most restrictive limitation or requirement, or the requirement causing the highest standard of improvement shall govern.
(3) All proposed streets shall be constructed in accordance with the Land Development Guidelines. All street improvements shall be designed and installed in accordance with city standards and the approved construction plan. The subdivider’s engineer shall furnish the city with a certified statement that all street improvements installed in the subdivision meet the minimum standards of this chapter.
(4) In addition, street improvements, in accordance with the Street Design Guidelines, shall be installed in the following situations:
(a) Any existing street segment that has not been accepted for maintenance by either the city or State Department of Transportation, and that is to serve as the required frontage for one or more lots created pursuant to this chapter, shall be improved, dedicated and accepted for public use to the public, as provided for above, in such a way that the street segment meets the standards of this chapter for the particular classification of street, including right-of-way width. Such street segment shall be directly connected to the existing public street system by way of at least one public street accepted for maintenance by either the city or State Department of Transportation. No subdivision shall be permitted on any street that is an “island” not connected directly to the public street system.
(b) Subdivisions that adjoin existing streets maintained by either the city or the NCDOT shall dedicate additional street rights-of-way necessary to meet the minimum width requirements for the type of classification of the adjoining street. When any part of the subdivision is on both sides of the existing street, the entire minimum right-of-way shall be provided. When the subdivision is located on only one side of an existing street, one-half of the minimum right-of-way, measured from the centerline of the existing street, shall be provided. The improvement requirements of this subchapter shall not apply to the subdivision of lots fronting on established streets that have already been accepted for maintenance by the city or NCDOT.
(c) The Planning and Development Department may require pavement and widening or pavement and widening and curb and gutter for turning lanes along any existing or proposed street that forms a significant entrance to a proposed subdivision where, in the opinion of the Planning and Development Department, such improvements are necessary in order to provide for safe vehicular movement into and out of the proposed subdivision.
(d) In cases where a street is stubbed into adjoining property for future extension and such street serves as the frontage for one or more lots which are not corner lots, the Planning and Development Department may require the pavement of a temporary turnaround in a form similar to a cul-de-sac on such a street where, in their opinion, such turnaround is necessary for the public convenience, safety and service. Temporary easements for such purposes may be required.
(M) City Street and Thoroughfare Plans. Where a proposed development plan includes any part of a city street or thoroughfare which has been designated as such on the Official Thoroughfare Plan adopted by the city, State Department of Transportation, or Gaston-Cleveland-Lincoln Metropolitan Planning Organization (GCLMPO), or as part of any transportation plan adopted by the city, a right-of-way shall be platted in the location shown on the plan at the width specified in this chapter, or as identified in a Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA). As a condition of approval, the developer shall be required to construct the proposed street or thoroughfare within the borders of his or her development in accordance with the adopted standards or plans for such construction. In instances where such a street is scheduled for construction by the city or the State Department of Transportation, the developer may make a payment in lieu of construction equal to his or her pro-rata share of the costs of construction. Major thoroughfares and interstate highway construction are exempted from this requirement.
(Ord. passed 9-27-2021) Penalty, see § 153.999