(A) Purpose and intent. It is the purpose and intent of these regulations to facilitate the development of circulation systems which permit the safe, efficient, and orderly movement of vehicular traffic.
(B) Plan of development submittal requirements. All plans of development proposing the construction of new roads or private roads and driveways which intersect roads within the system of roads maintained by the State Department of Transportation must submit sufficient data and plans to comply with the submission requirements of the resident engineer as well as to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
(C) General requirements.
(1) Comprehensive Plan requirements. Transportation systems shall be designed in accordance with future densities and intensities as envisioned by the Comprehensive Plan.
(2) Designed for present and future needs. Road systems shall be designed to meet but not exceed the needs of present and future populations served, to have a simple and logical pattern which respects resources and the natural terrain.
(3) Hierarchical road system. Roads shall be laid out in accordance with a hierarchical design whereby roads are defined by function and traffic levels.
(D) Street and road classifications. All new streets and roads shall be classified according to their function and the projected average daily traffic (ADT) count. Average daily traffic counts shall include all traffic projected to result from the complete development of land served by the subject street, including both internal and external trips. The trip generation rates contained in the most recent edition of the Trip Generation Manual published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, shall be used to determine the projected ADT although the plan-approving authority may accept projected generation rates based upon documented historic local trip generation rates.
(1) Traffic volume classification and description. New streets shall be classified according to the total traffic projected for the street at full development, including full development of adjoining properties which reasonably may be expected to produce or attract traffic which will utilize the street. This is depicted below.
Traffic Volume-Based Street Classifications
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Classification | Minimum ADT | Maximum ADT |
Traffic Volume-Based Street Classifications
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Classification | Minimum ADT | Maximum ADT |
Access | - | 250 |
Major arterial | - | Over 8,000 |
Major collector | 1,001 | 4,000 |
Minor arterial | 4,001 | 8,000 |
Minor collector | 401 | 1,000 |
Subcollector | 251 | 400 |
(2) Design categories.
(a) Access street. Carry only the volume of traffic generated on the street itself.
(b) Subcollector street. May carry the volume of at least one access street in addition to its own volume.
(c) Collector street. Unsuitable for providing direct residential lot access, however, occasionally no suitable alternative exists.
(d) Arterial street. Direct residential lot access is prohibited and commercial or industrial lot access is controlled and limited.
(3) Existing streets. Where existing streets which are not otherwise classified by the Comprehensive Plan abut or affect the design of a proposed development, such existing streets shall be classified in accordance with the functional and traffic volume descriptions contained in this section.
(E) Alignment and layout.
(1) Coordination of proposed road with existing roads. In accordance with VA Code § 15.1-466(c), all proposed streets shall be designed to coordinate with other existing or planned streets contiguous to or within the general area of the proposed development or within existing or future adjacent developments as to location, width, grades, and drainage. Connections, when required, with existing or platted streets, shall be continuous without offset.
(2) Stub streets. The plan-approving authority may require that adequate rights-of-way are platted to the boundary line(s) of any development in order to afford desirable street access to adjoining properties and to facilitate the development of an effective and efficient circulation system.
(3) Conditions whereby stub streets are permanently terminated. Where a street right-of-way in an existing development has been platted to the boundary line of a proposed development, it shall be extended and continued into an adjacent proposed development unless exempted from this requirement by the plan-approving authority upon the recommendation of the Department of Transportation or upon the plan-approving authority making one of the following findings.
(a) Such an extension would cause or contribute to a demonstrable safety deficiency which could not be corrected in a practical or economically efficient manner. In such cases, the developer shall be responsible for providing sufficient right-of-way and constructing a permanent circular or “T” turnaround in accordance with the standards of the Department of Transportation.
(b) The street right-of-way in the existing development, although platted, has not had a street constructed within it, is not contained within the Comprehensive Plan, and it is unlikely that, in the foreseeable future, such a street will be constructed. In such case, the developer shall not be responsible for providing a turnaround.
(4) Intersection geometries. Streets shall intersect at a 90-degree angle plus or minus five degrees for a minimum of 50 feet from the intersection. No intersection shall have more than four street approaches.
(F) Rights-of-way.
(1) Dedication. Where a development abuts an existing public right-of-way which has a width deficiency created either because it is less than 50 feet in width or because adopted plans show that a greater width will be necessary to accommodate those plans, the developer shall be required to dedicate additional rights-of-way as follows:
(a) Where the development abuts one side of the right-of-way, the developer shall dedicate one-half of the right-of-way deficiency along the frontage of the development; and
(b) Where the development abuts both sides of the right-of-way, the developer shall dedicate all of the right-of-way deficiency along the frontages of the development.
(2) Minimum right-of-way widths. The minimum right-of-way width shall be in accordance with the State Department of Transportation standards. For private roads, the plan-approving authority may approve right-of-way widths based upon the anticipated function and traffic load of the street.
(G) Geometric standards.
(1) Continuity of design. All streets shall have a continuity of design throughout their entire length. Multiple or step-down designs shall not be permitted except that a transition may be permitted at a four-way intersection or other major traffic generator which would constitute a clear demarcation of said change.
(2) Right-of-way widths. Right-of-way widths shall conform with the State Department of Transportation standards unless otherwise approved by the county for private roads.
(H) Construction standards.
(1) Compliance with Department of Transportation standards. Unless otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, all streets shall be in conformance with Department of Transportation requirements.
(2) Base and pavement. Base and pavement design shall be based on the load-bearing capacities of soils located within proposed street rights-of-way as detailed in a subsurface soils report, certified by a geotechnical engineer. The plan-approving authority may, however, upon the recommendation of the Department of Transportation, waive or modify this requirement when there is sufficient cause to believe that such a report is unnecessary.
(3) Plans require Department of Transportation approval. Street construction plans shall be submitted to and approved by both the Department of Transportation and the county as a part of the review process required by this chapter.
(4) Construction guarantees. Street construction guarantees shall not be fully released until street(s) have been accepted into the State Secondary System.
(I) Curb and gutter streets. Curb and gutter streets shall be provided when required by the plan-approving authority or the State Department of Transportation.
(J) Cul-de-sac streets.
(1) Length of cul-de-sac. Cul-de-sac streets shall not exceed 1,500 feet in length, or serve more than 35 dwellings whichever is the less restrictive. The length shall be measured from the end of the cul-de-sac to the closest intersection which provides a means of egress from the development, either directly or indirectly. Where the plan-approving authority determines that the topography, property configuration, or other physical constraints are such that a cul-de-sac of greater length is required or desirable for the effective and efficient development of the property, the plan-approving authority may authorize cul-de-sacs which exceed 1,500 feet in length.
(2) Dead end street signs. A sign shall be posted at the entrance to any cul-de-sac indicating it is a dead end street if the end of the cul-de-sac is not clearly visible from the entrance.
(3) Cul-de-sac turnaround design. Cul-de-sac streets shall be terminated by a turnaround having a minimum right-of-way radius of 50 feet and a minimum pavement radius of 35 feet.
(K) Service alleys. In certain situations, the use of service alleys may be a desirable alternative to the more traditional type of development. When alleys are proposed, the following conditions shall apply.
(2) Maintenance of alleys. Service alleys shall only be created if they are proposed to be maintained by a property owners’ association with the capacity to maintain the service alleys. Notations to this effect shall be clearly indicated on the approved plan and other applicable documents recorded in the courthouse.
(3) Alley design. Service alleys shall have a minimum right-of-way width of 14 feet, a minimum pavement width of ten feet, and a maximum uninterrupted length of 500 feet.
(4) Alleys not to be designed to handle through traffic. Transportation system design shall be such that alleys are not used by vehicular through traffic desiring to bypass roads more suitable for their passage.
(5) Dead end alleys. Where alleys are proposed to terminate in a cul-de-sac, either a circular or a “T” turnaround shall be provided.
(L) Regulatory and traffic signs.
(1) Developer responsible for providing signs. The developer shall be responsible for the provision of all regulatory and traffic signs required to maintain and ensure traffic safety during and after construction of improvements. This shall include the provision of temporary or permanent regulatory and traffic signs during construction, if required by the plan-approving authority after consultation with the Department of Transportation.
(2) Signs erected prior to the issuance of building permits. All intersections of development streets with existing public roadways shall be provided with appropriate stop or yield signs, as determined by the Department of Transportation, prior to the issuance of any building permits for any structure on a lot contained within said development accessed directly or indirectly through such intersection.
(3) Signs erected prior to building occupancy. All required regulatory and traffic signs within any development shall be installed prior to occupancy of any structure within the development.
(M) Sight triangles.
(1) Sight triangle area defined. A SIGHT TRIANGLE AREA is a triangular-shaped portion of land established at street intersections and entrances onto streets in which nothing is permitted to be erected, placed, planted, or allowed to grow in a manner that limits or obstructs the sight distance of motorists, bicyclists, or pedestrians traversing or using the intersection or entrance. The protected sight distance area is the triangle with legs that are the intersecting flow lines of two streets or an entrance/exit and a street at an intersection.
(2) Sight triangle area requirements. Where local streets meet (or entrance/exit with a local street), the legs of the triangle shall extend 35 feet away from the intersection of the flow lines. Where the intersection is with a collector or arterial street, the legs of the triangle shall be 45 feet from the intersection or the flow lines.
(3) Sight triangle area clearance. Signs, plantings, structures, and other obstructions which would obscure or impede sight lines between three feet and seven feet in height above grade shall be prohibited within the sight triangle area.
(4) Sight triangle area indicated on the plan of development. The sight triangle shall be clearly shown and its purposes noted on the final approved plan of development.
(N) Private roads. Developments which contain private roads as permitted must, at a minimum, meet each of the requirements set forth under either Type I or Type II below.
(1) Type I. Type I private roads must meet or exceed each of the following requirements.
(a) The private roads must connect directly to a state-maintained, hard-surfaced road at one location and not connect to any other road. All roads in the proposed development shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the most current edition of State Department of Transportation subdivision street requirements, as well as other applicable regulations of the Department of Transportation, except that the road need not be hard surfaced.
(b) No more than 24 lots shall be within the development.
(c) 1. Prior to the sale of any lots, the developer shall erect, within 25 feet of the point where the primary access road to the development joins a state-maintained road, a permanent sign, clearly visible from the state maintained road, containing the following statement in block letters no less than three inches high: “THE UNPAVED ROADS IN THIS DEVELOPMENT WILL NOT BE PAVED OR MAINTAINED AT PUBLIC EXPENSE.”
2. Such sign shall be maintained by the developer and the organization established pursuant to division (N)(1)(h), in clearly visible condition, so long as the developer owns any lot in the development.
(d) Each private road shall be clearly marked as such on the final plat and other applicable documents of any development recorded in the courthouse. The developer shall have boldly printed upon the final plat, the real estate sales/land contract, and as a covenant in each deed for a lot in the development, the following statements:
“THE PRIVATE ROADS IN THIS DEVELOPMENT WILL NOT BE PAVED OR MAINTAINED WITH FUNDS FROM RICHMOND COUNTY OR FUNDS ADMINISTERED BY THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. IN ADDITION, RICHMOND COUNTY SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION POLICIES WILL NOT ALLOW SCHOOL BUSES TO TRAVEL AND PICK UP CHILDREN ON PRIVATE ROADS. IN THE EVENT THAT OWNERS OF LOTS IN THIS DEVELOPMENT SUBSEQUENTLY DESIRE THE ADDITION OF SUCH PRIVATE ROADS TO THE SECONDARY SYSTEM OF STATE HIGHWAYS FOR MAINTENANCE, THE COST TO UPGRADE IT TO PRESCRIBED STANDARDS MUST BE PROVIDED FROM FUNDS OTHER THAN THOSE ADMINISTERED BY THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OR RICHMOND COUNTY. PRIVATE ROADS IN THIS DEVELOPMENT ARE NOT DEDICATED AND ARE OWNED BY (trust, corporation, property owners’ association).” |
(e) Except where required by the plan-approving authority to serve a specified public purpose, such private road shall not be designed to serve through traffic nor to intersect the state highway system in more than one location.
(f) Any private road shall be adequate to carry the traffic volume which may be reasonably expected to be generated by the subdivision.
(g) The fee simple ownership of private road is to be owned by a private membership corporation, property owners’ association, or a trust established pursuant to division (N)(1)(h) below.
(h) The developer shall create and establish by properly executed documents a trust, membership corporation, or property owners’ association for the purpose of maintaining and improving the roads in the development. The trust agreement, articles of incorporation, or bylaws of such trust, corporation, or association shall be approved by the plan-approving authority.
(i) The initial funding of the Road Maintenance Fund of the trust, corporation, or association shall be provided by the developer depositing to the credit of such trust, corporation, or association 5% of the gross sales price for each lot sold in the development or a minimum of $500 per lot, whichever is greater. This percentage of the gross sales price shall be paid upon closing of each and every lot in the development. Gross sales price as used herein shall mean the selling price to a bona fide third-party purchase, and in the event of a sale which is not at arm’s-length, the gross selling price shall be deemed to be the actual market value of the lot as determined by the trustees, corporation, or association to be established, or the assessed value of the lot for real estate tax purposes, whichever is less.
(2) Type II. Type II private roads must meet or exceed each of the following requirements.
(a) The private road must connect directly to a state-maintained, hard-surfaced road at one location and not connect to any other road.
(b) The applicable design and construction standards shall be provided by the developer and must demonstrate to the plan-approving authority the adequacy of the design and construction standards. The plan-approving authority may consult with the Department of Transportation for suggestions on the design. If a design is used that does not meet Department of Transportation standards with regard to alignment, sight distances, and right-of-way widths, the private road shall be precluded from being brought into the state system of secondary highways. Any requests, by the developer or subsequent owners of lots within the development, for acceptance of the private road into the state system shall be not be considered until the road is constructed by the developer or lot owners to all current State Department of Transportation standards, including hard surfacing.
(c) Each private road shall be clearly marked as such on the final plat and other applicable documents of any development recorded in the courthouse. The developer shall have boldly printed upon the final plat, the real estate sales/land contract, and as a covenant in each deed for a lot in the development, the statements identified in division (N)(1)(d) above.
(O) Acceleration/deceleration lanes. Acceleration/deceleration lanes shall be provided as required by the State Department of Transportation in accordance with the traffic volumes in the vicinity and the projected effect of the proposed development on such traffic volumes.
(P) Street names.
(1) Names of proposed streets shall not duplicate or nearly duplicate the name, spelling, or sound of any existing or approved street name within the county or within any portion of an abutting jurisdiction which is in an automatic and mutual emergency response area and/or where a mutual emergency response agreement has a reasonable potential to be established.
(2) Proposed streets which align with planned, recorded, or existing streets shall bear the name of the planned, recorded, or existing streets. The plan-approving authority, however, may require the use of a different street name when such action is in the best interest of public safety.
(3) Street names shall be approved by the plan-approving authority and shall be indicated on the proposal and the recorded plan of development.
(4) Names of recorded or existing streets shall not be changed except by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
(Q) Street signs.
(1) Street signs to be installed at intersections. Permanent street identification signs of a design approved by the plan-approving authority shall be installed at all intersections by the developer. Permanent street signs shall conform to the most current specifications and standards for street name signs provided by the county.
(2) Street signs for private and public streets. Unless otherwise approved by the plan-approving authority, all private and public street name signs shall have signs with green reflective backgrounds.
(3) Installed before issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Prior to the issuance of any certificates of occupancy, street identification signs shall be installed by the developer at all street intersections through which access to the lot in question is possible.
(Ord. passed 11-9-1995) Penalty, see § 157.999