There is a mutual responsibility between the subdivider and the Subdivision
Agent to divide the land so as to improve the general use pattern of the land
being subdivided.
The Subdivision Agent shall not approve the subdivision of land if,
from adequate investigations conducted by all public agencies concerned, it
has been determined that, in the best interest of the public, the site is
not suitable for platting and development purposes of the kind proposed.
All required improvements shall be installed by the subdivider at the
subdivider's cost. The subdivider's performance bond shall not be
released until all construction has been inspected and approved by the appropriate
engineers. All improvements shall be in accordance with the following requirements:
A. Streets. All streets in the proposed subdivision shall
be designed and constructed in accordance with the following minimum requirements
by the subdivider at no cost to the locality:
(1) Alignment and layout. The arrangement of streets in new
subdivisions shall make provision for the continuation of existing streets
in adjoining areas. The street arrangement must be such as to cause no unnecessary
hardship to owners of adjoining property when they plat their own land and
seek to provide for convenient access to adjoining areas. The streets shall
be extended by dedication to the boundary line of such property. Half streets
along the boundary of land proposed for subdivision will not be permitted.
Wherever possible, streets shall intersect at right angles. In all hillside
areas, streets running with contours shall be required to intersect at angles
of not less than 60°, unless approved by the Subdivision Agent upon recommendation
of the Highway Engineer. The subdivider shall also dedicate additional right-of-way
as required by the Virginia State Department of Transportation for future
improvements.
(2) Service drives. Whenever a proposed subdivision contains
or is adjacent to a limited access highway or expressway, provision shall
be made for a service drive or marginal street approximately parallel to such
right-of-way at a distance suitable for an appropriate use of the land between
such highway and the proposed subdivision. Such distances shall be determined
with due consideration of the minimum distance required for ingress and egress
to the main thoroughfare. The right-of-way of any major highway or street
projected across any limited access highway or expressway shall be of adequate
width to provide for the cuts or fill required for any future separation of
grades.
(3) Approach angle. Major streets shall approach major or
minor streets at an angle of not less than 80°, unless the Agent, upon
recommendation of the Highway Engineer, shall approve a lesser angle of approach
for reasons of contour, terrain or matching of existing patterns.
(4) Minimum widths. The minimum width of proposed streets
measured from lot line to lot line shall be as specified by the Virginia Department
of Transportation for acceptance into the State Secondary System.
(5) Construction requirements. All streets shall be constructed
to requirements as specified by the Virginia Department of Transportation
for acceptance into the State Secondary System. At the time of filing the
preliminary plat, the subdivider shall also present to the Subdivision Agent
complete plans and specifications for soil erosion and sedimentation controls.
(6) Culs-de-sac. Generally, minor terminal streets (culs-de-sac)
designed to have one end permanently closed shall serve no more than 20 lots.
Each cul-de-sac must be terminated by a turnaround of not less than 100 feet
in diameter.
(7) Alleys. Alleys should be avoided wherever possible. Dead-end
alleys, if unavoidable, shall be provided with adequate turnaround facilities
as determined by the Subdivision Agent.
(8) Private streets and reserve strips. There shall be no
private streets platted in any subdivision. Every subdivided property shall
be served from a publicly dedicated street. There shall be no reserve strip
controlling access to streets.
(9) Names. Proposed streets which are obviously in alignment
with other already existing and named streets shall bear the names of the
existing streets. In no case shall the names of proposed streets duplicate
existing street names, irrespective of the use of the suffix street, avenue,
boulevard, driveway, place, land or court. Street names shall be approved
by the Subdivision Agent. Names of existing streets shall not be changed except
by approval of the governing body.
(10) Identification signs. Street identification signs of
a design approved by the Highway Department shall be installed at all intersections,
readable from either side.
B. Monuments. All monuments required by this chapter must
be installed by the subdivider and shall meet the minimum specifications hereinafter
set forth. Upon completion of subdivision streets, sewers and other improvements,
the subdivider shall make certain that all monuments required by the Agent
are clearly visible for inspection and use. Such monuments shall be inspected
and approved by the Agent before any improvements are accepted by the governing
body.
(1) Concrete monuments. Concrete monuments four inches in
diameter or square, two feet long or iron pipes, or their equivalent, with
a flat top shall be set where lot lines intersect streets or no more than
10 feet set back from said street and at all points where the street line
intersects the exterior of the subdivision, and at right angle points, and
points of curve in each street.
(2) Iron pipe (or equivalent). All other lot corners shall
be marked with iron pipe not less then 1/2 inch in diameter and 24 inches
long and driven so as to be flush with the grade line. When rock is encountered,
a hole shall be drilled four inches deep in the rock, into which shall be
cemented a steel rod 1/2 inch in diameter, the tip of which shall be flush
with the grade line.
C. Water facilities. Where public water is available, the
service shall be extended by the subdivider to all lots within a subdivision,
including fire hydrants in accordance with the design standards and specifications
for water construction and improvements in the County and meeting the approval
of the Subdivision Agent.
D. Sewerage facilities. Where public sewerage facilities
are available, the service shall be extended by the subdivider to all lots
within a subdivision, and septic tanks will not be permitted. Every subdivision
shall be provided by the subdivider with satisfactory and sanitary means of
sewerage collection and disposal in accordance with the design standards and
specifications for sewerage construction and improvements meeting the approval
of the Subdivision Agent and the Health Official.
E. Private water and/or sewerage facilities. Nothing in
this regulation shall prevent the installation of privately owned water and/or
sewerage facilities in areas where public water and/or sewerage facilities
are not available; provided, however, that such installations must meet all
the requirements of the State Water Control Board, the State Health Department
and any other state or local regulation having authority over such installation.
F. Lot size. The minimum lot size in any area shall be in accordance with Chapter
148, Zoning.
G. Septic tanks. The Agent shall not approve any subdivision
where sanitary sewers are not provided until the Agent shall have received,
in writing, from the Health Official a statement to the effect that each lot
proposed in the subdivision is satisfactory for the installation of septic
tanks and drainfields, as well as a 100% reserve drainfield replacement area
for each drainfield, and that such approval by the Agent is only with the
understanding that where septic tanks are to be installed, these must be approved
on an individual lot basis by the Health Official.
H. Flood control and drainage. The subdivider shall provide,
when requested, all information needed to determine what improvements are
necessary to properly develop the subject property, including contour intervals,
drainage plans and flood control devices. The subdivider shall also provide
plans for all such improvements, together with a surveyor, or provide plans
for all such improvements, together with a surveyor or engineer's statement
that such improvements, when properly installed, will be adequate for proper
development. The Highway Engineer shall then approve or disapprove the plans.
The subdivider shall also provide any other information required by the Highway
Engineer.
I. Fire protection. Fire hydrants in a subdivision at locations
approved by the Agent shall be installed by the subdivider, provided that
central or public water is available.
J. Easements. The Agent may require that easements for drainage
through adjoining property be provided by the subdivider. All utility easements
for overhead facilities shall be a minimum of 30 feet wide along all roads
and a minimum of 15 feet wide along each side property line or as designated
on the plat. Utility easements for underground facilities shall be a minimum
of 15 feet wide along all roads and a minimum of eight feet alongside each
property line or as designated on the plat. A separate ten-foot easement for
all sewer force mains, including private force mains to remote drainfields,
shall be required. No utility easement shall be permitted to have a slope
greater than 2:1. Wherever cuts and fills adjacent to highway rights-of-way
are greater than 2:1, the utility easement shall be located beyond the steep
slope.
K. Plans and specifications. The subdivider shall submit
two prints of the plans and specifications for all required physical improvements
to be installed, which prints shall be prepared by a surveyor or engineer,
and shall be submitted to the Agent for approval or disapproval within 45
days. If approval is granted, one copy bearing certification of such approval
shall be returned to the subdivider. If disapproved, all papers shall be returned
to the subdivider with the reason for disapproval in writing.
L. Part of a tract. Whenever part of a tract is proposed
for platting and it is intended to be subdivided into additional parts in
the future, a sketch plan for the entire tract shall be submitted with the
preliminary plat.
In addition to the area and width requirements already specified, lots
shall be arranged in order that the following considerations are satisfied:
A. Shape. The lot arrangement, design and shape shall be
such that lots will provide satisfactory and desirable sights for buildings
and be properly related to topography and conform to requirements of this
chapter. Lots shall not contain peculiarly shaped elongations solely to provide
access to other roads unless approved by the governing body.
B. Location. Each lot shall abut a street dedicated by the subdivision plat or an existing publicly dedicated street or a street which has become public by right of use. If the existing streets do not conform to the requirements of §
128-19A(4), the subdivider shall make provisions in the deeds to the lots for all buildings to be so constructed as to permit the widening by dedication of such roads or streets to the minimum requirements.
C. Corner lots. Corner lots shall have extra width sufficient
for any required building lines on both streets as determined by the Subdivision
Agent.
D. Side lines. Side lines of lots shall be approximately
at right angles or radial to the street line.
E. Remnants. All remnants of lots below minimum size left
over after subdividing of a tract must be added to adjacent lots or otherwise
disposed of rather than allowed to remain as unusable parcels.
F. Separate ownership. Where the land covered by a subdivision
includes two or more parcels in separate ownership, and lot arrangement is
such that a property ownership line divides one or more lots, the land in
each lot so divided shall be transferred by deed to single ownership simultaneously
with the recording of the final plat. Said deed is to be deposited with the
Clerk of the court and held with the final plat until the subdivider is ready
to record the same, and they both shall then be recorded together.
Where created by the subdivision of land, all new blocks shall be of
modern design and shall comply with the general requirements hereinafter set
forth:
A. Length. Generally, the maximum length of blocks shall
be 1,200 feet, and the minimum length of blocks upon which lots have frontage
shall be 500 feet.
B. Width. Blocks shall be wide enough to allow two tiers
of lots, except where fronting on major streets, unless prevented by topographical
conditions or size of the property, in which case the Agent may approve a
single tier of lots.
C. Orientation. Where a proposed subdivision will adjoin
a major road, the Subdivision Agent may require that the greater dimension
of the block shall front or back upon such major thoroughfare to avoid unnecessary
ingress or egress.