Town of Bridgeville, DE Article XIII Subdivision and Land Development

§ 234-55 Applicability; relationship to county ordinance.

A. Applicability. The provisions of this article govern the preparation of development plans, residential planned communities, and subdivision plats. It applies to all development plans whether or not they result in the subdivision of land.

B. Relationship to Sussex County Subdivision Ordinance. It is intended that the provisions of this chapter concerning subdivision closely parallel those of Sussex County, in order to avoid confusion among subdividers and provide an orderly pattern of development.

§ 234-56 General requirements.

A. Conformance to applicable rules and regulations. In addition to the requirements established in this chapter, all subdivisions shall comply with the following laws, rules, and regulations. If a subdivision plan does not comply with these laws, rules, and regulations, it may be disapproved, and building permits may be withheld.

(1) The provisions of this chapter, building and housing codes, and all other applicable laws of the county, state, and federal governments.

(2) The municipal Comprehensive Plan.

(3) Standards and regulations adopted by any Town boards, committees, or commissions.

(4) Rules, regulations, and standards of applicable county, state, or federal agencies.

B. Adequate public facilities.

(1) Requirement. No preliminary plan shall be approved unless the Planning and Zoning Commission determines that public facilities are or will be adequate to support and service the area of the proposed subdivision.

(2) Upon request, the applicant shall provide information needed by the Planning and Zoning Commission to evaluate the adequacy of public facilities. For developments subject to development plan approval, the community impact study shall be used to judge adequacy.

(3) The following services shall be examined for adequacy.

(a) Roads.

(b) Sewage service.

(c) Water service.

(d) Other services as applicable to the size and type of development.

C. Self-imposed restrictions. If the owner, applicant, or subdivider places restrictions on any land included in a subdivision that are different from, more strict than, or in addition to those required by this chapter, the Planning and Zoning Commission may require that such restrictions be indicated on the subdivision plan and/or that restrictive covenants be recorded with the Recorder of Deeds. The owner, applicant, or subdivider shall grant the Town the right to enforce the restrictive covenants.

D. Subdivision name. The proposed name of the subdivision shall not duplicate, or too closely approximate phonetically, the name of any other subdivision in the area covered by this chapter. The Town Commissioners shall have final authority to designate the name of a subdivision.

E. Reference monuments.

(1) Permanent reference markers shall be at such locations as approved by a registered land surveyor and represent common surveying practices.

(2) Monuments shall be located on street right-of-way lines, at street intersections, angle points of curves and block corners. They shall be spaced so as to be within sight of each other, the site lines being wholly contained within the street lines.

(3) The external boundaries of a subdivision shall be monumented in the field. These monuments shall be placed not more than 1,400 feet apart in any straight line and at all corners, at each end of all curves, at the point where a curve changes its radius and at all angle points in any line.

F. Character of land.

(1) General Standard. Land that the Planning and Zoning Commission finds to be unsuitable for subdivision or development due to flooding, improper drainage, steep slopes, rock formations, adverse earth formations or topography, utility easements, or other features that are deemed harmful to the safety, health, and general welfare of the current or future inhabitants of and/or its surrounding areas, shall not be subdivided or developed.

(2) Mitigating circumstances. Unsuitable lands, as described in Subsection F(1) of this section, may be developed when acceptable methods for solving the problems rendering the land unsuitable are recommended by the Administrator and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

§ 234-57 Lot and block design.

A. Block design.

(1) Spacing. Streets shall be spaced so that blocks meet the dimensional requirements of this chapter and to minimize the number of intersections with existing or proposed state-maintained roads.

(2) Shape. The lengths, widths, and shapes of blocks shall be appropriate for the character of the Town, the surrounding neighborhood, and the proposed development.

(3) Easements. The subdivision plan shall provide for the reservation of easements through each block to accommodate utilities, drainage facilities, or pedestrian traffic.

B. Lot design.

(1) General requirement. Lots shall be arranged so that there will be no foreseeable difficulties, because of topography or other conditions, in securing building permits.

(2) Lot access. Every lot shall abut and have access to a public street.

(3) Lot dimensions.

(a) General. Lot dimensions shall comply with the minimum size, width, depth, and other applicable property development standards of the zone in which they are located.

(b) Side lot lines. In general, side lot lines shall be at right angles to street lines or radial to curving street lines unless a deviation from this rule will produce a better street or lot plan.

(c) Corner lots. Corner lots shall have sufficient extra width to permit the building to be set back from both streets as required in this chapter.

(d) Depth and width. Disproportional lot depth in relation to lot width shall be avoided.

(e) Lot area. The area of all lots shall be the minimum required for the zone in which the subdivision is located.

(f) Lots used for single-family homes. The size and shape of lots intended for single-family use shall be sufficient to permit the construction of a garage for a single automobile.

(g) Non residential. The depth and width of properties proposed for nonresidential uses shall be sufficient to provide parking, loading, landscaping, and other facilities specified in this chapter and other applicable requirements.

(h) Double the minimum area. Where lots are more than double the required minimum area, the Planning and Zoning Commission may require that these lots be arranged to permit further subdivision and the opening of future streets.

(4) Drainage.

(a) Lots shall be laid out so as to provide positive drainage away from all buildings.

(b) Individual lot drainage shall be coordinated with the general storm drainage pattern for the area in which the subdivision is located.

(c) Drainage systems shall be designed to avoid concentration of stormwater runoff from adjacent lots onto any single lot.

(5) Lot orientation.

(a) The lot line common to the street right-of-way shall be the front lot line.

(b) All lots shall face the front line and a similar line across the street.

(c) Wherever feasible, lots shall be arranged so that the rear line does not abut the side line on an adjacent lot.

(6) Lot frontage.

(a) Street frontage of any lot shall be as specified in the property development standards of this chapter measured along the right-of-way line. Where street frontage is not specified in the property development standards, it shall be 30 feet.

(b) Double frontage and reversed frontage lots. Double frontage and reversed frontage lots shall be avoided, except where necessary to provide separation of residential development from traffic arterials or to overcome specific disadvantages of topography and orientation.

§ 234-58 Easements.

A. Required to accommodate public utilities.

(1) General requirement. Easements shall be provided where necessary to meet public utility requirements.

(2) Along lot lines. All subdivision lots shall have five-foot-wide easements along all lot lines for a total easement width of at least 10 feet along a lot line common to two lots. Easements of greater width may be required along lot lines or across lots, where necessary.

(3) Along perimeter boundaries. Easements along perimeter boundaries of the subdivision shall be at least 10 feet wide on the interior side of the boundary.

B. Required to accommodate waterways and drainageways. Where a proposed subdivision is traversed by any stream, waterway, or drainageway, the subdivider shall make adequate provision for the proper drainage of surface water, including the provision of easements along such waterways and drainageways.

C. Permanent obstructions prohibited. No building, structure, or other permanent obstruction shall be placed on any easement.

§ 234-59 Plans and profiles.

A. Approval required prior to start of construction. Plans, profiles and specifications for the required improvements shall be prepared by the subdivider and submitted for approval by the appropriate public authorities prior to construction.

B. Required information. The plans and profiles to be submitted for all new construction shall include the following:

(1) Plans and profiles of each street, showing proposed grades and street intersection elevations.

(2) A typical cross section of proposed streets showing the width of roadways, which shall extend laterally to the point where the proposed grade intersects the existing grade, except that, in no case, shall less than the full width of the street right-of-way be shown.

(3) Construction and specification plans of proposed sanitary sewers and storm drains as approved by the Town, county, or the State Department of Transportation where it has jurisdiction.

(4) Construction and specification plans of the proposed water distribution system, showing pipe sizes and the locations of all valves and fire hydrants that complies with the Delaware State Fire Prevention Regulations.

(5) Plans and specifications for any forested buffer strips, if required.

(6) For any area which shall be subject to a phasing plan to permit deferred construction of the improvement required herein, a landscape and maintenance plan shall be submitted for approval with each development plan. Landscape plantings may consist of grass, ornamental landscaping, or shade trees indigenous to local areas. The landscaping plan may also include berms and agricultural uses. Landscaping plans shall be subject to all other requirements of this chapter.

[Added 5-13-2013 by Ord. No. 13-5]

§ 234-60 Inspections and fees.

A. Inspections; as-built drawings required. All construction work on improvements required in this chapter shall be subject to inspection and approval by the Town Engineer and/or other authorized individuals during and upon completion of such construction work. Upon the completion of each improvement, the subdivider shall furnish the appropriate official with an accurate and detailed description of location and the completion date of the improvement as it was actually constructed.

B. Fees for inspections. The Town Commissioners shall establish a schedule of fees to be paid by the subdivider in order to reimburse the Town for the cost of inspecting all construction work on improvements required in this chapter. Costs reimbursed shall be only those actually incurred by the Town in inspecting work for which the Town has the authority to establish design standards or has need to ensure that future efficient maintenance can be accomplished adequately.

§ 234-61 Bonds and guaranties.

A. Performance bond or guaranty required.

(1) As a condition of approval of improvement plans, the Town Commissioners shall require the subdivider to post a performance bond or other guaranty for any improvements required by the application of this chapter in an amount sufficient to construct the improvements and in a form acceptable to the Town Attorney.

(2) The amount of such bond shall be no less than 125% of the cost of improvements. Bonding and guaranties may be required for street and road improvements, surface drainage facilities, erosion and sedimentation control facilities, water supply facilities, sanitary sewer facilities, forested buffer strips or other improvements deemed necessary by the Town.

B. Additional bonds or guaranties authorized. Where a public agency other than the Town has the authority to require performance guaranties but in the determination of the Town Commissioners those guaranties are not adequate to ensure completion of improvements, the Town Commissioners may require additional bonds or guaranties in accordance with the provisions of Subsection A of this section.