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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-20-2007-10bORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 20, 2007 Action Agenda Item No. -?, SUBJECT: Report on Recommendations Regarding Petitions for Addition of Subdivision Roads to the State Maintained System DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) ATTACHMENT(S): N.C.G.S. §136-62 INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Benedict, 245-2592 Karen Lincoln, 245-4594 PURPOSE: To receive a report on processing Petitions for Addition of subdivision roads to the State Maintained System. BACKGROUND: Origin: The County is seeing an increase in Petitions for Addition for roads that the County has not approved as public roads in the subdivision process. Staff processing of these petitions is often delayed because the BOCC does not have a policy in place'to ensure equitable treatment in the decision-making process with respect to the various circumstances under which the roads were originally created. Who's - Craig Benedict, Planning Director Involved: Karen Lincoln, Transportation Planner Orange Unified Transportation Board North Carolina Department of Transportation Status: The Board of Commissioners currently has no policy in place regarding how it recommends roads for State maintenance that have not been approved as public roads through the subdivision process. Upcoming The property owners in the Bradford Ridge subdivision submitted a Issue: Petition for Addition to the District Office of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in 2005. Property owners in the subdivision have dedicated the road right-of-way to the State, and paid for core sample testing to determine that the road was constructed to the NCDOT standards. The road, at the time the property owners submitted the petition to the NCDOT, met NCDOT standards for acceptance to the State Maintained System. However, as time goes by, the road condition could require repairs at the further expense of the property owners. Description: The Board of County Commissioners should have a policy for recommending Petitions for Addition of subdivision roads to the State Maintained System where the County has not approved those roads through its subdivision regulations in order to provide consistent recommendations and avoid delays in making its recommendations to the NCDOT. 2 Full Report: The NCDOT District Office forwards Petitions for Addition and the respective Secondary Road Investigation Reports to the County when the roads meet the NCDOT minimum subdivision road standards. Sometimes the County has not previously approved the roads through the subdivision process, or has approved the roads as private roads in the subdivision process. The Board of Orange County Commissioners should decide under what circumstances it will recommend that the North Carolina Department of Transportation accept maintenance of subdivision roads as part of the State Secondary Road Maintained System. Orange County's subdivision regulations "are designed to insure adequate planning of street systems; to avoid overcrowding of land, prevent fire, panic, and other dangers; insure that water and sewage systems be safe and adequate; to prevent flood damage; to facilitate an orderly use of land; to insure the proper legal description and monumenting of subdivided land; and to encourage the proper management of Orange County's natural resources." When land is divided and a road is built that is exempt from County regulatory authority, the roads may prevent development of an interconnected County road network. If those roads are subsequently accepted as public roads as part of the State Maintained System, further subdivision of land may proceed in piecemeal fashion, destroying the potential for well planned development. North Carolina General Statute §136-62 directs that "The citizens of the State shall have the right to present petitions to the board of county commissioners, and through the board to the Department of Transportation, concerning additions to the system and improvement of roads. The board of county commissioners shall receive such petitions, forwarding them on to the Board of Transportation with their recommendations..." The Board of Commissioners must make a recommendation to the Board of Transportation regarding these petitions. The Orange Unified Transportation Board (OUTBoard) is the board established by the Board of County Commissioners to look at factors to consider in making recommendations that the NCDOT take over maintenance of a subdivision road, and recommend a policy for the Board of Commissioners to consider when making its recommendation for Petitions for Addition. Those factors include, but are not limited to, such topics as roads built in land divisions exempt from local subdivision regulations, provisions of subdivision approval (private versus public roads and other), connectivity issues, road function and plat requirements. Staff will continue to process Petitions for Addition for roads where the What's Next County has approved the public roads through the subdivision process. and When will The BOCC, at its meeting on March 13, 2007, will review the Petition for BOCC Addition for Bradford Ridge Road, which the BOCC approved as a Review: private road. This review comes prior to development of a policy governing future recommendations. Timeline: To be developed. Input, Feedback and/or Directions: FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no direct financial impact to the County regarding this item. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report and direct staff to work with the Orange Unified Transportation Board to develop a timeline and policy on the Board's recommendations regarding petitions for addition of subdivision roads to the State Maintained System. 3 4 § 136-62. Right of petition. The citizens of the State shall have the right to present petitions to the board of county commissioners, and through the board to the Department of Transportation, concerning additions to the system and improvement of roads. The board of county commissioners shall receive such petitions, forwarding them on to the Board of Transportation with their recommendations. Petitions on hand at the time of the periodic preparation of the secondary road plan shall be considered by the representatives of the Department of Transportation in preparation of that plan, with report on action taken by these representatives on such petitions to the board of commissioners at the time of consultation. The citizens of the State shall at all times have opportunities to discuss any aspect of secondary road additions, maintenance, and construction, with representatives of the Department of Transportation in charge of the preparation of the secondary road plan, and if not then satisfied opportunity to discuss any such aspect with the division engineer, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Board of Transportation in turn. (1931, c. 145, s. 14; 1933, c. 172, s. 17; 1957, c. 65, s. 7; 1965, c. 55, s. 12; 1973, c. 507, s. 5; 1977, c. 464, ss. 7.1, 24, 24.1. )