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<br /> 328 That's not to say we don't have some ability to, at a staff level, negotiate with an applicant on say
<br /> 329 where is the secondary open space going to be,what are your amenities going to look like, how
<br /> 330 are you going to connect your,a trail's network or a sidewalk if we are able to negotiate with an
<br /> 331 applicant for that sidewalk or trail to a larger network and so forth. We do have that ability
<br /> 332 provided we have a standard that they have to meet. A good one is our parks and recreation
<br /> 333 standard. So,we do have a public parks standard in our subdivision ordinance, but we don't
<br /> 334 require every developer or every applicant to build a public park. Instead,we require them to
<br /> 335 make a payment in lieu, and the county accepts that payment at roughly 430 or$480.00 per lot.
<br /> 336 And we then dedicated that money per township to parks and recreation purposes, and so we do
<br /> 337 have a standard there that gives us options on how to satisfy the standard. And, as I said before,
<br /> 338 if we don't apply subdivision regulations, then we are leaving it to the private property owner to
<br /> 339 subdivide their property as they wish. And then the state, as you'll see in a moment, has also
<br /> 340 taken some discretion away from us, some regulation away from us and saying thou shalt not
<br /> 341 regulate these types of subdivisions,this is a right of the private property owner. That's not to say
<br /> 342 that other regulations are in trouble then. Our watershed overlay regulations are I think the most-
<br /> 343 protected in the state. Certainly,the most-protective local regulations, our stream buffer
<br /> 344 regulations, are unique actually, because they buffer from the edge of the flood plain,and we have
<br /> 345 steep slope and other regulations in our subdivision ordinance that protect the environment. So,
<br /> 346 watershed is a zoning district. It overlays nearly I think it works out to be 75 to 80 percent of the
<br /> 347 county. We do have some areas that are not protected, don't have water supplies and are not
<br /> 348 protected in that way, but we do have county-wide stream buffers,we do have countywide flood
<br /> 349 plains and then we also have septic standards that our environmental health department upholds.
<br /> 350 So how do we apply these standards? So,we apply them to all divisions of land that are divided
<br /> 351 into two or more lots; building sites, so they may not be lots,they may be building sites, or any
<br /> 352 division that is created for the purpose of sale or building development whether immediate or in
<br /> 353 the future. I'm not sure how you could create a lot that couldn't possibly be developed in the
<br /> 354 future unless you applied a completely restrictive easement in perpetuity on that lot. But that is
<br /> 355 what we are privileged as a local government to regulate the subdivision of land for-which is
<br /> 356 pretty much all division of land. And, importantly,this doesn't come up so much in the county,
<br /> 357 because we don't have county roads, but any division of land involving the dedication of a new
<br /> 358 street or a change in existing streets, this is more common in municipalities. And we do provide
<br /> 359 this administrative role for NCDOT at times, but it's less common in counties than it is in
<br /> 360 municipalities.
<br /> 361
<br /> 362 Chris Johnston: Just to confirm.
<br /> 363
<br /> 364 Cy Stober: Yeah?
<br /> 365
<br /> 366 Chris Johnston: If you go back one,when it says involving the dedication of a new street or changing the existing
<br /> 367 streets, so,when you say dedication, it has to be dedicated to the county, not NCDOT?
<br /> 368
<br /> 369 Cy Stober: No, no, no, no. So,the county dedicates roads for maintenance to NCDOT and then DOT
<br /> 370 accepts that maintenance responsibility at their board meetings. So,we can dedicate roads for
<br /> 371 state maintenance. Otherwise,they have to be privately maintained,which the county does not
<br /> 372 maintain roads.
<br /> 373
<br /> 374 Statler Gilfillen: You just used the reference to building site and building lot, but I'm a little confused about the
<br /> 375 definition difference.
<br /> 376
<br /> 377 Cy Stober: That's a great question, I don't have a good answer for you.This is the statute,this is the state
<br /> 378 law, so yes,we can apply these regulations to all divisions of a tract or parcel so they distinguish
<br /> 379 between the two of land and into two or more lots or building sites or other divisions when one or
<br /> 380 more of those divisions is created for the purpose of sale or building development whether
<br /> 381 immediate or in the future. So that pretty much captures everything yeah.
<br /> 382
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