§ 34-505. Private subdivisions

(a) The purpose of this section is to allow for development in specific areas of the county that should be left as natural as possible, but provide a good location for limited residential development. A greater degree of flexibility is allowed to the developer and/or homeowners' association in creating the proper setting along steep slopes or around environmentally sensitive areas of the county.

(b) Individual lots may only be sold after a development plan has been approved by the county planning commission.

(c) As part of any development plan, the following documents must be filed for approval with the county planning commission as a part of the preliminary development plan:

(1) The form of all agreements between the developer and property owners relative to development standards and property ownership and common area ownership and maintenance, with a written statement by the county attorney that this document has been reviewed by that office.

(2) The form of all agreements between and among individual property owners relative to the ownership and maintenance of privately owned properties and common areas, with a written statement by the county attorney that this document has been reviewed by that office.

(3) Certification by the county planning director that all improvements have been installed in accordance with the submitted plan or certification by the developer of the existence of surety in favor of the individual property owners sufficient to assure the completion of the submitted plan.

(d) There are no building setbacks on the site perimeter, except as required by article V of this chapter pertaining to zoning, and the site perimeter will be located a minimum of 200 feet from any county maintained right-of-way. All building materials and building types must meet the requirements of adopted county codes and ordinances.

(e) Ingress and egress from public streets shall be a minimum of 50 feet in width.

(f) All turnarounds must be designed for a minimum 35-foot turning radius.

(g) For purposes of providing fire protection, adequate space must be provided for access to one side of every building.

(h) A sign at the entrance to the private subdivision coming off a publicly maintained road, which notes that the roadway(s) serving the private subdivision is (are) a private street.

(i) A minimum right-of-way of 40 feet is required, with a minimum roadbed of 20 feet. All other roadbed specifications shall meet county specifications.

(j) Paving regulations for a private street will not be required.

(k) Procedures for approval of private subdivisions are as follows:

(1) Pre-application review of the development by the county planning commission is required.

(2) A development plan shall be drawn up, which shall include the following information:

a. Name of the development. Name(s) of the owner(s) and the registered land surveyor and/or registered engineer who did the site plan. The registration seal of the land surveyor and/or engineer shall be affixed to the plan.

b. North arrow and scale.

c. Boundary line of the tract to be developed (drawn accurately to scale).

d. Location map.

e. Contours, with a minimum vertical interval of five feet, to be shown for both existing and proposed topography.

f. Utility and drainage plans in accordance with county regulations.

g. Boundary development setback lines.

h. Location of designated common areas, if applicable.

i. Parking and street design, if applicable. Label all roadways as private streets on the plat.

j. Soil erosion and sedimentation control plan.

k. The use of public or private supplies for both water and sanitary waste disposal systems to serve the lots.

(3) The following language shall appear on covenants and deeds for all private subdivision plats to be recorded which concern land in unincorporated areas of the county, and a copy of the covenants will be provided to the county planning commission for review:

"Required notice to all subsequent property owners: The grantee herein recognizes that any and all means of ingress and egress to the property conveyed hereby which is provided by the grantor or his successors or assigns are considered by the county planning commission and the governing body of the county to be private ways not maintainable by said governing body. Therefore, the property owner hereby agrees that he will be responsible for his share of the upkeep and maintenance of said private way, holding completely harmless the governing body of the county of any necessity for such upkeep and maintenance."

(4) The following departments or their representatives shall review and furnish written comments on the proposed development and the plans before formal submission is made to the county planning commission for their review and action:

a. County planning and enforcement office;

b. County health department.

(5) All private development plans and written review comments shall be submitted to the county planning commission for approval after all pre-application review requirements have been met. The plan shall be submitted to the office of planning and enforcement for formal review at least 15 days prior to the next regularly scheduled planning commission meeting. The planning commission shall, within 30 days, approve or deny the application request.

(6) A private subdivision will have a minimum of ten lots.

(7) All private subdivisions will be required to have a homeowners' association, complete with bylaws and a charter, which shall provide that the association shall be responsible for upkeep of roads. Any such homeowners' association shall have the authority to assess all members (owners) for the purpose of maintaining and repairing roads in private subdivisions.

(Ord. of 7-20-1994, § 9.35; Ord. of 6-1999)