Appendix 730. Street design standards.

731 General requirements.

731.1 Except as expressly otherwise provided in this ordinance, and except for duplex, townhouse, multifamily, and PUD developments, every subdivision lot shall front on a street which is included in the state system of primary and secondary roads.

731.2 There is no County standard for the design or construction of a road providing access solely to minor division or family division lots.

731.3 In any new subdivision, all roads must be constructed such that there is a passable gravel surface which can be navigated by emergency vehicles in place prior to the issuance of either a zoning or building permit for construction.

731.4 Streets shall be so designed as to provide adequate drainage and drainage facilities and to have geometric design in compliance with the requirements of the Virginia Department of Transportation, as evidenced by written approval of VDOT.

731.5 Proposed streets within and contiguous to the subdivision shall be properly related to the road and highway plans of the State and County, and shall be coordinated with other existing or planned streets within the general area as to location, widths, grades and drainage; and shall also be coordinated with existing or planned streets in existing or future adjacent subdivisions. Streets shall be designed to provide adequate vehicular access to all lots or parcels and with regard for topographic conditions, projected volumes of traffic, and further subdivision possibilities in the area.

731.6 The street system of a proposed subdivision shall be designed to create a hierarchy of street functions which includes collector and local streets.

731.7 Private streets (streets not to be offered for dedication) shall meet the street design and improvement standards set forth in this ordinance unless otherwise agreed upon by the Planning Commission.

731.8 If the scope of ultimate subdivision is greater than that which is shown on the preliminary plan submission, suitable access and street openings for such an eventuality shall be provided.

731.9 In addition to any other requirement imposed by this ordinance, any private street that may, pursuant to this Subdivision Ordinance, be approved for use in a subdivision must be recorded with the following statement clearly on the final plat and all approved deeds of subdivision:

"The private streets in this subdivision will not be paved or maintained with funds of Culpeper County or the Virginia Department of Transportation. In the event that owners of lots should desire the addition of these private streets to the state secondary highway system, the cost to upgrade and maintain them to the prescribed standards shall be provided from funds other than Culpeper County or the Virginia Department of Transportation. Private streets in this subdivision are not dedicated to the Commonwealth of Virginia or to the County of Culpeper and are owned by (trust, corporation, association)."

Grantors of any subdivision lots to which such statement applies must include the statement on each deed of conveyance thereof.

731.10 Any private street which is to be constructed within a duplex, townhouse, multifamily or PUD development must be constructed to meet current Virginia Department of Transportation standards. In such cases, the subdivision must also be recorded with the statement noted in section 731.9 clearly on the final plat.

732 Street intersections.

732.1 All proposed street intersections shall be in accordance with the requirements and standards of the Virginia Department of Transportation.

732.2 Clear sight triangles shall be provided at all street intersections. Within such triangles, no object greater than three (3) feet in height and no other object that would obscure the vision of the motorist shall be permitted.

732.3 Whenever a portion of the line of such triangle occurs within the proposed building setback line, such portion shall be shown on the final plan of the subdivision and shall be considered a building setback line.

733 Ingress or egress. When a proposed subdivision will adjoin a primary or secondary highway designated as part of the state highway system, all efforts will be made to avoid unnecessary ingress and egress. In the interest of safety and future road efficiency, all lots in such subdivisions will front on internal subdivision streets or on a service drive where such is planned. Street access from such a subdivision shall be located at minimum center-line-to-center-line intervals of six hundred (600) feet on any primary road and two hundred fifty (250) feet on any existing secondary road. In general, stripped lots on non-subdivision streets will be prohibited, and consolidated access will be encouraged wherever possible.

734 Cul-de-sacs.

734.1 Dead-end streets are prohibited unless designed as cul-de-sac streets or designed for future access to adjoining properties.

734.2 Cul-de-sac streets, permanently designed as such, shall not exceed one thousand (1,000) feet in length and shall not furnish access to more than fifteen (15) lots. Cul-de-sacs in subdivisions where each lot is five (5) acres or more shall not exceed two thousand five hundred (2,500) feet in length.

734.3 All cul-de-sac streets, whether permanently or temporarily designed as such, shall be provided at the closed end with a turnaround. The turnaround may be offset to the left or to the right and shall be constructed to the same standards as the rest of the street, except that temporary cul-de-sacs may be constructed of an all weather surface.

734.3.1 If parking will be prohibited on the turnaround, the minimum radius to the pavement edge or curbline shall be forty (40) feet, and the minimum radius of the right-of-way line shall be fifty (50) feet.

734.3.2 If parking will be permitted on the turnaround, the minimum radius to the pavement edge or curbline shall be fifty (50) feet, and the minimum radius of the right-of-way line shall be sixty (60) feet.

735 Street names.

735.1 Proposed streets which are in alignment with others already existing and named shall bear the names of the existing streets.

735.2 In no case shall the name of a proposed street duplicate an existing street name in the County and in the postal district, irrespective of the use of the designation street, road, avenue, boulevard, drive, way, place, court, lane, etc.

735.3 A street name shall not be assigned to any private street which does not serve, or is not intended to serve, at least three (3) dwellings.

735.4 All street names shall be subject to the approval by the Office of Planning and Zoning.

736 Sidewalks/Pedestrian Walkway Facilities.

736.1 Applicability/When Required. Sidewalks, trails, and/or bikeways shall be provided in accordance with this chapter. Provisions for pedestrian traffic shall be accommodated in residential, office, commercial, and industrial areas and activity centers as described below:

a.

Residential subdivisions where lot size is forty thousand (40,000) square feet and below and is either directly adjacent to an existing pedestrian walkway facility and within one-half (½) mile of or adjacent to a commercial center, community or institutional facility, recreational facility, and/or employment center as measured from entrance to entrance.

b.

Residential Subdivisions where there are twenty (20) lots or more and where lot size is forty thousand (40,000) square feet and below.

c.

Townhouse, multi-family: Sidewalk in front of the units on both sides of the roadway and to parking areas.

d.

Activity centers (playgrounds, pools, tot lots, recreation centers): Sidewalk or trail leading to the facility and/or crosswalks for safe pedestrian movement.

e.

Office, Commercial, and Industrial areas: Sidewalk leading to facility and/or crosswalks for safe pedestrian movement.

736.2 Pedestrian walkway systems shall be required to extend to the property boundaries of the project and shall tie into existing systems and provide for future additions to ensure continuity of the pedestrian walkways. When the sidewalk or trail is located outside the public right-of-way, it shall be contained with a public access easement having a minimum width of twelve (12) inches wider than the sidewalk or trail on both sides.

736.3 Pedestrian walkway facilities shall be constructed on a sub grade compacted to ninety-five percent (95%) density at optimum moisture content. Construction of all concrete sidewalks shall require third-party testing within right-of-way or public easement, in accordance with VDOT standards.

736.4 Pedestrian walkway facilities shall be a minimum of four (4) feet wide.

736.5 Pedestrian walkway facilities shall generally be separated a minimum of three (3) feet from the edge of any street travelway or curbing.

736.6 Pedestrian walkway facilities may be wider than four (4) feet and the separation between travelway and walkway may be less than three (3) feet, but in no case, shall the total combined width of walkway and any separation area be less than seven (7) feet in total width from edge of any street travelway or curbing.

736.7 Pedestrian walkway facilities shall be located on both sides of the street for residences and/or activity centers.

736.8 Pedestrian walkway facilities may be constructed of concrete, asphalt, or any other hard surfacing material acceptable to the Plan Approving Authority.

(Ords. of 5-24-1989; 11-6-1991; 8-3-1993; 9-5-2000; 5-7-2013(2); 2-6-2018(2), Att. A)

(Ords. of 5-24-1989; 11-6-1991; 8-3-1993; 9-5-2000; 5-7-2013(2); 2-6-2018(2), Att. A)