These standards are established for the purpose of promoting the orderly subdivision and development of land within the jurisdiction of the Town of Boiling Springs through the regulation of the design of subdivisions. Furthermore, these standards are adopted for the purpose of coordinating streets and other transportation facilities with the existing and planned street network, the extension and provision of utility services to subdivided properties, and to create conditions essential to the health, safety and general welfare of the town and its residents.

The improvements outlined in this section are the minimum infrastructure improvements required to be either completed or guaranteed prior to the approval of a final plat. All infrastructure improvements shall be the responsibility of the developer, unless otherwise explicitly noted.

Each subdivision shall be designed and developed in a manner that is consistent with adopted plans having applicability to the area in which the proposed subdivision is located with regard to planned public facilities, including streets, sidewalks, utility infrastructure, parks, schools and similar facilities.

Proposed subdivisions shall be given a distinct name which does not duplicate, nor closely approximate, the name of any other existing subdivision within Cleveland County.

Where existing streets are extended by the subdivision of land, the extended street shall have the same name of the street from which it was extended. Newly created streets shall be given names which do not duplicate, nor phonetically approximate, the names of existing streets within Cleveland County.

Unless otherwise specified, the standards of practice for land surveying as adopted by the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors, under the provisions of Title 21 of the North Carolina Administrative Code, Chapter 56 (21 NCAC 56), shall apply when conducting surveys for subdivisions, to determine the accuracy for surveys and placement of monuments, control corners, markers, and property corner ties; to determine the location, design, and material of monuments, markers, control corners, and property corner ties; and to determine other standards and procedures governing the practice of land surveying for subdivisions.

Land shall not be subdivided if it is not suitable for development. In determining suitability, the technical review committee may require an applicant to provide a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment if there is a question as to the presence of environmental factors.

(A)

Within a major subdivision the following may not be included within any lot, other than a parcel designated as common open space:

(1)

Lands located within flood hazard areas;

(2)

Areas with slopes that exceed ten percent;

(3)

Areas containing solid waste disposal sites or other structurally unsound land; and

(4)

Land that has been contaminated with environmental pollutants that have not been remediated.

(B)

Where a parcel smaller than one acre is created other than through the major subdivision process, it shall not contain environmentally impacted areas listed above to an extent that such areas exceed 50 percent of the parcel or diminishes the buildable area of the lot below 2,000 square feet within the area contained in the required setbacks for the zoning district in which it is located.

(C)

In major subdivisions where onsite wastewater disposal will be utilized, no final plat shall be approved until a qualified soil scientist provides a report certifying that each proposed lot has sufficient area and suitable soils to accommodate an onsite wastewater system and required repair area. If any proposed lot is found to not be able to accommodate an onsite wastewater disposal system, its area shall be combined with adjacent lots or common open space.

Cluster subdivisions shall be permitted subject to the conditions and standards of an approved conditional zoning district concept plan which shall also serve as the approved concept plan for the subdivision. Only the parallel R-20 and R-15 conditional districts may be utilized as the basis for establishing a cluster subdivision. Cluster subdivisions shall be subject to the minimum requirements below:

(A)

Open space required. Cluster subdivisions shall be designed in a manner to preserve contiguous tracts of open space.

(1)

No cluster subdivision shall be approved unless a minimum of 20 percent of the land area contained in the parcel(s) included in the subdivision are dedicated in perpetuity as open space.

(2)

An easement shall be granted to the Town of Boiling Springs or to a qualified land conservancy to guarantee the perpetual preservation of such land as open space, although title to the land may remain under the ownership of the property owners association or subdivider.

(3)

No more than 25 percent of the dedicated open space may contain:

i.

Bodies of water;

ii.

Land that would otherwise be prohibited from being contained in a developable lot under the land suitability provisions of this article;

iii.

Required buffer yards.

(4)

Areas dedicated as open space shall conform to the following:

i.

Where multiple open space areas are proposed, no individual area may be smaller than one acre in size or contain less than 30 percent of the total amount of open space proposed in the subdivision.

ii.

Areas designated as open space shall have minimum dimensions of 50 feet at all points. Areas with a smaller dimension may be dedicated but do not count toward the minimum requirement.

iii.

When an open space area is proposed to run along an external property line, such open space area shall extend a minimum of 100 feet from the adjoining property line into the interior of the subdivision.

iv.

Where a dedicated open space exists adjacent to a proposed cluster subdivision, the open space area in the proposed subdivision shall connect to the existing adjacent open space.

(5)

Areas dedicated as open space may be used for passive recreation, including the development of trails. Active recreational uses, such as sports fields, swimming pools, and similar facilities are prohibited.

(B)

Density and dimensional standards.

(1)

The maximum density permitted in a cluster subdivision shall be established through a yield plan that applies the conventional subdivision standards to the property to determine the maximum number of dwelling units that would be feasible in accordance with all of the general standards of the ordinance. Such plan shall be prepared as part of the development of the concept plan.

(2)

Within a cluster subdivision, the minimum lot area standards for the district shall be reduced by an amount equal to the amount of open space dedicated, up to a maximum of 40 percent. Reduction shall be in increments of five percent. To reach each incremental reduction in lot area, an additional full five percent of open space shall be dedicated.

(3)

Within the watershed overlay, minimum lot area shall be governed in accordance with subsection 13.3.5.

(4)

The required setbacks for the subdivision shall be established in the conditional zoning district approval.

(A)

Lot frontage. Each lot shall abut and have direct access to a public street right-of-way, unless otherwise expressly permitted.

(B)

Dimensional standards. Except as provided for in a cluster subdivision, lots shall comply with all dimensional standards (area, width, depth etc.) as established for each zoning district. Lots that do not have access to public water or wastewater service may be required to meet a larger minimum lot size in order to accommodate the on-site provision of those services.

(C)

Through lots (double frontage lots). Through lots shall be prohibited in all residential zoning districts, except in those cases where one of the property lines adjoins a street or highway that is external to the subdivision or topography dictates the creation of such lots. In such cases, no driveway access shall be permitted to the external street or highway.

(D)

Lot lines. Lot lines shall be designed to join each other at angles as close as practicable to 90 degrees.

(E)

Flag lots. Flag lots (lots connected to the adjoining public right-of-way by a narrow strip of land) are prohibited.

(F)

Reverse frontage lots. Reverse frontage lots (lots fronting along the narrow axis of a block) are prohibited.

(G)

Lots on external streets. Lots within proposed subdivisions containing ten or more residential building lots shall be designed so that they front upon and take access from a street that is internal to the proposed subdivision. Such lots shall not be permitted to have driveway access to an external street.

The lengths, widths and shapes of blocks within a subdivision shall be designed with due regard to adequate building sites suitable for the needs of the type of use contemplated; zoning requirements; needs for vehicular and pedestrian traffic circulation; control and safety of street traffic; limitations and opportunities of topography, and convenient access to utilities. Within the interior of a proposed subdivision, blocks shall not exceed 800 feet in length

Subdivisions shall be designed in a manner that provides the greatest possible degree of connectivity with the external street network in accordance with the following minimum standards:

(A)

Open access required. All subdivisions must provide street access that remains permanently open to the public and provides community-wide access as part of an overall interconnected street network.

(B)

Minimum external connectivity. External street connectivity shall be provided as established by appendix D of the NC Fire Prevention Code, which is adopted herein by reference. Where a proposed major subdivision has at least 100 feet of frontage on an existing street, a connection shall be provided to that street without regard to whether it is required by the fire code, except that the planning board may waive this requirement when topographic, hydrologic, or other conditions would prevent such connection, or where the street intersection would create a dangerous condition on the existing external road.

(C)

Street extensions. Where existing public streets either abut the external boundary or form a "T" intersection across a public right-of-way from a proposed subdivision, such streets shall be extended into the proposed subdivision and incorporated into the internal subdivision street network where such extensions are feasible based upon the topographic and hydrological features found on the property to be subdivided.

(D)

Stub street connections.

(1)

Each subdivision shall provide a minimum of one stub street connection to each adjoining undeveloped property that is greater than or equal to ten acres in size.

(2)

Stub streets shall be constructed to the adjoining property line and barricaded until such time that the adjoining property is developed.

(3)

Signage indicating the presence of a future street connection shall be erected at the end of each stub street.

(4)

Stub streets shall not be required where topographic or hydrologic conditions make such connections impractical along the entire adjoining property line or where such future connection would provide direct access into a residential subdivision from a property that is zoned for primarily nonresidential use.

Subdivisions shall be designed in a manner that provides the greatest possible degree of internal street connectivity in accordance with the following minimum standards:

(A)

The length of internal street mileage comprised of cul-de-sac streets and similar dead end street types shall not exceed 15 percent of the internal street mileage of the subdivision. Streets stubbed to adjoining property lines shall not be considered to be dead end streets.

(B)

Cul-de-sac streets and similar dead-end streets shall not exceed 800 feet in length as measured from the right of-way of the street providing access to it. Streets stubbed to adjoining property lines shall not be considered to be dead end streets

(C)

Cul-de-sac streets and similar dead-end streets shall not be constructed where they would take access from a cul-de-sac street or similar dead-end street. Streets stubbed to adjoining property lines shall not be considered to be dead end streets.

(D)

Internal connectivity standards may be waived by the planning board, upon recommendation by the ordinance administrator, in those cases where topography does not permit a sufficient number of internal street connections or the shape of the property is such that only a single road may be constructed to serve the internal lots.

(A)

Public streets required. All streets constructed as part of a subdivision shall be public and shall be dedicated as such on the final plat. Such indication shall be presumed to be an offer of dedication of the streets to the Town of Boiling Springs or NCDOT, as applicable.

(B)

Design and construction. Streets within the corporate limits of the Town shall be and constructed in accordance with the standards and specifications established in the Town of Boiling Springs Standard Specifications and Construction Details. Streets in the extraterritorial jurisdiction shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the standards and specification established in the most recent version of the NCDOT Subdivision Roads Minimum Construction Standards Manual.

(C)

Non-connecting streets. The ends of all permanent non-connecting streets shall include a cul-de-sac bulb. Temporary non-connecting streets, such as stub streets to adjacent properties, shall be constructed with a turnaround area in accordance with appendix D of the NC Fire Prevention Code.

(D)

Curbing and gutters. All streets shall be designed and constructed with concrete curbing and gutters in accordance with the standards and specifications of the Town of Boiling Springs Standard Specifications and Construction Details or the NCDOT Subdivision Roads Minimum Construction Standards Manual, as applicable.

(E)

Sidewalks.

(1)

Sidewalks shall be installed within the public street right-of-way on both sides of all newly constructed streets, unless otherwise exempted in (2) below.

(2)

Sidewalks shall be installed on at least one side of all newly constructed streets which front and/or provide driveway access to residential lots within the interior of subdivisions in the R-20 district subject to the following additional standards.

i.

Where sidewalks are installed on only one side of a street, the sidewalk shall continue along the selected side for the length of the street.

ii.

Where installation on only one side of a street is chosen, the sidewalk shall be located on the side of the street which has the greatest number of intersecting streets, if applicable.

iii.

Where a sidewalk is constructed on only one side of a cul-de-sac street, the sidewalk shall terminate at the point at which the radius of the cul-de-sac bulb begins.

(3)

Sidewalks shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the Town of Boiling Springs Standard Specifications and Construction Details.

(F)

Signage. Street name signs shall be installed in accordance with the standards and specifications of the Town of Boiling Springs Standard Specifications and Construction Details. Regulatory signage shall be installed in accordance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

(G)

Drainage. Stormwater drainage facilities shall be designed and installed in accordance with the standards and specifications of the Town of Boiling Springs Standard Specifications and Construction Details or the NCDOT Subdivision Roads Minimum Construction Standards Manual, as applicable.

(A)

Water supply infrastructure.

(1)

Each lot within a proposed subdivision within the municipal limits shall be connected to the municipal water system.

(2)

All public water infrastructures shall be installed in accordance with the standards and specifications of the Town of Boiling Springs Standard Specifications and Construction Details.

(B)

Wastewater infrastructure.

(1)

Each lot within a proposed subdivision shall be connected to the Town of Boiling Springs' public wastewater collection system.

(2)

All public wastewater infrastructures shall be installed in accordance with the standards and specifications of the Town of Boiling Springs Standard Specifications and Construction Details.

(C)

Stormwater infrastructure. Necessary stormwater infrastructure, in addition to stormwater drainage infrastructure associated with the street system, shall be designed and installed in conformance with the standards and specifications established in the Town of Boiling Springs Standard Specifications and Construction Details.

(D)

Wire utilities. All wire utilities (electric, telephone, cable, fiber optic, etc.) shall be installed underground within subdivisions. Associated infrastructure, such as switches, transformers and similar equipment may be installed above ground.

(E)

Common elements. When common elements, such as common open space, recreational facilities or similar features are included within a subdivision, a property owner's association shall be established to manage and maintain such elements. Associations shall be established in accordance with G.S. ch. 47F (the North Carolina Planned Community Act). The Town of Boiling Springs shall have no responsibility for the maintenance or upkeep of any common element within a subdivision.