SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE
ARTICLE 1
GENERAL
Revised:
1.1 AUTHORITY
1.2 PURPOSE. The public health, safety, economy, good
order, appearance, convenience, morals and general welfare require the
harmonious, orderly and progressive development of land within
1.3 ADMINISTRATION. The
2.1
SUBDIVISION. A subdivision
is defined as a tract or parcel of land divided into 3 or more lots, building
sites, home sites, or other divisions for the purpose of sale, lease, or
residential building development; whether immediate or future.
Excluded from this definition are the
following:
a)
The
division of land into parcels of five acres or more where no new road is
constructed and all parcels abut a county road by at least 125 feet.
b)
The
division of land into parcels for the purpose of conveying the land directly to
an immediate family member for the purpose of his/her residence. Application for said exemption must be
accompanied by a signed family affidavit.
c)
In
such cases where there is a real estate exchange between adjacent and adjoining
landowners, or a conveyance by a landowner to an adjacent or adjoining
landowner, of a lot or parcel of land which does not meet the minimum acreage
requirement, or where the lot does not front the minimum distance on an
existing public road, or where the lot will not front on an existing public
road, and the purpose of said conveyance or plat is to (a) accomplish a
real estate exchange between adjacent and adjoining landowners; or (b) increase
the lot size of an existing lot; or (c) to increase the road frontage of an
existing lot; or (d) to create a lot which would comply with the Evans County
Subdivision Ordinance, a variance shall not be required; provided however,
(a) that the conveyance or exchange of real estate shall not create a lot not
in compliance with the Ordinance; and (b) that the lot conveyed shall become a
part of an existing lot and that the deed of conveyance and the plat of survey
thereof shall contain a statement as follows: "This conveyance is an
exception to the Evans County Subdivision Ordinance, and shall become a part of
the adjacent and adjoining lands of Grantee, and this lot shall not be
re-conveyed except as part of said adjacent and adjoining lands, or unless said
lot shall otherwise be in compliance with the Evans County Subdivision
Ordinance." And, it shall be required that the
2.2
2.3
MINOR SUBDIVISION. A minor subdivision is defined as a
subdivision with three or more lots, all of which are two (2.0) acres in size or
larger.
2.4
MAJOR SUBDIVISION. A
major subdivision is defined as a subdivision with three or more lots, any of
which are smaller than two (2.0) acres.
DEVELOPMENT
3.1
3.2
A)
Name
and address of applicant.
B)
Name
and address of proposed subdivision, location, and legal description of the
property.
C)
Three
paper copies of the plat that conforms to the Georgia Plat Act and shows the
following:
1). The subdivision area including the shape
and dimensions of the site.
2). Location and width of all existing and
proposed roads including all entrances, exits, access ramps, walkways, drainage
easements, and utility easements.
3). Green space/buffer zone.
4). Provisions for providing water, sewer, and
garbage disposal.
5). Identify size and location of garbage
disposal area (if applicable).
6). Other information as may be required by the
Board of Commissioners and necessary to carry out the terms of this Ordinance.
D)
The
proposed usage of land such as single or multi-family residences or mobile or
conventional homes.
3.3
PLAT FILING. No subdivision plat –
exempt or non-exempt, minor or major – shall be filed without prior stamped
approval of the Evans County Board of Commissioners.
SUBDIVISION DESIGN
4.1
SET BACKS. To allow for safety and
adequate traffic control, all structures shall have a front set back of 25 feet
from the road right of way. Back and
side set backs shall be 15 feet from the respective property lines.
4.2
ENTRANCES & EXITS/LOT ACCESS. The subdivision entrance and exit streets
shall be designed to provide safe access to the public street and shall be
designed and located in accordance with GDOT Driveway and Encroachment Control
guidelines. Lots fronting an existing
public road with ramps accessing directly onto an existing public road are only
allowed in minor subdivisions and must abut the existing public road by at
least 125 feet. Access ramps on the same
side of the road, accessing directly onto an existing public road, must have at
least 250 feet of spacing from center to center. For major subdivisions, there shall be no more
than four subdivision entrances that access existing public roads; any
subdivision with more than 100 lots must have at least two entrances. All lots in a major subdivision must front an
interior road, and all driveways in a major subdivision must access an interior
road. Joint use access ramps are allowed
in a minor subdivision but not in a major subdivision. All access ramps must meet GDOT sight
distance guidelines. All subdivision
lots shall be limited to one access ramp per lot.
4.3
ROADS & RIGHT OF WAY.
All roads, including private roads, within a subdivision, excluding a
drive-way leading to a residence, shall be designed and constructed in
accordance with Evans County Road Specifications, have a right of way of at
least 60 feet and an asphalt paved road bed of not less than 22 feet. Right of way can be reduced to 40 feet in
major subdivisions due to the use of curb and gutter and other drainage
structures. Interior road right of ways
cannot be included in the lot acreages, and interior roads cannot be proposed
as access easements. All interior roads
shall have a speed limit not to exceed 25
4.4
CUL-DE-SAC. A
cul-de-sac with a radius from the center of not less than 50 feet shall be
constructed at the closed end of all dead end streets within a subdivision. Cul-de-sacs must be paved to Evans County
Road Specifications.
4.5
DRAINAGE.
A) For minor subdivisions: All roads must be
brought up to an elevation which prevents flooding, be equipped with proper
drainage pipes, including driveway and ramp pipes, and have drainage easements
and out-fall ditches as needed. All
cross drains shall contain at least 32 feet of approved pipe of a size sufficient
to provide for proper drainage. All
drainage pipes must be concrete or double wall ADS. The Road Department Superintendent must
approve road elevations, drainage plan, drainage structures, cross drains and
out-fall ditches before installation.
B) For major
subdivisions: All roads and lots must be
brought up to an elevation which prevents flooding. All roads must be equipped
with proper drainage structures, including storm drains. Drainage easements, retention ponds, and
outfall ditches should be in place if necessary. The Road Department Superintendent must
approve road elevations, drainage plan, and drainage structures before
installation.
4.6
SANITARY CONDITIONS. The
owner or developer of the subdivision shall ensure that all unsold lots, its
facilities, equipment, grounds, roads, buffers, and fences are maintained in a
clean, orderly, safe, and sanitary condition.
4.7
4.8
HEALTH, SAFETY,
4.9
GREEN SPACE/BUFFER
4.10 GREEN SPACE/BUFFER
4.11 UTILITIES.
In a major subdivision, all utilities including, but not limited to,
electricity, gas, water, sewer, cable television, and telephone, shall be
placed underground and out of visual sight.
4.12 LIGHTING.
Decorative lamp post style street lights shall be placed no more than
100 feet apart along both sides of all interior roads of a major
subdivision. The developer shall ensure
that the lights are maintained and functional and that they are operational
from dusk until dawn.
5.1
5.2
WIDTH REQUIREMENT FOR MINOR SUBDIVSION LOTS. Minor subdivision lots served by
public water shall have a width of at least 100 feet at the actual building
line. Lots served by non-public water shall
have a width of at least 150 feet at the actual building line. All lots shall have a minimum width of 80
feet where they abut an interior road or a minimum width of 125 feet where they
abut an existing public road.
5.3
A) Subdivision lots served
by both non-public water and an individual septic tank shall contain an area of
not less than two (2) acres, with a minimum of one (1) acre of useable
property, unless more is required by County
Health Department regulations.
B) Subdivision lots served
by public water and individual septic tanks shall contain an area of not less
than 1.5 acres, with a minimum of .5 acres of useable property, unless more is
required by County Health Department regulations.
C) Subdivision lots served
by non-public water and public sewer shall contain an area of not less than 1.5
acres, with a minimum of .5 acres of useable property, unless more is required
by County Health Department regulations.
D) Subdivision lots served
by public water and public sewer shall contain an area of not less than .75
acres, with a minimum of .5 acres of useable property, unless more is required
by County Health Department regulations.
E) “Useable property”
shall be determined by the Evans County Health Department.
5.4
WIDTH REQUIREMENT FOR MAJOR SUBDIVSION LOTS. Major subdivision lots under
sections 5.3(B), 5.3(C) and 5.3(D) shall have a width of at least 100 feet at
the actual building line. Lots under
section 5.3 (A) shall have a width of at least 150 feet at the actual building
line. All lots shall have a minimum
width of 80 feet where they abut the road.
5.5
FLOOD PLAIN AREAS. Developers shall be
required to inform all potential buyers about areas within the subdivision that
are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a flood plain
area.
WATER, SEWER
6.1
SEWAGE SYSTEM. If the soil conditions
of the subdivision are unable to support individual septic tanks, then a
sanitary sewerage system shall be installed in accordance with the rules and
regulations of the Evans County Board of Health and the Environmental
Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
6.2
SEWAGE SYSTEM APPROVAL.
Prior
to the construction of any community sewerage disposal system such as septic
tanks, oxidation ponds or other facilities, the location, size, plans, and
specifications shall be approved by the Evans County Board of Health and any
other applicable agencies.
6.3
WATER SUPPLY. All
water systems shall be installed in accordance with the rules and regulations
of the Evans County Board of Health and the Environmental Protection Division
of the Department of Natural Resources.
Public and non-public water system definitions shall mirror that of
County Health Department regulations.
6.4
GARBAGE. Garbage shall be collected by residential curbside pickup by
VARIANCES
7.1
VARIANCES. When due to a
particular hardship experienced by the owner of the land it is impractical for
a developer to comply with the interpretations of the requirements of this Ordinance, the Board of Appeals shall be
authorized to vary such requirements provided the intent and purposes of this Ordinance
are not violated. Such variances and
reasons for granting them shall be entered into the minutes of the meeting.
APPEALS PROCESS
8.1
APPOINTMENT. The Board of Appeals
shall consist of not more than five member appointed by the Board of Commissioners. Members shall be removed for cause upon
written notice of the charges by the
8.2
TERM OF OFFICE. The term of office for
each member shall be three years; however, in order that all terms do not
expire on the same date, the terms of the original Board of Appeals shall be as
follows: Two members shall be appointed
to two year terms, and three shall be appointed to three year terms. Members may be re-appointed to successive
terms.
8.3
POWER
A) To hear and decide upon
appeals where it is alleged that there is an error in any requirement,
determination, or decision made by the
B) To hear and decide upon
special exceptions to the terms of this Ordinance.
C) To authorize upon
appeal in specific cases a variance from the terms of this ordinance that will
not be contrary to the public interest and intent of this ordinance.
8.4
APPEALS PROCESS. An appellant must file
an appeal with the
8.5
DECISION. The
Board of Appeals shall render its decision during the meeting at which the
appeal is considered; however, by majority vote, the Board may continue the
meeting until a time certain within ten (10) days. If an appellant is not satisfied with the
decision of the Board of Appeals, then he or she may request an appeal hearing
before the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners will have ten (10)
days to consider granting the appellant an appeals hearing. If an appeals hearing before the Board of
Commissioners is granted, the Commissioners’ decision will be final.
PENALTIES
9.1
VIOLATIONS OF ORDINANCE.
Any
person violating any provision of this Ordinance shall be subject to citation
to magistrate court, and upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall
be subject to such penalties as are provided by law including fines of up to $1,000. Each separate day of violation shall be a
separate offense.
9.2
COMPLIANCE. If the Board of
Commissioners determines that certain improvements to the subdivision do not
comply with the approved development plans or any other provisions of this
Ordinance, the developer or owner shall, upon demand by the Board of
Commissioners, immediately correct any deficiencies as required by the Board of
Commissioners.
This
ordinance is hereby adopted as written on the _______ day of ___________________,
2009.
EVANS
______________________________
Phillip
Richey, Chairman
______________________________