AGENDA #5f
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
Ralph D. Karpinos, Town Attorney
SUBJECT: Posting of Signs re: Road Extensions
DATE: June 27, 2005
This memorandum responds to a Council member’s question from the May 16, 2005 Public Hearing on the Concept Plan proposal for the Chapel Watch Village development. The question concerned whether the adjacent Larkspur Subdivision included signage notifying future Larkspur homeowner of the potential roadway connection between the Larkspur development and the undeveloped property to the north (proposed Chapel Watch Village project).
BACKGROUND
On May 16, 2005, the Council held a concept plan review of the proposed Chapel Watch Village development. Concerns were raised by residents of Larkspur, a subdivision adjoining Chapel Watch, over a proposed connection of the new development to their neighborhood. A number of residents indicated they were not aware of the potential for such a connection at the time they purchased their new homes.
During the course of that hearing a Council member recalled that the approval of the Larkspur development included a stub-out road to the proposed Chapel Watch Village property. The Council member also believed that a stipulation of approval for Larkspur required signage at the stub-out indicating that the road might be extended sometime in the future. Anticipating this question before the meeting, staff reviewed the resolution approving the Larkspur development and at the meeting informed the Council that the resolution did not contain a stipulation for signage at the stub out. A Council member then asked if there were additional steps the Council might take to inform residents of the potential for further road extensions through their neighborhoods.
Following the Concept Plan review of Chapel Watch Village, we conducted a more extensive review of the history of the Larkspur project. We have concluded the following:
A stipulation for signage at the stub-out was discussed during the Council Public Hearing on the Larkspur proposal and was inadvertently omitted from the resolution approving the subdivision.
We have confirmed that a condition of the Zoning Compliance Permit for Larkspur required installation of a notification sign at the stub-out prior to the issuance of any Certificate of Occupancy of the homes. This requirement was added as part of the final plan approval process because of discussion at the Public Hearing Attached is a copy of the approved final plan sheet with a detail for the sign and a site plan indicating that the sign will be installed at the stub-out to Mr. Buck’s property (Attachment 1). Also attached is a copy of the November 11, 2002 Zoning Compliance Permit for the Larkspur development. This permit stipulates (#12) that the property owner install regulatory signage before issuance of any Certificate of Occupancy (Attachment 2).
We believe that the stipulation in the Zoning Compliance Permit requires the installation of signage at the stub-out but that it was never installed.
DISCUSSION
This is not the first time the Town has addressed this issue. In past situations involving future roadway extensions, the Town staff has followed a Council policy whereby a development approval included a stipulation requiring the installation of signage at the end of a street stub-out. In the case of the Larkspur development staff neglected to follow the established policy and the stipulation was omitted from the adopted resolution. Staff’s attempt to correct this error, during the final plan review, was unsuccessful.
In light of this oversight, we are looking into other recent development projects that involve future roadway extension to verify that stipulated signage has been installed. In those situations where signage was required and not installed, the developer will be notified and required to install such signage. For approved projects with a stub-out to the adjacent property where the approval did not stipulation the installation of signage notifying the neighborhood of a future street extension, Town staff will install such signage.
In addition to requiring the posting of such signs we also believe that it is reasonable to include notes on recorded plats indicating that road stub outs are intended to be extended to future development. However, once these notices are posted on the site and noted on the plat, the disclosure of such information, we believe, is a responsibility of those involved in the development and marketing of the new homes.
Chapter 47E of the NC General Statutes requires disclosure of information to purchasers of residential property. Information that is required to be disclosed is listed in Sec. 47E-4:
§ 47E-4. Required disclosures
(a) With
regard to transfers described in G.S. 47E-1, the owner of the real property shall furnish to a
purchaser a residential
property disclosure statement. The disclosure statement shall:
(1) Disclose those items which are required to be disclosed relative to the characteristics and condition of the property and of which the owner has actual knowledge; or
(2) State that the owner makes no representations as to the characteristics and condition of the real property or any improvements to the real property except as otherwise provided in the real estate contract.
(b) The North Carolina Real
Estate Commission shall develop and require the use of a
standard disclosure statement to comply with the requirements of this section. The disclosure statement
shall specify that certain transfers of residential property are excluded from this requirement
by G.S. 47E-2, including transfers of residential
property made pursuant to a lease with an option to purchase where the lessee
occupies or intends to occupy the dwelling, and shall include at least the
following characteristics and conditions of the property:
(1) The water supply and sanitary sewage disposal system;
(2) The roof, chimneys, floors, foundation, basement, and other structural components and any modifications of these structural components;
(3) The plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling, and other mechanical systems;
(4) Present infestation of wood-destroying insects or organisms or past infestation the damage for which has not been repaired;
(5) The zoning laws, restrictive covenants, building codes, and other land-use restrictions affecting the real property, any encroachment of the real property from or to adjacent real property, and notice from any governmental agency affecting this real property; and
(6) Presence of lead-based paint, asbestos, radon gas, methane gas, underground storage tank, hazardous material or toxic material (whether buried or covered), and other environmental contamination.
The disclosure statement shall provide the owner with the
option to indicate whether the owner has actual knowledge of the specified
characteristics or conditions, or the owner is making no representations as to
any characteristic or condition.
(c) The rights of the parties to a real estate contract as to conditions of the
property of which the owner had no actual knowledge are not affected by this
Article unless the residential disclosure statement states
that the owner makes no representations as to those conditions. If the
statement states that an owner makes no representations as to the conditions of
the property, then the owner has no duty to disclose those conditions, whether
or not the owner should have known of them.
(Emphasis added.)
This language would appear to require the developer/owner of property to disclose to prospective purchaser information that would arguably include any notice on the recorded plat that a road is to be stubbed out for continuation to future development.
Once the proper signs have been posted and the notes placed on the plats recorded on the public record, we believe the enforcement of such a provision would be a matter for discussion and resolution between a purchaser, his/her closing attorney and the seller.
RECOMMENDATION
We recommend that the Council take no action on this matter.
ATTACHMENTS