§ 5-2-4. Conditions precedent to opening or dedicating streets and alleys or constructing sewers or drains in future subdivisions.

No owner or proprietor or his agent, employee or contractor, of any parcel or tract of land situated in whole or in part within the city, who may hereafter subdivide, resubdivide or divide the parcel or tract for the purpose of laying out any additions or subdivisions, resubdivisions or suburban lots, shall open or dedicate any streets, avenues, lanes, alleys or public ways, or construct, build or establish sewers or drains in such streets, avenues, lanes, alleys or public ways, or tap any existing sewers or lay a sewer in or across any street, avenue, alley or public way in the city for the purpose of sewering or draining the tract of land so subdivided, and no street, avenue, lane, alley or public way shall be accepted by the city, until the following conditions have been complied with:

(1)

When scale, maps or plats showing the plan and profile of any street, avenue, lane, alley, public way, sewers and drains, sidewalks and parking, giving grades and gradients, with the front and depth of the lots adjoining have been presented to and approved by the city engineer and city planning commission.

(2)a.

Sizes and grades. Streets and avenues shall be at least 50 feet in width between property lines and 30 feet in width between curb lines. Alleys shall be at least 16 feet in width between property lines, and be paved for at least 10 feet in width in residential areas and to full width in commercial and industrial areas. Grades and gradients shall be established by approval of the director of transportation and environmental services. Such streets and avenues shall be constructed according to the requirements hereinafter specified.

b.

Design methods. The method to be used for determining thickness of sub-base, base and wearing course shall be the "California Method" as set forth on page 3-76 of the second edition of a book entitled, "Data Book for Civil Engineers, Volume One, Design, " written by Elwyn E. Seelye. Values of California bearing ratios used in the design shall be determined by field and/or laboratory tests as outlined in paragraph d. below.

c.

Design wheel loads. For purposes of design, the following wheel loads and types of streets shall be used.

Type of Street	Wheel Load
Residential cul-de-sacs	4000 lb.
Residential streets not feeder or through streets	7000 lb.
Residential through streets	10000 lb.
Arterial streets-commercial and industrial streets	12000 lb.

 

Determination of street classification under this schedule shall be made by the director of transportation and environmental services.

d.

Required tests. Tests required for determination of design shall be conducted by a commercial testing laboratory approved by the director of transportation and environmental services and at the expense of the city. The tests shall consist of Atterburg limit tests, California bearing ratio tests (laboratory and/or field tests required), optimum moisture tests, field density tests (compaction), and such other tests as may be indicated. Where soils similar in characteristics to soils previously tested are encountered, the director of transportation and environmental services may dispense with any of the above tests as in his opinion are unnecessary for proper determination of C.B.R.S.

e.

Inspection and testing charges.

1.

The owner or developer of property involving the installation of public improvements shall pay to the city, prior to commencing the improvement, a fee for inspection and tests on the following:

i.

For curb and gutter, sidewalk, storm sewers and sanitary sewers, two and one-half percent (2½%) of the estimated cost of the improvement.

ii.

For street and alleys, three percent (3%) of the estimated cost of such improvement.

2.

Estimates of cost shall be made by the director of transportation and environmental services, based on contract prices then in effect on city contracts, or in the absence of any contracts, on comparable prices current in the construction industry in the area.

3.

Notwithstanding the above, for public improvements covered by this section costing less than $250, a minimum inspection fee of $10 will be imposed, and for improvements costing $250 or more, the minimum inspection fee will be $25.

f.

Minimum standards. In the design of streets under the provisions of this section, streets designed to carry wheel loads of 10,000 pounds and over shall have a designed wearing surface not less than four (4) inches in thickness if constructed as flexible pavements; if constructed over a rigid base, the wearing surface shall be not less than two (2) inches in thickness; streets designed to carry wheel loads less than 10,000 pounds shall have a wearing surface not less than two (2) inches in thickness. The wearing surface (except in the case of streets having a finished cement concrete surface) shall consist of one (1) inch of Type 1-3 or F-1 bituminous concrete and sufficient Type H-2 bituminous concrete (Virginia State Highway Specifications 1954). Alley paving shall consist of not less than six (6) inches of Portland cement concrete, Class P (Virginia State Highway Specifications 1954).

g.

Supervision and inspection of improvements; permit required by contractors. All work done in the installation of public improvements in the city shall be done under the supervision and inspection of the director of transportation and environmental services, and shall be done by qualified contractors duly registered under the laws of the state. Prior to the beginning any work on public improvements in the city, the contractor shall apply for and, if properly qualified, shall receive a permit from the director of transportation and environmental services to proceed with the work. The permit shall be issued without charge.

h.

Sewers, with a catch basin at street intersections, shall be constructed in accordance with grades, sizes and character approved by the city engineer.

i.

The sidewalks must have been graded and concrete sidewalk, curb and gutter constructed, laid and established, or other material not inferior to concrete laid and constructed under the supervision of the city engineer or his representative on 100 percent of that portion of the street to be accepted. (Code 1963, Sec. 33-4)

Cross Reference: Subdivisions generally, Ch. 5 of Title 7 of this code.