<div class="chunk-title">Sec. 4.1 - General provisions.</div>
<div class="chunk-content">
            <p class="incr0">
               (a)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content1">
               <span class="ital">Authority and Jurisdiction</span>.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (i)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               This section, enacted in accordance with the provisions of G.S. ch. 160D, art. 8 shall
               apply to all of Jackson County not within the jurisdictions of the various municipalities
               and the Qualla Boundary.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (ii)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               For the purposes of this section, the term "Director" shall refer to the Planning
               Director unless otherwise stated.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (iii)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Public health, safety, economy, good order, appearance, convenience, morals, and the
               general welfare require the harmonious, orderly, and progressive development of land
               within the jurisdiction of the County. In furtherance of this intent, regulation of
               land subdivision by the County has the purposes, among others, to:
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               1)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               Encourage economically sound and stable development in the County;
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               2)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               Ensure the timely provision and coordination of required streets and highways, utilities,
               and other facilities and services to new land developments;
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               3)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               Ensure adequate provision of safe and convenient traffic access and circulation;
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               4)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               Ensure provision of needed community open spaces in new land developments through
               the dedication or reservation of land for recreational, educational, and other public
               purposes or the provision of funds in lieu of dedication;
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               5)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               Ensure, in general, the wise and timely development of new areas, in harmony with
               the land development plan and other official plans of the County; and
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               6)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               Ensure accurate public records of land ownership, to facilitate land ownership transfer,
               the effective conduct of public and private business, and the protection of private
               property rights.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr0">
               (b)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content1">
               <span class="ital">Improvements.</span>
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (i)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Before final plat approval, each subdivision shall either contain the improvements
               specified in this section which apply to the classification of the subdivision submitted
               and all conditions of approval or a satisfactory performance guarantee shall have
               been posted with the County pursuant to <a href="" data-chunk-id="CD_ORD_APXIUNDEOR_ARTIVSU_S4.9COMAGU" class="section-link" data-product-id="14666">Section 4.9</a>, Completion and Maintenance Guarantees. The improvements shall be installed in accordance
               with the requirements of this section and paid for by the subdivider, unless other
               means of financing are specifically allowed within the requirements of this article
               and paid for by the subdivider. Land shall be dedicated and reserved in each subdivision
               as specified in this article. Each subdivision shall adhere to the minimum standards
               of design established by this section.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr0">
               (c)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content1">
               <span class="ital">Intent</span>.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (i)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               This section is intended to provide for the harmonious development of the County jurisdiction
               and in particular for the following:
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               1)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               The coordination of streets within subdivisions with other existing or planned streets
               or official map streets;
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               2)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               Appropriate shapes and sizes of lots;
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               3)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               The provision of land and of easements for utilities and other public facilities and
               services; and
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               4)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               A distribution of population and traffic which will tend to create conditions favorable
               to health, safety, convenience, prosperity, and general welfare.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (ii)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Regulations set forth in this section are part of a system of regulations governing
               land subdivision, development and use and construction and improvements on land, supplementing
               and supplemented by health, drainage improvement, steep slope, flood hazard, and other
               land use regulations and controls.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (iii)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Applications for subdivision approval shall be considered in relation to all such
               regulations applicable in the particular case and not only in relation to the subdivision
               regulations set forth in this section. Where there are conflicts between the regulations
               in this section and other lawfully adopted regulations involved in such considerations,
               those which establish the highest requirements or most stringent limitations shall
               govern except where specific exceptions are set forth in such regulations.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr0">
               (d)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content1">
               <span class="ital">Applicability</span>.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (i)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Unless stated otherwise, the standards contained in this section apply to all subdivisions
               of land, including family, minor and major subdivisions.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (ii)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Compliance required. Within the jurisdiction of this UDO, no subdivision shall be
               made, platted, or recorded for any purpose, nor shall parcels resulting from such
               subdivision be sold or offered for sale unless such subdivision meets all the requirements
               of this section and applicable related regulations of the UDO.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (iii)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               No lot shall be approved unless an adequate portion thereof is suitable for a use
               permitted by land development regulations or other applicable regulations of the County.
               In particular, no lot shall be platted for building purposes unless it contains an
               adequate building site, under applicable regulations.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (iv)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Plat approval required. No plat of any subdivision within such jurisdiction shall
               be filed or recorded by the County Register of Deeds until it shall have been submitted
               to and approved by the appropriate authority and such approval entered in writing
               on the plat per Section 3.7.16-17 of this ordinance.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr0">
               (e)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content1">
               <span class="ital">Exemptions</span>.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (i)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Any plat of property exempt from the regulations of this section shall be certified
               as exempt by the Director or, in the limited circumstances specified in G.S. 47-30(f)(11),
               a professional land surveyor prior to such plat being recorded. Such plat is not exempt
               from any zoning, water supply, watershed, or other local ordinances. Any exemption
               from the regulations of this UDO shall not be deemed an exemption from any other applicable
               ordinance.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (ii)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               The following divisions of land shall also be exempt from the standards of this section.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               1)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               The combination or recombination of portions of previously platted lots where the
               total number of lots is not increased and the resultant lots are equal to or exceed
               the standards of the County as shown in this section.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               2)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               The division of land into parcels greater than ten acres where no street right-of-way
               dedication is involved.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               3)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               The public acquisition by purchase of strips of land for widening or opening of streets.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               4)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               The division of a tract in single ownership, the entire area of which is no greater
               than two acres, into not more than three lots, if no street right-of-way dedication
               is involved and where the resultant lots are equal to or exceed the standards of the
               County, as shown in this article.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               5)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               A re-subdivision which involves only the removal of interior lot lines, with the outside
               perimeter of the property remaining unchanged, resulting in fewer parcels than were
               contained in the original parcel.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               6)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               A re-subdivision which involves only the removal or relocation of easements on the
               property.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               7)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               A re-subdivision which involves only the changing of notations written on the plat
               or correction of errors in an existing legal description, provided that no additional
               building lots are created.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               8)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               A division of land pursuant to an allocation of land by court decree.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               9)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               The division of land into cemetery plots.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               10)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               A division of land involving no more than two (2) parcels for the sale, gift, or exchange
               of tracts between adjoining land owners, provided that no additional building sites
               are created.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               11)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               A division of a building site containing an existing dwelling which has been located
               on an agriculturally used site for at least ten (10) years.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               12)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               A division or re-subdivision of land for the acquisition by the public or by a utility
               for street right-of-way or easement.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               13)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               The division of a tract into parcels in accordance with the terms of a probated will
               or in accordance with intestate succession under G.S. ch. 29.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr0">
               (f)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content1">
               <span class="ital">Phasing</span>.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (i)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               A subdivision may be developed in phases, in accordance with the provisions of this
               section.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (ii)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Each phase shall contain at least six lots, unless shown on a phasing plan approved
               by the Director as part of the preliminary subdivision plan review after expressly
               determining that the proposed phasing makes it unlikely that a subdivider could abandon
               a final phase that contains a required extension of a road or other infrastructure.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (iii)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               A phasing plan shall be submitted showing the phases of development and the requirements
               of this section that will be satisfied in each phase which is approved by the Planning
               Board as part of the preliminary plan.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (iv)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Open space, if required by Section 4.3.2, 4.3.3 or 4.3.4, shall be measured cumulatively
               in all approved phases and shall meet the requirements for open space for each phase
               of the subdivision.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (v)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               The degree and extent of roads, water supply, sewage disposal, stormwater management,
               erosion and sedimentation control, and other required improvements in the phase and
               previously approved phases is sufficient to serve or handle all development within
               the phase. Roads constructed in an earlier phase shall be designed and constructed
               to accommodate the total number of homes and/or lots, including those proposed for
               later phases, that will be served by the road(s). Lots may be recorded, and public
               improvements may be constructed in phases, unless set forth as part of the preliminary
               subdivision plan.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (vi)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               The Planning Board may not approve a phasing plan when in its opinion such phasing
               will not provide for adequate public facilities to support any such phase independent
               of the overall development plan. In approving phasing plans, the Planning Board may
               require that additional streets, water and sewer facilities or other required public
               facilities be constructed as part of the phase in order to ensure that sufficient
               public facilities will be in place to support such phase independent of any future
               development.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (vii)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               The Planning Board may approve a time line of up to ten years for the development
               of the subdivision. A single two-year extension of time for development of the subdivision
               may be granted by the Planning Board provided justification is given for the request
               and the request is submitted prior to the expiration of the initial ten-year period.
               If the final plat for any phase of the subdivision is not submitted in accordance
               with the approved schedule, the preliminary plat shall be resubmitted to the Director
               for review and approval. Such resubmittal shall be in accordance with the requirements
               of Article III: Permits and Procedures.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr0">
               (g)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content1">
               <span class="ital">Acceptance</span>.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (i)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               Effect of plat approval on status of dedication, acceptance. The effect of plat approval
               on the status of dedications is as follows:
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               1)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               The approval of a plat shall not be deemed to constitute or effect an acceptance by
               the public for maintenance purposes of the dedication of any road, ground, or other
               improvements shown upon the plat.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr2">
               2)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content3">
               Acceptance of such dedications shall be only by resolution of the Board of Commissioners
               or appropriate action by the State Department of Transportation. The Board of Commissioners
               shall consider such resolutions only on determination that any required improvements
               have been properly installed and all applicable conditions met, as set out in Article
               III: Permits and Procedures and Article IV: Subdivisions of this UDO.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr0">
               (h)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content1">
               <span class="ital">Non-applicability</span>.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (i)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               The enactment of this section shall in no way affect the running of any amortization
               provisions or enforcement actions, or otherwise cure any existing land use violations.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr0">
               (i)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content1">
               <span class="ital">Aggregation</span>.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="incr1">
               (i)
               </p>
            		
            <p class="content2">
               For any tract of land, no more than eight lots may be created by means of the family
               and/or minor subdivision review process. It is the intent of this section to preclude
               any attempt to avoid the major subdivision review process by the sequential subdivision
               of land into two or more family or minor subdivisions. To that end, two or more subdivisions
               shall be aggregated and treated as a single subdivision under this section when they
               are either contiguous to one another or contiguous to property owned or controlled
               by person owning or controlling the land to be subdivided.
               </p>
            		
            <p class="historynote0">
               (Ord. No. O2019-01(5), 11-2-2021)
               </p></div>