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Planners
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within town suddivisions should be dedicated to and maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, as opposed to private streets maintained by a homeowners’ association. “Often,” Mr. Wickens said, “private streets are substandard to begin with. Then it gets worse if the association breaks down. Can you imagine what would happen to Gay St. if Frizzell and Wickens were responsible for the maintenance?”
Mr. Frizzell agreed, adding that there is no standard of maintenance with private streets. “You can call the highway department — but it’s harder to call a widow and complain that the road needs work.”
The town doesn’t need any more eggs in its basket, Mr. Wickens added. “We have trouble keeping the grass cut and the water system going.”
The commissioners agreed that, rather than striking the requirement for curbs, gutters, and sidewalks, that the provision be conditional on the recommendation of the Planning Commission on each individual application.
During the informal discussion which accompanied the commission’s review of attorney Frank Reynolds’s recommendations, Camille Harris questioned several of the suggestions, including deletion of one section which now permits private sewerage treatment facilities, including “package” sewage treatment plants. “What happens if a septic system malfunctions? Doesn’t this remove a reasonable alternative to the problem. . .on lots of 1/4 acre, there’s nowhere else to go — you can’t just dig the system up and replace it."
Mr. Wickens noted that the prohibition under discussion would apply only to future subdivisions, and not to existing properties, but added that “package systems are very costly and they tend to malfunction, particularly if they’re not maintained properly.”
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