Hillcrest Neighborhood Street Status

Overview

Many of the streets in the Hillcrest neighborhood, for various reasons, never qualified for acceptance into the system of city-maintained streets.

These streets have potholes and cracks or are otherwise in poor condition. The situation, understandably, has long frustrated neighborhood residents, some of whom were incorrectly assured when they bought their homes that the city would be repairing the streets.

Of the 13 streets that were not accepted for city maintenance, four were not accepted because they did not receive their final layer of pavement. Two were fully paved but have other issues that have prevented them from being turned over to the city for maintenance. The other seven cannot be accepted because they are on private land, and all but one were built such that the city cannot accept them.

In the map below, the streets identified with a pin are currently not accepted into the city street system. Select a pin for specific information about that street.

Printable summary of information about each street (PDF)

Why Did This Happen?

In some cases, the developer of the neighborhood, for reasons unknown to the city, never laid the final layer of asphalt required on four streets.

In the case of Southmont Drive, the developer apparently paved the street but never notified the city so that it could document that the street had been built to city standards and qualified for city maintenance.

In the case of Moss Grove Crossing, the storm drain apparently was not properly constructed, allowing sections of drain pipe to separate over time.

With the exception of Cross Vine Lane, the streets on private property were not built to city standards and presumably were never intended to be public streets. They were meant to provide access to the parking spaces for the multi-family units.

How Can These Streets Become City-Maintained?

For the streets lacking the final layer of asphalt

Each street that was never fully paved will have to have the final layer of asphalt applied before it is eligible for city maintenance.

This can be accomplished three ways:

The residents along a given street can get together and split the cost of the required paving or repairs, acting either through a homeowners association or as individuals joining together to cover the cost.
If there is undeveloped land along the street, the city will require that the street be completed as a condition to issuing a building permit for that land. This was the process used for completing the paving of a Hillcrest Center Drive and a portion of Hillcrest Center Circle, when Novant sought to build its facility on Hillcrest Center Circle.
Section 74-179 of the City Code outlines a process by which residents can petition the city to share some of the cost of paving the street. The code lays out the cost sharing formula between the city and the residents, with each resident paying a pro-rated portion of the cost based on the tax value of their property. Under this scenario the city would arrange to have the street paved once the cost-sharing arrangement is in place.

Once a street is fully paved, the city will inspect it to ensure that the street as a whole (including storm drains and curb & gutter) are in a good state of repair. This will include taking one or more core samples to ensure that it was built with an adequate roadbed and the required amount of asphalt. The inspection will also look at the condition of the stormdrains and the curb and gutter.

Moss Grove Crossing

The failing storm drain system will have to be corrected and repairs made where erosion has undermined the roadbed. Then the street will undergo the same inspection process noted above.

Private Streets

All the private streets -- with the exception of Cross Vine Lane – were not intended to become part of the city-maintained street system. They were not built to city standards and cannot qualify for inclusion as city-maintained streets.

Cross Vine Lane

The owner of the right of way, Greens Quarter Homeowners Association Inc., will have to transfer the right of way to the city, and the street will have to be inspected to ensure that it was properly constructed and is in a good state of repair.

FAQ

What is the normal process for accepting streets for city maintenance when they are built?

The first step is to plat a new development with rights of way for the future streets. The developer must build the streets to city standards including curb and gutter, stormdrains and a standard asphalt cross-section. Street designs are approved and signed by the city engineer. The city’s Engineering Field Office inspects the construction to ensure that the streets are built to city standards.

The right of way for the street must be transferred to the city before it can be accepted. The engineering field manager then issues a Final Inspection Memo to document that the street was built in accordance with city standards and that the city is accepting the street for maintenance. From there, the street is recorded on the annual Powell Bill Map and list that serves as the official record of city-maintained streets.

Why can’t the city just accept the streets as they are?

The city would not be a good steward of taxpayers’ dollar if it were to accept a street that is known to be in need of repairs. The city would be on the hook for paying for something that was the responsibility of the developer.

What would it cost to lay down the final inch of asphalt?

Recent engineer estimates for paving the final inch of asphalt are in the range of $7 per square yard. Additional repairs may be required prior to the paving of the final inch of asphalt such as repairing curb and gutter or base repair of the existing asphalt, which would be an additional cost.

Why are there street signs for Winterwoods Lane, Springwatch Lane and these other private streets if the streets essentially serve as parking lots?

The private streets needed to be named to allow the housing along them to be assigned addresses.