AGENDA DATE: 2/15/2023
TITLE:
Title
Resolution Authorizing Staff to Accept Deeds of Easement for Drainage Infrastructure
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Request that the Board authorize the County Executive to accept deeds of easement for drainage infrastructure on behalf of the County
ITEM TYPE: Consent Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, Rosenberg, Herrick, Stewart, Harper
PRESENTER (S): Greg Harper
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The Board received a comprehensive update of the drainage infrastructure program on January 18, 2023. At the Board's direction, staff has begun to develop and implement a program to maintain drainage infrastructure meeting specific criteria within the Development Areas.
Urban runoff is collected and conveyed via an interconnected network of inlets, pipes, manholes, culverts, and channels. Within the Development Areas, this system lies over a thousand private commercial and residential properties and crosses VDOT rights-of-way at hundreds of locations. This infrastructure is often neglected and sometimes in poor and deteriorating condition due to property owners' lack of awareness about the infrastructure and confusion about ownership and responsibility. Under a drainage infrastructure management program, the County would manage community-serving infrastructures - in a structured and proactive manner - that is not currently located within easements explicitly dedicated to the County.
Because drainage infrastructure has been constructed by the private sector over many decades, most infrastructure does not currently lie within easements dedicated to public use. The County cannot access or improve infrastructure outside public easements. Public easements provide the County with the right to enter onto private property if the County chooses but do not convey a legal responsibility to manage infrastructure within the easements.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Infrastructure Investment...
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