RE: Oakwood Subdivision Road VDOT Right-of-Way Acceptance Project
York County will hold a public meeting at the Kiln Creek Recreation Center located at 2805 Kiln Creek Parkway on February 20th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. County staff and others will be available during this time to discuss your particular property and any questions you may have. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the current progress of the County’s efforts to upgrade the roads of the Oakwood Subdivision so that they can be accepted into the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) secondary road system. The County encourages all residents to attend any time between 6:30pm to 8:30pm to discuss the project with staff.
Currently the roads in the Oakwood Subdivision are maintained by the Homeowner Association, not VDOT. County staff has been working with a design consultant and VDOT personnel to address VDOT’s concerns with the current state of the unaccepted roads. The County has taken core samples of the roads and has videotaped the storm sewer system to evaluate the existing conditions of the pavement and storm sewer. The County will be correcting minor issues within the storm sewer, and will repave the roads as part of the project acceptance.
One of VDOT’s requirements will require the help of the homeowners within the Oakwood Subdivision. The actual front property lines within Oakwood are approximately six feet behind the existing curb. The property between the front property line of the homeowner’s lots and the back of the curb is actually part of the right-of-way. Homeowners typically consider this strip of land to be their own and plant landscaping, place rocks or bricks, add lighting features, electronic dog fences or irrigation systems within this area. While this is normal, it is an encroachment into the right-of-way. In order for VDOT to accept the future maintenance of the right-of-way, these encroachments require VDOT Land Use Permits (LUP). The LUP will establish that the homeowner is responsible for maintenance of the encroachments, and VDOT is not responsible for any damage, repairs, or protection of the encroachments. While VDOT is not looking to have these items removed from the right-of-way, they need the LUP which specifies that when VDOT is working within the right-of-way and they encounter something that does not belong to them like an irrigation system, they are not responsible to repair it or put it back in place as it was before construction.
There are two options to address this encroachment issue. The first option is for each individual property owner to fill out LUPs for each encroachment on their property. There are separate LUPs for different types of encroachments. This will mean, for example, that you would have to fill out one for your irrigation system, one for landscaping and one for your exposed aggregate driveway entrance. The problem with this method of addressing the issue is the level of paperwork that will be needed plus the fact that each application will need to be accompanied by a $100 processing fee paid by the homeowner.
The second option would be that the Oakwood Subdivision go the route of several of the other subdivisions within the Kiln Creek area and form a smaller Homeowners Association (HOA) just for the residents within Oakwood. Then the newly formed HOA could sign one document taking responsibility for all of the encroachments and pay one fee of $100.
We have created a database that lists the current state of the encroachments as we have delineated them. We would like an opportunity to share all of this information with the homeowners and discuss our path forward. We encourage the participation of all homeowners as this decision involves everyone. The County is putting a significant amount of money and effort into the right-of-way acceptance, and we need the homeowners to handle the LUPs. If we cannot get commitment with applying for the LUPs, VDOT may not accept the roads, and, therefore, all right-of-way maintenance will continue to be funded by the HOA. We look forward to going over the project with you at the meeting.
The County’s Project Engineer is Elizabeth Mertz-Guinn. You may contact her at (757) 890‑3785 with questions or concerns about the project or by email at Elizabeth.Mertz-Guinn@yorkcounty.gov.