09-10-2017, 07:37 AM
All the talk about "connectivity" and emergency access is meaningless without money ... County just reciting its road dedication specs yet again
I've pointed this out before but it bears repeating: these two issues are very closely related.
Pick a hypothetical "connector road", such as that proposed between Fern Acres and Kopua Farm Lots. Total distance (per the plats) would be about 2000 feet. At $1M/mile, that project costs about $375,000 (not including land acquisition), after which you have a beautiful segment of pavement (with striping and reflectors) connecting two unmaintained private roads, one of which isn't even paved.
Stated goal of the "connectivity" project is emergency egress, not casual cruising over to adjacent subdivisions -- in fact, locations of the proposed roads have been carefully chosen to discourage their use as a primary route, with the roads "staggered" so that it's not convenient to "cut through".
(At 20' wide, a 2000-foot connector is less than an acre. How much is an acre of rip-n-roll with a D9? Include fuel, delivery, and a few loads of crushed rock for good measure.)
Somehow the "dedicable standard" seems like complete overkill for the intended purpose -- and yet, it's all the County is "allowed" to build "under the existing rules and laws as written".
It's actually quite clever: PCDP working groups can put forth plans that "address the public need" while Council denies those plans as "not within the budget". Everyone can maintain the appearance of doing work "for the common good" while not actually having to deliver anything.
Meanwhile, people keep buying lots and building homes...
I've pointed this out before but it bears repeating: these two issues are very closely related.
Pick a hypothetical "connector road", such as that proposed between Fern Acres and Kopua Farm Lots. Total distance (per the plats) would be about 2000 feet. At $1M/mile, that project costs about $375,000 (not including land acquisition), after which you have a beautiful segment of pavement (with striping and reflectors) connecting two unmaintained private roads, one of which isn't even paved.
Stated goal of the "connectivity" project is emergency egress, not casual cruising over to adjacent subdivisions -- in fact, locations of the proposed roads have been carefully chosen to discourage their use as a primary route, with the roads "staggered" so that it's not convenient to "cut through".
(At 20' wide, a 2000-foot connector is less than an acre. How much is an acre of rip-n-roll with a D9? Include fuel, delivery, and a few loads of crushed rock for good measure.)
Somehow the "dedicable standard" seems like complete overkill for the intended purpose -- and yet, it's all the County is "allowed" to build "under the existing rules and laws as written".
It's actually quite clever: PCDP working groups can put forth plans that "address the public need" while Council denies those plans as "not within the budget". Everyone can maintain the appearance of doing work "for the common good" while not actually having to deliver anything.
Meanwhile, people keep buying lots and building homes...