Morrisville, North Carolina
print pageRSS Feed
home

Go To Search
Blog module icon

Private Residential Streets to Public Streets Initiative

 
(Comments are not moderated, but are monitored frequently to prohibit inappropriate material.  Please see our Blog Guidelines for details.)



View All Posts

Sep 01

It's About What YOU Want

Posted on September 1, 2010 at 9:44 AM by Stacie Galloway

14 residential developments in Morrisville were constructed with private streets, which are constructed to a lesser standard than public streets. About one third of Morrisville's population resides in these 14 neighborhoods. Two of these subdivisions have made requests to accept the roads into the Town's maintenance system.

Staff has developed an initiative to allow for the possibility to upgrade and convert private streets to publicly maintained streets, which would result in a Municipal Service District (MSD) that creates an additional temporary property tax for all homeowners residing in those neighborhoods.

Town Staff and Council are neither for nor against establishing a temporary MSD - the decision lies with the residents of the 14 neighborhoods.

Get informed
 and weigh in with your thoughts.  Is this something you and your neighbors want?

Comments

Anonymous User
September 7, 2010 at 12:41 PM
I live in one of the affected communities. What type of upgrades will be made to bring our streets up to standard?
Anonymous User
September 8, 2010 at 10:35 AM
I don't understand why some of the neighborhoods in (Town Hall Commons) are not included? Are they Cary roads? If so, did Cary allow the private streets? Is the gables the only streets that Centex did not build to the public road standards? I appreciate the effort of the town to "make this right" but think the fact the town allowed the private streets in the first place to be a little strange. I guess it was an incentive to the builders so they could save money but now that the builders are gone the homeowners are stuck with the added costs??
Stacie Galloway
September 9, 2010 at 9:47 AM
Take a look at the FAQ page for this project for answers to your questions at www.townofmorrisville.org/MSDfaq.
Anonymous User
September 19, 2010 at 1:12 AM
Will this effect our parking spaces? That was one of the reasons I chose my neighborhood was to have a designated parking space since I do not have a garage.
Anonymous User
September 20, 2010 at 6:04 PM
I don't understand what kind of substantial "improvements" residents are going to get in exchange for paying added taxes for the next 15 years--the streets/signage etc. in our subdivision are currently in good repair. I too have concerns about how the designated parking can be preserved if the street is converted to a public thoroughfare--it seems that we'll lose the parking and will have to compete with anyone passing through who chooses to park where they wish. It also seems to have the potential to increase undesired non-resident traffic through our neighborhoods.
Anonymous User
September 21, 2010 at 12:18 AM
I think conversion of private streets to public is a good idea. But I have several questions about this proposal: The standard NC DOT Right of Way for a Residential Street is 40'. Many of the private streets are Significantly Narrower (25’ in my neighborhood). The Town of Morrisville Design and Construction Ordinance calls for sidewalks on both sides of the street. In my neighborhood there are only sidewalks on one side of the street. Is there a plan for these narrow streets or will my tiny front yard just vanish? $100 dollars a linear foot sounds pretty cheap in 2010 dollars and impossible in 2025 dollars. Is it not more likely the total cost will run $200 - $400 per foot by the time the project is complete? In which case the home owner cost Range would be $6,000 to $19,200 over some number of years. Is there any guarantee that the project would complete in 15 years? I have lived here over 20 years and never seen a road project complete on time or on budget. The project is asking Homeowners to sign on for a unspecified tax rate, to cover undetermined costs, for an undetermined number of years, which part of that sounds like a good idea? Why can’t the cost, and the work be defined before we sign on? P.S I submitted this anonymously because the webpage would not let me create an account
Anonymous User
September 24, 2010 at 12:56 PM
The streets in my neighborhood are beautiful. I pay two HOAs in my development and neither of them have offered to lower their fees once the cost of street repair is removed. Why would I knowingly pay 3 people for the cost of street repair, adding 15 years x $200 x interest?
Anonymous User
September 25, 2010 at 10:04 PM
I think that the Town of Morrisville needs to equally share the responsibility for creating the problem. They issued permits to Centex to make the streets in some of their neighborhoods public, while other streets were to be private. Why the discrepancy? Town of Morrisville should be responsible for catering to the monetary interests of the developer (building the streets to public specifications would cost more money and mean a less dense neighborhood in terms of tax revenue). They knew better. Town of Morrisville should be equally responsible for the mess the streets are in.
Anonymous User
October 11, 2010 at 12:47 PM
It is time for people to take responsibility and stop depending on others to bail them out. HOA's should budget for street maintenance, that is part of HOA dues. The responsible HOAs should not have to bail out the less successful planners. Please offer other solutions that do not require additional taxation and reduced self-reliance.
Anonymous User
October 15, 2010 at 8:14 PM
Is public road standard for private roads overkill and overpriced for the low volume of private traffic? Seems like the cost estimate is double of what HOA have estimates for.
Anonymous User
December 22, 2010 at 1:25 PM
Basically, the homeowner taxes or HOA dues in the 14 neighborhoods are going up 10+ % and each home owner accepts this by voting yes or no. I love this statement on the town’s website under background: Private streets are constructed to a lesser standard than public streets. Who set the roadway building standards and inspected these sites in the 14 neighborhoods? The Town of Morrisville. Luckily the Town Council does not have general authority to expend public funds for private needs as this is a creative way for additional taxes. Steve L. Hamlet in the Park

You must log in before leaving your comment


the heart of the triangle
Home     |     Contact Us     |     Table of Contents     |     Morrisville Mobile     |     en Español     |     Accessibility     |    Powered by CivicPlus     |     Copyright Notices