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r OCT 3 11985 BOOK 62 wr`614 Both safety and convenience are less on unpaved than on paved roadways. With the establishment of higher traffic volumes through approval of high intensity residential or non- residential development projects, the County assumes a respon- sibility to enhance safety and facilitate convenience for the general public. Mandating road paving in such cases increases both safety and convenience. One final factor necessitating road paving is the prospect for future paving. As more development is approved on an unpaved road, more entities become involved, and the prospects for a voluntary effort to effect paving decrease. Of course, complaints to the County continue from the general public who use the road to get to the businesses located on it. Since the public will use unpaved roads to access businesses located on such roads and approved by the County, the principal question becomes whether or not the County, in approving the business, also assumes the responsibility to assure the public's health, safety, and convenience, as well as to control its own cost. ° Responsibility The issue of responsibility for paving involves several questions and may vary significantly depending upon the circumstances. Given the necessity to pave an unpaved road- way, the responsibility issue must be addressed and resolved. Basically, this issue relates to identification of the indivi- dual, group, or entity required to make specific infra- structure improvements. With road paving, as with the extension of water and sewer lines, responsibility for making improvements to major system components, whether arterial or collector roadways or major - water distribution or wastewater collection lines, is usually + shared between the developer and the County. Regarding road paving, however, other questions arise. On local roads abutting a project but not used for access, developers often have no incentive to pave. However, if paving or contributing toward paving is not required of the developer, the County may absorb the paving costs in the future. Another aspect of responsibility is timing. When the paving should occur must be related to the impact produced by the project. Approval of a project on an unpaved road creates more traffic when the project becomes operational. Paving to provide access must be accomplished prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy to maintain the relationship between the impact and the improvement. Other required paving which affects roadways or portions of roadways not used for primary access may be paved later. ° Fairness/Equity Closely related to road paving responsibility is the issue of fairness or equity. This .issue may soon be resolved for arterial and collector roads, the roadways on the County's adopted' Thoroughfare Plan. These roads will be paved using impact fee funds. This method ensures fairness by funding those improvements necessitated by new development from fees paid by new development. Local roads, however, are not eligible for impact fee funding, a situation that makes fairness/equity remain an issue for most required road paving. The basic factor involving the fairness/equity issue as it pertains to road paving is the benefit derived from the paving versus costs assessed to the beneficiaries. Although all 28