§ 35-31. Easements & maintenance.

(a)

Easements for drainage purposes shall be provided and dedicated to the public in all subdivisions and plats as provided by city ordinance, including this division 5 and section 35-24.

(b)

The owner shall provide a public easement area or privately maintained easement area and a required maintenance easement, which shall be dedicated to the City of Irving as a permanent drainage area and open space corridor in accordance with the following:

(1)

Dedications of easement areas required for drainage and floodplain areas. Drainage and floodplain areas for all open channels, creeks, and flumes shall be dedicated to the City of Irving. Dedicated areas shall encompass all areas having a ground elevation below the higher of one (1) foot above the base flood elevation, at or above the water surface elevation associated with the design flood, or the top of the high bank or channel edge. Residential lots shall not extend into easement and floodplain areas. No fences, buildings, or other structures which could impede flow shall be placed within these dedicated areas. In all cases, the dedicated area shall also include at least a 15-foot wide maintenance strip along both sides of the channel or, if the city engineer so allows, at least a 20-foot wide maintenance strip along one (1) side of the channel. Streets, alleys, bike paths, paved trails, and other pedestrian walkways, alongside the channel may serve as all or part of the maintenance easement. Drainage easements for flumes shall be located with sufficient width to permit future maintenance accessibility, and in no case shall be less than 15 feet wide.

(2)

Maintenance access. Maintenance access areas will be provided along channel improvements as provided in this ordinance. The improvements will also include maintenance access ramps in the channel improvements when the side slopes are steeper than 4 to 1. The location and number of the maintenance access ramps will be established by the city engineer. Each reach of improvement must have facilities to allow access for maintenance equipment.

(3)

Maintenance of drainage and floodplain improvements and facilities in drainage and floodplain areas. All drainage and floodplain areas shall be dedicated to the City of Irving. The maintenance responsibility of the dedicated area shall be determined as follows:

a.

Drainage and floodplain improvements constructed by the City of Irving shall be the maintenance responsibility of the city.

b.

Public easement areas - Public easement areas shall be dedicated in fee simple to the City of Irving and shall be the city's maintenance responsibility. Public easement areas shall include the following:

1.

Drainage and floodplain improvements constructed in relation to single-family residential developments (including duplexes), except for improvements under section 35-32.

2.

Drainage and floodplain improvements constructed in relation to land uses, other than single-family residential, shall be dedicated as public easement areas, unless otherwise directed by the city engineer, and the owner enters into a maintenance agreement with the city.

c.

Privately maintained easement areas - Drainage and floodplain improvements constructed in conjunction with land use improvements by a private development. Properties adjacent to the improvements or a property owners association shall be defined by plat or separate instrument filed with the Dallas County Deed Records and the City of Irving City Secretary's Office as being responsible for the maintenance and repairs to said improvements.

(c)

The city engineer may require drainage and floodplain improvements to be dedicated as privately maintained easement areas, regardless of land use type, for the any of the following conditions:

(1)

For channel and floodplain areas left in a natural state;

(2)

For channel and floodplain improvements that utilize a channel sideslope that is steeper than 4:1; or

(3)

For channel and floodplain improvements projects that utilize bio-engineering improvements as stabilization measures.

(d)

Any area dedicated as a privately maintained easement must meet all of the following requirements:

(1)

Drainage and floodplain improvements dedicated as privately maintained easement areas shall be the maintenance responsibility of the owner.

(2)

In situations where the city engineer allows or requires the drainage or floodplain area to be dedicated as a privately maintained easement area, the owner shall enter into a perpetual maintenance agreement with the city. The perpetual maintenance shall be assured by either a private entity, trust fund, or other mechanism as approved by the city council.

(3)

In areas where the perpetual maintenance is assured by either a private entity, trust fund, or other mechanism, the city shall not be responsible for maintenance of the drainage improvements. If such improvements deteriorate in condition, the city engineer shall notify the private entity, trust fund, other mechanism, owner, or responsible maintenance entity of required corrections and/or maintenance to bring the drainage or floodplain area up to the standards as originally approved by the city and accordance with the original improvement design. If such maintenance is not accomplished within thirty (30) days after receipt of written notice by the city, the city or its contractors may perform the necessary work and attach a lien on the property for the reasonable costs incurred by the city or its contractors to perform the work.

(Ord. No. 2017-10008, § II, 10-26-17)