The 40’ radius cul-de-sac was never built and the road is now a private road in a multi owner subdivision.
So, the 50' ROW of Southwood Circle abuts your lot and you're trying to square-off your frontage?
The current front lot line is that entire curved arc impacting only your lot. Apparently, you are not to construct anything within 20 feet of that entire arc, not some portion thereof.
The statement about using the chord between the two ends of that arc is laughable. If the cul-de-sac were vacated by some bizarre process, you would only get the pie-shaped piece from one end of the arc to the center point of the cul-de-sac and from there to the other end of the arc. However, you would then have no access at all to get to your lot as the owners of the adjoining lots would block you off from the 50-wide road.
The 40’ radius cul-de-sac was never built and the road is now a private road in a multi owner subdivision.
The road doesn't automatically become private because the cul-de-sac wasn't built. It was a public dedication when the plat was filed. In order for it to become a private road, you would need to do a public vacation of the right-of-way, and file an approved plat.
if a lot fronts on a single road that makes a 90 degree curve then in fact it has two frontages.
The delta angle of the arc has nothing to do with anything. Nothing. In your case, there is a single front yard that fronts on a cul-de-sac. Period. You don't have two front yards. Look at the subdivision plat. Read your deed description. That's what you own, you can't read between the lines.
@aliquot yes front yard is a related concept. I am well aware of the term legal “property line” and most on this thread have missed the distinction - the question was is there a legal definition of front lot line where no zoning or subdivision regulations exist.
the building set backs only exist is the deed restrictions and they cloud the issue by establishing a side street setback and a front lot line set back.
lots on a curve >=91 degrees will have frontage on 2 sides,yes? The shorter frontage by convention is the front lot line and the longer frontage by convention is a side lot line. But this convention is by no means a legal constant. Because an owner can elect to place his front door facing the longer side & designate it as his front lot line.
So the question is does this same logic apply to a cul-de-sac lot owning 150 degrees of a corner, in this case a cul-de-sac in the survey world. Because by definition (legal and mathematics) a circle has infinite sides.
With the restrictions establishing a side street set back the question is valid.
@jsargent99 can you share the deed restriction language? The distinction between front and side frontage usually only is applicable when there differnt roads, and then how it is defined is usually based in local ordinances that vary.
When a lot only fronts one road the entire frontage is usually the front, no matter how much the road curves. When applying zoning setbacks to lots like yours, I have never seen a situation where the setback wouldn't apply to the entire cul-de-sac frontage. If you are intent on arguing something else over some else's objections you may need an attorney.
5’ side street building set back and a 20’ front line set back. Neither of these terms has a legally accepted definition per my attorneys. Neither is defined in the restrictions.
the "front" and "side" of a project are open questions. However, it would be "normal" (at least where I have worked) to consider the side pointing towards the CDS as the "front". If the HOA says this is the case, you can fight that, of course (which is why you have a lawyer), but I think it would be hard to find very many people like us to come up with a different answer as to "normal".
The siting of the house, and other factors come into play, of course.
yes front yard is a related concept. I am well aware of the term legal “property line” and most on this thread have missed the distinction - the question was is there a legal definition of front lot line where no zoning or subdivision regulations exist.
no one here missed the distinction...and there is a legal definition of the front line of your property...look at the LEGAL DESCRIPTION in your deed. That is all anyone ever said here. Then we told you how to interpret that deed.
The cul-de-sac must exist as open and must not be vacated. The lot in question must pass through the cul-de-sac to access the 50' road leading into the cul-de-sac. Otherwise, the lot is land locked and of value only to someone who has access to a public road. Thus, the lot is the lot as platted.........period............end of story.
The cul-de-sac must exist as open and must not be vacated. The lot in question must pass through the cul-de-sac to access the 50' road leading into the cul-de-sac. Otherwise, the lot is land locked and of value only to someone who has access to a public road. Thus, the lot is the lot as platted.........period............end of story.
Hmmm,
Or, the legal description, which we have not seen, is ambiguous and invalid and he bought nothing...
Otherwise, the lot is land locked and of value only to someone who has access to a public road.
Ingress and egress.
the question was is there a legal definition of front lot line where no zoning or subdivision regulations exist.
It follows, since no zoning or subdivision regulations exist, there are no relevant definitions. A definition is not needed since no regulations exist that would make use of any definition.
And since no regulations exist you wouldn't have wasted your money on attorneys and you wouldn't have wasted your time asking these questions on this forum. Since there are no regulations you are able to do anything you want and not be troubled by others.
It seems like there is no question where your front line is. The only question is whether a regulation. if one existed similar to what other jurisdictions do, would measure that line by arc length or chord length.
Not being an attorney,
1) Since you are asking for a legal stance on the matter, it seems it would be more appropriate to seek out the advice of an attorney and barring an answer seek out another attorney with more development or real estate expertise.
1a.) Your attorney should be able to very quickly look for associated terms in Black's Law Dictionary and find that "frontage" has two definitions:
a. Linear distance of property along street, highway, river, or lake. Because someone will get hung up on the idea of linear, it is also defined as
b. Extent of front along road or street. This is the typical application of frontage of a lot in a subdivision with each line or arc segment running with a road (and a cul-de-sac is a part of the road) adding up to be the 'extent of the front'. In the same manner as the 10' easement shown on the original plat, a building setback (if applicable) would run with the same arc.
1b.) Your attorney should be able to explain to you the plain meaning rule. While it generally applies to statute language, it is applied in other areas as well. Basically language that is not specifically defined, is taken to mean the typical ordinary or technical meaning. I think the responses you received should demonstrate the usual technical meaning.
2) You've mentioned there is no local subdivision regulation. Not being familiar with the state laws in your area, are there any state laws that would come into effect regarding the subdivision process in general statewide?
the good news is; it's a "public" Right-of-Way! You are are just as much public as anyone else. You can do anything you want and anyone else can too.
Someone could park their RV there and you can't do a damn thing about it. They do it all the time in Seattle; I don't see why they can't do it in Tejas...
