Onslow County creates $2 million loan fund to bring ‘orphan’ roads up to NCDOT standards

Onslow County announced a $2,000,000 Orphan Road Loan Fund to help neighborhoods repair private roads that lack a clear owner so they can meet North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) standards and be accepted into the state maintenance system.

Assistant County Manager Carrie Sanders said the county’s commissioners directed staff to create the program after hearing residents’ complaints about road conditions. “In North Carolina, counties are considered agents of the state, which mean that we only have the powers granted to us by the North Carolina General Assembly,” Sanders said, adding that “under North Carolina General statute, counties are not legally responsible for road maintenance.”

The program targets so-called orphan roads — private or intended-public roads that are not currently part of the NCDOT system. Planning and Development Director Carter Metcalfe described an orphan road as “a private road within a neighborhood or a subdivision that lacks a clear owner,” and said the county’s goal is to bring those roads up to the three primary NCDOT requirements for adoption: construction standards, residency thresholds and connectivity to the existing state system.

Joseph Bauer, senior planner with the county’s Planning and Development Department and the staff liaison for the program, told residents the county will lead technical steps including filing petitions with NCDOT, coordinating deficiency inspections and producing cost estimates. “I will be, for all intents and purposes, your liaison and, communication, in between the county,” Bauer said.

How the program will work - Identification: Residents should submit suspected orphan streets to the county. A sign-up sheet and a two-page handout with timelines were provided at the meeting. - Verification: County staff will verify whether a listed street was designated public on recorded plats and whether it meets NCDOT petition requirements (construction, residency minimums and connectivity). - NCDOT review: NCDOT will inspect and produce a deficiency list of required improvements. - Cost estimates and petition: The county will develop cost estimates and a repayment plan, then distribute a petition showing the estimated special assessment to property owners. - Petition threshold: State law requires a petition signed by at least 75% of the owners of property to be assessed before the county may finance all or part of improvements to a residential street in a subdivision.

Key deadlines and timeline laid out by staff - Street submissions due to the Planning and Development office by Nov. 1, 2025. - Signed petitions demonstrating the 75% owner threshold due to planning staff by Jan. 31, 2026. - The county’s Technical Review Committee will review qualifying petitions in February 2026 and produce a prioritized recommendation. - Staff intend to present recommendations to the Board of Commissioners in March 2026. If the board approves, bidding for improvements is targeted for spring–summer 2026, with subsequent NCDOT re-evaluation and possible acceptance into the state system.

Financing and tax treatment Tax Administrator Kevin Turner said the county has structured the program as a loan repaid via a special assessment on property tax bills. “The total cost of the project would be divided evenly among the parcels in the subdivision,” Turner said. The special assessment would appear as a separate line on the tax bill and be payable over 10 years. Turner said, as he understood it, the loan would be interest-free while current; delinquent payments would accrue interest as a delinquent tax. He also said the assessment is tied to the property and transfers with the property if it is sold.

Turner said owners may make prepayments (for example, monthly) if they prefer not to pay the annual assessment in a single installment.

Other practical clarifications from staff - Ownership lists: Planning and Tax staff said they can generate ownership and mailing lists for neighborhoods that request them to support petition-gathering. - Renters vs. owners: North Carolina law requires property owners — not renters — to sign petitions. Bauer said staff can help neighborhoods navigate mixed-owner or renter-heavy areas, but the 75% owner signature threshold remains a statutory requirement. - Reassessment: The tax administrator said Onslow County conducts property reassessments every four years; the reassessment effective Jan. 1, 2026, will reflect market conditions and not be adjusted specifically because of road improvements. - NCDOT standards and deficiencies: County staff stressed NCDOT requires roads to meet specific construction standards (pavement thickness, base, drainage, width), a residency threshold (NCDOT’s stated guideline of roughly two residences per 0.1 mile or four homes for short segments) and connectivity to the existing NCDOT system before acceptance. NCDOT inspections will generate a deficiency list that determines the work required.

Scope, limits and legal context County staff repeatedly emphasized that the county cannot itself adopt roads into the state system; the program’s purpose is to finance necessary repairs and follow the petition process that allows NCDOT to accept roads into its maintenance system. Staff also said the program was created after the Board of Commissioners approved allocating $2,000,000 to a loan fund intended to address orphan-road needs countywide.

Questions from residents at the meeting asked how the county would prioritize limited funds among multiple petitions (staff said the Technical Review Committee will prioritize requests to achieve the broadest public benefit), how large or costly projects would be phased, and how to handle neighborhoods with single-entrance connectivity constraints; staff acknowledged those are factors for prioritization and, where possible, phasing could be considered.

What residents should do next Staff encouraged neighborhood volunteers to sign up as local coordinators, gather street names and help secure owner signatures. Joseph Bauer and other county staff said they will remain available after the meeting to review neighborhood-specific questions and existing petitions residents may already have filed with NCDOT.

The county’s immediate deadline to submit suspected orphan streets is Nov. 1, 2025; signed petitions demonstrating the 75% owner support are due Jan. 31, 2026.