Effective April 5, 2012, the United States Postal Service began mandating mail delivery in new subdivisions to be made to centralized mailbox locations, called Cluster Box Units (CBU), instead of curbside delivery.
As a result, many local governments are updating their development standards to address the postal service's new policy. Greenville County has included the new policy in the pending update to the Land Development Regulations. The ordinance will simply require that a CBU or CBUs be installed according to the postal services regulations and that the location of the CBUs be reflected on the preliminary plat for the subdivision. Greenville County will require an affidavit from the postal service that your subdivision plan complies with their policy before your preliminary subdivision plat will be approved.
Your Home Builders Association worked with other HBAs in South Carolina to try to influence the outcome of this new policy, but ultimately our efforts only resulted in a delay in implementation. According to the postal service, all new subdivisions must comply with the policy and those that do not will not be served by the postal service.
There is a variance procedure outlined in the postal service's policy manual for extenuating situations, like handicap accessibility issues. In addition, options for smaller subdivisions do include using a CBU that contains just four mailboxes, positioned near the four homes.
Your Home Builders Association cautions developers not to rely on the local jurisdiction approving your subdivision to guide you on this new requirement. Not all jurisdictions have included this requirement in their ordinances, and yet the postal service will enforce the requirement none-the-less.
To download and review the "Builder and Developer Information Packet for the use and installation of Cluster Box Units," click here.
For more information about this new policy, contact the U.S. Postal Service's South Carolina Growth Management Department at 803-926-6280.
The Home Builders Association of Greenville are your neighbors and community leaders providing education and support for building industry professionals. We create jobs, encourage homeownership, and promote responsible growth throughout the upstate of South Carolina.
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