(A) Purpose of development plan. A development plan is intended to provide all pertinent information about a proposed development so the Plan Commission may make a knowledgeable decision whether or not the proposed development meets all the requirements of this chapter and the goals and objectives of the County Master Plan.
(B) Required developments for development plan.
(1) The development plan procedure, hereafter set forth, shall be required for the following developments:
(a) All minor and major subdivisions of land;
(b) All mobile home parks. Additional requirements are provided for in § 153.091;
(c) All planned unit developments. Additional requirements are provided for in § 153.092;
(d) All intensive livestock operations. Requirements are provided in Chapter 112;
(e) All commercial multiple-group dwelling developments on lots, parcels, or tracts of land over two acres;
(f) All multiple-group dwelling development;
(g) All C-1 principal use developments on lots, parcels, or tracts of land over two acres. Accessory buildings under 5,000 square feet are excluded from the development plan procedures;
(h) All C-2 and C-3 principal use developments. Accessory buildings under 5,000 square feet are excluded from the development plan procedures;
(i) All I-1 and I-2 principal use developments. Accessory buildings under 5,000 square feet are excluded from the development plan procedures; and
(j) All uses contained in § 153.087(C)(3).
(2) A subdivision plat shall be required along with a development plan as long as a subdivision of land, as defined, is occurring as a result of this development. Both development plan and subdivision plat processes may be done concurrently with any duplicated requirements being counted for both processes.
(C) Pre-application review. A pre-application review between Zoning Administrator and developer is recommended at least 15 days prior to official application for primary approval of a development plan. The purpose of this pre-application review is as follows:
(1) To inform the applicant of the standards and requirements of all applicable ordinances, including the Comprehensive Plan;
(2) To review the various procedures and submission requirements;
(3) To review with the applicant any inherent limiting characteristics of the specific site or surrounding areas; and
(4) To reduce the time period between initial application and Plan Commission approval.
(D) Application for primary approval of development plans.
(1) The application for primary approval of a development plan shall be submitted in duplicate to the Commission on a form approved by the Commission, shall be signed by the owner(s) of record, and shall contain a statement specifying the intentions of the owner respecting the proposed land use of the development, deed restrictions, drainage, sewage disposal, water facilities, and the intended date of the development. At the time of the submission of the application, the applicant shall pay to the Commission the filing fee established by rule of the Commission.
(2) A tracing and two copies of the proposed development plan shall be submitted to the Commission at the time the application for primary approval is filed. The proposed development plan shall represent the entire tract which the applicant intends to develop and over which he or she has an ownership or financial interest and/or control, or that portion of the entire tract for which further public hearing is required by the Commission following the initial primary approval of the development plan for the overall site.
(3) The development plan for which an application for primary approval is submitted shall contain the supporting data and site plan and supporting maps described below. This information is to be submitted for all of the site included in the application. Applications can be reviewed only for those areas for which all required submission data have been presented.
(a) Supporting data.
1. A development schedule indicating the approximate date when construction of the development (or stages of the development) can be expected to begin and be completed;
2. Information on the number and type of structures, parcel size, proposed lot coverage of buildings and structures, together with gross residential densities, type of dwelling units, and net density per type of dwelling unit when mixed use, where applicable;
3. Statements identifying the intended means of assuring permanency, continuance, and maintenance of all open/recreation spaces to be dedicated for use by residents of the development and/or the general public, where applicable; and
4. Proposed restrictive covenants, if applicable.
(b) Site plan and supporting maps.
1. Date, scale (graphic and written), north point, name and address of designer and/or engineer, name and address of the developer, and proposed name of the development;
2. A generalized legal description of the total site as well as dimensions of the boundaries of the tract including generalized bearings and distances, measured from a section corner;
3. The existing site conditions including contours, (at a predetermined interval), watercourses and drainage ways, floodplain elevations, wooded areas, soil types (including interpretation of character), and other unique natural features;
4. The location, minimum size, and configuration of areas to be conveyed, dedicated, or otherwise reserved as common open spaces, parks, recreational areas, school sites, and similar public and semi-public uses, where applicable;
5. The existing and proposed vehicular circulation system, including right-of-way widths and driving surface widths of streets, off-street parking areas, service areas, loading areas, street names, intersection radii, street dedications, and points of access to public rights-of-way, where applicable;
6. The existing and proposed pedestrian circulation system, including links with nearby land uses, where applicable;
8. The proposed treatment of the perimeter of the site, including materials and techniques to be used such as screens, fences, walls, and landscaping; and
9. The following generalized feasibility information:
a. Street width and type of surfacing material;
b. Sanitary sewer pipe location, septic tank, manhole locations, and invert at point of connections to existing facilities;
c. Water line and fire hydrant locations to point of connection to existing facilities;
d. Storm sewer improvement locations including pipe, manhole, and catch basin locations, detention basin location, capacity and appropriate elevations, storm drainage flow lines; and
e. Street lighting fixtures locations, when applicable.
(E) Hearing procedure for primary approval; action by Commission.
(1) Within 30 days after the date of receipt of the plan application for primary approval, the proposed development plan, and the filing fee, the Zoning Administrator shall announce the date and time of the public hearing for primary approval of the development plan to be held before the Commission. The Zoning Administrator shall also provide notice of such hearing, as follows:
(a) By publication in accordance with I.C. 5-3-1;
(b) To the applicant, in writing, by means of regular United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the applicant at the address listed in the application for approval;
(c) To all public agencies and governmental units having a probable interest in the proposed plat, furnishing a copy thereof and requesting their written comments with regard thereto; and
(d) To such other interested parties and in such manner as the Commission may designate by rule.
(2) The public hearing for primary approval of the proposed development plan shall be conducted in accordance with such procedures as the Commission may adopt by rule.
(3) After public hearing upon the proposed development plan, the Commission shall determine if it complies with and satisfies the standards prescribed for primary approval under this chapter. Within a reasonable time after such hearing, the Commission shall either grant, with or without conditions, or deny primary approval of the proposed development plan and enter written findings and decision in accordance with such action, signed by any one of the following: the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, or the Zoning Administrator of the Commission; provided however, that if primary approval is denied, the written findings entered by the Commission shall set forth the reasons for such denial.
(4) Notice of the Commission’s decision upon the application for primary approval shall be provided by furnishing a copy of its written findings and decision to the applicant and to such remonstrators or other interested parties, if any, as the Commission may designate by rule. Such notice shall be furnished by the Zoning Administrator within five days after the Commission’s decision in the manner prescribed by the Commission, by rule duly adopted.
(5) Primary approval of a development plan by the Commission shall be valid for one year from the date of approval, unless the applicant, prior to the expiration of such one-year period, shall have applied for and received the Commission’s approval for an extension of time to obtain secondary approval. If, by the expiration of such initial one-year period of time, or during any period of extension approved by the Commission, the applicant does not obtain secondary approval of all or part of the area included in the development plan for which primary approval had been granted, then the primary approval granted for the development plan shall lapse and be considered as null and void. In the event the Commission grants secondary approval for only a portion of the development plan, the applicant thereafter will not be obligated to adhere to any time limitations for requesting secondary approval of the remainder of the development plan.
(F) Application for secondary approval of development plans.
(1) The applicant shall have the responsibility to notify the Zoning Administrator of the Commission in writing of his or her intent to seek secondary approval of either all or a portion of the development plan. In the event the applicant intends to seek secondary approval of only a portion of the development plan, the applicant shall specifically describe and designate such areas so as to reasonably identify the same. The applicant shall also at that time file with the Commission Staff the development plan in the form and with the contents prescribed hereinafter. The Zoning Administrator shall then cause to be scheduled a meeting of the Plan Commission for the purpose of reviewing the development plan and determining whether secondary approval shall be granted, and provide notice to the applicant of the date and time of such meeting. No other notice of such meeting need be given, except as required by law. The Zoning Administrator shall then review all submissions made by the applicant to ensure the requirements for secondary approval stated in this chapter have been satisfied.
(2) The Commission will consider secondary approval of a development plan only after the applicant has accomplished the following:
(a) Filed with the Commission a complete set of plans and specifications for the development of all streets, sewers, water supply, and other utilities and facilities proposed to be installed in conjunction with the development plan, in accordance with the requirements of this chapter;
(b) Delivered to or filed with the Commission all necessary approvals and acceptances from all applicable agencies and authorities;
(c) Paid in full to the Commission all costs incurred for the furnishing of notice required under this chapter and/or by rule of the granting of primary approval of the development plan by the Commission; and
(d) Filed with the Commission the development plan in the form and with the contents prescribed hereinafter.
(3) The development plan for which secondary approval is sought shall be submitted to the Commission in the form of an original reproducible plan sheet, drawn in ink, and shall be a complete and accurate layout of the project and shall contain any and all additions, corrections, and deletions required by the Commission. Such development plan shall also include the following information:
(a) Supporting data.
1. Legal description of the parcel of real estate for which secondary approval is sought;
2. Restrictive covenants including provisions for open space maintenance, when applicable;
3. Traverse closure;
4. Construction performance schedule and accompanying development plan indicating delineations of specific areas. If applicable, those areas required to have open space shall include the time of the development of recreational or other facilities within the open space. The development plan shall also indicate the location of any construction access roads and their relationship to the staging of development;
5. Letters of comment from the County Surveyor’s office, Health Department, and other public agencies having approval over the wastewater disposal system and fresh water supply system;
6. Letters from the utilities serving the area, setting forth their ability to serve the development; and
7. Such additional information as may be required by the Commission.
(b) Site plan and supporting maps.
1. Date, scale (graphic and written), north point, name and address of the designer and/or engineer, name and address of the developer of the tract, and name of development;
2. Dimensions of the boundaries of the tract, including bearings and distances and the exact location of all existing and recorded streets intersecting the boundary of the tract;
3. Section or reserve lines or other legal points of reference and distances to same;
4. Building lines, lot lines, easement locations, and dimensions;
5. Lot numbers and individual addresses for each lot;
6. Plans, profiles, cross-sections and names, location and geometries for streets, and entrances onto public rights-of-way, including acceleration, deceleration, and passing lanes, and dedication documents when applicable;
7. Plans and cross-sections for pedestrian walkways;
8. Easements such as pedestrian, utility, drainage, and the like;
9. Sanitary and storm sewer plans and profiles, and water line plans;
10. Parking areas, including plans, cross-sections, and landscaping details;
11. The length of all arcs and radii, central angles, internal angles, points of curvature and tangency, the length of all tangents, intersection radii, and right-of-way widths;
12. Lighting plan, including areas to be lighted, the type of fixtures to be used, and the lighting intensity level for all areas to be lighted, when required;
13. Landscape plans, including the location of all landscape materials and elements, which requirement is waived in those areas used for single-family residential purposes; and
14. Such other data which may be required by the Commission.
(G) Action by Plan Commission for secondary approval of development plans.
(1) Within a reasonable time following the applicant’s satisfaction of all requirements for secondary approval stated under division (F) above, the Plan Commission shall either grant, with or without conditions, or deny secondary approval of the development plan. If secondary approval is denied, the Plan Commission shall, within five days thereafter, furnish the applicant with a written list of the reasons for such denial.
(2) Notwithstanding the requirements of the ordinance for submission to the Plan Commission, the Plan Commission may, upon written request by the applicant, supported by evidence that all submissions have been timely filed, grant secondary approval of a development plan although one or more of such approvals may not have been delivered to or received by the Plan Commission. The Plan Commission may grant such secondary approval only when the applicant provides a written statement made under oath and approved by the Plan Commission or the Commission Staff, for recordation as a protective covenant or supplement thereto, stating that the applicant will cause to be provided at his or her cost all things necessary to attain or accomplish the delivery of the required approval(s) which shall not then have been delivered to or received by the Commission. If the applicant does not then deliver such approval(s) in a timely fashion, the Commission is hereby empowered to refuse to issue either improvement location permits or certificate of occupancy permits. Once the applicant has thereafter secured and delivered to the Commission the required approval(s), the Zoning Administrator shall then execute a recordable document, which shall be recorded by the applicant at his or her expense, rescinding the aforesaid recorded written statement.
(H) Issuance of permits.
(1) Prior to the issuance of an improvement location permit for any use in a zone wherein a development plan is required, the following matters shall be accomplished:
(a) The Commission shall have granted primary and secondary approval of the development plan in accordance with this subchapter and the County Comprehensive Master Plan; and
(b) The applicant shall have duly recorded in the office of the Recorder of the county the utility easements, rights-of-way, plats, deed restrictions, or any other legal instruments required, and in the form approved, by the Commission.
(2) The requirement for such approval of a development plan, prior to the issuance of an improvement location permit, shall also specifically apply to any residential condominium development which is subject to the requirements of I.C. 32-25, as the same may be amended from time to time, regardless of whether the zoning district in which the subject real estate is located required approval of the development plan for the intended use under this chapter. Such a condominium development shall be subject to all requirements set forth in division (F) above.
(I) Amendments to approved development plan.
(1) After the Commission has granted either primary or secondary approval of a development plan, any amendments thereto shall be submitted by the applicant to the Zoning Administrator by way of an amended application for the type of approval sought, on a form prescribed by the Commission. Any such application shall also be accompanied by the pertinent submissions required under this chapter for the proposed amendments involved, together with the requisite filing fee if a public hearing is required hereunder to be held upon the amended application.
(2) Any application submitted for amendment of a development plan following the granting by the Commission of primary approval, but prior to the granting of secondary approval, need contain only the signature(s) of the original applicant(s), or the successors in interest thereto. After secondary approval of a development plan has been granted, any applications for proposed amendments thereto shall contain the signatures of all owners of record, as shown in the real estate master file maintained by the Auditor of the county, at the time such application is filed, of the real estate included in that portion of the development plan for which secondary approval had previously been granted and for which amendment is being sought.
(3) If in the opinion of the Zoning Administrator, the amendment to the development plan proposed in such application is substantial, in terms of the scope of the overall project and/or the possible impact upon the community and land uses, both existing and planned, which surround the area included in the development plan, then the Zoning Administrator may either require the matter to be heard by the Commission, at a public hearing, or defer such decision to the Plan Commission for a determination of such public hearing. In the event such determination is to be made by the Plan Commission, notice of the date and time of the meeting of the Plan Commission at which such determination is to be made shall be given by the Zoning Administrator to the applicant. No other notice need be given, except as required by law. Any action by the Plan Commission in determining whether a public hearing must be held before the Commission upon the amendments proposed by the applicant shall be a final decision, which may not be appealed to the Commission except by a dissenting Plan Commission member as provided by rule.
(4) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, nothing in this division (I) shall preclude the Commission from requiring, as a condition for the granting of primary approval of an overall development plan, that subsequent public hearings be conducted before the Commission, as to any portions of the overall development plan or any later amendments, alterations, or modifications proposed with regard thereto. The Commission may, however, waive any procedural or submission requirements otherwise provided under this chapter it may deem necessary when reviewing a change to an approved development plan.
(5) If the Commission requests, or is required under the provisions of this chapter, to conduct a second or subsequent public hearing for approval of a development plan or an amendment thereto, then such hearing shall be conducted and notice furnished in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the pertinent rules duly adopted by the Commission.
(J) Development plan design standards. The following minimum design standards shall apply to all site improvements on real estate for which a development plan is required. Individual zoning districts may also supplement the following standards with more detailed standards pertinent to individual districts.
(1) Environmental design.
(a) It is the intention of the Plan Commission to encourage the preservation of natural site amenities and to minimize the disturbance to the natural environment.
(b) Existing trees and other natural features shall be preserved whenever possible. The location of these features must be considered when planning common open space, location of buildings, underground services, walks, paved areas, and finished grade levels. The Commission may inquire into the means whereby natural features will be protected during construction.
(2) Building separation. In reviewing the location of all structures within the development plan boundaries, the Commission shall determine that said structures are located to allow adequate light, air, ease of entry, and access by emergency vehicles. For those districts without specified yard requirements, the Commission shall be guided by the following:
(a) That the open areas provided around the building be sufficient to provide the occupants of the structure with adequate light and air from all outside walls which contain windows or doors;
(b) That sufficient space is provided for access and entry to buildings from all streets, parking lots, and other buildings; and
(c) That in the event lots for one-family or two-family dwellings are to be sold prior to construction and the applicant cannot indicate structures on the development plan, said structures shall be subject to the yard provisions of the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances for the R-1, R-2, and R-3 districts or other Commission-approved minimums, unless specifically waived.
(4) Pedestrian circulation facilities. Pedestrian walkways shall be constructed in a location and to specifications approved by the Commission. Such walkways shall provide for pedestrian circulation throughout the development and shall be separated from vehicular traffic. Where distance separation cannot be achieved, physical separation may be required in cases which the Commission deems necessary.
(5) Sanitary sewage disposal and water supply systems. All water supply and sanitary sewage disposal systems, whether private or public in nature, shall be subject to compliance with local, and where appropriate, state agency requirements. Plans must be submitted to and approved by the appropriate agencies.
(6) Recreation space requirements.
(a) Recreational space requirements and the criteria for approval in the development plan and/or platting of applicable subdivisions are contained in § 153.088(F). The following standards are to be utilized in the evaluation of all required recreation space, in a Commission approved development plan.
1. Commission approved recreation space shall be provided in all residential zones as defined in § 153.088(F). The purpose of providing this space shall be to meet the immediate and future recreational needs of the development’s residents in a neighborhood setting. Recreation space may be provided in a centrally located site, in distinctly separated sites, as connecting links between separated activity areas, or adjacent to other existing or proposed recreation spaces. The Commission shall determine if the proposed recreation space is suitable for the intended use. This requirement may be waived when, in the opinion of the Commission, the applicant has satisfactorily demonstrated that he or she has provided alternative methods for meeting the recreational needs of his or her development’s residents.
2. All developments with recreation space must contain acceptable covenants which, in the opinion of the Commission, ensure adequate maintenance of those recreation spaces.
(b) The term RECREATION SPACE shall be interpreted to mean void of non-recreational structures, street rights-of-way, open parking areas, and driveways for dwellings.
(c) Space intended for limited recreational or other uses, such as a golf course, to which all residents of the development may not be permitted free access because of the payment of a fee or a charge, shall have a maximum of three-fourths of said space utilized in meeting the recreation space requirements of the total development.
(7) Paving. All access drives and off-street parking facilities shall either be paved with concrete or with other approved surfacing material to adequately provide a durable and dust-free surface.
(8) Parking standards.
(a) Parking areas may be required to be arranged so as to prevent through traffic to other parking areas.
(b) Parking areas shall be screened from adjacent non-related structures, roads, and traffic arteries with plantings, earth berms, walls, or changes in grade, when deemed necessary by the Commission.
(c) All parking areas shall be marked so as to provide for orderly and safe parking, storage, and movement.
(d) When it is in the interest of safety and better vehicle and pedestrian circulation, the Plan Commission may require the use of landscape elements to provide physical separation of use areas.
(e) All parking areas shall be adequately lighted. All such lighting shall be so arranged as to direct the light away from adjoining real estate.
(f) All parking areas and off-street loading areas shall be graded and drained to remove all surface water without erosion and flooding.
(9) Street lighting. Street lighting shall be provided in all residential developments. Alternative street lighting proposals will be considered by the Commission if found to be appropriate in scale and intensity. Where pedestrian facilities are separated from streets to the extent that they are not adequately lighted from the street light facilities, separate lighting facilities shall be provided on such pedestrian facilities.
(Ord. 2005-01, passed 2-17-2005; Ord. 2017-04, passed 4-11-2017) Penalty, see § 153.999