For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ALLEY. Any dedicated public right-of-way providing a secondary means of access to abutting property.
APPLICANT. The owner of land proposed to be subdivided or his or her representative. Written consent for subdivision shall be required from the legal owner of the property before the sketch plan is submitted.
ARTERIAL, MINOR. A road intended to move through and from adjacent subregions and activity centers with subregions.
BLOCK. The enclosed area within the perimeter of roads, property lines or boundaries of the subdivision. Boulevard means the portion of the street right-of-way between the curb line and the property line.
BUILDING. Includes STRUCTURE. A BUILDING or STRUCTURE includes any part thereof.
BUTT LOT. A lot at the end of a block and located between two corner lots.
CITY ATTORNEY. The attorney employed by the city.
CITY ENGINEER. The registered engineer employed by the city.
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT. A subdivision development planned and constructed so as to group housing units into relatively tight patterns while providing a unified network of open space and wooded areas, and meeting overall density regulations of this chapter and Ch. 153 of this code. CLUSTER DEVELOPMENTS are not permitted under this chapter.
COLLECTOR STREET. A street which carries traffic from minor streets to thoroughfares or from thoroughfare to thoroughfare. It includes the principal entrance streets of a residential development and for circulation within a development.
COMMUNITY. The City of Afton.
COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN. A Comprehensive Plan prepared by the city including a compilation of policy statements, goals, standards and maps indicating the general locations recommended for the various functions and classes of land use, places and structures, and for the general physical development of the city and includes any unit of part of the plan or parts thereof.
CONTOUR MAP. A map which irregularities of land surface are shown by lines connecting points of equal elevations. Contour interval is the vertical height between contour lines.
COPY. A print or reproduction made from a tracing.
COUNTY. Washington County, Minnesota.
COUNTY BOARD. The county’s Board of Commissioners.
CUL-DE-SAC. A street or portion of a street with one vehicular entrance/outlet leading directly to a through street, and having one turnaround at a single termination.
DEVELOPER. The owner of land proposed to be subdivided or his or her representative. Written consent for subdivision shall be required of the legal owner of the land.
DEVELOPMENT. The act of subdividing land, installing site improvements and/or building structures.
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT. The contract between the subdivider and the city which requires the subdivider to furnish and construct at his or her sole cost any streets or other improvements according to approved plans and specifications, and to comply with all conditions of the plat approval. The city shall require the DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT to be recorded.
DOUBLE FRONTAGE LOTS. Lots which have a front line abutting on one street and a back or rear line abutting on another street.
DRAINAGE COURSE. A watercourse or indenture for the drainage of surface water.
EASEMENT. A grant by an owner of land for a specific use by persons other than the owner.
ESCROW. A deposit of cash with the city to guarantee the subdivider’s contractual obligations to the city. The ESCROW funds may be deposited by the City Administrator into regular city accounts but shall be accounted for separately for the purposes specified in the development agreement.
FINAL PLAT. The map or plan or record of a subdivision and any accompanying material as described in these regulations. The legal document which must be recorded and must conform to all state laws.
GOVERNING BODY. The City Council.
GRADE. The slope of a road, street or other public way, specified in percentage (%) terms.
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM. A sewage treatment system or part thereof, serving a dwelling or other establishment, consisting of one or more septic tanks and a soil treatment system.
LOCAL ROAD OR STREET. A road intended to provide access to other roads from individual properties.
LOT, CORNER. A lot situated at the intersection of two streets, the interior angle of the intersection not exceeding 135 degrees.
MAJOR SUBDIVISION. All subdivisions not classified as minor subdivisions, including but not limited to subdivisions of four or more lots, or any size subdivision requiring any new street or extension of the local government facilities, or the creation of any public improvements. MAJOR SUBDIVISIONS must be platted in accordance with this chapter.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREET (SERVICE ROAD). A minor street parallel to and adjacent to high volume arterial streets and highways, which provide access to abutting properties and protection of through traffic.
METES AND BOUNDS. A method of describing land by measure of length (metes) of the boundary lines (bounds). Most common method is to recite direction and length of each line as one would walk around the perimeter. In general, the METES AND BOUNDS can be recited by reference to record, natural or artificial monuments at the corners; and record, natural or cultural boundary lines.
MINIMUM SUBDIVISION DESIGN STANDARDS. The guides, principles and specifications for the preparation of subdivision plans indicating among other things, the minimum and maximum dimensions of the various elements set forth in the plan.
MINOR SUBDIVISION. Any subdivision containing not more than three lots fronting on an existing street, not involving any new street or road, or the extension of municipal facilities, or the creation of any public improvements, and not adversely affecting the remainder of the parcel or adjoining property, and not in conflict with any provisions or portion of the master plan, official map, Ch. 153 of this code or these regulations.
NATURAL WATERWAY. A natural passageway in the surface of the earth so situated and having a topographical nature that allows surface water to flow through it from other areas before reaching a final ponding area. The term also includes all drainage structures that have been constructed or placed for the purpose of conducting water from one place to another.
NONRESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION. A subdivision whose intended use is other than residential, such as commercial or industrial. This subdivision shall comply with the applicable provisions of these regulations.
OUTLOT.
(1) A lot remnant or any parcel of land included in a plat, which may be used as open space.
(2) The OUTLOT may be a large tract that could be subdivided in the future or may be too small to comply with the minimum size requirements of zoning and subdivision ordinances or otherwise unsuitable for development and therefore not usable as a building site.
OWNER. An individual, firm, association, syndicate, co-partnership, corporation, trust or any other legal entity having sufficient proprietary interest in the land sought to be subdivided to commence and maintain proceedings to subdivide the same under these regulations.
PEDESTRIAN WAY. A public right-of-way across or within a block, to be used by pedestrians.
PERSON. Any individual, firm, association, syndicate or partnership, corporation, trust or any other legal entity. Includes a corporation, a partnership and an incorporated association of PERSONS such as a club.
PLANNER. The planner employed by the community unless otherwise stated.
PLANNING COMMISSION. The city’s Planning Commission.
PLAT. A map or drawing which graphically delineates the boundary of land parcels for the purpose of identification and record of title. The PLAT is a recorded legal document and must conform to all state laws.
PRELIMINARY PLAT. The preliminary drawing or drawings, described in these regulations, indicating the proposed manner or layout of the subdivision to be submitted to the City Council for approval. PRELIMINARY PLAT shall contain data required as outlined in § 160.037 of this code.
PROTECTIVE COVENANTS. Contracts entered into between private parties and constituting a restriction on the use of all private property within a subdivision for the benefit of the property owners and to provide mutual protection against undesirable aspects of development which would tend to impair stability of values.
RESERVE STRIPS. A narrow strip of land placed between lot lines and streets to control access.
RE-SUBDIVISION. A change in a map of an approved or recorded subdivision plat if the change affects any street layout on a map or area reserved thereon for public use, or any lot line, or if it affects any map or plan legally recorded prior to the adoption of any regulations controlling subdivisions.
RIGHT-OF-WAY. The land covered by a public road or land dedicated for public use or for certain private use such as land over which a power line passes.
ROAD, DEAD-END. A road or a portion of a street with only one vehicular-traffic outlet.
RURAL DESIGN STREET. A street utilizing road side ditches, swales or other methods to handle stormwater runoff. The construction of this type of road shall be chosen based on the area to be developed, existing and proposed topography, drainage considerations, traffic projections and other features at the recommendation of the City Engineer.
SHALL. Mandatory.
SKETCH PLAN. A sketch preparatory to the application for a plat or a minor lot subdivision to enable the subdivider to save time and expense in reaching general agreement with the city as to the form of the plat and the objectives of these regulations. The plan must comply with the Comprehensive Plan and these regulations.
STREET. A way for vehicular traffic, whether designated as street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway, throughway, road, avenue, boulevard, land, place, drive, court or otherwise designated.
STREET WIDTH. The shortest distance between the lines delineating the right-of-way of a street.
SUBDIVIDER. The owner, agent or person having control of land as the term is used in this chapter.
SUBDIVISION IDENTIFICATION SIGN/MONUMENT. A permanent structure identifying the existence of a subdivision, usually placed at an entrance/exit to the subdivision. These SUBDIVISION IDENTIFICATION SIGNS are prohibited.
SURVEY, LAND. The process of determining boundaries and areas of tracts of land by a registered surveyor. The term cadastral survey is sometimes used to designate a LAND SURVEY, but in this country its use should be restricted to the surveys of public lands of the United States; also called PROPERTY SURVEY, BOUNDARY SURVEY.
SURVEYOR. A land surveyor registered under state laws.
THOROUGHFARE. A street primarily designated to carry large volumes of traffic and provide for vehicular movement between and among large areas; usually designated as a trunk highway or county road.
URBAN DESIGN STREET. A street which has concrete curb and gutter to direct stormwater runoff to a storm sewer conveyance system. The construction of this type of road shall be chosen based on the area to be developed, existing topography, drainage considerations, traffic projects and other features at the recommendation of the City Engineer.
USED or OCCUPIED. As applied to any land or building shall be construed to include the definition “intended, arranged or designed to be used or occupied.”
VICINITY MAP. A map drawn to comparatively small scale which definitely shows the area proposed to be platted in relation to known geographical features, i.e., town centers, lakes, roads.
ZONING ORDINANCE. A zoning ordinance or resolution controlling the use of land as adopted by the City Council being Ch. 153 of this code.
(Prior Code, § 12-1256) (Res. 1997-16, passed 6-17-1997; Ord. 01-2020, passed 1-21-2020)
Cross-reference:
Cul-de-sac streets, see § 160.058