For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply, unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ALLEY. A permanent public service-way, dedicated to public use, other than a street, place, road, crosswalk, or easement, designed to provide a secondary means of access for the special accommodation of abutting property.
CLERK-TREASURER. The Clerk-Treasurer of the City of Berne.
BOARD. The Board of Zoning Appeals.
BLOCK. A unit of property entirely surrounded by the public highways, streets, railroad rights-of-way, waterways, tract boundary line, or other barriers, or combination thereof.
BUILDING SETBACK LINE or BUILDING LINE. The line nearest the front or side of and across a lot establishing the minimum yard to be provided between the principal building or structure and the lot line.
COMMISSION. The Plan Commission.
COMMON COUNCIL. The Common Council of the City of Berne.
CITY. The City of Berne.
CROSSWALK. A strip of land dedicated to public use, which is reserved through a block to provide pedestrian access to adjacent areas.
CUL-DE-SAC or COURT. A short street having one end open to traffic and being permanently terminated by a vehicle turnaround.
DEAD-END STREET. A street having one of its ends closed with no provision for a vehicle turnaround.
DESIGNATED OFFICIAL. The person or persons designated by the Plan Commission to certify primary approval and sign the plat certifying secondary approval (President, Vice President or Executive Secretary [Director] of the Plan Commission).
DRAINAGE RIGHT-OF-WAY. The lands required for the installation of storm water sewers or drainage ditches, where required along a natural stream or watercourse for preserving the channel and providing for the flow of water therein.
EASEMENT. A grant by the property owner of the use of a strip of land by the public or a person for specified purposes.
FLOODPLAIN. Any floodplain, floodway or floodway fringe district or combination thereof as illustrated on the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map as prepared by the Federal Insurance Administration, and as modified and certified to by the County Surveyor.
FLOOD-PRONE AREA. All areas identified as being floodplain or flood-prone by the City Zoning Map or Flood Boundary and Floodway Map as prepared by the Federal Insurance Administration or as shown by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission.
LOT. A parcel of land of specific form and dimension, defined by a metes and bounds description or boundary lines in a recorded deed, or situated within a legally recorded plat, as designated by number or letter, for convenience and accuracy, in legal conveyance of the title thereto.
LOT, CORNER. A lot abutting two or more streets at their intersection, wherein the interior angle of intersection does not exceed 135 degrees.
LOT, FRONT. That part of a lot adjacent to and parallel with the street. The front of a corner lot shall be determined, at the time of application for the improvement location permit, by either the owner, builder, developer or their agent and the Zoning Administrator. Once the front is determined, the structure shall then be erected in conformity with the zoning ordinance and this chapter.
LOT, INTERIOR. Any lot other than a corner lot, including a through lot.
LOT, THROUGH. A lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
LOT WIDTH. The lineal measurement of the building setback line on the affected lot.
MAINTENANCE GUARANTEE. Any security which may be accepted that guarantees certain improvements constructed under conditions set forth by the Commission shall, at the time they are accepted for public maintenance, be in such a condition as to require no additional work beyond normal upkeep.
MASTER PLAN. The complete plan, or any of its parts, serving as a guide for development of the city, prepared by or for the Commission and adopted by the Common Council, in accordance with the authority conferred by I.C. 36-7-4 and all acts amendatory thereto, as is now or may hereafter be in effect.
PERFORMANCE GUARANTEE. Any security which may be accepted in lieu of a requirement that certain improvements be made before security shall be filed with the Clerk-Treasurer prior to the release of the drawings of a final plat; including performance bonds, escrow agreements, and other similar collateral or surety agreements.
PERSON. A corporation or firm, partnership, association, organization, or any other group acting as a unit, as well as a natural person.
PLACE. An open, unoccupied, officially designated space, other than a street or alley, permanently reserved as the principal means of access to abutting property.
PLAT. The map or drawings of all or a portion of a parcel of land which is being or is proposed to be subdivided for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership subsequent to the adoption of this chapter.
PLAT OFFICER. The officer designated and authorized by the Commission to enforce the subdivision regulations. The Executive Secretary (Director) of the Commission.
PLAT, PRIMARY. The drawings, maps and documents indicating the proposed layout of the subdivision which is submitted to the Plan Commission for consideration and tentative approval.
PLAT, SECONDARY. The final map or drawings of all or a portion of the subdivision which is presented to the Commission for secondary approval in accordance with this chapter, and which, if approved, shall be filed with the County Recorder for the purpose of recordation and taxation prior to the transfer of ownership of any parcel, tract, or lot as approved.
REGULATORY FLOOD . Flood having a peak discharge which can be expected to be equaled or exceeded on the average of once in a 100-year period, as calculated by the method and procedure which is acceptable to and approved by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission. This flood is equivalent to a flood having the probability of occurrence of 1% in any given year.
ROAD SETBACK LINE. The line established by a city road setback resolution along certain designated public roads.
SKETCH PLAN. A freehand pencil drawing showing, with reasonable accuracy, the proposed locations of streets and lots within the proposed subdivision.
STREET. A right-of-way, other than an alley, dedicated or otherwise legally established to the public use, usually affording the principal means of access to abutting property. A street may be designated as a highway, thoroughfare, parkway, boulevard, road, avenue, lane, drive, or other appropriate name. The arterial thoroughfares and primary and secondary streets are designated on the thoroughfare map (Plate 7) of the Master Plan for the city. For the purpose of this chapter, streets shall be classified as follows:
ARTERIAL THOROUGHFARES. These facilities serve to move traffic on Indiana and U.S. marked routes. Where a highway is a non-limited access route, these facilities also perform a secondary function of providing direct access to abutting land and thus interconnect principal traffic generators.
LOCAL OR RESIDENTIAL STREETS. The sole function of these streets is to provide access to the immediately adjacent property. Local access streets are intended to carry low volumes of traffic.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREET. A street designated to connect not more than two streets and which normally parallels an arterial thoroughfare, or a primary or secondary street, and is not separated from the thoroughfare or street by a lot or a tier of lots, and which is specifically so designated and approved on the plat of the subdivision.
PRIMARY OR MAJOR ROUTES. These facilities serve to connect cities with each other as well as to link smaller towns or settlements with the arterial thoroughfares system. Primary routes provide access to abutting land and generally serve all principal traffic generators.
SECONDARY OR CONNECTOR ROADS. These facilities serve intra-city movements of traffic, such as that moving between a subdivision and major street. The principal difference between the connector road and streets or roads of higher classification is the length of trip each principally serves. They are intended to supply the abutting property with the same degree of land service as the local street, while at the same time serving larger volumes of traffic.
SUBDIVIDER or DEVELOPER. Any person or his agent engaged in developing or improving a tract of land which complies with the definition of a subdivision as defined in this chapter.
SUBDIVISION. The division of a root parcel of land. All subdivisions shall be classified as exempt subdivisions, minor subdivisions or major subdivisions. There shall be no further division of a subdivision (includes a split-off from a root parcel) except as provided below.
EXEMPT SUBDIVISION.
(a) The division of a root parcel into not more than three parcels. This will allow two splits of a root parcel.
(b) A court-ordered partition of land.
(c) The division of land by testamentary or intestate succession. (This exemption does not include the division of land by estate personal representatives or by requested court orders where the court order is not merely fulfilling the terms of a testamentary or intestate transfer.
(d) The sale or exchange of parcels or parts thereof between adjoining lot owners where the sale or exchange does not create additional building sites, such as where adjoining landowners exchange land in order to correct or straighten property lines.
(e) The division of land for purely agricultural purposes, not involving any new public ways or easements, and not reasonably expected to result in new building sites, whether presently or in the future, and includes 20 acres of land per parcel.
(f) The sale or exchange of a parcel of land by contract, if the contract was executed prior to June 1, 1998.
MAJOR SUBDIVISION. The division of a root parcel into more than five parcels.
MINOR SUBDIVISION. The division of a root parcel into five or fewer parcels.
YARD. A space on the same lot with a building, which is open, unoccupied, and unobstructed by structures, except as provided in Chapter 152.
ZONING ADMINISTRATOR. The officer designated and authorized by the Commission to enforce the zoning requirements.
ZONING CHAPTER. The part of the Master Plan, now or hereafter adopted, which includes an article and map which divides the area within the city and the unincorporated area under the jurisdiction of the Plan Commission into districts, with regulations and requirements and procedures for the establishment of land use controls.
(Ord. 466, § 4-4-1, passed 5-11-98)