(A) General provisions.
(1) Ownership.
(a) Sanitary sewer, water, storm sewer, and subdrain utilities shall be publicly owned and maintained.
(b) All other utilities shall be privately owned and maintained.
(2) Location.
(a) All utility facilities, including but not limited to gas, electric power, telephone, and CATV cables, shall be located underground. Wherever existing utility facilities are located above ground, except where existing on public roads and rights-of-way, they shall be removed and placed underground. Underground service connections to the street property line of each platted lot shall be installed at the applicant's expense. At the discretion of the City Council, the requirement for service connections to each lot may be waived in the case of adjoining lots to be retained in single ownership and intended to be developed for the same primary use.
(b) All utility facilities shall be located within a utility easement or the street right-of-way provided adjacent to each lot within the subdivision. Utility facilities shall be located in accordance with the city’s Engineering Specifications.
(c) Utilities under private streets.
1. Where publicly-owned utilities are located under a private street, the city shall be responsible for any street repairs necessitated by repairs or maintenance of the public utility. Conversely, if full replacement of the public utility is required, the entity responsible for maintenance and ownership of the private street shall be solely responsible for the related street replacement.
2. Privately-owned utilities under private streets shall be owned and maintained by the entity responsible for ownership of the street. Any street repairs necessitated by the maintenance of the privately owned utility shall not be the responsibility of the city.
(B) Water facilities.
(1) The applicant shall install adequate water facilities, including fire hydrants, subject to the city’s Engineering Specifications and the State of Minnesota. If oversized water facilities are required, the city shall reimburse the applicant for the difference in cost of these facilities as specified in the development agreement.
(2) All water mains shall be publicly owned.
(3) Water main extensions shall be approved by the City Council.
(4) Fire hydrants. Fire hydrants shall be required for all subdivisions as specified in the Engineering Specifications.
(C) Sanitary sewer facilities.
(1) All sanitary sewer facilities shall be installed in a manner prescribed by the city and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency construction standards and specifications. All plans shall be designed in accordance with the rules, regulations, and standards of the city and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Plans shall be approved by the City Engineer and City Council.
(2) If oversized sewer facilities are required, the city shall reimburse the applicant for the difference in cost of these facilities as specified in the development agreement.
(3) If a public sanitary sewer is accessible and a sanitary sewer is placed in a street or alley abutting upon property, the owner thereof shall be required to connect to said sewer for the purpose of disposing of waste, and it shall be unlawful for any such owner or occupant to maintain upon any such property an individual sewage disposal system.
(D) Drainage and storm sewers.
(1) General requirements.
(a) All subdivisions shall make adequate provision for storm or flood water runoff to an adequate surface drainage facility and system.
(b) Development shall not increase stormwater runoff from the property being subdivided and later developed.
(c) The storm water drainage system shall be separate and independent of any sanitary sewer system.
(d) Storm sewers, where required, shall be designed according to the standards listed in the Engineering Specifications.
(e) Lots shall be laid out so as to provide positive drainage away from all buildings, and individual lot drainage shall be coordinated with the general storm drainage pattern for the area.
(f) The drainage system shall be constructed and operational during the initial phases of construction.
(g) Drainageways shall be constructed in such a way as to not cause additional soil erosion or sedimentation during and after all phases of construction.
(2) Natural drainage system.
(a) All lots shall be developed to maximize the use of the natural drainage system of an area in order to minimize direct overland runoff from lot to lot and into adjoining streets and water courses. Where necessary, the natural surface drainage system shall be augmented by constructed surface drainageways.
(b) Storm water runoff from roofs and other impervious surfaces should be directed to pervious soil and into drainageways or onto terraces on the lot when possible. This may be an additional element or an alternative to the underground storm sewer system as required in this section and recommended by the City Engineer.
(c) Wherever possible, it is desirable that the drainage be maintained in an open channel with landscaped banks and adequate dimension for maximum potential volume of flow without causing soil erosion.
(d) Low-lying lands along waterways subject to flooding during storm periods, whether or not included in areas for dedication, shall be preserved and retained in their natural state as drainageways.
(3) Subdrain.
(a) Each subdivision shall be required to provide drain tile meeting all city specifications. The drain tile shall be located in the street right-of-way or in a separate utility or drainage easement.
(b) The City Council may choose to waive this requirement if the Council determines that there is no possible means to provide a proper outlet for such drainage system due to existing development patterns and public improvements.
(c) Connections from this drain tile to the lot line of every lot of the subdivision shall be provided.
(d) Every lot owner shall be required to connect drain tile that surrounds the residential building foundation and including sump pump facilities to the drain tile located in the street right-of-way or a utility or drainage easement at the time the residential is constructed. In accordance with Code § 51.36, lot owners may not connect sump pump facilities to the sanitary sewer system.
(4) Public storm sewers.
(a) Where a public storm sewer is accessible, the applicant shall install storm sewer facilities. If no outlets are within a reasonable distance, adequate provision shall be made for the disposal of storm waters, subject to the specifications of the City Engineer.
(b) Public storm sewer systems shall be constructed throughout the subdivision and be conducted to an approved outfall when any of the following occur:
1. Where natural drainage systems cannot adequately conduct water runoff;
2. In residential subdivisions containing lots less than 15,000 square feet in area; or
3. In commercial and industrial districts.
(c) Inspection of public storm sewer facilities shall be conducted by the City Engineer.
(d) If a connection to a public storm sewer will be provided eventually, as recommended by the City Engineer, the applicant shall provide for future storm water disposal by a public storm sewer system at the time the plat receives final approval.
(5) Drainageway sizing and design. This subsection addresses design requirements for any new or reconstructed drainageways:
(a) System sizing.
1. Drainage system elements, including culverts or natural drainageways, shall be large enough to accommodate potential runoff from the entire upstream drainage area, whether inside or outside the subdivision. The City Engineer shall determine the necessary size of the facility, based on the standards listed within the Engineering Specifications assuming conditions of maximum potential watershed development permitted by the Zoning Code.
2. If the City Engineer determines that the drainage system must be oversized to manage current or future storm water runoff, the applicant shall be responsible for the costs of this oversizing.
(b) Constructed waterways shall follow the city’s Engineering Specifications.
(c) The banks of the waterway shall be protected with permanent vegetation.
(d) The bed of the waterway should be protected with turf, sod, or concrete. If turf or sod will not function properly, rip rap may be used. Rip rap shall consist of quarried limestone, field-stone (if random rip rap is used), or construction materials of concrete. Construction materials shall be used only in those areas where the waterway is not used as part of a city park.
(e) If the flow velocity in the waterway is such that erosion of the turf sidewall will occur and said velocity cannot be decreased via velocity control structures, then other materials may replace turf on the side walls.
(f) Development of housing and other structures shall be restricted from the area on either side of the waterway required to channel a 100-year storm.
(E) Easements.
(1) The applicant shall provide drainage and utility easements in accordance with the city’s Engineering Specifications.
(2) The applicant shall dedicate, either in fee or by drainage or conservation, an easement of land on both sides of existing waterways to a distance to be recommended by the City Engineer.
(3) Drainage and utility easements may be combined into a single easement if approved by the city at the time of review.
(4) Utility easements.
(a) Perpetual unobstructed easements shall be provided for public utilities. Such easements shall be at least ten feet wide and centered on rear lot lines and provided along all street rights-of-way. Proper coordination shall be established between the applicant and the applicable utility companies for the establishment of utility easements.
(b) Where topographic or other conditions are such as to make impractical the inclusion of utilities along the rear lot lines, perpetual unobstructed easements at least ten feet in width shall be provided along side lot lines with satisfactory access to the road or rear lot lines. Easements shall be indicated on the plat.
(c) Any site element, including but not limited to buildings, fences, and shrubs and trees, which is placed within a utility easement is done so at the property owner’s risk and must meet required setbacks to the utility improvement.
(5) Drainage easements.
(a) Where a subdivision is traversed by a waterway, drainageway, channel, or stream, there shall be provided a drainage easement conforming substantially to the lines of such waterway and of such width and construction or both as will be adequate for the purpose.
(b) Where conditions are such as to make impractical the inclusion of drainage facilities within street rights-of-way, perpetual unobstructed easements at least 15 feet in width for such drainage facilities shall be provided across property outside the street lines and with satisfactory access to the street. Drainage easements shall connect the street right-of-way to a natural waterway or to other approved drainage facilities and shall be designated on the plat.
(c) No site elements are permitted within a drainage easement.
(d) When a proposed drainage system will carry water across private land outside the subdivision, appropriate drainage rights must be secured and indicated on the preliminary plat and in a separate document attached to the final plat.
(Ord. 2023-02, passed 5-9-23)