1. No subdivision shall be approved unless the area to be subdivided shall have frontage on, and access from, an existing municipal street, unless such street is.
a. An existing state or county roadway; or
b. A publicly-dedicated street shown upon a plat approved by the Planning Commission and recorded in the County Clerk’s office. Such street or highway must be generally improved as required by these subdivision regulations and specifications, or be secured by a performance bond required under these regulations, with the width and right-of-way required by these regulations.
2. Wherever the area to be subdivided is to utilize existing road frontage, such road shall be suitably improved as provided herein.
3. The arrangement, character, extent, width, grade and location of all streets shall conform to all of the elements of the comprehensive plan and be designed in accordance with the provisions of these and other applicable regulations.
4. Roads shall be related appropriately to the topography. Local roads shall be curved wherever possible to provide topographic compatibility, facilitate good drainage and allow gravity flow sewerage. All streets shall be arranged so as to obtain as many as possible of the building sites at, or above, the grades of the streets. A combination of steep grades and curves shall be avoided.
5. All thoroughfares shall be properly related to special traffic generators (such as industries, business districts, schools, churches and shopping centers), to population densities and to the pattern of existing and proposed land uses.
6. In business and industrial developments, the streets and other accessways shall be planned in connection with the grouping of buildings, the provision of alleys, truck loading and a maneuvering areas, walks and parking areas, so as to minimize conflict of movement between the various types of traffic (including pedestrian).
7. Proposed streets shall be extended to the boundary lines of the tract to be subdivided (unless prevented by topography or other physical conditions), unless, in the opinion of the Planning Commission, such extension is not necessary or desirable for the coordination of the layout of the subdivision with the existing layout, or the most advantageous future development of adjacent tracts.
8. Where the plat to be submitted includes only part of the tract owned or intended for development by the subdivider, a tentative plan of the proposed future street system for the unsubdivided portion shall also be prepared and submitted by the subdivider.
9. No street name shall be used which will duplicate or be confused with the names of existing streets. Street names shall be subject to the approval of the Planning Commission and the City Council.
10. Major streets in the subdivision shall be planned to conform with the major streets plan or comprehensive plan adopted by the city and provision shall be made for the extension of major and secondary thoroughfares. Except for courts, places or cul-de-sacs, the street layout normally shall provide for a reasonable linkage with streets already dedicated in adjoining or adjacent subdivisions, provide for future connections to adjoining unsubdivided tracts, and be a reasonable projection of streets in the nearest subdivided tracts.
11. Whenever a subdivision abuts or contains an existing or proposed major street, the Planning Commission may require service streets, reverse frontage with screened plantings contained in a non-access reservation along the rear property line, deep lots or such other treatment as may be necessary for adequate protection of residential properties and to afford separation of through and local traffic.
12. Minor streets shall be laid out so that their use by through traffic will be discouraged.
13. Railroad rights-of-way and limited access highways, where so located as to affect the subdivision of adjoining lands, shall be treated as follows.
a. In residential zoning districts, a buffer strip at least 25 feet in depth, in addition to the normal depth of the lot required in the district, shall be provided adjacent to the railroad right-of-way or limited access highway. This strip shall be part of the platted lots and shall be designated as follows on the plat: “This strip is reserved for screening. The placement of structures hereon is prohibited.”
b. In commercial and industrial zoning districts, the nearest street extending parallel or approximately parallel to the railroad shall, wherever practicable, be at a sufficient distance therefrom to ensure suitable depth for commercial or industrial sites.
c. Streets parallel to the railroad, when intersecting a street which crosses the railroad at grade, shall, to the extent practicable, be at a distance of at least 150 feet from the railroad right-of-way. Such distance shall be determined with due consideration of the minimum distance required for future separation of grades by means of appropriate approach gradients.
14. Reserve strips controlling access to minor streets by parties or persons other than public agencies shall be prohibited.
15. Half-streets shall be prohibited, except where essential to the reasonable development of the subdivision in conformity with the other requirements of practical to obtain the dedication of the other half of the street easement when the adjoining property is subdivided. Whenever a dedicated half-street is adjacent to a tract to be subdivided, the other half of the street shall be included within the plat for the tract which is being subdivided.
16. Whenever a major or minor street is located wholly within the proposed subdivision, the total width of the right-of-way shall be dedicated; whenever a major or minor street is located adjacent to the outer edge of the subdivision, one-half of the right-of-way shall be dedicated, if it is determined by the Planning Commission that it is equitable and feasible from an engineering and design standpoint for the other half of the right-of-way to be dedicated from adjacent property.
17. The finished elevation of proposed streets within any designated floodplains shall be at or above the level of the 100-year flood.
18. The criteria established in the following table (street design standards) shall be followed in the layout and design of all major and minor streets.
Street Design Standards | ||||
Major Streets | Minor Streets | |||
Design Element | Primary Thoroughfare | Secondary Thoroughfare | Collector | Local |
Street Design Standards | ||||
Major Streets | Minor Streets | |||
Design Element | Primary Thoroughfare | Secondary Thoroughfare | Collector | Local |
Design speed | 40 mph | 30 mph | 30 mph | 25 mph |
Grade: | ||||
Maximum | 5% | 7% | 10% | 10% |
Minimum | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
Stopping sight distance | 350 feet | 200 feet | 200 feet | 200 feet |
Number of traffic lanes | 4 (minimum) | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Minimum paving thickness: | ||||
Asphalt section | Structurally designed | Structurally designed | 5 inches | 5 inches* |
Concrete section | Structurally designed | Structurally designed | 6 inches | 6 inches |
Residential estates section | — | — | Bituminous surface | Bituminous surface |
Minimum right-of-way | ||||
Width | 100 feet | 80 feet | 60 feet | 50 feet |
Minimum roadway | ||||
Width | 50 feet | 50 feet | 32 feet | 26 feet |
Traffic lane | ||||
Effective width | 12 feet | 12 feet | 12 feet | — |
Shoulder or parking | ||||
Land width | 10 feet | 10 feet | 6 feet | 6 feet |
Notes: | ||||
* Minor commercial streets shall have minimum paving thickness of 6 inches | ||||
Design Standards for Subdivision Streets
