The following definitions apply to this article:
(1) ABANDONMENT means the legal process by which property rights in land dedicated to public use may be terminated.
(2) ACCELERATION/DECELERATION LANE means a lane added to the side of a street to facilitate ingress to and egress from adjacent property and to help maintain traffic flow in the travel lanes of the street.
(3) ACCESS WAY means an area on private property used by vehicular traffic for access to and from streets.
(4) ACCESS WIDTH means the minimum lot frontage necessary to accommodate a driveway and its return.
(5) ACRE includes fraction of an acre.
(5.1) ADMINISTRATIVE PLAT means an amending plat (minor), a certificate of correction, or a minor plat involving four or fewer lots, that satisfies the requirements of Section 51A-8.403(c).
(6) ALL WEATHER ACCESS means access paved with a cohesive paving material that holds its form when subjected to vehicular traffic and the normal variation of weather conditions experienced in the city of Dallas.
(7) AMENDING PLAT (MAJOR) means a plat changing a previously approved and recorded plat in accordance with Texas Local Government Code Section 212.016 that may increase or decrease the number of lots.
(8) AMENDING PLAT (MINOR) means a plat changing a previously approved and recorded plat in accordance with Texas Local Government Code Section 212.016 that does not increase or decrease the number of lots.
(9) BARRIER-FREE SIDEWALK means a sidewalk designed using ramps, curb transitions, and additional sidewalk width to facilitate use by persons in wheel chairs.
(10) CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION means an amending plat (minor) in the form of a document used to make a correction to a recorded plat in cases where a sketch is not needed for clarity, as determined by the subdivision administrator.
(11) COMMISSION means the city plan commission of the city of Dallas.
(12) CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL mean conditions imposed on a plat by the commission that must be satisfied before the subdivision administrator may submit a plat for endorsement by the commission chair.
(13) CORNER CLIP means an area consisting of the triangular extension of street right-of-way at intersections of streets. This area is used for curb returns, utilities, barrier-free ramps, and other public facilities.
(14) COVENANT means an agreement in writing that touches and concerns real property platted or developed under this chapter, executed as required by law, in which a party pledges that something shall be done or shall not be done. A covenant is binding on successors in title to the real property that is the subject of the covenant.
(15) CUL-DE-SAC means an area of circular pavement constructed at the end of a dead-end street to facilitate vehicular access and turnaround.
(16) DEAD-END STREET OR ALLEY means a street or alley having right-of-way or pavement that terminates abruptly at one end without intersecting another street.
(17) DETENTION AREA means an area which temporarily stores stormwater runoff and discharges that runoff at a reduced rate.
(18) DEVELOPER means the owner of the property or the person authorized by the owner to develop the property.
(19) DIVIDED THOROUGHFARE means a street on the thoroughfare plan with travel lanes divided by a median.
(20) DRIVEWAY means a private drive on private property used for vehicular access and maneuvering.
(21) DRIVEWAY APPROACH means a paved connection from a street to a driveway or access way.
(22) DUPLEX LOT means a lot in a duplex D(A) zoning district or a lot in an identifiable duplex component of a planned development district.
(23) ENGINEERING PLANS mean drawings and specifications, including paving, storm water drainage, water, wastewater, or other required plans, submitted to the department of sustainable development and construction or the water utilities department for review in conjunction with a plat.
(24) ESTATE IN EXPECTANCY means an interest in property that is not yet in possession, but the enjoyment of which is to begin at a future time.
(25) FINAL PLAT means a plat that will be signed by the commission chair upon satisfaction of all conditions of approval and all other requirements of this article, and will be effective once it is filed with the county clerk.
(26) FLOODWAY means a drainage area designated on a plat to accommodate the design flood as defined in Article V of this chapter.
(27) FLOODWAY EASEMENT means an easement dedicating a drainage area to the city for control and maintenance of a flood plain.
(28) FLOODWAY MANAGEMENT AREA means a drainage area dedicated in fee simple to the city for control and maintenance of a flood plain.
(29) INFRASTRUCTURE means all streets, alleys, sidewalks, storm drainage facilities, water and wastewater facilities, utilities, lighting, transportation, and any other facilities required by law to adequately serve and support development.
(30) MEDIAN OPENING means a gap in a median allowing vehicular passage through the median.
(31) MINOR PLAT means a plat that meets both of the following requirements:
(A) The area proposed for platting must not exceed five acres in size for residential zoning districts (single family, duplex, and townhouse) and three acres in size for all other zoning districts; and
(B) The proposed plat must not require any public infrastructure. For example: the plat may not contain any new streets or alleys; it must abut an approved public or private street of adequate width as specified in Section 51A-8.604(c) or the Thoroughfare Plan for the city of Dallas; adequate water, wastewater, paving, and drainage improvements must already exist to serve the proposed plat; and any existing improvements which are to remain must meet all setback requirements and must not be divided by a proposed lot line or setback line.
(32) MONUMENT means a permanent structure set on a line to define the location of property lines, important horizontal plat control points, and other important features on a plat.
(33) NONSTANDARD MATERIALS mean any materials not specified in the Standard Construction Details of the department of public works or the North Central Texas Standard Specifications for Public Works Construction of the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
(34) OPEN SPACE, IMPROVED means open space containing structures or improvements, including but not limited to hike and bike trails.
(35) OPEN SPACE, UNIMPROVED means open space containing no buildings, fences, or other structures above or below grade.
(36) OWNER means the fee simple owner of property, or the owner’s representative when authorized by a power of attorney, corporate resolution, or other appropriate document.
(37) PARKWAY means the area between the outside edge of street pavement and the street right-of-way lines abutting other public or private property.
(38) PERMANENT DEAD-END STREET means a street or alley which cannot or will not be extended to another street in the foreseeable future.
(39) PHASE means a portion of an approved preliminary plat that receives final plat approval and is developed before or during the time the owner submits the final plat on the remainder of, or on another phase of, the area shown on the preliminary plat.
(40) PLAT means the graphic presentation of one or more lots or tracts of land, or of a subdivision, resubdivision, combination, or recombination of lots or tracts.
(41) PLAT RELEASE means approval by a department to verify that those conditions of approval required by that department have been satisfied before the final plat is endorsed by the commission chair.
(42) PRELIMINARY PLAT means the initial plat proposed by the applicant, which is reviewed by city staff and presented by staff to the city plan commission for consideration. If the commission determines that approval subject to conditions is appropriate, the subdivision administrator ensures that those conditions are met before the plat is finalized for endorsement by the commission chair.
(43) PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT means a contract between a developer and a contractor for the construction of infrastructure that is to be dedicated to the public.
(44) PRIVATE STREET means a privately owned street that is required by this article to meet the same standards as a street dedicated to public use.
(45) REPLAT means a plat changing a previously approved and recorded plat that is not an amending plat (minor) or an amending plat (major).
(46) RESIDENTIAL REPLAT means a replat without vacation of the preceding plat for property: (a) any part of which was limited during the preceding five years by an interim or permanent zoning classification to residential use for not more than two residential units per lot; or (b) that contains a lot in the preceding plat that was limited by deed restrictions to residential use for not more than two residential units per lot.
(47) SIDEWALK means a paved area dedicated to the public for pedestrian use.
(48) SINGLE FAMILY LOT means a lot in a single family zoning district, or a lot in an identifiable single family component of a planned development district.
(49) STREET CENTERLINE OFFSET means the distance between the centerlines of two more or less parallel streets measured along the centerline of an intersecting street.
(50) SUBDIVISION means land included within the boundaries of an original plat, or any of the following for the purpose of creating a building site for land development or transfer of ownership:
(A) The division of property into two or more parts.
(B) The combination of lots or tracts into one or more parts.
(C) The redivision or recombination of lots or tracts.
(51) SUBDIVISION ADMINISTRATOR means the city staff employee designated by the city manager to supervise the platting and subdivision process.
(52) TEMPORARY DEAD-END STREET means a street that is planned to or can feasibly be extended in the foreseeable future to another street.
(53) TOWNHOUSE LOT means a lot in a townhouse TH(A) zoning district, or a lot in an identifiable townhouse component of a planned development district.
(54) TRAFFIC BARRIER means a physical barrier that prevents the indiscriminate and unauthorized crossing of traffic between a street or alley and a thoroughfare. Examples of traffic barriers include a series of posts connected by a cable or chain, a deep beam highway guard rail, or a New Jersey barrier-type wall on an engineered foundation.
(55) VACATION means the legal process by which unimproved, platted land, no part of which the city has accepted as a dedication for public use, may be returned to the legal status of being a parcel of unplatted land.
(56) WATER FACILITIES mean the infrastructure required to deliver potable water to property.