(A) The grid coordinate system. The county has structured the numbering of its road system and the issuance of property addresses based on the Lyman/Purdue street numbering system. The system is better known as the grid coordinate system. The system utilizes two base lines, which run at approximate right angles to each other to divide the county into quadrants. Most of the county roads are numbered based on their distance from the north-south and east-west base lines. Each mile portion of roadway becomes a “block” for uniform numbering purposes.
(B) Base lines.
(1) The general rule shall be 1,000 addresses per mile, except in certain areas where the irregular direction of the county highways makes variations necessary. “Odd” numbers shall be used on the south and west sides of streets/roads and “even” numbers on the north and east sides of streets/roads.
(2) Street addresses are to be assigned based on a measurement of the distance from the nearest grid line to the main access way or drive to the structure. A structure shall always be addressed to the street/road where the main access way intersects.
(C) County road numbers and names. Existing posted county street/road numbers or names will be used to delineate an assumed distance in feet from a base line or each other (grid lines) even though a true measurement to the road is not exactly the distance stated on the road sign. All address measurements will be taken from the middle of an intersection.
(D) Property numbering intervals. Street and road addresses are assigned in increasing order from each base and grid line. In the county, 1,000 potential property addresses exist for each 5,280 feet (one mile) of distance from the base lines.
(E) Determining a property address. An official street address shall contain no more than five digits with the first digit, or the first two digits if the structure is located ten or more miles from the north-south baseline, indicating the milepost or distance from the base lines. The second or third digit shall indicate the block number, which will change each 528 linear feet. The last two digits indicate the number of 10.56-foot intervals from the structure to the nearest block or grid line.
(F) Requirements for the posting of address numbers. The owner or occupant of a house or structure located within the jurisdictional area of the County Commissioners shall post officially assigned numbers in English, using Arabic (not Roman) numerals at a minimum of four inches in height and made of reflective, durable weatherproof material, of a color that stands out distinctly against its background. The official number shall be placed on the house or business structure where it may easily be seen when approaching the house or business.
(1) Three-inch lettering shall also be placed on both sides and one-inch lettering on the front of a mailbox, if a mailbox is used (sized and positioned according to postal regulations), or on a post by the roadway if the house or structure is not visible from a road or if the house or building is more than 100 feet from a road.
(2) If mailboxes are placed closely side by side in a way so that numbers on the sides of the mailboxes cannot be seen, the numbers need be placed only on the front of each mailbox, and the individual houses or other structures should be identified using house numbers or appropriately placed road posts.
(3) Houses or structures that were numbered prior to the effective date of this chapter shall be renumbered if necessary to comply with the uniform numbering system and so that numerical harmony throughout an area or areas is achieved. The Assessor’s office shall authorize these changes.
(G) Requirements for obtaining addresses. In no case shall an individual or business be permitted to assign an address to their property or a structure on that property. Addressing is the sole responsibility of the County Assessor’s office and the local incorporated cities and towns in the county. The postal services shall only recognize addresses issued by these agencies. No public utility shall service a location until an address has been obtained.
(H) Incorporated cities and towns. The County Commissioners and the County Assessor do not have political jurisdiction over the implementation of numbering systems within the incorporated cities and towns in the county. Numbering in these communities shall be the responsibility of the local plan commission, town board or the city council. However, the County Commissioners may require that city-type addresses be implemented in these communities for purposes of defining structures for E-911 identification. All structures in the county shall be required to have city-type property addresses including those in incorporated communities. The rural route and box system now in place in some incorporated communities shall be eliminated and city-type addresses shall be assigned to all structures in the communities by July 15, 2005.
(I) Notifications of local agencies. The County Assessor’s office shall provide a uniform system of notification of the issuance of numbers or names and the renumbering of houses and structures. When possible, notification shall be made reasonably ahead of impending changes so as to allow interested groups and agencies to plan and to prepare for the proposed changes. The County Assessor shall keep accurate records and shall, from time to time, prepare and make available to the County Commissioners a report of the status of the implementation of the uniform numbering system.
(Ord. 2005-3, passed 4-11-2005)