(1) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to support the well-planned development of the city though the establishment of general subdivision design standards applicable to all subdivisions.
(2) Applicability. Unless otherwise noted, the standards of this section shall apply to all subdivisions in the city.
(3) General layout and design provisions.
(A) Name of the subdivision. The name of the subdivision shall not duplicate the name of an existing subdivision in the city.
(B) Compliance with other provisions of this Code. All subdivisions shall comply with all other applicable regulations of this Code, including, but not limited to:
1.) The requirements of the zoning district in which the property is located;
2.) The requirements relative to specific uses and dimensional standards; and
3.) Generally applicable development standards.
(C) Homeowner’s association. Where there are common areas proposed as part of a subdivision that are to be deeded to a homeowner’s association, a homeowner’s association shall be required and all documents related to the association shall be on file prior to final plat approval and subsequently recorded.
(D) Natural features. Subdivisions should be planned to take advantage of the topography of the land, to economize in the construction of drainage facilities, to reduce the amount of grading and to minimize destruction of trees and topsoil.
(E) Flood hazards. If any portion of the land within the subdivision is subject to flooding or other hazards, due consideration shall be given to such problems in the design of the subdivision. Land subject to flooding and land otherwise uninhabitable shall not be platted for residential occupancy, nor for such other uses that may increase danger to health, life or property, or aggravate the flood hazard as delineated on the FEMA floodplain maps or detailed engineering studies.
(4) Construction specifications. All construction of streets, sidewalks and infrastructure shall conform to the latest edition of the Ohio Department of Transportation Construction and Material Specifications and any amendments thereto. The City Engineer and/or the agencies having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer or water (where applicable), may also require adjustments in design to conform to special conditions inherent within a particular subdivision including, but not limited to, swamps, quicksand, springs and landslides.
(5) Infrastructure requirements.
(A) All subdivision of lands into parcels less than 32,670 square feet and/or less than 100 feet in width at the building line shall have a centralized sanitary sewer.
(B) All subdivision of lands into parcels, all of which are 32,670 square feet or more and/or 100 feet or more in width at the building line, may be required to have centralized sanitary sewer and/or water facilities if they are reasonably available as determined by the PZC.
(C) All sanitary sewage systems that will be dedicated to and operated by the county, as approved by the County Council and the County Executive through the agency having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer, shall conform to the design standards, specifications and procedures of the agency having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer as adopted by County Council and as approved by the County Executive pursuant to § 3.04 of the Summit County Charter.
(D) All public roadways shall meet the typical specifications on record with the Planning Department and Engineering Department. Any deviation from the typical specifications requires approval by the PZC.
(6) Sidewalks. Sidewalks shall be provided for all roadway sections, unless waived by the PZC. All sidewalks shall be five feet in width and shown on the subdivision improvement plans. Sidewalks shall meet the typical specification on record with the City’s Planning Department and Engineering Department. In cases where a proposed sidewalk will connect with an existing sidewalk of narrower dimensions, the new sidewalk shall transition to the existing sidewalk via taper.
(7) Street lighting district. Street lighting fixtures shall be installed by the developer on all streets within major subdivisions where sidewalks are required, the number and location of which shall be determined by engineering studies performed by the authority having jurisdiction over electric power, and shall conform to the specifications established by such authority and the City Engineer. The developer shall submit, at the time of the PZC approval, a petition to create a street lighting district so that legislation creating said district will be approved simultaneously with the plat and performance bond.
(8) Street trees. Street trees shall be required along all streets where sidewalks are required. The developer shall provide, on the subdivision improvement plans, the locations of new trees to be planted in the street right-of-way in conjunction with the requirements of sidewalk installations and in accordance with the proposed street lighting district layout. Tree variety shall be from a list of approved trees available from the Planning Department or as approved by a consultant to the city.
(9) Easements.
(A) General.
1.) Adequate easements along rear or side lot lines, or elsewhere as requested by the city, shall be provided for utilities and drainage where necessary. A 12-foot easement on each front lot line for utilities shall be required.
2.) All plats shall include the following wording: The undersigned owners of the land platted by this document, do hereby grant unto the Ohio Edison Company (OE) or authorized electrical power provider, Dominion East Ohio (DEO) or authorized natural gas provider, the locally franchised cable provider, the telecommunications provider, their successor and assigns, a 12-foot wide easement (as it abuts the dedicated streets herein), at the front of each lot, being parallel with and contiguous to the public right-of-way within this allotment. This easement to be used to install, operate, maintain and serve distribution lines, conduits, cables, wiring or other appurtenances for the supply of electric, gas, communication and video signals for public or private use. The city reserves the temporary work rights within the easement for itself and providers of storm water, sanitary sewer and public water supply, as authorized and approved by the city. Utilization of this easement shall be in compliance with the following exhibit.
3.) This easement allows for the providers of said utilities or services the right to remove trees and landscaping without liability as required to maintain, operate or construct these facilities, and the right of access, as needed for exercising the purposes of this easement.
(B) Utility lines. All utility lines shall be located underground.
(10) Soil studies. The City Engineer reserves the right to require a soil study where, in their opinion, the existing soil conditions are below average and may also require adjustments in design to compensate for the existing conditions.
(11) Erosion and sedimentation control.
(A) When the developer intends to remove or disturb the natural topsoil, trees and other vegetation, or where the developer intends to change the surface contour of a proposed subdivision, he or she shall prepare an erosion control plan (ECP) and have such plan approved by the County Soil and Water Conservation District and the city. The ECP shall be included in the improvement drawings. Additionally, a land disturbance permit shall be required.
(B) In general, erosion and sedimentation control work shall consist of, but not be limited to, grading, soil preparation, fertilizing, seeding and mulching as necessary to establish a sufficient growth of grass or other ground cover that minimizes damage to subdivision areas and to adjoining properties. The City Engineer and the County Soil and Water Conservation District will have the work inspected to the extent that they determine is necessary to ensure that the developer has complied with the approved plans.
(12) Oversize and/or off-site improvements.
(A) Oversize and/or off-site extensions of utilities, pavements and other improvements shall be designed and constructed to facilitate the orderly development of nearby land that is an integral part of the neighborhood service or drainage area.
(B) Where the City Engineer determines that improvements in excess of the size needed to serve the proposed subdivision are necessary, the developer shall install improvements required to serve his or her subdivision, plus the additional oversize and/or off-site improvements required.
(13) Approval. All necessary improvement plans for proposed roads, storm sewers and drainage facilities shall be approved by the City Engineer, and all improvement plans for sanitary sewer and water supply systems shall be approved by the agencies having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer or water, if necessary, prior to approval of the final plat by the City Engineer.
(14) Construction and inspection of improvements.
(A) Cooperation of developer and/or contractor. The developer and/or contractor shall have available on the project site at all times one approved copy of all required plans and specifications. He or she shall cooperate with the City Engineer’s inspector and/or the inspectors for agencies having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer or water (where applicable), and with other contractors in every way possible. The developer and/or contractor shall, at all times, have a competent representative acting as his or her agent on the project. The representative shall be capable of reading and thoroughly understanding the plans and specifications and promptly supplying such materials, tools, plat equipment and labor as may be required. A representative shall be furnished regardless of the amount of work sublet.
(B) Inspections.
1.) The City Engineer shall be responsible for the inspection of all street, structure and drainage improvements. The developer, his or her engineer, or his or her contractor shall give notice to the City Engineer at least 24 hours in advance of any construction of physical public improvements. The agencies having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer or water shall be responsible for inspection of all sanitary (sewage) and water supply system improvements. The following operations will be inspected by the City Engineer’s office:
a.) Preliminary grading;
b.) Backfilling of all trenches and excavations in the right-of-way;
c.) Preparation of the subgrade;
d.) Setting of forms;
e.) Paving (rigid and flexible);
f.) Inlet construction;
g.) Curing of rigid pavement;
h.) Removal of forms and berm compaction;
i.) Sealing of joints;
j.) Storm sewer construction;
k.) Any construction of utilities within the street right-of-way; and
l.) Any construction of structures within the right-of-way.
2.) Any of the above listed construction operations that are performed without advance notice to the City Engineer’s office may result in coring of the pavement, subgrade boring and nonacceptance of the improvement if it does not meet the specifications of the City Engineer. Costs to provide sufficient proof that any work performed is acceptable shall be the responsibility of the contractor.
(C) Inspection fees. The fees shall cover the actual wage, salary or contract cost of the inspection service, plus overhead, as determined by the City Engineer and/or the agencies having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer or water (where applicable), to cover such items as employee benefits, engineering service and transportation. The developer shall be held responsible for all inspection fees, which will be payable monthly. The performance bond posted by the developer guarantees the payment of all inspection fees and no bonds will be released until all current inspection fees have been paid in full.
(D) Roadway construction. All work shall be done in conformance with the approved improvement plans and the Ohio Department of Transportation Construction and Material Specifications, as supplied by the City Engineer’s notes. This information shall be available upon request from the City Engineer’s office.
(E) Construction staking. The setting and marking of all line, profile and grade stakes necessary for the layout of the work in accordance with the construction plans will be performed under the supervision of a registered professional surveyor. Should any misunderstanding arise as to the intent or meaning of the construction plans, or any discrepancy appear in the same, or in the proper methods of setting and marking of the construction stakes, the decision of the City Engineer in such cases shall be final. Pavement and pipe grade stakes shall be set at 25-foot intervals on horizontal and vertical curves and for all grades less than 1%. Tangent pavement grades and pipe grades over 1% may be set at a maximum interval of 50 feet. The City Engineer’s inspector may ask for additional grade stakes if it is deemed necessary. A laser control method as approved by the City Engineer may be substituted for the above.
(F) Testing. All material supplied shall be plant inspected as directed by the City Engineer. Compaction tests shall be made in fill areas in the right-of-way and on the subgrade prior to paving, as directed by the City Engineer. Pavement tests shall be conducted on site as directed by the City Engineer. The City Engineer reserves the right to order pavement cores made if conditions warrant. The testing mentioned above shall be done by a private testing laboratory acceptable to the City Engineer and shall be done at no cost to the city.
(G) Field changes. Approval of final plans shall not prevent the City Engineer or his or her agent from ordering needed changes he or she deems necessary in the field as work progresses. This extra work shall be at the developer’s expense. If it becomes necessary to modify the improvements as approved due to unforeseen circumstances, the developer shall inform the City Engineer, in writing, of the conditions requiring modification. Written authorization from the City Engineer to make the required modification must be received by the developer and/or the developer’s engineer before proceeding with the construction of the improvement.
(H) Street name signs, stop signs and other required regulatory signage. The developer shall be responsible for the cost of the signs and installation of street name signs, stop signs and other required regulatory signs as agreed upon and authorized at the preconstruction meeting with the city prior to the start of construction. The materials, construction, methods and location shall be approved so as to meet city standards and regulations. Installation shall be complete at such time as the hard surface is open to construction vehicles servicing individual sites within the subdivision. No zoning permits shall be issued for structures within the subdivision prior to the installation of street name signs.
(15) Final acceptance of improvements in major subdivisions.
(A) Monuments. Monuments shall be set where shown on the approved subdivision plat. Before final acceptance of the improvement, the developer shall have his or her registered professional surveyor certify to the City Engineer, in writing, that all required monuments and iron pins are in place and that any monuments or pins that were removed during construction have been replaced.
(B) As built drawings. At the completion of the construction and before acceptance, the developer’s engineer shall update for the City Engineer and the agencies having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer or water (where applicable), the set of linen or Mylar tracings for permanent record, showing the locations, sizes and elevations of all improvements as constructed. An electronic media version shall also be submitted in a program compatible with the city’s computer systems.
(C) Final inspection. Upon completion of all improvements, including roads, grading, culverts, seeding, mulching, monumentation, street name signs and other items, the developer shall notify the City Engineer and/or the agencies having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer or water (where applicable), by letter, that all of the improvements have been completed. The Planning Department will then schedule an inspection of the completed improvements with the City Engineer and Service Director. The developer, his or her engineer and a city representative may accompany the City Engineer or his or her representative on the inspection. Any discrepancies shall be recorded and the developer and the contractor will be furnished a copy of this report, and shall be expected to proceed as soon as possible with any corrections. Another final inspection will be made for acceptance.
(D) Recommendation for acceptance. If the construction is found to be satisfactory and all inspection monies are paid, the City Engineer, Service Director, Planning Director and/or the agencies having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer or water (where applicable), will make a recommendation to the Mayor for final acceptance of the improvements and release of the performance bond and acceptance of the maintenance bond.
(16) Maintenance bond period.
(A) Maintenance of improvements.
1.) The developer shall be responsible for the maintenance of the improvements during the construction period and for a minimum period of two years after release of the performance bond and acceptance of the maintenance bond. The developer is responsible to request that the city inspect the improvements. Upon inspection by the city, the developer shall be notified of the need for any corrections to be made to the improvements. Should the developer fail to perform such necessary improvements within the time specified, the city may perform said improvements, at which time the developer will forfeit a portion of the cash maintenance bond to pay for said improvements.
2.) The maintenance of sanitary sewer and water supply systems shall be the responsibility of the agencies having jurisdiction over sanitary sewer or water or the owner of said service line, upon acceptance by either the city or the respective representative of the owner, subject to call on any bonds if repair work is necessary within a one-year period after acceptance.
(B) Repair of damage. Any damage done to the improvements by construction traffic, local traffic or any other means shall be repaired, or the damaged materials replaced, before the next phase of construction is begun.
(C) Snow and ice removal. Prior to the release of the performance bond, the developer shall perform all work necessary to keep the road passable for automobile traffic to service all families living in the subdivision. The roads shall be open for emergency equipment at all times for all occupied dwellings. Should the developer fail to provide a passable roadway, the city may request all costs and expenses incurred in maintaining said roadway from the bonding company. Upon the release of the performance bond, the city shall accept responsibility for the snow and ice removal on accepted roads, even though they may be covered by a maintenance bond.
(D) Mud removal. The developer and his or her contractor shall be responsible for the removal of mud or other debris that may become located on the pavement surface. Should the developer fail to perform the said removal, he or she shall be liable for all costs and expenses incurred in the removal of mud or debris.
(Prior Code, § 1229.01) (Ord. 2009-21, passed 10-27-2009; Ord. 2018-13, passed 8-28-2018)