A. Site Development Plan Required. No land within the jurisdiction of the Plan Commission shall be developed or altered for the purpose of constructing buildings or establishing uses - except for Detached Single-Unit Dwellings, Two-Unit Dwellings, and Manufactured Homes in an approved Manufactured Home Park - without first having received Site Development Plan approval from the Plan Commission.
B. Site Development Plan Application. All Site Development Plan applications must be submitted in accordance with the submittal requirements set forth thereon.
C. Site Development Plan Review. Site Development Plan review may be performed by Plan Commission staff or by outside private consultants at the joint discretion of the Plan Commission and Board of Public Works and Safety. Applicants shall follow rules of procedure adopted by the Plan Commission and the Board of Public Works and Safety.
D. Design Requirements and Improvements Requirements. Requirements, standards and specifications for engineering design for construction of improvements for Site Development Plans shall be equal to or greater than the minimum requirements, standards, and specifications established for design and improvements in this Ordinance. The City Engineer may approve other engineering designs or practices when he/she deems necessary.
E. Contents of Site Development Plans. All Site Development Plans shall be submitted under the seal and signature of a Professional Engineer or Registered Land Surveyor licensed to practice in the State of Indiana. Site Development Plans submitted for review shall observe the format as outlined in the application.
F. Other Required Submittals for Approval of a Site Development Plan. The Applicant shall be required to submit written documentation of the following, when applicable:
1. Utility encroachment approvals;
2. Johnson County Drainage Board approval;
3. Other local, state, and federal approvals, including other City boards, commissions, or departments;
4. Inspection and testing agreements with the Board of Public Works and Safety;
5. Outside reviews as required by the City;
6. Easements and rights-of-way not on a plat-like document shall be submitted in the form prescribed by the Board of Public Works and Safety and include both a full legal description and a drawing exhibit; and
7. An outdoor lighting plan.
G. Engineering Assurances.
1. Each application for approval of a Site Development Plan shall be accompanied by the following:
a. Certificate of Sufficiency of Plans; and
b. Certificate of Obligation to Observe.
2. Both certificates shall be properly executed in the form prescribed by the Plan Commission by the licensed engineer, or surveyor preparing the Site Development Plan.
H. Grounds for Rejection of a Site Development Plan Application. The Planning Director may reject any application for the following reasons:
1. Failure to complete the application;
2. Failure to include a complete Site Development Plan;
3. Failure to include all required submittals; or
4. Failure to provide legible submittals.
I. Resubmittal of Site Development Plan. Submit two (2) physical, one (1) digital, and one (1) CAD sets of the final, revised plans showing conditions required by the Plan Commission. Final revised plans shall be submitted at least ten (10) working days prior to issuance of a permit.
J. Financial Assurances. As a condition of granting approval for a Site Development Plan, the City reserves the right to require financial assurances to guarantee construction according to plans of all public improvements proposed in a Site Development Plan and for certain private improvements, including but not limited to site grading, drainage improvements, erosion control, sanitary sewers, private streets, landscaping and buffering, or other improvements which may directly impact adjacent properties or the health, safety, or welfare of the general public. Such assurances of performance shall be in an amount and form as prescribed by the City. Public improvements shall be dedicated within two (2) years of the date of Plan Commission approval unless time extensions are granted by the City. If public improvements are not dedicated with two (2) years, the City may take any action deemed necessary to ensure completion to a point of dedication.
K. Site Development Plan Approval Valid for Three Years.
1. Upon expiration of the three (3)-year period the Site Development Plan approval shall be deemed null and void unless:
a. The Plan Commission has granted a time extension not to exceed two (2) years; or
b. A permit has been issued to permit commencement of site improvements.
2. The Plan Commission shall not grant more than one (1) time extension for Site Development Plan approval (not to exceed two (2) years).
3. Once a permit has been issued and development has commenced the improvements shall be completed within ten (10) years of the date the application was filed. Failure to complete improvements within said time frame shall void the plan approval and the permit.
L. Deviation from an Approved Site Development Plan and Additions to Existing Structures.
1. If the installation of the elements on the Site Development Plan materially deviates from the approved Site Development Plan (as determined by the Planning Director or City Engineer), the Site Development Plan shall be resubmitted to the Plan Commission for a new Site Development Plan approval in accordance with the procedures and requirements for Site Development Plan approval. For purposes of this section, material deviation is one that:
a. Adds, removes, or reconfigures an internal street or relocates an access point;
b. Affects a condition of Site Development Plan approval that was established by the Plan Commission during the Site Development Plan approval stage;
c. Reduces the area devoted to open spaces or buffer landscaping;
d. Would require a waiver of the requirements and standards of these regulations or would negate the basis for a modification that was granted; or
e. Involves the enlargement of a nonresidential building footprint on the site due to future additions that are more than ten percent (10%) of the gross floor area or five thousand (5,000) square feet, whichever is less.
2. Minor changes that do not constitute material deviation shall be reviewed and approved by the Planning Director.
M. Record Drawings and Certificate of Completion and Compliance. The developer or owner shall cause record drawings to be prepared and submitted to the Planning Director for all streets, drainage ditches and facilities, utility pipes and structures, and finished grade elevations for the project, showing compliance with the approved Site Development Plan. Said record drawings shall be filed with the Planning Director prior to the release of any performance assurances. The record drawings shall be accompanied by a Certificate of Completion and Compliance properly executed in the form prescribed by the Plan Commission by the licensed engineer, or surveyor preparing the Site Development Plan and/or record drawings. Record drawings, including the approved final plat shall be submitted on the forms specified by the Plan Commission.
1. General Requirements. Plans are to contain a certification statement that the improvements have been installed in reasonable compliance with the original design plans with respect to horizontal locations and grades and any deviations of locations, grade or material use are shown in these record drawings. Said certification is to be sealed and signed.
2. Specific Requirements. The plans shall contain such additional detail as required by the Plan Commission, including, but not limited to, a waiver of liability in favor of the City related to the installation and construction of the same.
N. All requests for a decision or approval under this subsection begins with the property owner or agent thereof filing a complete site development plan application(“application”) with the Planning Director on forms provided for and in the quantities specified by the Plan Commission or the Board in its written rules of procedure.
O. A complete application shall include all required submissions and the payment in full of all applicable fees.
P. The Planning Director, or his/her designee, will determine whether an application is complete and is ready to be processed. In some instances, an additional application may be deemed necessary by the Planning Director and, if so, an application will not be deemed to be complete unless and until all applications are submitted and reviewed and determined to be in accordance with all submittal requirements. The applicant will be notified in writing of any deficiencies in the completeness of the application and shall have thirty (30) days from the date thereof to complete the application or the application will be deemed null and void.
Q. Until all applicable fees, charges, and expenses have been paid in full, no final action or release shall be taken on any application.
R. If a decision on the application is to be made by someone other than the Planning Director, then the complete application shall be forwarded to the appropriate body for review.
S. Permits to be Issued by Building Commissioner. No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, added to, or structurally altered without a permit therefore issued by the Building Commissioner or his/her representative in accordance with Plan Commission policies and procedures. No improvement location permit shall be issued by the Building Commissioner or his/her representative except in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance, unless he/she first receives a written order from the Board of Zoning Appeals in the form of an administrative review, special exception, or variance as provided by this Ordinance.
T. Application for a Land Alteration Permit. All applications for improvement location permits shall be accompanied by plans drawn to scale, showing the actual dimensions and shape of the lot to be built upon; the exact sizes and locations on the lot of building already existing, if any; and the location and dimensions of the proposed building or alteration. The improvement location application shall include such other information as lawfully may be required by the Planning Director, Building Commissioner or their representatives, including existing or proposed building or alteration; existing or proposed uses of the building and land; the number of families, housekeeping units, or rental units the building is designed to accommodate; conditions existing on the lot. The Building Commissioner or his/her representative shall retain the plans for a minimum period of five (5) years from the date of issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
(Ord. 20-29, §2, 9-21-20; Ord. 21-44, §1, 10-4-21)