(a) Before the acceptance of an allotment, or any part thereof, the allotter shall make provisions for the improving of all the streets in the allotment, or portion thereof, by the construction of the necessary storm and sanitary sewers and storm and sanitary sewer house connections; rear yard inlets; inlet connections and swale where required; all sidewalks and all paving including street and alley intersections for both sidewalks and paving, and ADA approved handicap ramps; together with grading all the lots, and the full width of all the street rights-of-way. All of the above work shall be done in accordance with the stipulations of this chapter, with the City standard improvement specifications and construction details and with any minimum construction standards which have been adopted or which may in the future be adopted by the City, and such work shall be done to the full satisfaction of, and be accepted by, the City Engineer.
(b) The full width of all street rights-of-way in each allotment shall be graded from street right-of-way line to street right-of-way line providing proper drainage and uniform subgrades for sidewalks and paving. The grades used shall be according to the grading plan, established or approved by the City Engineer.
(c) All the lots in the allotment shall be graded in such a manner that the entire surface area of each lot can be satisfactorily drained to the streets without the use of sewer pipe drains or ditches located on private property, except where this cannot be accomplished, a “surface swale” (an easily maintained shallow depressed area-sloped to transport surface water) shall be constructed for drainage of more than one lot. This swale shall be protected by proper easements approved by the City Engineer and shown on the final plat. A final grading site plan, approved by the City Engineer, shall be prepared and filed in the City’s map records so that established lot drainage may be maintained.
(d) All storm and sanitary sewer connections for house sewer services shall be installed at the time the main sewer in the street is built, and they shall extend at least to the right-of-way line of the street or two feet beyond any underground utility easement abutting the street right-of-way. The allotter shall bear the entire cost of these connections.
(e) Any of the above improvements may be performed by the allotter in accordance with City specifications therefore and the stipulations herein, and the allotter shall bear the entire cost thereof.
(f) Any of the above improvements may be administered by the City, in which case the allotter shall deposit with the City Auditor, prior to acceptance of the allotment or portion thereof, an amount equal to the City Engineer’s estimated “property portion” of the cost of the improvements; together with the total amount required to pay up the balance of any existing special assessments against the land in the proposed allotment. The “property portion” of cost is that part of the cost charged and assessed against private property, in a manner as provided by law and as directed by Council. Any portion of the deposit remaining after payment of the “property portion” of cost shall be refunded to the allotter, and in case it develops that the actual “property portion” cost is more than the original deposit, then the allotter shall pay to the Auditor an additional amount to cover the actual cost.
(g) In regard to paving, there are two exceptions to the subsection immediately above. First, the allotter shall bear the entire cost of all intersection sidewalks and all roadway pavements, including the cost of street and alley intersections. For the purpose of this section, the minimum City standard hard surfaced type roadway pavement will be considered such roadway pavement as eight-inch Portland cement concrete as detailed in City of Lorain Standard Designs PV-2.0 or the latest revision thereof.
Second, in case the allotter plans immediate building development on at least fifty percent (50%) of the lots in the allotment or when Council is of the opinion that the prospects of immediate building construction in the proposed allotment are such as to justify their action, then Council may pass necessary legislation for construction intersection sidewalks and a standard hard surfaced type pavement in the streets of the allotment and assess the property portion of the cost thereof, as directed by Council, against the lots of the allotment and collect the same with interest in deferred payment from lot owners as provided by law.
(h) The allotter shall work out, with Council and City officials, a schedule or program of procedure in making the above improvements, stating parts of work to be done by the allotter and parts to be administered by the City. Agreements shall be made and entered into by the allotter to perform his part of the work and pay costs thereof and, in connection therewith, he shall furnish such bonds, deposits, or guarantees as may be required by Council or the Safety/Service Director to ensure faithful and proper performance of his work and the payment of the costs thereof. If the allotter fails to commence installation of the aforementioned improvements within three years from the Engineer's approval of the improvement plans, the Engineer's approval of such plans shall be rescinded. A subsequent review and approval by the Engineer shall be required if the allotter desires to proceed with the installation of the improvements at a later date.
In addition thereto, the allotter shall deposit in cash or certified check, with the Auditor, an inspection deposit of three percent (3%) of the estimated cost of the proposed improvement, as estimated by the City Engineer.
The deposit shall be credited to the Allotment Improvement Fund. Upon completion of the
improvement, and after all costs and expenses have been determined, including all City Engineering inspection charges, any overpayment of original deposit by the allotter shall be refunded to the allotter from the Allotment Improvement Fund. Any underpayment shall be due and payable to the Allotment Improvement Fund by the allotter upon receipt of notification by the Safety/Service Director, within two days after notice. The allotter shall also file with Council proper petitions for the parts of the work to be administered by the City and shall deposit, with the City Auditor, the City Engineer's estimated property portion of costs of all work to be administered by the City, all in accordance with the above stipulations and exceptions.
(i) The above procedures may vary to fit conditions, but in all cases the allotter shall, before presenting the final plat for final acceptance by Council, fully complete all improvements which he has agreed to perform, or in lieu of completion, he shall furnish and file with the City Auditor a performance bond in the form of cash, or a performance bond or an unconditional irrevocable letter of credit in the amount of one hundred twenty percent (120%) of the estimated construction cost as approved by the City Safety/Service Director and City Engineer which shall guarantee the completion of the subdivision's physical improvements according to the plans and specifications approved by the City Engineer. Said performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit shall be from a recognized surety company licensed to do business in the State of Ohio, an Ohio commercial bank or other authorized Ohio financial institution acceptable to the Safety/Service Director. Further, any such performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit shall be in an amount sufficient to cover the entire cost to the City to complete all unfinished work as estimated by the City Engineer, thereby securing the actual construction and installation of such incomplete improvements immediately after final approval of the final plat and within the time stipulated in the bond or irrevocable letter of credit for completion.
(j) In case the allotter cannot guarantee the installation of all the above required improvements or does not wish to improve all of the allotment at one time, then only that portion of the allotment in which the completion of all the above required improvements can be guaranteed shall be presented to Council for acceptance. Each such portion of an allotment shall be a separate and complete plat and subject to all the stipulations and controls herein.
(k) All improvements made by the allotter within the dedicated streets, with the exception of the storm and sanitary sewer house connections, located between the roadway pavement and the right-of-way line, shall become public property upon the acceptance of the plat by Council and the acceptance of the improvements by the City Engineer. The allotter hereby guarantees that all installed improvements dedicated to the city for a 3 year period, by way of a bond at 10% of the final costs of the improvements.
(1) Where lot sales or house construction precedes the street paving in an allotment, the allotter shall assume all responsibility to construct and maintain temporary roads as may be required for house construction or to serve residents in the homes constructed until such time as the streets are paved, and he shall do the same at his own cost and expense. This phase of the allotter's work shall be included in the above agreements and the performance thereof shall be guaranteed by a method satisfactory to the Safety/Service Director.
(l) The allotter is responsible for the installation of all stop signs, street signs, pavement markings, approved traffic control devices, and any necessary safety devices, at the cost of the allotter, uniform with any city requirements.
(Ord. 13-17. Passed 2-6-17.)