(A) Streets requiring names. A street will be named if it meets at least one of the following conditions:
(1) If three or more principal structures exist, or are approved to be constructed, that are accessed off a private street that is served by the public right-of-way; or
(2) If the street is maintained by the county, township, or other unit of local, state, or federal government.
(B) Street name selection. The following standards will be used:
(1) A street name shall be appropriate and easy to read and pronounce (so that children can use the name in an emergency situation);
(2) Names with the same theme (i.e., flowers, states) are suggested for naming streets in an entire subdivision, as a means of general identification;
(3) Historically used or significant street names will be retained where possible;
(4) Street names should be unique throughout the unincorporated area of the county;
(5) Names having the same or similar pronunciation but with different spellings shall not be used (e.g., Smith, Smyth, or Smythe; Allen or Alan);
(6) Avoid sound-alike names (e.g., Bay View Drive and Bayview Drive or Brainard Lane and Barnard Lane);
(7) Names which may be offensive (slang, double meanings, and the like) are prohibited;
(8) Use of special characters in street names, such as hyphens, apostrophes, or dashes, is prohibited (e.g., Bob-O-Link; Jane’s Lane);
(9) Differentiation of the same street name by a suffix is not allowed in the unincorporated area of the county (e.g., Moundview Lane and Moundview Court);
(10) Usage of street names that have a partial name in common in the same geographic area is prohibited (e.g., Lake Crest Drive and Lake Bottom Drive);
(11) Use of standard suffixes or directional suffixes or prefixes as street names is prohibited (e.g., North Avenue, Court Street, Avenue of Pines);
(12) Numbers are not allowed as street names (e.g., 1st Street; Third Street), except that streets officially named with numbers by previous governmental action may retain those numbered names;
(13) A street running continuously in one direction shall have only one street name throughout its entire length;
(14) County highways shall be assigned street names for addressing purposes, but shall also be identified on official maps by their route number as an alias (i.e., C.H. 30); such alias shall not be used as part of an address. In the unincorporated area of this county, state and federal highways shall be named as, by way of example, “N. Route 121”, “S. Route 51”, or “E. I 72”; such street names shall be used as part of an address. State Route 105 running east from Decatur to the county line is an exception, as it is named E. William Street for addressing purposes; and
(15) The ETSB shall review preliminary plats to ensure that proposed new street names are consistent with this chapter. Street names and designations on new plats must be approved by the ETSB before final plat approval by the county. Duplication or use of “sound-alike” subdivision and/or building complex names shall be avoided. Review by the ETSB shall be accomplished in a timely manner.
(C) Directional prefixes. Where a street crosses an imaginary dividing line extending north, south, east, and west from the intersection of North/South Main Street and East/West Main Street in the center of the City of Decatur, a prefix directional of North (“N”), South (“S”), East (“E”), or West (“W”), as appropriate, shall be used with the street name. If a street does not cross a dividing line, its name may have a prefix directional.
(D) Suffixes. Street name suffixes shall meet valid street suffix abbreviations as defined by the United States Postal Service (USPS) official suffix guidelines (USPS, Postal Addressing Standards, April 2012, Publication 28) and by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
(Ord. O-78-11-09, passed 11-12-2009)