(a) Issuance of certificates of occupancy.
(1) The Chief Building Official shall not issue a certificate of occupancy until the City Engineer has signed the application for the certificate of occupancy as evidence that granting of the proposed street right-of-way has been completed and that water mains, storm and sanitary sewers, curbs, gutters, street base and at least one course of asphalt have been installed to City standards.
(2) Sidewalks for any individual lot shall be installed before a certificate of occupancy is issued. Subdivisions having uncompleted sidewalks will be reviewed annually by the City for possible inclusion into the City's Sidewalk, Curb and Gutter Program. If either 80% of the lots in the development have been issued a certificate of occupancy or three years have passed since the performance of the pre-final inspection, any sidewalk not yet constructed will be installed as part of the above said program and the current owners of the lot will be assessed in accordance with R.C. Chapter 729. When severe weather has significantly delayed construction, the Chief Building Official may authorize occupancy of a structure, provided that the developer submits suitable plans for construction of the sidewalks to be installed a maximum of 120 days after occupancy.
(3) When a certificate of occupancy has been issued as provided in division (a)(1) hereof, the City shall have the right to permit connection of other sanitary sewers, water mains and storm sewers to those of the subdivision for which the certificate has been issued, whether such other sanitary sewers, water mains and storm sewers are owned by the City at the time or are in the process of being installed in other subdivisions by other subdividers under this chapter. Before receiving a permit for such connection, the connecting subdivider shall file a bond conditioned upon his or her repair of any damage done to the sanitary sewer, water main or storm sewer to which the connection is made, or for other damage caused by reason of such connection, and upon his or her indemnification of the owner of the latter sanitary sewer, water main or storm sewer for any liability arising on account of such connection.
(b) Disposition of applications for building permits.
(1) After the plat has been filed with the Chief Building Official, he or she shall not, during the effective period thereof, issue a building permit for the rehabilitation, extension or erection of any building or structure, or the moving thereon of any existing building or structure, within the mapped street lines without first directing the attention of the applicant for building permit to the plat and acquainting such applicant with the provisions of this chapter and its purposes.
(2) Forthwith, the Chief Building Official shall refer the application for building permit to the City Manager who shall, within 15 days, transmit such application to City Council together with an appraised present market value of the land and structures, if any, comprising the real estate on which the proposed construction is to be done, his recommendation relative to the advisability of immediately purchasing such real estate, and the status of the fund from which the purchase money is to be appropriated.
(3) Within eight days of the receipt of the application and the report of the City Manager, City Council shall determine whether the immediate acquisition of such property within such mapped street lines is in the best interests of the public. In the event of an affirmative decision, City Council shall direct the City Manager to take the necessary steps for immediate acquisition. In the event of a negative decision, City Council shall direct the issuance of a building permit in accordance with applicable law.
(c) Construction procedures and materials.
(1) The design and construction of improvements shall be in accordance with the standards outlined in these regulations and other pertinent regulations. The work shall be done under City supervision and inspection, and shall be completed within the time fixed as agreed upon by the City.
(2) The City Engineer is hereby authorized to establish, or adopt by reference, the following manuals that establish the minimum requirements for drawings, materials, installation procedures, and design requirements for public improvements and infrastructure related to subdivisions:
A. Construction Standard Drawings;
B. Manual of Design for Public Improvements;
C. Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations;
D. Flood Damage Prevention Regulations;
E. Right-of-Way Regulations;
F. Street Master Plan;
G. Water and Sewer Rules and Regulations; and
H. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Rain Water and Land Development Manual.
(3) The above manuals are hereby incorporated as part of this code and may be administered and enforced in the same manner as established in this code.
(4) It shall be the duty of the owner, his agent or engineer to consult with public service and utility companies as to location of all underground conduits, pipe lines, cable and telephone conduit, overhead poles, street lights, wires, etc., and to provide necessary easements for such facilities on the final plat.
(d) Construction drawings, changes, and inspections.
(1) No construction of improvements listed herein shall be done in any manner different from that indicated on the approved construction drawings, approved as part of the major subdivision review.
(2) Any changes to the approved construction plans shall be submitted to the City Engineer for review and a decision.
(3) Prior to starting any of the work covered by the approved construction drawings, arrangements shall have been made to provide for inspection of the work which are sufficient, in the opinion of the City Engineer, to insure compliance with the plans and specifications, as approved.
(4) Construction activities may commence upon receipt of written notification from the City Engineer to proceed, to be issued after a preconstruction meeting between the subdivider's contractor and the City Engineer and payment of the plan review fees.
(5) After completion of all improvements, except for the final course of asphalt, the City Engineer will perform a pre-final inspection at the request of the subdivider. The construction of sidewalks throughout the subdivision is not required prior to the pre-final inspection.
(e) Requirements for future expansion and oversizing of public improvements.
(1) For the purposes of long-term planning for the City's overall transportation and utility network, Middletown has established the requirements of this section related to the sizing and future expansion of such public improvements.
(2) Upon submission of the preliminary plat and/or traffic impact study, the City Engineer will review the plat, and, based upon the proposed development, will make a determination of the minimum size water mains, sanitary sewer mains, street width, pavement cross-section, and traffic signalization required to serve such a development.
(3) In some cases, based on the Master Plan or other approved plans, the City Engineer may determine that there is a need to oversize the proposed improvements for future capacity. Where the City requires infrastructure development beyond that determined above, the City shall share in the cost as set forth below:
A. Where extra pavement width is required for streets, the City shall pay for the extra pavement width required beyond the development requirements;
B. Where additional water system improvements are needed, the City shall pay for the additional cost as estimated by the City Engineer for the additional labor and material cost (per linear foot of mains and fittings, per unit costof valves) associated with a water main diameter required by the City in excess of the diameter (eight-inch minimum) required for the development. In no case shall the City share in the cost of water mains connected to a water system other than that of the City.
C. Where additional sanitary sewage system improvements are needed, the City shall pay for the additional cost as estimated by the City Engineer for the additional labor and material cost associated with a sanitary sewer main diameter required by the City in excess of the diameter (eight-inch minimum) required for the development, unless excess diameter was required to meet minimum velocity requirements due to grade.
(f) Financial guarantees for public improvements.
(1) A subdivider may execute and file a written financial guarantee with the City in lieu of actual installation or completion of the required public improvements when requesting approval of a final plat. See also § 1226.07.
(2) The financial guarantee shall be an obligation for the faithful performance of any and all work and the construction and installation of all public improvements required to be done by the subdivider, together with all engineering and inspection costs and fees incurred by the City.
(3) The guarantee shall contain the further condition that should one of the following conditions exist, the City may, at its option, cause all required work to be done and public improvements constructed by using the financial guarantee.
A. The installation of all required public improvements as called for in these regulations has not taken place within the time period agreed on in the construction agreement with the City, and the subdivider has failed to establish reasonable cause for such delay to the satisfaction of City Council and thereby to receive a time extension; and/or
B. The subdivider has not constructed the required public improvements in accordance with the minimum standards specified by these regulations, and the subdivider is unwilling to modify and upgrade said public improvements within a six-month time period of notice so as to be in compliance with the provisions of these regulations.
(4) The parties executing the guarantee shall be firmly bound for the payment of all necessary costs therefor.
(5) The guarantee may take the form of a bond, cash deposit, or an irrevocable letter of credit as further outlined in this division.
(6) Unless otherwise specified, the amount of the financial guarantee for installation of public improvements shall be based on an engineer's cost estimate, approved by the City Engineer, for 100% of the cost to complete the unfinished public improvements.
A. Where applicable, engineering, plan review, and construction review fees, etc., shall be required to be a part of the engineers cost estimate.
B. After a period of two years from the date of submittal, the City Engineer may require that a revised engineer's estimate and bond be submitted that reflects updated unit prices.
(7) Unit prices used in the engineers cost estimate shall be based upon unit costs associated with public contracting (i.e., prevailing wage rates).
(8) Guarantees shall be made payable to the City of Middletown and be acceptable to the City Engineer and the City's legal counsel. Final guarantees shall be filed with the Clerk of City Council.
(9) Incomplete public improvements that the City Engineer determines will constitute a safety hazard or maintenance issue, or will prevent the effective functioning of the public improvements, shall be required to be completed prior to the approval of a final plat.
(10) Upon completion of the final inspection, the subdivider shall furnish a one-year maintenance financial guarantee in the amount of 10% of the cost of improvements.
(11) Types of guarantees. The following are the types of financial guarantees allowed by the City. The standards for each type of guarantee shall apply to any situation where a financial guarantee is required, regardless if it is related to a subdivision application or not.
A. Bond. The following standards shall apply if a bond is utilized as a financial guarantee:
1. A bond in the amount determined in accordance with this section shall be filed with the City of Middletown.
2. The bond may be in the form of a surety bond or a cash bond of the kind approved by law for securing deposits of public money.
3. The bond shall be executed by the subdivider as principal, and if a surety bond, shall be executed by a corporation authorized to act as a surety under the laws of the State of Ohio.
B. Irrevocable letter of credit. The following standards shall apply if an irrevocable letter of credit is utilized as a financial guarantee:
1. The subdivider shall provide an irrevocable letter of credit from a bank or other reputable institution or individual subject to the approval of the City's legal counsel and City Manager.
2. The letter shall be deposited with the City, and shall certify the following:
a. The creditor guarantees funds in an amount equal to 130% of the cost, as estimated in accordance with division (f) hereof for completion all required public improvements.
b. In the case of failure on the part of the subdivider to complete the specified public improvements within the required time period, the creditor shall pay to the City immediately and without further action such funds as are necessary to finance the completion of those public improvements, up to the limit of credit stated in the letter.
c. The irrevocable letter of credit shall not have an expiration date.
d. This irrevocable letter of credit may not be withdrawn or reduced in amount until released by the City Manager in accordance with this chapter.
C. Cash. The following standards shall apply if cash is utilized as a financial guarantee:
1. The subdivider shall provide a certified check for the amount of the guarantee, payable to the City of Middletown.
2. When the public improvements are complete, the City shall issue a check for the released amount based on this subsection.
3. The City shall not be responsible for paying interest for the period of time the City retains the guarantee.
(12) Reduction of financial guarantees. Upon completion of all improvements as per the pre-final inspection, submittal of as-built drawings, and a Mylar copy of the signed and recorded subdivision plat, financial guarantee may be reduced to an amount sufficient to cover the cost of outstanding improvements as determined by the City Engineer. Additionally, after completion of the improvements, the subdivider shall furnish a maintenance financial guarantee as established in division (f) hereof.
(g) As-built drawings. The applicant or his/her engineer shall file copies of the "as-built" drawings, corrected to show exact location, grades, and necessary elevations and other pertinent data, for all structures or facilities installed as part of a subdivision. Such drawings shall be in compliance with the Manual of Design for Public Improvements.
(Ord. O2018-02, passed 2-20-2018)