§ 159.03 DEFINITIONS.
   As used in these regulations, the following words shall have the meanings and references given, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
   ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER. The officer designated and authorized by the City Council to enforce the Subdivision Regulations.
   ALLEY. A permanent public serviceway or right-of-way, dedicated to public use, other than a Street, Place, Road, Cross-Walk, or Easement, designed to provide a secondary means of access for the special accommodation of abutting property.
   BLOCK. A unit of property entirely surrounded by public highways, streets, railroad rights-of-way, waterways, or other barriers, or combination thereof.
   BUILDING SETBACK LINE - BUILDING LINE. The line nearest the front or side of and across a Lot establishing the minimum yard to be provided between the principal building or structure and the Lot Line.
   CITY. The City of Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
   CITY CLERK. The City Clerk of the City of Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
   COMMISSION. The Plan Commission of the City of Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
   COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. The complete plan, or any of its parts, for the development of the City, proposed by the Commission and adopted by the Council, in accordance with the authority conferred by Division 12, Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-12 et seq.), as amended.
   COUNCIL. The City Council of the City of Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
   COUNTY. The County of Jefferson, Illinois.
   CROSS-WALK. A strip of land dedicated to public use, which is reserved across a block to provide pedestrian access to adjacent areas.
   CUL-DE-SAC. (COURT OR DEAD END STREET). A short street having one end open to traffic and being permanently terminated by a vehicle turn-around.
   DRAINAGE RIGHT-OF-WAY. The lands required for the installation of storm water sewers or drainage ditches, or required along a natural stream or water course for preserving the channel and providing for the flow of water therein to safeguard the public against flood damage.
   EASEMENT. A grant by a property owner of the use of a strip of land by the public for specified purposes.
   FINAL PLAT. The final map of all, or a portion of, the subdivision which is presented to the Commission for final approval in accordance with these regulations, and which, if approved, shall be filed with the proper county recording officer.
   JURISDICTION. The corporate area of the City of Mt. Vernon, Illinois and the unincorporated area contiguous thereto that is within one and one-half miles of the corporate limits.
   LOT. A portion of a subdivision or other parcel of land intended as a unit for transfer of ownership or development.
   PERFORMANCE GUARANTEE. Any security which may be accepted in lieu of a requirement that certain improvements be made before the Commission or other approving body approves a Final Plat; including performance bond, escrow agreements, and other similar collateral or surety agreements.
   PERSON. A corporation, firm, partnership, association, organization, or any other group acting as a unit, as well as a natural person.
   PLACE. An open, unoccupied, officially designated space, other than a Street or Alley, permanently reserved as the principal means of access for abutting property.
   PRELIMINARY PLAN. The drawings and documents described in § 159.06 indicating the proposed layout of the Subdivision which is submitted to the Planning Commission for consideration and tentative approval.
   STREET. A right-of-way, other than an alley, dedicated or otherwise legally established to the public use, usually affording the principal means of access to abutting property. A STREET may be designated as a highway, thoroughfare, parkway, boulevard, road, avenue, lane, drive, or other appropriate name. For the purpose of this Article, streets shall be classified as follows:
      (1)   COLLECTOR STREETS. These facilities serve intercity movements of traffic such as that moving between a subdivision and a major street. The principle difference between the collector street and the major street is the length of trip which each principally serves. They are intended to supply the abutting property with the same degree of land service as the local street, while at the same time serving larger volumes of traffic.
      (2)   LOCAL STREETS. The sole function of these streets is to provide access to the immediately adjacent property. Local access streets generally carry low volumes of traffic.
      (3)   MAJOR STREETS. This type of facility serves mainly to move through traffic, but also performs a secondary function of providing direct access to abutting land. MAJOR STREETS inter-connect principal traffic generators within a City. Illinois and U.S. marked routes, as well as important, intra-city streets, are considered under this classification.
   SUBDIVIDER. Any person responsibly engaged in developing or improving a tract of land which complies with the definition of a Subdivision as defined in this report.
   SUBDIVISION. The division of any parcel of land shown as a unit, as part of a unit, or as contiguous units on the last preceding transfer of ownership thereof, into two or more parcels, sites, or lots, any one of which is less than five acres in area, for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, provided, however, that the division or partition of land into parcels of more than five acres not involving any new streets or easements of access, and the sale or exchange of parcels between adjoining lot owners, where such sale or exchange does not create additional building sites, shall not be considered a Subdivision; or the improvement of one or more parcels of land for residential, commercial or industrial structures or groups of structures involving the Subdivision and Allocation of land as Streets or other open spaces for common use by the owners, occupants, or lease holders or as easements for the extension and maintenance of public sewer, water, storm drainage, or other public utilities and facilities; provided, however, that where no new streets or roads are involved, divisions of land for agricultural purposes where the resulting parcels are more than three acres or larger in size, divisions of property by testamentary or intestate provisions, or divisions of property upon court order shall not be considered SUBDIVISIONS.
   THOROUGHFARE PLAN. The part of the Comprehensive Plan, now or hereafter adopted which includes a major street and highway plan and sets forth in location alignment, dimensions, identification, and classification of existing and proposed streets, highways and other thoroughfares.
   YARD. A space of the same lot with a building, which is open, unoccupied and unobstructed by structures, except as provided in the Zoning Ordinance.
(Prior Code, Art. 17, § 17.3)