166.01 Title | 166.09 Violations; Penalties |
166.02 Authority and Purpose | 166.10 Interpretation And Conflict |
166.03 Definitions | 166.11 Procedures and Administration |
166.04 Relationship to the Comprehensive Plan | 166.12 Site Design and Constraints |
166.05 Jurisdiction and Applicability | 166.13 Subdivision Design Categories and Rules |
166.06 Amendment | 166.14 Circulation System Design |
166.07 Fees | 166.15 Public Improvements and Infrastructure |
166.08 Enforcement | 166.16 Improvement Financing and Guarantees |
These regulations are adopted pursuant to the authority granted the City under Chapter 354, Code of Iowa, enabling cities to regulate the development of land within their jurisdictions and to promote good planning practice. The purposes of this chapter are to:
1. Promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the City and its residents and its surrounding jurisdiction.
2. Provide for the orderly development and growth of the City by prescribing rules and standards insuring the functional arrangement of streets, public improvements, open spaces, community facilities and utilities.
3. Promote the creation of well-planned and attractive residential, commercial and industrial developments within the City and its jurisdiction.
4. Avoid excessive costs to the taxpayers of Nevada or the residents of the jurisdiction of the City for the provision of public services and utilities, while maintaining high standards for these services.
5. Protect the unique environment of the City by avoiding environmental damage whenever feasible and appropriate; and by encouraging flexibility in the design of subdivisions.
6. Provide the City with the ability to grow incrementally through the eventual annexation of new developments.
The purpose of these provisions is to promote consistency and precision in the interpretation of the Subdivision Ordinance. The meaning and construction of words as set forth shall apply throughout This Chapter, unless where modified in a specific section or where the context of such words or phrases clearly indicates a different meaning or construction. For the purposes of this chapter, certain terms and words are hereby defined. Certain sections contain definitions which are additional to those listed here. Where terms are not specifically defined, their ordinarily accepted meanings or meanings implied by their context shall apply.
1. “ADT” or “average daily traffic” means the average number of motor vehicles per day that pass over a given point or segment of street.
2. “Alley” means a public or private right-of-way generally designed to provide secondary access to the side or rear of a property whose principal frontage is on another street.
3. “Applicant” means an owner, developer or subdivider submitting an application to divide property pursuant to this chapter.
4. “Auditor’s Plat” means a plat prepared at the request of the County Auditor to clarify property descriptions for the purposes of assessment and taxation.
5. “Bicycle lane and path” means a designated lane on a roadway or an exclusive path separated from a roadway, designed specifically to accommodate the physical requirements of bicycling. Bicycle paths are ordinarily designed to accommodate other forms of pedestrian recreation.
6. “Block” means a tract of land entirely surrounded by public streets.
7. “Buffer” means a landscaped area intended to separate and partially obstruct visual or other sensory effects of two adjacent land uses or properties from one another.
8. “Centerline offset” means the distance between the centerline of roads intersecting a common road from the same or opposite sides.
9. “Channel” means the bed or banks of a natural stream or drainage way which convey the constant or intermittent flow of water, including storm run-off.
10. “City Engineer” means a professional engineer employed by the City or an engineering consultant hired by the City who acts as the agent of the City to prepare, review and/or approve engineering plans and subdivision plats.
11. “Common open space” means land within or related to a development that is not individually owned or dedicated for public use, designed, maintained and generally intended for the common use of the residents of the development.
12. “Comprehensive Plan” means the Comprehensive Development Plan of the City of Nevada.
13. “Concept Plan” means a preliminary presentation which includes the minimum information necessary, as determined by the Zoning Administrator, to be used for the purpose of discussion or classification of a proposed plat prior to formal application.
14. “Conservation development” means a development design technique that concentrates buildings in specific areas on a site to allow remaining land to be used for recreation, common open space or the preservation of historically or environmentally sensitive features.
15. “Conservation Subdivision” means, wholly or in majority, a residential subdivision that permits a reduction in lot area, setback or other site development regulations, provided: (i) there is no increase in the overall density permitted for a conventional subdivision in a given zoning district; and (ii) the remaining land area is used for common space.
16. “Conventional Subdivision” means a subdivision which literally meets all nominal standards of this chapter and Chapter 165 for lot dimensions, setbacks, street frontage, and other site development regulations.
17. “Creative Subdivision” means a subdivision which, while complying with the requirements of this chapter, diverges from nominal compliance with site development regulations in the Zoning Ordinance. Creative subdivisions imply a higher level of pre-planning than conventional subdivisions. They may be employed for the purpose of environmental protection or the creation of superior community design. Types of Creative Subdivisions include Conservation Subdivisions and Traditional Neighborhood Districts.
18. “Cul-de-sac” means a local street with only one outlet and with an opposite end providing for the reversal of traffic.
19. “Curb” means a vertical or sloping edge of a roadway, intended to define the edge of the roadway and to channel or control drainage.
20. “Dedication” means a grant of land to the City or another public agency for a public purpose.
21. “Design standards” means standards that set forth specific minimum improvement requirements.
22. “Detention basin” means an artificial or natural water collection facility, designed to collect surface or subsurface water and to control its rate of discharge, in order to prevent a net increase in the rate of water flow that existed prior to a development.
23. “Developer” means the legal owner or authorized agent of any land included in a proposed development.
24. “Development” means a planning or construction project involving substantial improvement or change in the character and/or land use of a property.
25. “Divided street” means a street with opposing lanes separated by a median strip, center island or other form of physical barrier, which cannot be crossed except at designated locations.
26. “Drainage” means the removal of surface or ground water from land by drains, grading or other means.
27. “Drainage system” means the system through which storm water runoff flows from the land.
28. “Easement” means a grant of one or more of the property rights by the property owner to and/or for use by the public, a corporation, or another person or entity.
29. “Erosion” means the wearing away of a land surface by water, wind, ice or gravity.
30. “Final approval” means the final official action of the City Council, upon a recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission, permitting the filing of a subdivision with the Story County Recorder and the conveyance of individual parcels and lots to subsequent owners. Final approval follows the completion of detailed engineering plans, negotiation of subdivision agreements, posting of required guarantees, and other requirements of this chapter.
31. “Frontage” means the length of a property line of any one premises abutting and parallel to a public street.
32. “Grade” means the slope of a street or other public way, defined as a percentage or ratio of vertical change in elevation to horizontal change in distance.
33. “Lot” means a parcel of property with a separate and distinct number or other identifying designation which has been created, assigned and recorded in the Office of the Story County Recorder. Each individual lot is subject to the provisions of a particular Base Zoning District, and shall have a minimum frontage of 25 feet, except as provided in an approved Planned Unit Development and/or Creative Subdivision. When a lot is used together with one or more contiguous lots in a common development, all of the lots used, including any lots used for off-street parking, shall be considered a single lot for purposes of these Subdivision Regulations.
A. “Corner lot” means a lot located at the junction of at least two streets or of at least two segments of a curved street at which the angle of intersection is no greater than 135 degrees.
B. “Double frontage lot” (also known as a “through lot”) means a lot, other than a corner lot, having frontage on two streets. Primary access shall be restricted on a double frontage lot to the minor of the two streets or to the front lot line as determined at time of platting or as defined by this chapter.
C. “Interior lot” means a lot other than a corner lot.
D. “Common development lot” refers to when two or more contiguous lots are developed as part of a Planned Unit Development, and these lots may be considered a single lot for purposes of this chapter.
E. “Flag lot” means lots landlocked from public right-of-way, except for a narrow tract of land of less width than required by the underlying zoning.
34. “Lot area” means the total horizontal area within the lot lines of a lot.
35. “Lot depth” means the mean horizontal distance measured between the front and rear lot lines.
36. “Lot line” means a property boundary line of record that divides one lot from another lot or a lot from the public street right-of-way or easement.
A. “Front lot line” means the lot line separating a lot and a public street right-of-way.
(1) For an interior lot, the lot line separating the lot from the public street right-of-way.
(2) For a corner lot, the shorter lot line abutting a public street or easement. In instances of equal line dimension, the front lot line shall be determined by the Zoning Administrator, or as may be noted on a final plat.
(3) For a double frontage lot, the lot lines separating the lot from the right-of-way of the more minor street. In cases where each street has the same classification, the front lot line shall be determined by the Zoning Administrator, or as may be noted on a final plat.
B. “Rear lot line” means the lot line which is opposite and most distant from the front lot line.
C. “Side lot line” means any lot line that is neither a front or rear lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from a street is a street side lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from another lot or lots is an interior side lot line.
37. “Lot width” means the horizontal distance measured between the side lot lines of a lot, at right angles to its depth along a straight line parallel to the front lot line at the minimum required setback line.
38. “Main” means the principal artery of a system of continuous piping which conveys fluids and to which branches may be connected.
39. “Major subdivision” means any subdivision not defined and approved as a minor subdivision.
40. “Minor subdivision” means a subdivision of land which creates no more than four lots from any single parcel of land; requires no extensions of streets, sewers, utilities or other municipal facilities; and complies with all zoning requirements.
41. “Monument” means an identification marker established by a registered land surveyor at each section corner, block corner, lot corner or other point as required by this chapter.
42. “Moving lane” means any traffic lane within a roadway where traffic movement is the primary or sole function.
43. “Off-site” means located outside the boundaries of the parcel that is the subject of an application.
44. “Open space” means any parcel or area of land or water that is essentially retained in an open state and set aside for public or private use.
45. “Parking lane” means a lane located on the sides of streets, designated or allowing on-street parking of motor vehicles.
46. “Pavement” means an impermeable, hard surface, typically asphalt, asphaltic concrete, concrete or brick or other masonry paver units.
47. “Performance bond” means a surety bond or cash deposit posted by a contractor or developer made out to the City in an amount equal to the full cost of the improvements. The bond amount shall be that of the contract price and shall be legally sufficient to secure to the City that said improvements will be constructed in accordance with the terms of the contract documents within a period specified by this chapter.
48. “Plat” means a document, usually a map or maps, expressing the division of land into two or more lots or parcels. Plats include preliminary and final plats.
A. “Plat of survey” means the graphical representation of a survey of one or more parcels of land, including a complete and accurate description of each parcel within the plat, prepared by a registered land surveyor.
B. “Preliminary plat” means a plat indicating the proposed layout of a development and related information, intended for the purpose of preliminary approval by approving authorities but not for filing with the Story County Recorder.
C. “Final plat” means the final map of the subdivision which is presented for final approval. The final plat contains detailed information and documentation and is designed to be filed with the Recorder.
D. “Auditor’s plat” means a plat prepared at the request of the County Auditor to clarify property descriptions for the purposes of assessment and taxation.
49. “Right-of-way” means a strip of land, generally linear, occupied or intended to be occupied by a system that conveys people, traffic, fluids, utilities or energy from one point to another. Rights-of-way may include streets and roads, crosswalks, bicycle paths, recreational trails, railroads or fixed guideway transit, electric transmission lines, gas pipelines, water mains or sewer mains.
50. “Roadway” means the actual surface area of a road used to accommodate motor vehicles, including moving traffic lanes, acceleration and deceleration lanes and parking lanes. On a street with curbs, the roadway is measured from curb line to curb line. On streets without curbs, the roadway is measured from pavement edge to pavement edge.
51. “Rural subdivisions” means a residential subdivision located more than one-half mile past the corporate limits but within the two-mile planning jurisdiction of the City; or outside of areas designated for future urban development by the Comprehensive Plan.
52. “Sanitary sewer” means a sewer that conducts sanitary wastes from a point of origin to a treatment or disposal facility. In developing areas, sanitary sewers normally include interceptor, outfall and lateral sewers.
A. “Interceptor” means a sanitary sewer that serves as a trunk, collecting sewage generated by a number of individual developments.
B. “Outfall” means a sanitary sewer that may be developed to connect an individual subdivision or development to an interceptor sewer.
C. “Lateral” or “local” means a pipe that connects individual buildings or groups of buildings to an outfall or interceptor sewer.
53. “Septic system” means an underground system, utilizing a watertight receptacle to receive the discharge of sewage, which provides for the decomposition of wastes produced by development on a single lot.
54. “Sidewalk” means a paved path provided for pedestrian use, usually located at the side of and detached from a road, but within the right-of-way.
55. “Storm sewer” means a pipe or underground system that conducts storm drainage from a development or subdivision, ultimately to a drainageway or stream.
56. “Street” means a right-of-way, dedicated to public use, which provides a primary means of access to an abutting lot or parcel.
57. “Street hierarchy” means the conceptual arrangement of streets based on function. The hierarchical approach classifies streets from local streets, which provide access to a limited number of lots, to arterials, which accommodate large volumes of high-speed, regional traffic. Street types contained within the hierarchy include:
A. Local
B. Collector
C. Minor Arterial
D. Major Arterial
58. “Subdivision” means the division of a lot, tract or parcel into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other units of land for title transfer or development.
59. “Urban Subdivision” means a residential subdivision located within the corporate limits of the City or less than one-half mile outside of such corporate limits; or within an area designated for future urban development by the Comprehensive Plan.
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