For the purpose of these regulations, certain numbers, abbreviations, terms and words used herein shall be used, interpreted and defined as hereinafter set forth. Unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary words used in the present tense include the future tense; words used in the plural number include the singular; the word “herein” means “in these regulations;” the word “regulations” means “these regulations;” a “person” includes a corporation, a partnership and an incorporated association of persons to any land or building and shall be constructed to include the words “intended, arranged or designed to be used or occupied”. For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
AIR RIGHTS. The right to space above a property for development, usually for a dissimilar use.
AIR SPACE. The space above the land which might be subject to division and sale either with or separate from the surface.
ALLEY. A minor right-of-way, dedicated to public use, from which a secondary means of access to the back or side of properties otherwise abutting a street is obtained, and which may be used for public utility purposes.
BIKEWAY. A right-of-way, primarily for the use of bicycles.
BLOCK. A parcel of land, intended to be used for development purposes, which is entirely surrounded by public streets, highways, railroad rights-of-way, public walks, parks, rural lands, drainage channels or boundary lines of municipalities.
BOND. Any form of security, including a cash deposit, surety bond, collateral, property or instrument of credit, in an amount and form satisfactory to the City Council. All BONDS shall be approved by the City Council whenever a BOND is required by these regulations.
BUILDING. Any structure built for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, chattel or movable property of any kind, including any structure.
BUILDING CODE. A collection of regulations, adopted by the city, setting forth standards for the construction of buildings and other structures, for the purpose of protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public.
BUILDING OR SETBACK LINE. A line or lines within a lot, designating the area outside of which buildings may not be erected.
BUILDING PERMIT. A permit required before construction can be initiated. BUILDING PERMIT provisions are contained in this code of ordinances.
CHANNEL. A natural or artificial watercourse of perceptible extent, with definite bed and banks to confine and conduct continuously or periodically flowing water.
CITY. The City of Newcastle, Oklahoma.
CITY COUNCIL. The City Council (the official governing body) of the City of Newcastle, Oklahoma.
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT. A development pattern in which the uses are clustered rather than spread evenly throughout a parcel as in conventional lot-by-lot development. (CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT is used to preserve open space, create workable land use mixtures and save money by building fewer streets and shorter utility lines.)
CODE OF ORDINANCES. The officially adopted “code of ordinances” of the city.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. The officially adopted plan or plans for the city, which provide(s) long-range development policies for the area subject to urbanization in the foreseeable future.
CONSTRUCTION PLANS. Maps or drawings accompanying a subdivision plat, showing the specific location and design of required subdivision improvements.
DEDICATION. The transfer of property from private to public ownership under adopted subdivision regulations, as a condition of subdivision plat approval.
DEDICATION, FEE IN LIEU OF. Payments of cash, authorized and provided for in these regulations, when requirements for mandatory dedication of land cannot be met because of site conditions or other reasons.
DENSITY. The average number of families, persons or housing units per acre of land.
DRAINAGEWAY. Any depression below the surrounding land, serving to give direction to a regular or periodic current of water.
EASEMENT. A grant by the property owner to the public, a corporation or persons, of the use of a strip of land for specific purposes.
FLOODS or FLOODING. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas adjacent to stream channels, resulting from the overflow of such streams, rivers or other inland waterways.
FLOOD HAZARD AREA. The maximum area of the floodplain that, on the average, is likely to be flooded once every 100 years (i.e., that has a 1% chance of being flooded in any given year).
FLOOD HAZARD BOUNDARY MAP (FHBM). An official map or plat of the community issued or approved by the Federal Flood Insurance Administration, on which the boundaries of the floodplain area having special hazards have been drawn.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM). The official map or plat of the city, issued or approved by the Federal Flood Insurance Administrator, on which special flood hazards zones, for insurance purposes have been drawn.
FLOODPLAIN. The areas adjoining a river, stream or other body of water, which have been or may be hereafter covered by flood water.
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. The full range of codes, ordinances and other regulations, projects and programs relating to the use of land and construction within the limits of the floodplain; the term encompasses Ch. 154 of this code of ordinances, these regulations and Sanitary and Building Codes.
FLOOD-PROOFING. Any combination of structural and non-structural additions, changes or adjustments to properties and structures subject to flooding, which reduces or eliminates flood damage to lands, water and sanitary facilities, or the contents of building in a flood hazard area.
FLOODWAY. The channel of a watercourse or drainage way and those portions of the floodplain adjoining the channel, which are reasonably required to carry and discharge the flood water of any watercourse or drainage way.
FLOODWAY ENRICHMENT LINES. The lines marking the limits of floodways on official federal, state and local floodplain maps.
FLOODWAY FRINGE ZONING DISTRICT. An overlay zoning district to provide special regulations for reduction of flood losses in those areas of the floodplain, outside of the floodway, which are subject to periodic flooding and therefore require special consideration before development is permitted to occur. Requirements of this overlay district are in addition to the requirements contained in the basic, underlying zoning district(s).
FRONTAGE. The side of a lot abutting on a street or way and ordinarily regarded as the front of the lot, but not the ordinary side of a corner lot.
GRADE. The slope of a road, street or other public way, specified in percentage terms.
IMPROVEMENTS. Street pavements, pedestrian ways, water mains, sanitary and storm sewers, permanent street monuments and other appropriate items for which the city may ultimately assume the responsibility for maintenance and operation, or which may affect an improvement for which municipal responsibility is established. All such IMPROVEMENTS shall be properly bonded, in accordance with the provisions of these regulations.
INTENSITY. The degree to which land is used. (Often used synonymously with DENSITY.)
LOT. A parcel of land, intended as a unit for the transfer of ownership or for development, of at least sufficient size to meet minimum zoning ordinance requirements for use, coverage and area, and to provide such yards and other open spaces as are required. Such LOT shall have frontage on a public or private street (if the private street conforms to statutory standards) and may consist of:
(1) A single lot of record;
(2) A portion of a lot of record;
(3) A combination of complete lots of record, of complete lots of record and portions of lots of record; or
(4) A parcel of land described by metes and bounds; provided that, in no case of division or combination shall any lot or parcel be created which does not meet the requirements of these regulations or Ch. 154 of this code of ordinances.
LOT AREA. The total horizontal area included within lot lines.
LOT, CORNER. A lot located at the intersection of, and abutting on, two or more streets.
LOT DEPTH. The average distance from the street line of the lot to its rear line, measured in general direction of the sidelines of the lot.
LOT, DOUBLE FRONTAGE. A lot, which runs through a block from street to street and has non-intersecting frontage on two or more streets.
LOT FRONTAGE. That dimension of a lot, or portion of a lot, abutting on a street, except the side dimension of a corner lot.
LOT, INTERIOR. A lot other than a corner lot.
LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT. A relocation of the lot lines of two or more lots included in a plat which is filed of record, for the purpose of making necessary adjustments to building sites.
LOT LINES. The lines bounding a lot, as defined herein.
LOT, MOBILE HOME. A parcel or tract of land for the placement of a single mobile home and for the exclusive use of its occupants.
LOT OF RECORD. A separate and distinct parcel of land, designated on a legally recorded subdivision plat or a legally recorded deed filed in the records of the County Courthouse.
LOT, REVERSE FRONTAGE. A double frontage lot which is designed to be developed with the rear yard abutting a major street and that the primary means of access is provided on a minor street.
LOT SPLIT. Any division of land by metes and bounds description into two or more parcels for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, and which constitutes a subdivision, as herein defined.
LOT, TOWNHOUSE. A lot shown on a townhouse plat and intended as the site of a single attached dwelling unit.
METES AND BOUNDS. A system of describing and identifying land, by measures (metes) and description (bounds), from an identifiable point of reference.
MOBILE HOME. Any single-family dwelling designed for transportation on streets and highways on its own wheels or on flatbed or other trailers (both highway and rail) and arriving at the site where it is to be occupied as a dwelling complete and ready for occupancy, except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations, location on jacks or permanent foundations, connection to utilities and similar operations.
MOBILE HOME PARK. Land or property which is used, or intended to be used, or rented for occupancy by two or more mobile homes, trailers or movable sleeping quarters of any kind.
MOBILE HOME SUBDIVISIONS. (See SUBDIVISION.)
MODULAR HOME.
(1) A factory-fabricated, transportable building unit, not built on a permanent chassis, designed to be used by itself or to be incorporated with similar units on a permanent foundation; the term is intended to apply to major assemblies and does not include prefabricated sub-elements incorporated into a structure at the site.
(2) All of the following conditions must be certified (in writing) by the manufacturer of the MODULAR HOME:
(a) The structure is designed only for erection on a site-built, permanent foundation;
(b) The structure is not designed to be moved once erected or installed on a site-built, permanent foundation;
(c) The structure is designed and manufactured to comply with the city’s adopted Building Code; and
(d) The structure is not designed, to the manufacturer’s knowledge, to be used other than on a site-built, permanent foundation.
MONUMENTS or MARKER. A subdivision improvement, designed to provide permanent survey reference points within a subdivision, set by a land surveyor registered in the state in accordance with the state’s Administrative Code § 245:15-13, “Oklahoma Minimum Standards for the Practice of Land Surveying”.
ONE-HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD (100-YEAR FLOOD). A flood of a frequency expected to occur on the average of once every 100 years or a flood magnitude which has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year.
PARCEL. A lot or contiguous group of lots, in single ownership or under single control, and usually considered as a unit for purposes of development.
PEDESTRIANWAY. A right-of-way, dedicated to public use, to facilitate pedestrian access.
PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT.
(1) A form of development usually characterized by a unified site design for a number of housing units, and incorporating such techniques as clustering structures, providing common open space, density increases and mix of building types and land uses.
(2) This permits the planning of project and the calculation of densities over the entire development, rather than on an individual lot-by-lot basis.
PLANNING COMMISSION. The Municipal Planning Commission of the city.
PLAT, FINAL. A map of a land subdivision, and any required accompanying material, prepared in a form suitable for filing of record, with necessary affidavits, dedications and acceptance, and with complete bearings and dimensions of all lines defining lots and blocks, streets and alleys, public areas and other dimensions of land.
PLAT, PRELIMINARY. A map of a proposed land subdivision showing the character and proposed layout of tract in sufficient detail to indicate the suitability of the proposed subdivision of land.
PLAT REVIEW TEAM.
(1) The Plat Review Team shall consist of the following, to-wit:
(a) Community Development Director who shall act as Chairperson;
(b) Planning Commission Chairman;
(c) City Engineer;
(d) City Water Superintendent;
(e) City Sewer Superintendent;
(f) City Street Superintendent;
(g) City Manager or his/her designee;
(h) Police Chief;
(i) Fire Department Chief; and
(j) City Inspector.
(2) The Mayor may also, at his or her option, appoint one member of the City Council as an ex-officio member of this team.
(3) It shall be the responsibility of the Plat Review Team to meet together, on call of the City Manager, to review pre-application plans and preliminary plats of any proposed development for the purposes for which it is intended and to submit their findings and recommendations to the Planning Commission.
PLAT, SKETCH. A sketch of a proposed development, submitted to city staff to enable the subdivider to illustrate the subdivision’s general nature and allow the subdivider to work out basic problems with the proposal.
PRIVATE OR RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS. A private legal restriction on the use of land, contained in the deed to the property, or otherwise formally recorded.
PROPERTY OWNERS’ ORGANIZATION. Organization required for every new subdivision consisting of four or more lots in order to meet the management needs of the development.
RE-DIVISION or RE-SUBDIVISION. A change in an approved or recorded subdivision plat, if such change affects any street layout, lot line or area reserved thereon for public use, or if it affects any map or plan legally recorded prior to the adoption of any regulations controlling subdivisions.
RIGHT-OF-WAY. A strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a street, crosswalk, railroad, road, electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline, water main, sanitary or storm sewer main, shade trees or another special use. The usage of the term RIGHT-OF-WAY for land platting purposes shall mean that every RIGHT-OF-WAY hereafter established and shown on a final plat, is to be separate and distinct from the lots or parcels adjoining such RIGHT-OF-WAY and not included within the dimensions or areas of such lots or parcels. RIGHT-OF-WAY intended for streets, crosswalks, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm drains, shade trees or any other use involved maintenance by a public agency shall be dedicated to public use by the maker of the plat on which such RIGHT-OF-WAY is established.
ROADWAY. That portion of any street so designated for vehicular traffic, where curbs are in place; that portion of the street between the curbs.
SEDIMENTATION. Processes that operate at or near the surface of the ground to deposit soils, debris and other materials, either on other ground surfaces or in water channels.
SOLAR COLLECTOR.
(1) Any device or combination of devices or elements which rely upon sunshine as an energy source, and which are capable of collecting not less than 25,000 BTUs on a clear winter solstice day. The term also includes any substance or device which collects solar energy for use in:
(a) The heating or cooling of a structure or building;
(b) The heating or pumping of water;
(c) Industrial, commercial or agricultural processes; or
(d) The generation of electricity.
(2) A SOLAR COLLECTOR may be used for purposes in addition to collection of solar energy. These uses include, but are not limited to, serving as a structural member, or part, of a roof of a building or structure and serving as a window or wall.
SOLAR RIGHT. A right to an unobtrusive line- of-sight path from a solar collector to the sun, which permits radiation from the sun to impinge directly on the solar collection.
START OF CONSTRUCTION. The first placement of permanent construction on site, such as the pouring of footings or any work beyond the stage of excavation. For a structure without a basement or poured footing, the START OF CONSTRUCTION includes the first permanent framing or assembly of the structure or any part thereof on its pilings or foundation, or the affixing of any prefabricated structure or mobile home to its permanent site. “Permanent construction” does not include: land preparation; land clearing; grading or filling; excavation for basement, footings, piers or foundations; erection of temporary forms; the installation of piling under proposed subsurface footing; installation of sewer, gas and water pipes, electric or other service lines from the street; or existence on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not a part of the main structure. In flood hazard areas only, START OF CONSTRUCTION shall include all of the above.
STREET. Any public or private right-of-way which affords the primary means of access to abutting property.
STREET, COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL. A street which abuts property zoned for commercial or industrial use and which is designed to provided access to those parcels so designated.
STREET, HALF. Any street platted 25 feet or more in width, where, at the time of the approval of the plat, it is the intent of the City Council that the street dedication shall constitute only a part of the total street easement width.
STREET, MAJOR. An arterial street which is so designated on the Major Streets Plan or Comprehensive Plan, and is designed to carry inter-city traffic and to relate the various neighborhoods or residential areas within the city. MAJOR STREETS shall be classified as follows.
(1) LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAY. A freeway or expressway providing a traffic way for through traffic, in respect to which owners or occupants of abutting property or lands, and other persons, have no legal right to access to or from the same, except at such points and in such manner as may be determined by the state’s Department of Transportation.
(2) PRIMARY ARTERIAL OR THOROUGHFARE. A roadway intended to move through traffic to and from major traffic generators or as a route for traffic between communities or employment centers.
(a) Includes all section line roads or arterials, the centerline of which is laid out along a section line boundary established by governmental surveys as accepted by the State of Oklahoma under Okla. Const., Article XVI, Section 2.
(b) The requirements prescribed in the table for major streets, principal arterial, in § 153.080, includes section line roads.
(3) SECONDARY ARTERIAL OR THOROUGHFARE. A road intended to collect and distribute traffic in a manner similar to primary arterials; except that, these roads service minor traffic generating areas, or a road which may be designed to carry traffic from collector streets to the system of primary arterials.
STREET, MINOR. Any street other than one designated as a major street in the Major Streets Plan or the Community or Comprehensive Plan, but not including alleyways. MINOR STREETS shall be classified as follows.
(1) COLLECTOR STREET. A street collecting traffic from other minor streets; serves as the most direct route to a major street or community facility. Also includes all local streets serving 40 or more dwelling units.
(2) CUL-DE-SAC. A street having one end open to vehicular traffic and one closed end, terminated by a turnaround.
(3) COURT. A secondary designation following a street name, used only when street alignment is such that a short street is created that does not warrant a new name.
(4) DEAD-END STREET. A street, similar to a cul-de-sac, but providing no turnaround at its closed end.
(5) FRONTAGE OR SERVICE STREET. A street auxiliary to, and located on, the side of a major street for service to abutting properties and adjacent areas and control of access.
(6) LOCAL STREETS. A street primarily providing access to and from abutting property and serving only occasional through traffic. Serves less than 40 dwelling units.
(7) PLACE. A secondary designation following a street name, used only when street alignment is such that a short street is created that does not warrant a new street name.
STREET, PERIMETER. Any existing street to which the parcel of land to be subdivided abuts only one side.
STREETS CLASSIFICATION. For the purpose of providing for the development of the streets, highways, roads and rights-of-way in the city and for their future improvement, reconstruction, realignment and necessary widening (including provision for curbs and sidewalks), each existing street, highway, road and right-of-way has been designated in the Comprehensive Plan of the city and classified therein. The CLASSIFICATION of each street, highway, road and right-of-way is based upon its location in the respective zoning districts of the city; its present and estimated future traffic volume and its relative importance and function, as specified in the city’s Comprehensive Plan. The required street and sign improvements shall be measured as set forth for each CLASSIFICATION in these regulations and/or the city’s Comprehensive Plan.
SUBDIVIDER or DEVELOPER. Any person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity acting as a unit, subdividing, proposing to subdivide or re-subdividing land, as herein defined, including all changes in street or lot lines.
SUBDIVISION. The division or re-division of land (vacant or improved) or airspace, into two or more lots, tracts, parcels, sites, areas, units or plots, any one of which, when divided, has an area of less than five acres, for the purpose of transfer of ownership or for development, or the dedication, vacation or re-alignment of any public or private right- of-way easement. SUBDIVISIONS shall be classified as follows.
(1) MAJOR. All subdivisions not classified as minor subdivisions, including, but not limited to, subdivisions of four or more lots, or any size subdivision requiring any new street or extension of municipal facilities, or the creation of any public improvements.
(2) MINOR. Any subdivisions containing not more than three lots fronting on an existing street, not involving any new street or roads, or the extension of municipal utilities or facilities, or the creation of any public improvements, and not adversely affecting the remainder of the parcel or adjoining property, and not in conflict with any provision or portion of the Comprehensive Plan, Ch. 154 of this code of ordinances or these regulations. A “lot split” or “lot line adjustment” shall be considered a MINOR SUBDIVISION.
(3) MOBILE HOME. A unified development of mobile home lots, which has been subdivided for the purpose of individual ownership, and which is governed by the provisions of these regulations and Ch. 154 of this code of ordinances.
(4) NON-RESIDENTIAL. A subdivision whose intended use is other than residential, such as commercial or industrial. Such subdivision shall comply with the applicable provisions of these regulations.
SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS. The officially adopted subdivision regulations for the city designed to provide standards for the subdivision of land within the jurisdictional area of the Planning Commission of the municipality.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT.
(1) Any repair, reconstruction or improvement of structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the actual cash value of the structure either before the improvement is started, or if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred.
(2) SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT is started when the first alteration of any structural part of the building commences.
TEMPORARY IMPROVEMENT. Improvements built and maintained by a subdivider during construction of the subdivision, prior to the release of the performance bond, or its equivalent.
TOWNHOUSE. One of a series of two or more attached dwelling units, separated from one another by continuous, vertical walls without openings from basement floor to the roof deck and tight against the same or through the roof, and which are intended to have ownership transferred in conjunction with a platted lot.
WATER SURFACE ELEVATION. The heights, in relation to mean sea level, expected to be reached by floods of various magnitudes and frequencies at pertinent points in the flood plains of riverine areas.
WAY. Any street, avenue, highway, boulevard, road or alley reserved and/or dedicated for public or private use, chiefly by vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
ZERO LOT LINE. A development approach in which a building is sited on one or more lot lines with no yard (conceivably, three of the four sides of the building could be on the lot lines), in order to allow more flexibility in site design and to increase the amount of usable open space on the lot.
ZONING ORDINANCE. The officially adopted zoning ordinance for the city.
(2002 Code, § 153.016) (Ord. 230, passed 9-8-1986; Ord. 415, passed 12-14-1998; Ord. 489, passed 4-14-2003; Ord. 505, passed 3-8-2004; Ord. 513, passed 5-10-2004; Ord. 651, passed 10-26-2009; Ord. 824, passed 10-9-2018; Ord. 878, passed 3-8-2021)