The following terms and words shall be defined as follow for use with this ordinance. Terms common to engineering and surveying shall be considered to carry the professional meaning, and all other terms and words used in this ordinance shall have their normal meaning as found in the latest version of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
1. Alley: A public or private easement or right-of-way generally designed to provide a secondary access to a property. In some cases, such as for lots fronting on streets with restricted access, an alley may be used to provide the primary access.
2. Applicant: An owner, developer, or other party submitting an application to subdivide property pursuant to this ordinance. Although a third party may apply on behalf of an owner, the owner will ultimately be required to execute subdivision plats and all related documents.
3. Block: An area of land within a subdivision that is entirely bounded by rights-of-way, parks, railroads, the outside boundaries of the subdivision, or other similarly fixed land division.
4. Buffer Yard: A landscaped area intended to separate and at least partially obstruct visual or other sensory effects of a property or properties from other properties or uses, or from the public right-of-way.
5. City Engineer: A licensed professional engineer employed by the City of North Liberty to prepare engineering documents for public improvements, to review subdivision plats and construction documents submitted by developers, and to perform such other duties as may be required.
6. Code Official: The designee of the City of North Liberty who is responsible for the supervision, administration, and enforcement of the City's building-related codes.
7. Code of Iowa: The latest edition of the document containing the laws of the State of Iowa.
8. Comprehensive Plan: The plan or series of plans prepared to guide the development and redevelopment of the City and adopted by the City Council. The Comprehensive Plan may indicate the general recommended locations for major streets, local streets, parks, land uses, and other City features.
9. Commission: See "Planning Commission."
10. CSR (Construction Site Runoff ) Permit: Issued by the City Building Safety Department to ensure the use of site design principles and construction techniques to prevent sediments and other pollutants from entering surface or ground water; source controls; and of treatment runoff to reduce pollution.
11. Cul-de-sac: A local street with only one outlet and with a circular turn-around at the terminus.
12. Curb: A vertical or sloping edge of a roadway, drive, or parking area, intended to define the edge of such areas, channel and control drainage, and control vehicular circulation.
13. Dedication: A grant of land or use of land to the City or another public agency for public purposes.
14. Design Standards: Standards adopted by the North Liberty City Council that set forth specific design and construction requirements for physical improvements such as sanitary sewer, water, streets, sidewalks, drives, and storm sewer.
15. Detention Basin: An artificial or natural water collection facility designed to collect surface and/or subsurface water and to retain it only long enough to control the rate of its discharge into natural drainageways. Also sometimes referred to as a "dry bottom" basin.
16. Developer's Agreement: A recorded contract between the City and the subdivider that is associated with a final plat and sets forth the mutual responsibilities of both parties in the financing and development of the subdivision.
17. Easement: A grant by a property owner to the public, a corporation, or certain persons, for the use of a specified area of land for specified purposes.
18. Engineer: A professional engineer licensed to practice civil engineering as defined by the Code of Iowa.
19. Frontage: The length of a lot boundary line measured along a public right-of-way.
20. Improvements: Changes and additions to land necessary to prepare it for building, including street paving, grading, storm sewer and drainageways, sanitary sewers, fire hydrants, water mains, sidewalks, and other public and private works and appurtenances.
21. Lot: A tract of land that is part of a subdivision, the plat of which has been recorded in the office of the County Recorder; or a parcel of land not part of a subdivision but legally established prior to April 1, 2013.
A. Corner Lot: A lot abutting two or more streets at their intersections or junctions, or a lot bounded on two sides by a curving street where the angle of intersection of such street right-of-way lines, or in the case of curved right-of-way lines, the extension of tangents drawn from each of the points of intersection of the side lot lines and the street right-of-way line intersect with each other to form an interior angle of less than 135 degrees.
B. Double Frontage Lot: A lot having a pair of opposite lot lines along two more or less parallel public streets, and that is not a corner lot.
22. Lot Lines: Property boundaries that divide one lot from another or from rights-of-way.
A. Front Lot Line: The common boundary between a lot and an adjacent public or private street right-of-way.
B. Rear Lot Line: The lot line opposite and most distant from the front lot line.
C. Corner Side Lot Line: A second common boundary between a lot and a second adjacent public or private street right of way, found on a corner lot.
D. Double Frontage Lot Line: A second common boundary between a lot and an adjacent public or private street, that is not a corner side lot line.
E. Side Lot Line: Any lot line that is not a front, rear, or corner side lot line.
23. Lot Width: The distance between side lot lines measured at the rear of the required front yard on a line parallel to the front lot line.
24. Major Street Network: The system of streets adopted by the City Council that provides continuity generally between major areas within the City or across the entire City. Generally, right-of-way widths, pavement widths, and other design standards for major streets are more extensive than those of local streets.
25. MLO (Minimum Low Opening) Table: A table specifying the elevations for each lot on a subdivision plat, below which no building opening will be allowed at the time of construction permitting, to protect the building from possible storm water damage.
(Ord. 2020-05 - Sep. 20 Supp.)
26. NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Permit: The part of the Clean Water Act that requires applicants to obtain permits for point source discharges. These permits, referred to as NPDES permits, are administered by the State of Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
27. Owner: The owner of record in the land records of Johnson County.
28. Parkway: The area within a street right-of-way located between the back of the curb and the edge of the sidewalk closest to the curb. Also referred to as "parking."
29. Performance Bond: A surety bond for public improvements required to prepare a lot or lots for development and made out to the City in an amount equal to 110% of the full cost to assure that said improvements will be constructed in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance, City design standards, and any special conditions for approval of the plat.
30. Planning Commission: The Planning Commission of the City of North Liberty, which also may be referred to as the "Commission" or "P&Z."
31. Plat: A map showing lot lines, rights-of-way, dimensions, and other information related to the division of land into lots and streets. The term may also be used as a verb referring to the land improvement and approval process.
32. Plat, Final: A map drawn to scale and including existing and proposed layout of streets, street names, lots, blocks, and other features as specified in this ordinance, prepared by a licensed land surveyor, and including all certificates and statements set forth in this ordinance and in the State Code for the purpose of recording as a subdivision of land.
33. Plat, Preliminary: A map drawn to scale and including existing and proposed layout of streets, street names, lots, blocks, and other features as specified in this ordinance. The preliminary plat approval process is used to develop a plan for land subdivision that meets the requirements of the City and owner, and generally includes all of the owner's contiguous property. Upon approval of a preliminary plat and necessary construction permits, improvements may be constructed on the property to prepare it for final platting.
34. Preliminary Plat Agreement: An agreement documenting provisions related to approval of a preliminary plat and that are expected to be satisfied before or during the final plat process.
35 Public Improvements: The principal structures, works, component parts and accessories of public infrastructure.
36. Retention Basin: An artificial or natural water collection facility designed to collect surface and subsurface water, retain it as a pond, and to control the rate of its discharge into natural drainageways. Sometimes referred to as a "wet bottom" basin.
37. Right-of-way: That portion of land between property lines which is dedicated and deeded to the City to provide the area necessary for the installation of street and sidewalk surfacing, public utilities, and other public improvements.
38. SMF Agreement: Stormwater Management Facility maintenance agreement. An agreement between the City and a subdivider establishing permanent maintenance requirements for stormwater management facilities such as ponds.
39. Street, Local: A street which provides access and frontage to abutting property for the movement of local traffic. Local streets generally are not required to provide continuity across the community.
40. Streets, Major: Streets identified as "Major Streets" in the North Liberty Major Street Network or Comprehensive Plan. Major streets are generally identified as follows:
A. Collector Streets: Streets that connect neighborhoods with activity centers or the arterial street system.
B. Minor and Major Arterial Streets: Streets that collect and distribute traffic to and from major activity centers, collector streets, and expressways.
C. Expressways: Highways that provide a high level of mobility between cities.
41. Street, Public: A right-of-way dedicated to public use serving more than one property with vehicular access and frontage.
42. Street, Private: An easement granted over private property for public use serving more than one property with vehicular access and frontage.
43. Subdivision: A division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two or more lots.
44. Setback Lines: Imaginary lines as specified in the North Liberty Zoning Ordinance, defining required distances from lot boundaries to buildings, parking, or other features found within individual lots.
45. Surveyor: A registered land surveyor licensed to practice surveying as defined by the Registration Act of the State.