1103.03   STANDARDS OF DESIGN.
   In the making of such survey, Final Plan and dedication, the applicant shall observe the following requirements:
   (a)   All property so located as to include or abut on any existing or proposed main thoroughfare of the City shall be laid out in such a manner as to include and conform to such main thoroughfares. The proposed street plan shall be in conformity with a plan for the most advantageous development of the adjoining area. All proposed streets shall be in alignment with existing planned streets with which they are to connect. Proposed streets shall be so designed that they may be later projected, without hardship, into adjoining areas which are at present not subdivided. Minor streets shall be designed so that they will not become main arteries and so that through traffic will be discouraged. Proposed streets shall be adjusted to the contour of the land so as to produce usable lots and streets of reasonable gradient.
(Ord. 53-49. Passed 8-15-49.)
   (b)   In general, all other property shall be laid out so that no distance between intersecting streets shall be longer than approximately 1,000 feet. No street right of way shall be less than sixty feet in width, except that alleys not less than twenty feet in width may be laid out in the rear of lots fronting and adjoining thoroughfares which are to be used for business or commercial purposes. All streets shall intersect as nearly as possible at right angles. Not more than two streets shall intersect at one point.
(Ord. 110-57. Passed 5-20-57.)
   (c)   In general, dead-end streets shall not be accepted unless it is clear that connections to adjacent streets are not required for the coordination of the street in the vicinity.
      A dead-end street and/or a street having at its end a cul-de-sac shall have, at its end, a minimum turning radius of fifty feet to facilitate turning of fire trucks and emergency vehicles. When a street is planned to the boundary of the proposed allotment and the adjoining land is subject to allotment, a temporary turn-around may be permitted. No dead-end streets shall be more than 500 feet in length from the nearest intersecting street.
    (d)   No plan for an allotment shall be accepted by Council showing any single lots having a width of less than sixty feet at the building line, except by special permission of Council. The side lines of all lots shall extend at right angles to straight streets and radially to curved streets except where, in the opinion of the City Engineer, the topography or unusual conditions will not permit it. On all curved lots the central angle, bearing arc and cord shall be shown.
   (e)   A length and width ratio of approximately two and one-half to one shall be considered desirable. However, the depth shall not exceed three and one-half times the width except in cases where additional length is desirable to provide a buffer area adjacent to industrial or commercial developments.
(Ord. 53-49. Passed 8-15-49; Ord. 262-67. Passed 7-5-67.)
   (f)   The Planning Commission may, in specific cases, vary the application of that portion of subsection (b) hereof which relates to the maximum distance between intersecting streets, and that portion of subsection (c) hereof which relates to the maximum length of dead-end streets, for the following reasons:
      (1)   Unnecessary hardships will result from the literal application of such provisions. It must be found that there are peculiar and special hardships applicable to the property involved which are separate and distinct from the hardship for residential developers generally.
      (2)   Exceptional circumstances or conditions, such as topographical or geological conditions, exist and are only applicable to the subdivision involved, and a variance would be justified in any subdivision where the same exceptional circumstances or conditions prevail.
      (3)   Granting a variance will not be materially detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to the property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located. The mere existence of an unnecessary hardship or other exceptional circumstance is not ipso facto evidence for the granting of a variance, for such hardships must be balanced against the present conditions and the extent to which such a variance would interfere with the proper future development and rights of adjacent property.
      (4)   The granting of a variance will not be contrary to the general purpose, intent and objectives of this section.
(Ord. 293-88. Passed 11-9-88.)