(A) This section of the municipal services statement is offered for illustrative purposes only and is not to be considered a formal part of the description of municipal services. Instead, this section of the document is offered solely in an attempt to answer frequently asked questions in this regard.
(B) The municipality does not offer sidewalks as a municipal service. Sidewalks are a part of the development standards of the individual developments and are reviewed as part of the zoning and development process. Large-tract residential parcels generally are not required to install sidewalks, for example, while small tract residential subdivisions are generally required to install sidewalks and/or other pathways for walking. The growth policy of the municipality is that sidewalks are offered as a development amenity and not a municipal service.
(C) The municipality also does not offer street lights as a municipal service. Street lighting is a developmental amenity which is considered part of the planning, zoning and development review process. Different types of developments independently choose to install vastly different types of lighting, based on the land use and other parameters, and the municipality has no intentions of standardizing the lighting requirements of various forms of development as a result of growth and/or annexation. For example, some developments install decorative lighting as a developmental amenity, which is beautiful but terribly expensive to repair/replace. Some other developments place the burden of street lighting on the property owners by requiring the property owners to install yard lights on their private property, which would be extremely difficult for the city to access for repair/replacement purposes. Commercial subdivisions provide an entirely different form of street lighting, for entirely different purposes. It is not reasonable for the city to interfere in these private decisions by superimposing additional standards for street lighting.
(D) The municipality also does not offer curbs and gutters or other roadway amenities as a municipal service. The primary focus of the city is to assure that the street facility itself is properly constructed to withstand the pounding of traffic. In some cases, (i.e., commercial subdivisions) curbs and gutters are not appropriate to support the development, for drainage purposes. As above, items such as curbs and gutters are development amenities which vary on the basis of the development and are reviewed within the planning/zoning review process and/or negotiated with the developer.
(E) There are other items which fall into this classification. Generally speaking, the municipality acknowledges that various developments are undertaken to address various markets and the idiosyncracies of consumers within those markets. In order to address these idiosyncracies, the developer offers differing developmental amenities to attract customers. In addition, from time to time, the city changes its regulatory standards with respect to development standards, based on new land use problems, issues and findings, and new policies by the plan commission. As these development standards evolve over time, the result is that subdivisions which were developed during that period have slightly different development standards, which are not to be mistaken for some form of municipal service. With that understanding, it is not the policy of the municipality to undertake the task of standardizing all of these development standards and amenities as a result of annexation or municipal growth.
(Ord. 24-2002, passed 8-5-02)