A. It is hereby established that the following rules and regulations for the naming of roads shall apply. All official road names shall be assembled in the Power County Road Name List. Additions and amendments to the list shall be made by the Building Administrator. All new road names or changes to names shall be established in accordance with the standards and procedures hereinafter set forth.
1. Approving Standards: The following standards shall be used in determining and approving road names:
a. All proposed road names shall be submitted to the Building Administrator for review and approval.
b. Road names should be easy to communicate (e.g., across electronic communication devices) and shall not be offensive to the standards of good taste.
c. There shall be no duplication of names by sound or spelling (example: Briar Road, Brier Road).
d. Variations of the same name with a different road designation shall be prohibited within the first word of the two-word title or in the road extension (example: Pine Road, Pine Drive, White Pine Road, White Lilly Lane).
e. When a proposed road is in general alignment with an existing road, and the proposed road is or planned to be a continuation of the existing road, the existing name and designation should be maintained.
f. Where a proposed street connects, or aligns with, two (2) different streets each having different names, the Building Administrator shall decide the name to be used, giving consideration to the length, classification, period of usage and number of residents affected. Both "L" shaped and "T" shaped roads should carry the same name if either leg is one hundred feet (100') or less in length. "L" shaped and "T" shaped roads over one hundred feet (100') in length each should carry a different name on each leg of the "L" or the "T". This determination shall be made on a case-by-case basis.
g. In general, road names should consist of no more than three (3) words or contain over sixteen (16) letters in length including spaces, unless otherwise approved by the Building Administrator. The road direction (N., S., E., W.) and designation (e.g., street, lane, court, etc.) is not included. All names should conform to this limitation except where existing names are to be continued due to alignments.
h. There shall be no duplication of existing names. Power County shall assemble, update, and maintain an official list of all road names throughout the County for use by all jurisdictions.
i. No road shall have more than one name.
j. No road name shall contain the words north, south, east, or west, or any combination thereof, within the road name.
2. New Roads Or Existing Unnamed Roads:
a. Any new road to be established within the County, public or private, or any existing unnamed road, public or private, shall require a road name approved by the Building Administrator and/or the GIS Specialist.
b. In the case of plats, approved road names shall be specified on the final plat map.
c. In the case of other new roads or naming of unnamed roads, the owner or owners and/or contract buyers of properties abutting said road may petition, in writing on a form provided by the County, to the Building Administrator and/or the GIS Specialist, a request to officially name a road.
(1) If the owners present a petition bearing the signatures of at least fifty one percent (51%) of the property owners (excluding Federal, State, public utilities and Municipal lands) whose properties abut the road, the road shall be officially named. Property owners who own more than one property abutting a road shall only have one vote. The Building Administrator shall notify by first class mail all property owners along the road. Tax assessment records shall be used for owner address information.
(2) If the petition bears the signatures of less than fifty one percent (51%) of the owners whose property abuts the road, the name shall be temporary. Property owners shall have thirty (30) days to respond. If there is no response from the property owner during the thirty (30) day period, the County shall consider this as an approval by the property owner. The Building Administrator shall give due consideration to any and all road name petitions, only after all road naming requirements of this chapter are met. The Building Administrator shall officially designate the road name having the greatest percentage of approval in the event a fifty one percent (51%) approval is not obtained.
d. In cases where the property owners have not petitioned, as outlined in subsection A2c of this section, the Building Administrator shall choose an unduplicated road name. Notice shall be given to the property owners by first class mail. Tax assessment records shall be used for owner address information. Property owners shall have thirty (30) days to respond with their appeal if they dispute the chosen name. If no adverse response from more than fifty one percent (51%) of the ownership is received within the thirty (30) day period, the Building Administrator shall officially name the road.
3. Changing Name Of Roadway: If any person or entity, who shall be hereinafter referred to as "applicant", shall desire to change the name of any County roadway that has previously been given an official name, as set out herein, or by any subsequent action of this Board, then the following procedure shall apply:
The applicant shall first give notice of his or her desire to secure a name change for an existing County roadway by filling out and filing with the County Building Administrator an application for a change of name of an existing named County road on a form to be provided to the applicant by said Administrator. Said form shall contain provisions requiring the applicant to comply with the provisions of subsection A3a of this section. The applicant shall accompany said application with a deposit of three hundred dollars ($300.00). A statement will be supplied to the applicant along with any unused portion of deposit after procedural process.
a. Applicant Responsible For Expense Of Changing Name: As a condition of approving said application, the commission shall assess against the applicant the expense that will be incurred by the County in updating the County computer to reflect the name change on all County addresses and to reprint the rural addressing book, maps, indices, pages requiring revision and installing all new road signs. No ordinance incorporating the requested change shall be published until the fees so calculated are paid.
b. Consideration By Planning And Zoning Commission:
(1) Place Application On Agenda: Upon receipt of a properly completed application and the requisite application fee, the County Building Administrator shall then place the name change application on the agenda of the next applicable Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
(2) Present Reasons For Request: At said Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the applicant shall be invited to appear and to informally present his or her reasons for requesting a County road name change.
(3) Public Hearing Scheduled: If a majority of the commission members at said meeting feel the reasons advanced justify the calling of a public hearing on the proposed name change, a public hearing shall then be scheduled.
(4) Hearing Notice:
(A) Newspaper: Public notice shall be given fifteen (15) days in advance of said hearing.
(B) Agenda Posted To Website: Agenda shall be posted on Power County website fifteen (15) days in advance of hearing.
(C) Agenda Posted On Courthouse: Agenda posted on courthouse entrance five (5) days in advance of the hearing.
(D) Letters To Residents: A first class letter shall also be mailed to all persons resident on the subject roadway, at their last known address, at least fifteen (15) days in advance of the meeting.
(E) Testimony At Hearing; Render Decision: At said public hearing, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall receive testimony and evidence in favor of and opposed to the renaming of said roadway. Following the conclusion of said hearing and within forty five (45) days after the conclusion of the hearing, the commission shall render a decision as to whether or not the requested name change should be granted. (Ord. 2018-08, 12-3-2018)