A street sign of standard design, as approved by the Engineer, shall be erected at each intersection of county roads, and at each intersection of a county and subdivision/private road as defined below, and at each intersection of subdivision/private roads within the unincorporated area of the County. At least one road name sign displaying the name of each road shall be erected and maintained. Road name signs shall be located in the most suitable corner as determined by the Engineer.
1. County Roads. County roads shall include those accepted into and shown on the Iowa Department of Transportation's Official Highway and Transportation Map for Story County. Signs for county roads will be installed and maintained under the following guidelines:
A. The County shall acquire, fabricate, erect, and thereafter maintain road name signs at the intersection of new county roads.
B. In the event that a road sign requires maintenance or replacement, written notification will be given to the Engineer's Office.
C. As adopted by Ordinance 94, the County does not require that missing/damaged U.S. Highway 69 street intersection signs be replaced by Story County.
2. Subdivision/Private Roads. A subdivision/private road includes any street, drive, road, lane, or access easement serving three or more occupied structures, and which is not defined as a county road. Signs for subdivision/private roads will be installed and maintained under the following guidelines:
A. At the request of the owner or majority of the owners of a subdivision/private road and upon receipt of a fee sufficient to cover the cost of materials and labor as determined by the Engineer, the County may acquire, fabricate, and erect a road name sign where county and subdivision/private roads intersect.
B. For subdivision/private roads in platted subdivisions for which the preliminary plat has been submitted to the County after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, the fee shall be paid at the time the final plat is submitted. The applicant may specify that street name signs are to be erected immediately upon notification or at the time the road is completed and final construction is approved by the County. Should the applicant request that road name signs be erected prior to the new streets being approved by the County, the applicant shall be responsible for their maintenance until such time as the streets are approved by the County. Prior to the County's approval of a new road, the Engineer or designated agent shall make an inspection to determine that all road name signs are in a state of good maintenance. Should any subdivision/private road name sign be missing or in need of repair, the applicant shall pay the full cost for replacement and/or repair thereof prior to the approval of the new street by the County.
C. In the event that a subdivision/private road sign requires maintenance or replacement, written notification will be given to the Planning and Development Department, which will forward it to the Engineer's Office. Upon receipt of a fee sufficient to cover the cost of materials and labor as determined by the Engineer, the County may acquire, fabricate. and erect the road name sign. The lettering for subdivision/private road signs shall be a mix of upper and lower-case letters. The first letter of each name or abbreviation shall be upper-case and the rest of the lettering in the name or abbreviation shall be lower-case. The lettering height should be at least six inches. For local roads with speed limits of 30 mph or less. the lettering height may be reduced to four inches. Subdivision/private road name signs shall have a green background with white lettering.
3. Unofficial Road Name Signs. Unofficial road name signs are prohibited in the right-of-way of Story County. Any other unofficial name sign within property lines is permitted unless it interferes with official emergency response. Notification to remove such signage shall be given in writing and enforced as defined in Section 32.09.
4. Road Name Changes. The following requirements shall be met prior to consideration of the change of the name of any county or subdivision/private road:
A. Conceptual Review Meeting. Before an applicant can submit an application for a road name change, the applicant shall attend a conceptual review meeting with County departments and other applicable entities as appropriate. This requirement may be waived. upon written request to the Planning and Development Director or their designee. by all members of the Interagency Review Team.
B. Formal Application Submitted.
(1) Representatives of at least 75 percent of the legal property owners adjacent to the road or whose current or future address would be affected by the name change shall sign a petition requesting the name change.
(2) Alternatively, a city shall submit a petition requesting the name change post-annexation for the purpose of maintaining consistent addressing for properties not part of the annexation with its addressing grid. The petition shall include proof of notification of legal property owners adjacent to the road or whose current or future address would be affected by the name change. If residential addresses are involved, the notification letter shall include voting precinct information.
(3) The petition shall be submitted to the Story County Planning and Development Department.
(4) The petitioner shall submit an application form and filing fee. If approved, costs for replacement signage are the responsibility of petitioners.
(5) The petition shall state the reasons for the change.
a. The change shall be in the public interest.
b. Any suggested road name change shall have historical or local significance.
c. Any suggested road name change shall not duplicate in sound or spelling any existing road name in Story County prior to approval of the change.
(6) The application shall be reviewed by members of the Interagency Review Team and Story County 911 Service Board.
(7) Any suggested road name change shall be recommended for approval by the Director, the Engineer, the Story County Emergency Management Coordinator, and the Story County 911 Database Coordinator.
(8) Meeting Notice for Board of Supervisors. The failure to notify as provided in this section shall not invalidate any recommendation made under the terms of the Ordinance, provided such failure was not intentional, and the omission of the name of any owner of property who may, in the opinion of the Board of Supervisors, be affected by such amendment or change shall not invalidate any recommendation adopted hereunder, it being the intention of this subsection to provide, to the fullest extent possible, due notice that an application is pending before the Board of Supervisors.
a. Notice to Affected Cities. Planning and Development staff shall send notice to any city within which the road to be renamed lies within two miles of said corporate boundaries outlining the location, time, and date of the public hearing before the Board of Supervisors.
b. Notice to Surrounding Property Owners. Planning and Development staff shall send a notice via mail to all surrounding property owners within one-fourth mile of the road to be renamed outlining the location, time, and date of the public hearing before the Board of Supervisors.
c. Legal Notices. Notice of location, time, and date of the meeting held by the Board of Supervisors shall be published in the official newspapers of Story County.
(9) Public Hearing before the Board of Supervisors. The requirements of Section 1.11(2) of this Code of Ordinances defines the processes followed for action on the ordinance. Such amendment shall not become effective except by the favorable vote of at least two-thirds of all the members of the Board of Supervisors.