(A) Generally.
(1) In determining whether an application for approval of a preliminary plat or a final plat of a subdivision shall be granted, the Council shall determine that the plat is in accordance with the principles and standards required in this section which shall be deemed as minimal; and whenever the applicable requirements of other ordinances adopted by the county are higher or more restrictive, those requirements shall control any application for plat approval.
(2) In the subdividing of any land due regard shall be shown for all natural features, such as tree growth, watercourses, historic spots, or similar conditions which, if preserved, will add attractiveness and value to the proposed development.
(3) Due consideration shall be given to the prevention of air and stream pollution, proper treatment and disposal of refuse and other waste, and the elimination of other blighting characteristics.
(4) The subdivision layout shall be of such a character that it protects the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents in the jurisdiction of the Council.
(1995 Code, § 15-146)
(B) Street standards.
(1) The street and alley layout shall provide adequate vehicular and pedestrian access to all lots and parcels of land within the subdivision and where streets cross other streets, jogs shall not be created.
(2) Streets shall conform to the following principles and standards.
(a) Proposed streets shall be adjusted to the contour of the land so as to produce usable lots and streets of reasonable gradient.
(b) Residential street systems shall be designed to minimize through traffic movement, but certain proposed streets, where appropriate, shall be extended to the boundary line of the tract to be subdivided so as to provide for normal circulation of traffic within the vicinity.
(c) Wherever there exists a dedicated or platted portion of a street or alley adjacent to the proposed subdivision, the remainder of the street or alley to the prescribed width shall be platted within the proposed subdivision.
(d) Residential street patterns shall provide reasonably direct access to the primary circulation system.
(e) Local circulation systems and land development patterns shall not conflict with the efficiency of bordering thoroughfares.
(f) Widths of thoroughfares shall conform to the widths set forth in the thoroughfare plan.
(g) The minimum right-of-way of residential streets or cul-de-sacs shall be 50 feet. All cul-de-sacs shall terminate in a circular right-of-way with a minimum diameter of 100 feet and minimum roadway diameter of 95 feet. Cul-de-sac streets shall be not longer than 600 feet, such distance to be measured from the center of the turning circle to the intersection of the centerline of the cul-de-sac street and the centerline of a through street, provided, however that if the residential street within the subdivision has only one intersection with a through street, the entire subdivision shall be measured from the point of intersection of the subdivision street and the through street.
(h) Alleys shall be discouraged in residential districts but should be included in commercial and industrial areas where needed for loading and unloading or access purposes, and where platted shall be at least 20 feet in width.
(i) The centerlines of streets should intersect as nearly at right angles as possible.
(j) At intersections of streets or alleys, property line corners shall be rounded by arcs of at least 20 feet radii or by chords of such arcs.
(k) If the smaller angle of intersection of two streets is less than 60 degrees, the radius of the arc at the intersection of the property lines shall be increased as deemed advisable by the Council.
(l) Intersections of more than two streets at one point shall be avoided.
(m) Street jogs with centerline off-sets of less than 125 feet shall not be permitted.
(n) Where parkways or special types of streets are involved, the Council may apply special standards to be followed in their design.
(o) Whenever the proposed subdivision contains or is adjacent to a railroad right-of-way, a primary or a secondary street, provision shall be made for a marginal access street, or a parallel street adjacent to such railroad right-of-way or primary or secondary street. As a general principle, intersections of such marginal access streets or parallel one-quarter mile intervals with primary streets, or at less than one-eighth mile intervals with secondary streets.
(p) Half streets shall be prohibited, except where essential to the reasonable development of the subdivision in conformity with other requirements of these regulations, and where the Council finds it will be proper to require the dedication of the other half when the adjoining property is subdivided. Wherever a half street is adjacent to a tract to be subdivided, the other half of the street shall be planned within such tract.
(q) A temporarily dead-ended street shall be permitted in any case in which a street is proposed to be and should logically be extended but is not yet constructed. An adequate easement for a turn-around shall be provided for any such temporary dead-end street which extends 200 feet or more in length. Such easement shall be automatically vacated to abutting property owners when such dead-ended street is legally extended.
(r) In subdivisions that adjoin or include existing streets that do not conform to the minimum right-of-way dimensions as established by the thoroughfare plan, the subdivider shall dedicate additional width along either one or both sides, of such streets or inadequate width so as to bring them up to standards, provided, the area to be used for widening is owned by the subdivider or under his or her control.
(s) Horizontal visibility on curved streets and vertical visibility on all streets must be maintained along the centerline as follows.
Feeder and residential streets | 200 feet |
Primary thoroughfares | 500 feet |
Secondary thoroughfares | 300 feet |
(t) Curvature measure along the centerline shall have a minimum radius as follows.
Feeder and residential streets | 200 feet |
Primary thoroughfares | 500 feet |
Residential streets | 200 feet |
Secondary thoroughfares | 300 feet |
(u) Between reversed curves on primary and secondary thoroughfares there shall be a tangent of not less than 100 feet and on feeder and residential streets such tangent shall be not less than 40 feet.
(v) Maximum grades for streets shall be as follows:
1. Primary and secondary thoroughfares, not greater than 6%; and
2. Feeder and residential streets and alleys, not greater than 8%.
(w) The minimum grade of any street gutter shall not be less than 0.3%.
(x) No street names may be used which will duplicate, or be confused with, the names of any existing streets unless such proposed streets are the logical extension or continuation of, or obviously in alignment with an existing platted street, in which case the proposed street shall bear the names of such existing streets.
(y) The following paragraph shall be required as a provision of the restrictive covenants of all final plats to which they apply: “No fence, wall, hedge, tree, or shrub planting which obstructs sight lines and elevations between three and 12 feet above the street shall be placed or permitted to remain on any corner lot within the triangular area formed by the street right-of-way lines extended”.
(z) At the intersection of any proposed residential street and secondary or primary thoroughfare, acceleration and deceleration lanes shall be provided in accordance with the specifications of the State Highway Commission.
(1995 Code, § 15-147)
(C) Block standards.
(1) Block length and width or acreage within bounding streets shall be such as to accommodate the size of lot required by the zoning ordinance in the district in which the subdivision is to be located, and to provide convenient access, circulation control, and safety of street traffic. Blocks that are unreasonably large or small will not be approved.
(2) Blocks should not exceed 1,200 feet in length. In the design or blocks longer than 800 feet, the Council may specify the provision of pedestrian crosswalks near the center of the block, or wherever would be most useful to facilitate pedestrian circulation to a school, park, recreation area, shopping center, or other significant neighborhood destination.
(3) Residential blocks shall be of sufficient depth to accommodate two tiers of lots of minimum depth, except where an interior street parallels a primary or secondary thorough, fare, railroad right-of-way, floodplain, or similar boundary obstruction.
(1995 Code, § 15-158)
(D) Lot standards.
(1) Subdivision lots shall be adequate for the type of development and land use proposed and shall have at least 6,000 square feet of usable lot area excluding street rights-of-way.
(2) The lot size, width, depth, shape, grade location, and orientation shall be in proper relation to street and block design and to existing and proposed topographical conditions.
(3) All lots shall abut on a street.
(4) Side lines of lots shall be at approximately right angles to straight streets and on radial lines on curved streets. Some variation from this requirement is permissible, but pointed or very irregular lots should be avoided.
(5) Double frontage lots should not be platted, except that where desired along interstates or primary and secondary thoroughfares, lots may face on an interior street and back on such thoroughfares. In that event a planting strip for a screen, at least 20 feet in width shall be provided along the back of each lot.
(6) The minimum width of any lot shall conform to § 150.088.
(7) Building lines shall conform to § 150.085.
(8) Corner lots shall be sufficiently larger than interior lots to allow maintenance of building lines on both streets.
(9) Whenever possible, unit shopping centers, based upon sound development standards, should be designed in contrast to the platting of lots for individual commercial use.
(10) Lots abutting a watercourse, drainageway, channel, stream, or floodplain shall have additional minimum width or depth as required to provide an adequate building site and afford the minimum usable area required for front, rear, and side yards.
(11) The following paragraph shall be required as a provision of the restrictive covenants of all final plats to which they apply: “No driveway on any corner lot shall enter the adjoining street at a point closer than 75 feet to the intersection of the street right-of-way lines, or in the case of a rounded property corner, from the intersection of the street right-of-way lines extended”.
(1995 Code, § 15-149)
(E) Easements. Where alleys are not provided, easements for utilities shall be provided. Such easements shall have minimum widths of 15 feet, and where located along lot lines, one-half the width shall be taken from each lot. In the case of lot extending to the boundary of the lands platted and not adjoining another plat, the full width of the easements shall be provided on such peripheral lots. Before determining the location of easements, the plan shall be discussed with the local public utility companies to assure their proper placing for the installation of such services.
(1995 Code, § 15-150)
(F) Soil limitations and natural features.
(1) Land which exhibits severe limitations to urban development due to flooding, inadequate drainage, poor soils, or other features likely to be harmful to the safety, welfare, and general health of future residents, shall not be subdivided, unless adequate remedies to overcome such limitations are formulated by the subdivider and approved by the Council and other appropriate public agencies.
(2) Land which exhibits very severe limitations to urban development such as floodplains and very poorly drained organic (muck) soils, characterized by seasonal high water tables at or near the surface, ponding, or frequent to occasional flooding, shall not be platted for urban development or used for nonagricultural structures.
(1995 Code, § 15-151)
(G) Commercial and industrial subdivisions.
(1) It is recognized that the subdivider in creating commercial or industrial subdivisions, often faces unique problems of lot design not normally encountered in residential subdivisions. For this reason, the initial emphasis of the Council shall be upon street layout and block arrangement. Generally, the procedural requirements shall be for the owner to follow the regular procedure outlined in these regulations, however, the subdivider need show only two lots along with the street and block layout. Then, from time to time, as prospective buyers or users express interest in lots sized to their required specifications, the owner shall submit an amendment to the approved recorded subdivision plat for consideration.
(2) Regular procedural requirements of the Council following the receipt of a final plat shall then apply, except those streets that have been built by following an approved set of plans on the previously approved final plat shall not have to be rebuilt because of the adoption of new criteria by the Council. This shall also apply to storm drainage facilities within the subdivision unless runoff characteristics have been changed by the newly proposed improvements or by unauthorized existing improvements.
(1995 Code, § 15-152) Penalty, see § 152.99