For the intent of these regulations, certain terms or words used herein shall be interpreted as follows:
(A) The word
PERSON includes a firm, association, organization, partnership, trust, company, or corporation as well as an individual.
(B) The present tense includes the future tense, the singular number includes the plural, and the plural number includes the singular.
(C) The word
SHALL is a mandatory requirement, the word MAY is a permissive requirement, and the word SHOULD is a preferred requirement.
(D) The words
USED or OCCUPIED include the words INTENDED, DESIGNED, or ARRANGED TO BE USED OR OCCUPIED.
(E) The word
LOT includes the words PLOT or PARCEL.
(F) Regardless of capitalization, definitions are standard.
ALLEY. (See THOROUGHFARE)
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT. The Administrative Secretary or designated representative of the city's Safety Service Director.
BLOCK. Property abutting 1 side of a street and lying between the 2 nearest intersecting streets, crossing, or terminating, or between the nearest such street and railroad right-of-way, un-subdivided acreage, waterway, or between any of the foregoing and any other barrier to the continuity of development or corporate lines of the city.
BUFFER AREA. A strip or parcel of land, privately restricted or publicly dedicated as open space located between a residential development and other incompatible use for the purpose of protecting and enhancing the residential environment.
BUILDING LINE. (See SETBACK LINE)
COMMUNITY FACILITIES. Existing, planned, and proposed parks, playgrounds, schools, other public lands and buildings of the city for which the regulations are in effect.
COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN. A plan, which may consist of several maps, data, policies, and other descriptive matter, for the physical development of the city which has been adopted by the city to indicate the general location for proposed physical facilities including housing, industrial and business uses, major streets, parks, schools, public sites, and other similar information.
CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS. A complete set of engineering drawings drawn to scale containing, but not limited to, grading plans, street plans and profiles, cross-sections, sanitary sewer plans and profiles, water main plans and profiles, storm sewer plans and profiles, a complete topographical layout of all existing appurtenances and structures located within the right- of-way, and any other requirement as outlined in the City of Van Wert Design Criteria and Construction Standards and Drawings.
CORNER LOT. (See LOT)
CUL-DE-SAC. (See THOROUGHFARE)
DEAD-END STREET. (See THOROUGHFARE)
DEDICATION. The appropriation of land to the city by its owner for any public use.
DEVELOPER. Any person, subdivider, partnership or corporation, or duty authorized agent who constructs or contracts to construct improvements on subdivided land.
DEVELOPMENT. A subdivision of the kind known as a planned development or planned unit development.
DEVELOPMENT AREA. Any contiguous (abutting) area owned by one person or operated as one development unit and used or being developed for commercial, industrial, residential, or other purposes upon which earth-disturbing activities are planned or underway.
EASEMENT. Authorization by a property owner for the use by another, and for a specified purpose, of any designated part of his or her property.
ENGINEER. Any person registered to practice professional engineering by the State Board of Registration as specified in the Ohio Revised Code.
ENGINEER, CITY. Such person designated as the Engineering Department Supervisor for the City of Van Wert.
IMPROVEMENTS. Street pavement or resurfacing, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, pedestrian walkway, water lines, sanitary and storm sewers, landscaping and other related matters normally associated with the development of land into building sites.
LOT. A piece or parcel of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a principal building or a group of such buildings and its accessory buildings and uses, and having frontage on an improved public or private street.
(1) CORNER. A lot located at the intersection of 2 or more streets.
(2) THROUGH FRONTAGE. A lot other than a corner lot with frontage on more than 1 street. Through lots abutting 2 streets may be referred to as double frontage lots.
(3) INTERIOR. A lot with only 1 frontage on a street.
LOT AREA. The computed area contained within the lot lines.
LOT COVERAGE. The percentage of a lot which, when viewed directly from above, would be covered by a structure or structures including accessory buildings or any part thereof, excluding projecting roof eaves.
LOT LINE.
(1) FRONT. A street right-of-way line forming the boundary of a lot.
(2) REAR. The lot line that is most distant from, and is, or is most parallel with, the front lot line. If a rear lot line is less than 15 feet long, or if the lot comes to a point at the rear, the rear lot line shall be a line at least 15 feet, lying wholly within the lot, parallel to the front lot line.
(3) SIDE. A lot line which is neither a front lot line nor a rear lot line.
MAJOR THOROUGHFARE PLAN. The part of the Comprehensive Development Plan which sets forth the location, alignment, and dimensions of existing and proposed streets and thoroughfares.
MINOR SUBDIVISION. (See SUBDIVISION)
MONUMENTS. Permanent concrete or iron markers used to establish definitely all lines of the plat of a subdivision, including all lot corners, boundary line corners, and points of change in street alignment shall comply with the State of Ohio Minimum Standards for Boundary Surveys.
PARCEL. A piece of land that cannot be designated by lot number.
PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY. A right-of-way, dedicated to public use, which crosses a block to facilitate pedestrian access to adjacent streets and properties.
PERFORMANCE SURETY. An agreement by a subdivider or developer with the city for the amount of the estimated construction cost guaranteeing the completion of physical improvements according to the plans and specifications within the time prescribed.
PLANNING COMMISSION. The City of Van Wert Planning Commission.
PLAT. A map of a tract or parcel of land, made from a survey by a registered surveyor in the State of Ohio.
(1) PRELIMINARY PLAT. A plat showing all requisite details of a proposed subdivision submitted to the Planning Commission for purpose of preliminary consideration, prepared in conformance with these regulations.
(2) FINAL PLAT. A plat of all or part of a subdivision providing substantial conformance to the preliminary plat of the subdivision prepared in conformance with these regulations and suitable for recording by the County Recorder.
PROTECTIVE COVENANT. A restriction on the use of all private property within a subdivision, to be set forth on the plat and/or incorporated in each deed, for the benefit of the property owners, and to provide mutual protection against undesirable aspects of development which would tend to impair stability of values.
PUBLIC RESERVATION. A portion of a subdivision which is set aside for public use and made available for public use or acquisition.
PUBLIC UTILITY. A firm, association, syndicate, corporation, copartnership, municipal authority or public agency, board or commission, duly authorized to furnish, and furnishing under governmental regulations, to the public: facilities, products or services such as gas, electricity, sewage disposal, communication, telephone, transportation, water, etc.
PUBLIC WALKWAY. A right-of-way dedicated for the purpose of a pedestrian access through residential, commercial, and industrial areas, and located so as to connect to 2 or more streets, or a street and a public land parcel.
REPLATS/VACATION PLATS. Alteration, modification, or adjustment of existing lots, lot lines, property lines or right-of-way lines and/or vacation thereof within the city shall require Planning Commission and City Council approval.
RIGHT-OF-WAY. Land reserved, used, or to be used for a street, alley, walkway, or other public purpose.
SETBACK LINE. A line established by the Zoning Ordinance, generally parallel with and measured from the lot line, defining the limits of a yard in which no portion of any principal structure other than an accessory building may be located, except as may be provided in said Zoning Ordinance.
SKETCH PLAN. An informal plan or sketch showing the existing features of a site and its surroundings and the general layout of a proposed subdivision which can be presented to the Planning Commission for informal discussions.
STREET. (See THOROUGHFARE)
SUBDIVIDER. (See DEVELOPER)
SUBDIVISION. The division of any parcel of land shown as a unit or as continuous units on the last preceding tax roll, into two or more parcels, sites, or lots, any one of which is less than five acres, for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, provided however, that the division or partition of land into parcels of more than 5 acres not involving any new streets or easements of access shall be exempted, and the sale or exchange of parcels between adjoining lot owners where such sale or exchange does not create additional building sites, shall be exempted, or the improvement of 1 or more parcels of land for residential, commercial, or industrial structures or groups of structures involving the division or allocation of land for the opening, widening, or extension of any street or streets; the division or allocation of land as open spaces for common use by owners, occupants or lease holders, or as easements for the extension and maintenance of public sewer, water, storm drainage, or other public facilities.
(1) MAJOR SUBDIVISION. Division of a lot or parcel of land into more than 5 lots or parcels, and/or the creation or establishment of new streets or roadways by the division of a lot or parcel of land.
(2) MINOR SUBDIVISION. Division of a lot or parcel of land along an existing public thoroughfare into not more than 5 lots or parcels not establishing a new street or roadway.
SURVEYOR. Any person registered to practice surveying by the State Board of Registration as specified in the Ohio Revised Code.
THOROUGHFARE, STREET, OR ROAD. The full width between property lines bounding every public way of any nature, with a part thereof to be used for vehicular traffic and designated as follows:
(1) ALLEY. A right-of-way used primarily for vehicular service access to the back or side of properties abutting on another street.
(2) ARTERIAL STREET. A general term denoting a highway primarily for through traffic carrying heavy loads and large volume of traffic, usually on a continuous route.
(3) COLLECTOR STREET. A thoroughfare, whether within a residential, industrial, commercial, or other type of development, which primarily carries traffic from local streets to arterial streets, including the principal entrance and circulation routes within residential subdivisions.
(4) CUL-DE-SAC. A local street with one end open to traffic and the other end terminating in a vehicular turnaround.
(5) DEAD-END STREET. A street temporarily having only 1 outlet for vehicular traffic and intended to be extended or continued in the future.
(6) LOCAL STREET. A street primarily for providing access to residential, commercial, or other abutting property.
(7) LOOP STREET. A type of local street, each end of which terminates at an intersection with same arterial or collector street, and whose principal radius points of the 180° system of turns are not more than 1,000 feet from said arterial or collector street, nor normally more than 600 feet from each other.
VARIANCE. A variance is a modification of the strict terms of the relevant regulations where such modification will not be contrary to the public interest and where owing to conditions peculiar to the property, and not the result of the action of the applicant, a literal enforcement of these regulations would result in unnecessary and undue hardship.
VICINITY MAP. A drawing located on the plat which sets forth by dimensions or other means, the relationship of the proposed subdivision or use to other nearby development or landmarks and community facilities and services within the city in order to better locate and orient the area in question.
ZONING ORDINANCE. The Zoning Ordinance for the City which regulates the use of land by districts or zones and as the same may be amended or supplemented.
(1981 Code, § 151.005) (Ord. 6875-98, passed 7-27-1998)