(A) The street and highway design shall conform both in width and alignment to any Comprehensive Plan or Thoroughfare Plan of Streets and Highways approved and/or adopted by any participating city or town or the county as indicated in the Thoroughfare Plan being a part of the Long Range Transportation Plan. Right-of-way for any such street or highway indicated on said Thoroughfare Plan shall be dedicated.
(B) If a parcel of land to be subdivided includes a portion of the right-of-way to be acquired for a freeway or expressway, the Area Plan Commission shall determine the boundaries of the right-of-way to be acquired, and the subdivider shall either dedicate or create an outlot in the subdivision covering all the area included in said right-of-way. This right-of-way or outlot shall revert back to the subdivider if not used within eight years.
(C) All streets shall be in alignment with existing and proposed exterior streets by continuations of the centerlines thereof or by advantageous development of the area in which the subdivision lies. When continuation of the centerline is impractical in the opinion of the Area Plan Commission, the centerlines shall be separated by at least 150 feet.
(D) Residential streets shall be designed to discourage rapid through traffic. Straight tangents of more than 1,350 feet are prohibited.
(E) (1) Where it is desirable in the opinion of the Plan Commission to provide street access to abutting property, proposed streets shall be extended by dedication to the boundary of such property. Unless deemed unnecessary by a traffic study, residential subdivisions with 60 or more lots (or dwelling units) shall be served by two access points, and shall be served by:
(a) Two different roadways if bordered by more than one roadway; or
(b) Two access points or a divided main entry roadway from the same roadway if bordered by only one roadway.
(2) The Commission may require additional access on any development where deemed necessary.
(F) Proposed streets and highways shall be adjusted to the contour of the land as far as practicable so as to produce usable lots and streets of reasonable gradient.
(G) Whenever a subdivision abuts or contains an existing or proposed limited (full or partially controlled) access highway, the Area Plan Commission may require marginal access streets, reverse frontage with screen planting contained in a non-access reservation along the rear property line, deep lots with rear service alleys, or other treatment necessary for adequate protection of residential properties and to afford separation of through and local traffic.
(H) Where a subdivision borders on or contains a railroad right-of-way or limited (fully or partially controlled) access highway right-of-way, the Plan Commission may require a street approximately parallel to and on each side of such right-of-way, at a distance suitable for the appropriate use of the intervening land, as for park purposes in residential district, or for commercial or industrial purposes in appropriate districts. Such distance shall also be determined with due regard for the requirements of approach grades and future grade separations.
(I) Minimum street and highway right-of-way widths.
(1) The right-of-way should be free of all obstacles with the exception of mailboxes.
(2) All street and highway rights-of-way, measured from lot line to lot line, shall be as follows except as defined in the Thoroughfare Plan a part of the Long Range Transportation Plan adopted by the Board of Commissioners.
Type of Street | Right-of-Way Width in Feet |
Type of Street | Right-of-Way Width in Feet |
Freeway or Expressway | "to be determined" by County Highway Engineer or State |
Arterial | 90 |
Urban major collector | 70 |
Rural major collector | 80 |
Rural minor collector | 70** |
Residential collector | 70 |
Minor Residential District | 50 |
Private Street | 40 |
Cul-de-sac | 50 |
Rural road | 50** |
Marginal Access | 40 |
** The County Engineer may request the greater right-of-way width on approaches to intersections, rolling terrain or other special circumstances.
(3) Subdivisions platted along both sides of an existing street shall provide the entire minimum right-of-way.
(4) Subdivisions platted along only one side of an existing street shall provide one-half of the minimum right-of-way measured from the center line of such existing street or the section line when the street was originally placed on the section line.
(5) Half streets are prohibited, unless determined by the Plan Commission to be essential to the reasonable development of the subdivision in conformity with the other requirements of this chapter or unless the Plan Commission finds it to be practicable to require the dedication of the other half when the abutting property is subdivided. Whenever a half street exists adjacent to a tract to be subdivided, the other half of the street shall be platted within such tract.
(J) Intersections.
(1) Streets shall intersect one another as nearly as possible at right angles and in no case shall the angle of intersection be less than 60 degrees.
(2) Property lines at street and alley intersections shall be rounded with a radius of at least ten feet. When the smallest angle of intersection is less than 60 degrees, this minimum radius shall be increased. In commercial districts a comparable chord may be used in place of an arc.
(3) Intersections involving the junction of more than two streets (that is, more than four intersection legs) should be avoided.
(4) The number of intersections of minor streets with major streets should be kept to a minimum.
(K) Street grades.
(1) Street grades, except under extreme physical conditions, shall not exceed the following:
Type of Street | Per Cent Grade |
Type of Street | Per Cent Grade |
Arterial , urban or rural major collector | 5 |
Rural minor collector | 7 |
Residential collector | 8 |
Minor | 8 |
Cul-de-sac | 8 |
Alley | 8 |
Rural Road | 8 |
(2) For adequate drainage, the minimum street and gutter grades shall be not less than one-half of one percent.
(3) All new streets and gutters shall be located on a grade above the 100-year flood plain elevation.
(L) Street alignment.
(1) Between reverse curves with a deflection angle on the centerline greater than five degrees the following minimum tangents shall be introduced.
Type of Street | Tangent in Feet |
Arterial, urban collector, rural major collector, or rural minor collector | 200 |
Residential collector and rural road | 100 |
(2) Where a deflection angle of more than ten degrees in the horizontal alignment of a street occurs, a curve with the following minimum radius shall be provided.
Type of Street | Minimum Radius of Curvature in Feet |
Arterial, urban collector and rural major collector | 500 |
Rural minor collector | 300 |
Residential collector | 200 |
Minor | 100 |
Rural road | 100 |
(3) All changes in street grade shall be connected by vertical curves designed to provide the following minimum sight distance as measured between points 3.5 feet above the center line of the road or street surface.
Type of Street | Minimum Sight Distance in Feet |
Arterial, urban collector and rural major collector | 600 |
Rural minor collector | 500 |
Residential collector | 300 |
Minor | 200 |
Rural road | 200 |
(M) Dead-end streets or cul-de-sacs. Permanently designed cul-de-sacs shall not be longer than 1,320 feet from the nearest intersecting street and shall be provided at the closed end with a turn-around having a radius at the outside of the pavement of at least 40 feet and a radius at the outside of the right-of-way of at least 50 feet.
(N) Reserve strips and private streets.
(1) Reserve strips controlling access to streets are prohibited except where the control of such strips is placed with the county under conditions approved by the Plan Commission.
(2) Private streets shall not be platted within a subdivision. Private streets may be platted within a Planned Unit Development (PUD) as described in the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.
(O) Street names and house numbers.
(1) Street names shall not be used which will duplicate or be confused with the names of existing or platted streets. Proposed streets in alignment and connecting with existing or platted streets shall bear the names of the existing or platted streets. The Plan Commission may require different names if not connected or through streets.
(2) House numbers in the county shall be obtained from the records of the Area Plan Commission office. Each subdivider shall hereby cause to be affixed to his or her subdivision secondary plat, by his or her surveyor a house number for each lot in accordance with any house numbering system which has been adopted by the Board of Commissioners, and is in effect for the township in which said subdivision is located. Official house numbering maps are on file in the office of the Area Plan Commission office.
(BC Ord. 2006-05, passed 3-20-06; Am. BC Ord. 2012-04, passed 1-9- 12; Am. BC Ord. 2021-02, passed 1-11-21)