§ 154.120 GENERAL ARRANGEMENT AND LAYOUT.

   Streets and street networks serving subdivisions must be designed and laid out with due regard for:

   (A)   Topographic conditions and drainage;

   (B)   Public convenience and safety;

   (C)   Allowing safe and adequate access for abutting parcels of land; and

   (D)   Proposed land use and density and intensity of development to be served by the streets.

(Ord. passed 7-8-1970; Res. 09-167, passed 6-18-2009)

§ 154.121 STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION STANDARDS.

   Streets must comply with the standards of this chapter and the State Department of Transportation’s Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction. The higher or more restrictive standard governs in the event of conflict.

(Ord. passed 7-8-1970; Res. 09-167, passed 6-18-2009)

§ 154.122 STREET CLASSIFICATIONS.

   (A)   Major streets are those having inter-city or regional importance, including all state marked routes and strategic regional arterial (SRA) routes. Major streets must be properly integrated with the existing and proposed system of major streets and highways.

   (B)   Secondary streets include all county highways. Secondary streets must be properly related to special traffic-generating facilities such as schools, churches, shopping and employment centers; to population densities; and to the major streets into which they feed.

   (C)   Collector streets “collect” traffic from intersecting local and access streets and move this traffic in the most direct route to major or secondary streets. Collector streets, thus, form the intermediate link between local/access streets and major and secondary streets in the roadway network. They serve both a mobility and access function. Township roads are collector streets.

   (D)   Local streets and access streets provide direct street access to lots within subdivisions. Local and access streets must be laid out to:

      (1)   Conform as much as possible to topography;

      (2)   Discourage use by through traffic;

      (3)   Permit efficient drainage and sewer systems; and

      (4)   Require the minimum amount of street needed to provide convenient and safe access to abutting property.

(Ord. passed 7-8-1970; Res. 09-167, passed 6-18-2009)

§ 154.123 PRIVATE STREETS.

   (A)   Private streets are prohibited unless expressly approved as part of a planned unit development (PUD).

   (B)   A private street is not and may not be dedicated for public use, but may be allowed to provide access to lots within a PUD when ownership and maintenance of the street is guaranteed through a property owners association established before the lots are sold.

   (C)   Private streets must be designed and constructed in accordance with the same standards that apply to public streets unless a waiver or modification of this requirement is approved by the County Board as a part of the County Zoning Ordinance’s PUD approval process.

(Ord. passed 7-8-1970; Res. 09-167, passed 6-18-2009)

§ 154.124 LAYOUT AND ALIGNMENT.

   (A)   Streets must be laid out in conformity to street or highway plans officially adopted by the state, county or township or any highway authority.

   (B)   If the subdivision lies within one and one- half miles of the corporate limits of a municipality, the streets must be in conformity with the street or highway plan officially adopted by the corporate authority of that municipality.

   (C)   Wherever a street or highway shown on an officially adopted plan runs through a proposed subdivision, it must be provided for in the place and with the width indicated on the adopted plan. The Chief Subdivision Engineer is authorized to require that the right-of-way specified on the officially adopted plan be dedicated to the public on or as part of the final plat.

   (D)   Where streets are not a part of the official map or officially adopted street or highway plans, the arrangement of subdivision streets must be designed and located in proper relation to existing and proposed streets, to the topography of the area, and to natural features such as streams, hills and stands of trees.

   (E)   Proposed streets must be designed to coordinate with other existing or planned streets contiguous to or within the general area of the subdivision or within existing or future adjacent subdivisions as to location, width, grades and drainage. Connections with existing or platted streets must be continuous without offset.

   (F)   (1)   Stub streets must be platted, dedicated and constructed for public use to the boundary line of the subdivision when necessary to afford desirable and safe street access to adjoining properties.

      (2)   The following requirements apply to required stub streets.

         (a)   Stub streets must be clearly marked on plats and labeled “Future Street Extension”. In addition, a sign must be posted on the stub street right-of-way indicating that it is intended as a “Future Street Extension”.

         (b)   The following notation must be incorporated into any plat showing a stub street:

This right-of-way is platted with the intent of being extended and continued in order to provide ingress and egress to and from adjoining properties.

         (c)   Temporary T-turnarounds (§ 154.131) must be provided at all stub streets.

   (G)   Where a stub street in an existing subdivision or development has been platted to the boundary line of a proposed subdivision, it must be extended and continued into the proposed subdivision unless a modification or waiver is approved in accordance with the procedures of §§ 154.435 through 154.437. The waiver or modification must be based on at least one of the following findings.

      (1)   An extension would cause or contribute to a safety deficiency that could not be corrected in a practical or economically efficient manner. In these cases, the developer will be responsible for providing sufficient right-of-way and constructing within that right-of-way an approved permanent turnaround at the end of the existing stub street.

      (2)   The street right-of-way in the existing subdivision, although platted, has not had a street constructed within it, is not contained in the County Transportation Framework Plan, and it is unlikely that, in the foreseeable future, a street will be so constructed. In these cases, the developer will not be responsible for providing a permanent turnaround.

      (3)   The existence of significant environmental conditions that were not known or adequately considered at the time the potential extension was platted. The need for the installation of a permanent turnaround by the developer will be determined on a case-by-case basis based on local site conditions.

   (H)   In situations where waivers or modification to street connection requirements are granted, an alternative means for bicycle, pedestrian or equestrian access may be required to be provided in close proximity to the otherwise required street based on local site conditions.

   (I)   All subdivisions of 25 or more lots must have at least two means of ingress and egress.

(Ord. passed 7-8-1970; Res. 09-167, passed 6-18-2009)

§ 154.125 INTERSECTIONS.

   (A)   Streets must be laid out to intersect as nearly as possible at right angles.

   (B)   Proposed new intersections along one side of an existing street should line up with existing intersections on the opposite side of the street. Street jogs with centerline offsets of less than 125 feet are prohibited.

   (C)   Intersections and driveways must be designed to comply with the vision clearance requirements of § 8.5-6 of the County Zoning Ordinance and all applicable requirements of the Road District Commissioner.

Commentary:
   The “vision clearance” requirements of the County Zoning Ordinance state that “at the intersection of roads or at the point of ingress and egress onto roads, no structure, parked vehicle or plant material shall obstruct a clear path of motor vehicle drivers’ vision of approaching vehicles within a triangular square determined by a diagonal line connecting two points measured 75 feet equidistant from the point of intersection with the center lines of the roads and the points of ingress and egress”.

   (D)   Where any street intersection will involve embankments or existing vegetation inside any lot corner that would create a traffic hazard by limiting visibility, the developer must cut or remove the ground and/or vegetation (including trees) in connection with the grading of the public right-of-way to the extent deemed necessary to provide adequate sight distance.

(Ord. passed 7-8-1970; Res. 09-167, passed 6-18-2009)