(a) General Requirements for Utilities and Underground Facilities.
(1) All public and common electric, cable, and telephone lines and other utilities shall be located underground in all residential, office, commercial and industrial subdivisions and districts, and shall be placed in their own easement, shown on the final or record plat. These underground utility requirements shall also apply to any lines required to serve the new development that extend outside the boundary of the development. The conduits or cables shall be located within easements or public rights-of-way in separate trenches, in a manner which will not conflict with other underground services.
(2) Whenever public improvements are installed, the open cutting of roads shall be avoided to the greatest extent practicable.
(3) Where cable, fiber optic, television, or similar services or conduit is or will be in operation, the applicant shall install cable or conduit for such service simultaneously with and in the same manner as electric and telephone cables are installed, both within the right-of-way and to individual building connections.
(4) All sewer and utility pipelines shall preferably be placed outside the limits of the pavement. All excavations for public utilities made under paved areas shall be properly backfilled with approved granular materials thoroughly compacted in place and subject to approval by the City Engineer.
(5) All storm drainage grates shall be constructed to allow bicycles to pass over the grate safely and shall have the words "No Dumping, Drains to Stream", or similar, cast into the grate.
(6) Any plans or documents submitted for subdivision or development plan approval shall conform to the City of Wooster's Development and Improvement Regulations Manual, current edition.
(b) Sanitary Sewers.
(1) Sanitary sewerage facilities shall connect with public sanitary sewerage systems where available and adequate capacity exists. When sanitary sewers are not available, as determined by the City Engineer, the City or County Board of Health shall review lot sizes and shapes, topographic conditions and soil conditions, and if appropriate Board of Health finds that private wells and/or private sewage disposal systems will be acceptable according to the rules and regulations of the City and County Board of Health and the State of Ohio, the Planning Commission may, at their discretion, approve private water supply and/or sewage disposal system provided that all other requirements have been met.
(2) If public sanitary sewerage facilities are reasonably available to serve the proposed subdivision or development, but inadequate capacity, as determined by the City Engineer, in such facilities exists, the applicant shall at his/her expense upgrade the sanitary sewerage lines or facilities to provide the additional capacity. The City Engineer shall evaluate the downstream sewer system to the point where the flow contributed by the subdivision is less than one percent of the flow in the system.
(3) In considering the availability of a public sewer, the City Engineer shall consider the following criteria: the proximity of public sewer lines; engineering feasibility and cost of extension of such lines to serve the subdivision; appropriateness of the area and soils for septic sewer service; public health and safety of the proposed subdivision; and the City's plans for sewer line extension or service in the area.
(4) The sanitary sewerage plan shall include calculations of the amount of sanitary flow to be discharged from the subdivision upon complete occupancy of the site.
(5) Construction and Design of Sanitary Sewer.
A. Unless public sewer is determined not to be available, sanitary sewers shall be constructed in accordance with the standards prescribed by the City Engineer. The minimum size shall be an eight-inch diameter, placed at a minimum grade of 0.4%.
B. The sanitary sewer shall be designed and constructed so as to serve by gravity the lowest floor elevation of proposed principal buildings on all lots.
C. Public sewer shall be designed and constructed to be available to each lot, such that individual laterals shall not extend across lots to the served lot.
(c) Water Supply.
(1) Public water, if available as determined by the City Engineer, shall be extended at the developer's and/or owner's cost to all lots. Where the public water system is not available, the City or County Board of Health shall review lot sizes and shapes, topographic conditions and soil conditions for that particular subdivision, and if the appropriate Board of Health finds that private wells will be acceptable according to the rules and regulations of the City and Wayne County Board of Health and the State of Ohio, the Planning Commission may, at their discretion, approve private water supply system
(2) In considering the availability of public water, the City Engineer shall consider the following criteria:
A. The proximity of public waterlines;
B. Engineering feasibility and cost of extension of such lines to serve the subdivision or development;
C. Alternative sources of water;
D. Public health and safety of the proposed development; and
E. The City's plans for waterline extension in the area; whether an alternate source of water, acceptable to the fire department, is available or will be provided for fire suppression purposes.
(3) If public water facilities are reasonably available to serve the proposed subdivision or development, but inadequate capacity as determined by the City Engineer exists, the applicant shall at his expense upgrade the public water mains or facilities to provide the additional capacity. Adequate capacity shall be determined as enabling 1,000 gallons per minute fire flow to be attained at the critical hydrant as determined by the City Engineer, without dropping residual pressures elsewhere within the public water system to or below 20 pounds per square inch.
(4) Unless public water is determined not to be available, the applicant shall install the public water distribution system within the subdivision or development, including water mains, service lateral through the curb line for each lot, and fire hydrants, and upon its completion, shall dedicate and convey title to the water distribution system to the City of Wooster.
(5) Construction and Design Standards.
A. Water lines shall be constructed in accordance with the standards prescribed by the City Engineer, and shall be ductile iron. The minimum size shall be a six-inch diameter.
C. Water mains shall be looped within or through a subdivision.
D. Water service line shall be located on a lot corner remote from the electric service.
(6) Placement of Water Services. When public water is designed and constructed to be available to each lot, individual services shall not extend across lots to the served lot.
(d) Storm Sewers and Stormwater Management.
(1) The design of stormwater runoff conveyance systems including, but not limited to storm sewers and appurtenant structures, bridges, culverts, ditches, swales, detention and/or retention facilities, shall meet the requirements of The Erosion and Stormwater Runoff Control Manual for Development and Improvement, current edition.
(2) Unless otherwise approved by the City Engineer, stormwater management facilities, such as detention and retention ponds, shall not be located on individually owned lots in a residential subdivision. Instead, these facilities shall be located on a lot or lots commonly owned by a homeowner's association or equivalent agency.
(3) Stormwater management facilities serving a residential subdivision shall be maintained by the homeowner's association or equivalent agency for that subdivision as required in Section 1129.05(j), unless City maintenance or another arrangement is approved by the City Engineer. A maintenance plan for the facilities shall be provided as part of the engineering plan for the subdivision, and maintenance responsibility shall be designated on the subdivision plat.
(4) Detention/retention facilities that are visible from a public street shall be integrated into a landscaped area. Such landscaped areas shall contain any combination of the following elements: shade and ornamental trees, evergreens, shrubbery, hedges, and/or other planting materials as well as ornamental fencing.
(e) Other Utilities.
(1) Electrical service, gas mains and other utilities should be provided within each subdivision. Whenever such facilities are reasonably accessible and available, they may be required to be installed within the area prior to the approval of the final plat.
(2) Other Utilities, Electric, Telephone and Cable Television Installation. The installation, construction and expansion of electric, telephone, cable television and other utilities shall be placed underground subject to the following:
A. Transmission lines are exempt from the provisions of this section. Transmission lines are defined as those lines that are part of the transmission grid, constructed on towers between generating stations and substations.
B. For the standard or typical underground utility installation, that equipment typically placed above ground such as transformers and switches affixed on the ground shall be exempt from the provisions of this section.
C. For purposes of this section, services, adjacent to new subdivisions as well as commercial and industrial uses, that shall be installed underground include but are not be limited to:
i. New distribution lines that deliver local service and are extended across the public right-of-way from existing overhead service to such new subdivisions, commercial and industrial uses; and
ii. Existing overhead distribution lines that deliver local service which are located within the public right-of-way that is being widened or improved as part of the improvements for the proposed subdivision.
D. Temporary overhead services of electric and telephone utilities shall be allowed, provided that all permanent electric, telephone and cable television services within and adjacent to new subdivisions, commercial and industrial uses shall be underground. For the purposes of this section, temporary overhead service shall mean:
i. That service which is necessary for immediate public convenience and necessity and is constructed to serve only on an interim basis until permanent underground services can be installed; and
ii. That service which in order to reach a new subdivision, commercial or industrial use must be extended from existing overhead service through undeveloped parcels of land not included in the subdivision, commercial or industrial use.
E. The owner or developer of new subdivisions as well as commercial and industrial uses shall offer an easement for TV cable and TV cable equipment within the easement shown on the plat for electric and telephone utilities. The easement shall be granted at no expense to the TV cable operator.
F. The providers of electric, telephone, natural gas, and cable television services are encouraged to inform the Planning Commission as to the nature and location of their services and plans for increasing service capacity.
(Ord. 2018-009. Passed 5-7-18.)