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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2210 Requirements and Standards for Certain Streets and Other Public ImprovementsORDINANCE NO. 2210 AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING CERTAIN STREETS AND OTHER PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS PRIOR TO THE ISSU- ANCE OF BUILDING PERMITS OR PRIOR TO THE OPENING, IMPROVEMENT OR USE OF STREETS AND OTHER PUBLIC WAYS; ESTABLISHING STANDARDS FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS OF STP~ETS AND CERTAIN OTHER PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS; AMENDING SECTION 2 OF ORDINANCE 196 AND SECTION 1 OF ORDI- NANCE 1607 TOGETHER WITH SECTION 12.04.180 OF THE PORT TOWNSEND MUNICIPAL CODE; ADDING NEW SECTIONS TO CHAPTER 12.04 AND CHAPTER 16.04 OF THE PORT TOWNSEND ~NICIPAL CODE; AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE The City Council of Port Townsend, after public hearing, makes the following findings: 1) Much of the land within the City was subdivided and platted many years ago prior to the exzstence of current subdivi- sion standards and requirements. 2) Many of the older subdivisions, plats and additions to the City included platted or dedicated public rights-of-way of varying widths and have yet to be physically developed for use by the pub- lic, or have been inadequately developed for use by the public. 3) There has recently been rapid growth and development within the City, extending to many of these areas which are not subject to current subdivision requirements, and which has resulted in many streets, public ways and necessary public improvements being inadequately develooed. 4) Many of these and other areas within the City are inade- quately served by roadways, street lighting systems, sidewalks and walkways, curbs and gutters, storm drainage facilities, water, sewer and other public utilities, and other public improvements. 5) Public rights-of-way or street improvements are necessary and should be required of those who propose to use the same or whose construction requires the same because a. adequately developed streets are required to provide safe and efficient traffic circulation and access to properties by fire and other emergency vehicles; ORDINANCE ~Z/~ - 1 b. curbs, sidewalks and other walkways are required to provide safe and efficient pedestrian access; c. streets within the City should provide space for bi- cycle traffic and on-street parking of motor vehicles; d. curbs, gutters and other storm drainage facilities are required to control and minimize damage from storm water runoff; e. public utilities should be installed where required during initial street construction to avoid later damage, cutting, digging or excavation of streets where practicable; f. street lighting and traffic lights and control devices and signs are necessary for traffic safety and safety of pedestrians. 6) The provision of these public-facilities is~necessary for the public health, safety and welfare and betterment of the City. 7) The requirements of this Ordinance will help the develop- ment of public facilities to be at appropriate standards and help minimize future costs that may be necessary to bring public facili- ties to appropriate standards. 8) Property hereafter subdivided is required to include the provision and construction of necessary street and public improve- ments. 9) In certain circumstances, relief by variance or waiver from normally required public improvement standards should be avail- able where such improvements are not necessary or are impracticable. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND, IN REGULAR SESSION ASSEMBLED, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The purpose of this Ordinance is to establish the authority of' the City of Port Townsend to require any person or en- tity applying for a building permit, or seeking to open, develop, improve or use for vehicular access or traffic any street or alley to make reasonable public improvements to such street or alley; to establish procedures that will be used to provide for public im- provements by such persons or entities; to establish criteria which will be used to determine the nature, extent and location of a re- quired public improvement; and to establish standards which will be used with respect to the public improvements so required. In addi- tion, it is recognized that variations from required standards may be necessary or appropriate in certain cases, and it is a further purpose of this Ordinance to establish a procedure for the Public Works Department of the City to grant such variations on a case-by- case basis. ORDINANCE %~.~D - 2 - Section 2. There is here and hereby added to Chapter 12.04 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code the following Section to be codi- fied as Section 12.04.175 providing for definitions as follows. "12.04.175 Definitions. shall apply throughout this Chapter: The following definitions "a. Alley: Means a public thoroughfare or way having a width of not more than twenty (20) feet which nor- mally affords only a secondary means 'of access to abutting proper- ties. "b. Collector street: Means a street that carries traffic from local access streets to the major system of arterial streets and provides access to abutting property, and includes any street shown as a collector street on the comprehen- sive plan or other official plan of the City, or on a Master Plan prepared by a developer and approved by the City. "c. Cul-de-sac: Means a short street having one end open to traffic and being terminated at the other end by a vehicular turn-around. "d. Local access street: Means a pub- lic right-of-way used primarily to provide access to abutting prop- erties, or is shown as such on a Master Plan prepared by a developer and approved by the City. "e. Major arterial street: Means a street of exceptional continuity, either existing or proposed, that is intended to carry a heavy portion of through traffic from one distant area to another, and shall include any street designated as a major arterial street on the comprehensive plan or any other offi- cial plan of the City, or on a Master Plan prepared by a developer and approved by the City. "f. Secondary arterial street: Means a street, either existing or proposed, that is intended to carry heavy amounts of traffic generated within the community, and to provide access to abutting property, and includes any street designated as a secondary arterial street on the comprehensive plan or any other of- ficial plan of the City, or on a Master Plan prepared by a developer and approved by the City. "g. City street standards: Means those standards for street construction set forth in Section 12.04.180(a), as now or hereafter ~ended, together with any other requirements for street standards provided by other ordinances of the City. "h. Minimum interim street standards: Means those street standards contained in Section 12.04.180(b), as ORDINANCE 2~;p - 3 - now or hereafter amended, together with any other requirements which may apply to streets developed pursuant to that subsection. "i. Opened street: Means a public right-of-way developed to make it reasonably suited to accommodate vehicular traffic and to meet the requirements of the Uniform Fire Code, as now or hereafter amended, for access to buildings and structures, and which meets the "minimum interim street standard" or any permitted variation thereof of the City. "j. Accepted street: Means a public right-of-way fully developed to the applicable ~'city street stan- dard,'' or any permitted variation thereof, together with any re- quired public improvements, and which is accepted as such by the City Council. "k. Street improvements: Means the in- stallation of all public facilities required to improve the street to city street standards, including grading, drainage, pavement, utilities, curb/gutter, sidewalk, street lights, traffic signals and signs, and other necessary appurtenances. "1. Marginal access: Means a public right-of-way of less than the required width and which serves four (4) or fewer lots or dwelling units or proposed dwelling units." "m. Hammerhead turn-around: Means a Ti section area at the end of a street that is designed to provide temporary fire apparatus turn-around area." Section 3. Section 2 of Ordinance 196 and Section 1 of Ordi- nance 1607, together with Section 12.04.180 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code, are each here and hereby amended as follows: "12.04.180 Permit required for improving streets or sidewalks. (a) Except as provided in subsecti~'n '(b) of this Section, any person required or wishing to grade, lay oC construct any street, alley or roadway, or make any kind of improve- ments in or upon any street, alley or roadway', or use any unopened or undeveloped street, alley or roadway for' vehicular traffic within the City ~hall, before commencing the same, procure from the (s~ee~ s~pe~i~emde~) public works director or its designee of the City a permit specifying the number of the lots and bloc~'in front of, or through which, the work is proposed to be performed, the name of the street, alley or roadway, a{particular designation of the proposed improvements, and the legnth of time allowed for the completion thereof. All such streets, alleys and roadways shall be constructed to the to the grade established by the (city engineer) public works director, shall be surfaced with (Class-F) asphalt paving.'(s~-eq~atv shatl-haYe-wa~e~-a~d-sa~i~a~y-sewe~-times) installed over base speci- fied by the public works director, with paving extending from curb ORDINANCE - 4 - to curb or shoulder to shoulder (me~-½ess-~ham-~hi~y-six-fee~-be- eweem-e~bs), and shall have installed therein storm drains and catch basins or approved drainage ditch system, and water and sani- tary sewer lines. Standards of construction shall be (~hese-s~am- da~s-es~abtished-by-~he-$~a~e-ef-Washing~en-~ighway-Bepa~mem~-fe~ Umeighbeehoed-s~eee~s=u) as set forth in the following tables, and as specified in the latest revision of the APWA'/DOT Standard Speci- fications, provided that in the case of any conflict the provisions of this Section shall control.: ORDINANCE ~.~(~ - 5 - I--I - 6 - ~DNVNI~O J----,~ICJ.'IT OF WAY ! J J-5.o'-.Jj--8.o' - ' .re.o' -L 'tO.O' · I ---ITHER ~ OR - PER TP~N_~'PO.~TA~ON PLAN LOCAL/ CU~-D£-SAC ? ""--RII3HT OF WAY UNE RK;HT OF WAY UNE''''~ .... ,~,-O.O' - s.o' ~ ~o.o'- ~-: ~o.o' =~=~o' ~ 5.o' - MARGINAL · .3' ~;'RU~;HF.,D :5'U:R?AC~NG._.J v OV'&-R ..q" E, ALLAST PER TRA~ORTA.,'TION PLAN MINIMUM STREEFF 'STANDARD --CITY OF PORT 'TOWNSEND t0-9-90 ~'-R:O"HT Or' ';;AT LINE I I 24.0' (NO ~'ARKJNG) 52_0' r_,.UP.~ TO OJR:~ -- [: 24.0' i MAJOR ARTERIAL RIG"fiT OF ;VA'Y' UNE ] RICHT OF' WAY' UNE"'~ 1 PA~ING * · PE]:~ TRAN'~. ORTATION PLAN SE(~ONDARY ARTERIAL hR1GHT Or 'NAY LINE I COLL£CTO~ PJGHT OF. WAY LINE -- ' &O' ~ ,',','%0" '1 CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND 0AA ¢-.% I0 I0-9-90 (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this Sec- tion, the Public Works Director is authorized'~o issue a permit for the" development and opening of a street to be constructed to the minimum interim street standards as defined in Section 12.04.175(h), and which shall be sufficient for the issuance of a building permit for the residential construction to be served by said street, but only if each of the following criteria is satisfied: (1) The pro, posed development is four or fewer residential units; and (2) The._pK.operty owner enters into a no-protest agreement in form and substance acceptable to the Pub- lic Works Director, agreeing not to pr~test or'o~jec~ to formation of a local improvement' ~istrict to complet~ development of the street at a later date by assessment of property owners. Such 'no-protest agreements shall run with lheland and be enfor'ceable and bi~ding upon the successors in interest to the property. (3) Any such street permitted to be opened pursuant to this subsection shall be dev'el0ped as a foot wide gravel road, properly constructed wi~h base and crushe~ surfacing top course 'in accordance with specificatlons set forth by the Public Works Director. Drainage ditches,-tdgethe~ with water and sewer.lines, shall also be installed where'require~. (c~' Developments of five or more resi- dential units, commercial developments or othe~ developments as de- termined by the Public Works'Director, are re,hired to conduct master planning studies for transportation, d~ainl'ge and water and sewer systems in order to provide and assUre ~hat such public serv- ices are coordinated ~nd compatible with existing or proposed public services and facilities. SuCh plans shall be developed in accordance with criteria estJblished'by the Public Works Dir'ector~ who shall b&"¥esponsible to review and approve or disapprove all such ~'lans. An approved plan is required pri~r ~o any permit to"proceed wi'th construction of any public services or facilities requir~d"by this subparagraph. (d) In addition to the standards set forth in this Section, the following'additional requirements shall apply: (1) Reverse curves on all streets shall be separated by tangents of at least one hundred feet'"'~n length. (2) All changes in street grades shall be connected by vertical curves of a minimum length ~f t~o hundred feet, unless otherwise specified by the P6bli~ Works Director. (3) Street curbs at intersections ORDINANCE -9- shall be rounded by radii of at least twenty feet, or as directed by the Public Works Director. (4) Property or subdivisions which adjoin existing streets may be required to dedicate additidnal right- of-way to meet the above minimum right-of-way requirements, k~ere any part of the subdivision is on both sides of ~he street, one en- tire rightqof-way shall' be prbvided; where it is l~c~ted on one side only, one-half of the required right-of-way shali.~e provided. (5) The number of local access streets intersecting with major and secondary arterials shall be held to the minimum. (6) Street jogs must have a minimum centerline offset of one hundred and twenty-five feet. (7) Ail permanent dead-end and cul- de-sac streets shall be no more than six hundred feet long and shall' terminate in a circular turn-around'having a minimum right-of-way diameter of one hundred feet, or such other turn-around as set forth in the latest revision Of the APWA/DOT Standard Specifications. (8) For temporary dead-end streets, cul-de-sacs or hammerheads may be provided. Cullde-sacs shall meet the standards set forth in subparagraph (7) above, and hammerheads must be a minimum in depth of one hundred and twenty feet "T.'7 (9) Storm drainage ditches and/or and water and sewer lines, where required, shall curbs and gutters, be installed upon any street development. (10) All street improvements shall be from the nearest existing opened street right-of-way to and through the property to be served by such street to the next intersection un- less an ~pproved cul-de-sac or other fire apparatus turn-around is provided. (11) If the street to be opened and improved connects to an unpaved or substandard street, the Public Works Director may require off-site improvements to be made.'~.the connecting street to make such' street conform to at least the minimum interim street standards. (12) Any lot abutting both an alley and other intersecting City street, for which A building per~it has been issued for construction upon such lot prior to the effective date of this Ordinance, shall not be deemed or treated for any pur- pose as a "corner" lot upon such alley.. (13) All curbcuts, driveways or other points of'access or egress to a street shall be located and conform to specifications of the Public Works Director of the City. (14) Ail driveways on lots which abut any arterial street within the City shall either loop withln the lot and provide separate points of access and egress to the ORDINANCE ~2, k;O - 10 street, or shall have an adequate turn-around'within the lot so that vehicular traffic onto the street from such lot may enter the street by forward rather than backward movement. (16) All street or alley improve- ments shall be constructed by a contractor or contractors duly li- censed and bonded under the laws of Washington State. (e) Any person'or entity may apply for a variance or waiver of any public improvement requirements by filing with the City Clerk a request for the same to be granted by the Pub- lic Works Director. The application shall be accompanied by a filing fee in the amount of $50.00. The Public Works Director shall sched- ule a meeting to be held within thirty days of the date of filing of the application to hear the request and make a determination. The Public Works Director may conduct a public hearing and may continue the meeting one time or to any later date agreed to by the applicant. The variance or waiver may be from any or all requirements, or parts thereof; may require other standards to be satisfied by the applicant; and may be subject to any conditions which the Public Works'Director deems necessary in the public interest, health and welfare. No such waiver or variance shall be granted unless the Public Works Director makes the following findings: (1) That special conditions exist with respect to the land or area such as size, shape, topography, location, density, traffic, greenbelts, open space, character of neighborhood, character of the environment or other factors not gen- erally applicable to other lands or areas, such that the improvement requirements would be unnecessary, inappropriate or unreasonably burdensome; (2) That the'special conditions do not result from actions of the applicant; (3) That granting the variance or waiver will not confer a special privilege to the applicant denied to other similarly situated land owners; (4) That it would nbt ben.materially detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare, or. to other properties or improvements in the area; (5) That the reasons set forth by the applicant for the variance or waiver justify the granting of the same; (6) That it will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of this Section and will not be jurious to the neighborhood; and (7) That the strict requirements of this Section would otherwise not be reasonable as applied to the applicant. ORDINANCE -11- The decision of the Public Works Director may be appealed to the City Council by filing of a request together with a filing fee of $100.00 within thirty days of the Public Works Director's decision. The appeal shall be conducted as set forth in this Subsection. Any decision of the Public Works Director not appealed from, or of the City Council on appeal, grant- ing or denying a waiver or variance, in whole or in part, shall be final at the time made. Any appeal or review of such decision by any Court or other tribunal must be filed within thirty days of the date of such decision or the same shall be barred. Section 4. If any property owner elects to undertake the work by contract or otherwise to open or develop any street as set forth in this Ordinance, the City Council is authorized to enter into a reimbursement contract with such owner pursuant to the provisions of RCW 35.72, on such terms and conditions as the City Council may deem best. Section 5. If for any reason the Public Works Director deter- mines that public improvements required by this Ordinance need not be immediately constructed but may be deferred so that a building or other permit may immediately be issued, he or she may approve of the same in writing, setting forth the reasons for such deferral and the date by which the improvements are to be completed. In ad- dition, he or she shall require a cash deposit in escrow for the anticipated costs of the improvements which shall be available to the City to do or have the work done in the event that the applicant fails to complete the improvements when required, under escrow in- structions with a holder and in substance and form acceptable to the Public Works Director. Alternatively, the Public Works Director may accept a bond or other security to cover the estimated costs of the improvements, in substance and form acceptable to the Public Works Director. Section 6. Street development permits required by this Ordi- nance shall'b~ issued by the Public Works Director of the City on forms provided by the Director and shall include the following in- formation: (a) Name, address and telephone number of the property owner and its contractors; (b) Date work is to commence; (c) Description of street to be improved; (d) Description of the applicant's property; ORDINANCE -12- (e) Description of the work to be done; (f) Specifications set forth or incorporated by reference to which the improvements are to be constructed; (g) Terms and conditions of any variance or waiver, if applicable; (h) Date by which work is to be completed, which shall not be later than ninety days after the date the permit is issued; and (i) Such other information which the Public Works Director may reasonably deem necessary or appropriate. The fee for any such permit shall be $50.00. The permit holder shall be deemed to be both the property owner and any contractor in whose names the permit is issued. Section 7. There is added to Chapter 16. 04 of the Port To~nsend Municipal Code a new section to read as follows: "16. 0~_. Street Improvments. "(a) Except as set forth in Subsec- tion (b) of this Section, no building permit shall be issued by the City until the applicant has provided street and other public im- provements as required by Chapter 12.04 of the Port Townsend Munici- pal Code, as now or hereafter amended, together with necessary utility facilities as may be required by other crdinances of the City. "(b) An applicant need not comply with Chapter 12.04 for the following reasons: "(1) A permit for a building on a lot legally subdivided after the effective date of this Ordinance; or "(2) A permit to make an addition, alteration or repairs of less than $25,000.00 in cost to an existing structure, provided, however, that this amount shall be adjusted an- nually, starting October 1~ 1991, if there is an adjustment in the Consumer Price Index - Ail Urban Consumers - for. the City of Seattle, in relation to the base period Index, as published by the United States Department of Labor Bulletin of Labor Statistics. The base period Index shall be the Index existing 'on September 30, 1990, and shall be compared with the Index on. October 1, 1991, and annually thereafter. The dollar amount set forth in this subparagraph shall ORDINANCE be increased by the same percentage increase in the Index from the previous year. "(3) A permit to make wholly in- terior improvements within an existing structure." Section 8. (a) A permit obtained by any person, including any property owner or contractor, who fails to commence or complete the required improvements within the time required by such permit may be immediately revoked by the Public Works Director, provided, how- ever, that the Director may extend the time for commencement or completion of such improvements for an additional period not to exceed one year. (b) The provisions of any permit hereunder, and any no-protest agreement or covenant to participate in a local im- provement district which may be required, shall be listed as a con- dition of any approved building permit issued in conjunction there- with and may be enforced as part of the approved building permit. (c) Any person, firm or entity violating any of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be guilty of a civil infrac- tion, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500.00 for the first violation and $1,000.00 for the second or any subsequent violation. In addition, any person, firm or entity which has been issued a building permit, street development permit or other permit of the City zn connection with or pursuant to this Ordinance may be required to immediately cease all work under such permit, and the City's Planning and Building Department is authorized to cause all work to cease under any such permit and to void and nullify such permit. (d) A Notice of Infraction may be issued by a City police officer, the City Attorney, or the Public Works Director or designee. Upon issuance of a Notice of Infraction, all the proce- dures and provisions of Sections 8.04.410, 8.04.420, 8.04.430 and 8.04.440 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code shall apply. Section 9. Sections 1 thorugh 6, inclusive, and Section 8 of this Ordinance shall be added as new Sections to Chapter 12.04 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code. Section 10. If any term or provision of this Ordinance is determined to be invalid by any Court of competent jurisdiction, then the remainder of this Ordinance shall not be affected by such determination but shall continue in full force and effect. Section 11. This Ordinance shall take effect upon its passage, approval and publication in the form and manner provided by law. ORDINANCE -14- Read for the first, second and third times, passed by the City Council for the City of Port Townsend, and signed by the Mayor this 9th day of October , 1990. Attest David A. Grove, City Clerk Approv~ as to f~rm: Keith C. Harper, City Attorney ORDINANCE -15-