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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2317 Subdivision RegulationsORDINANCE. .2317.. AN ORDINANCE relating to subdivision; defining short subdivision; clarifying the applicable standards for design, size, shape and orientation of lots in proposed short plats; removing the exemption for family gifts; adding a new section and amending Sections 18.08.190, 18.38.021 and 18.38.120 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code; and establishing an effective date. Section 1. A new section 18.08.175, providing a definition of "short subdivision or short plat," is hereby added to the Port Townsend Municipal Code to read as follows-. 18,08.175 ShOr~ Subdivision or Short Plat. " S h o r t Subdivision" or "Short Plat" means the division or redivision of land into nine or fewer lots, tracts, parcels, sites or divisions for the purpose of sale, lease, or transfer of ownership. Section 2. Section 18.08.190 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code is hereby amended as follows: 18,08.190 Subdivision or long plat. "Subdivision" or "long plat" means ~ee~es)) ~he division or redivision of land into ten or more lots~.tracts, parcels..sit~S or divisions for the purpose of sale. lease, or transfer Of ownership. section 3. Section 18.38.021 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code is hereby amended as follows: 18.38.0~1 Exemptions. A. The following are exempt from the provisions of this chapter: 1. Cemeteries and other burial plots while used for.that purpose; - 1 - (Port Townsend 10/92) 2. Division made by testamentary provisions, or the laws of descent. B. The following are exempt from the provisions of this chapter, except that each and every tract, parcel lot or division so created, be surveyed and marked on the ground by a land surveyor, registered with the state in accordance with the Survey Recording Act of 1973 and applicable current Washington Administrative Code and the Revised Code of Washington: ev---~%ee~i~4~l--~¥~s~ems-~~-~-Se~e~se~ ~esa~e-~-~-~~-~~fr~~~~~~-e~-~he ((~)) ~. Divisions relating to the acquisition of land by public agencies, including, but not limited to, divisions made for road widening purposes; ~)) ~. Divisions by private parties for land restricted solely for tee use as a means of ingress and egress; ((4)) ~. Divisions for lease where such land is to be used for the sole purpose of agriculture; ((~)) ~. Divisions of land into lots or tracts one one- hundred-twenty-eighth of a section of land or larger, or five acres or larger if the land is not capable of description as a fraction of a section of land; provided: a. That for the purposes of computing the size of any lot under this item which borders on a street or road, the lot size shall be expanded to include that area which would by bounded by the centerline of the road or street and side 10t lines running perpendicular to such centerlines, b. Such divisions provide a sixty-foot legal access easement or right-of-way for ingress, egress, and utilities serving all tracts so divided, c. The nature of the access, or lack thereof, shall be made a part of the legal description of the property, and d. Land so divided shall not be resubdivided within five years without the approval of a final long plat, unless each and every tract within the resubdivision is also five acres or - 2 - (Port Townsend 10/92) larger; ((6)) ~. Division of land into lots or tracts where the overall density of the entire parcel being divided does not exceed one unit per five acres or larger if the land is not capable of description as a fraction of a section of land; provided: a. That for the purposes of computing the size of any lot under this item which borders on a street or road, the lot size shall be expanded to include that area which would be bounded by the centerline of the road or street and the side lot lines running perpendicular to such centerlines, b. Such divisions provide a sixty-foot legal access easement or right-of-way for ingress, egress, and utilities serving all tracts so divided, c. Legal access of no specified width, from a public road to the entire tract of land being divided, shall be secured, d. Residential lots or tracts meet standards of the Jefferson County health department as related to water supply and sewage disposal, e. Each lot or tract so created has a combination of divided and undivided (or common) interest in five acres or greater, f. Undivided or common interest tracts be adjacent to, or contiguous with, or functionally related to, residential lots so created, g. Restrictive covenants or other means shall be employed to maintain the prescribed density and common area, h. Land so divided shall not be resubdivided within three years without the approval of the final long plat, unless each and every tract within the resubdivision is also five acres or larger; ((~)) ~. Land divided solely for the purpose of minor line adjustment as set forth in Chapter 18.60 of this title; (($)) !. A single parcel deed release for home mortgage purposes, provided such parcel meets standards of the Jefferson County health department for lot area as related to water supply and sewage disposal. Section 4. Section 18.38.120 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code is hereby amended as follows: 18.38.120 Design criteria. A. Lots. 1. Ail lots shall conform with the requirements of amy a~e~e~-~e-~m~eme~-%~i~ ~ ._ '-. ~1~ Title 17. Zoning. of thePort Townsend Municipal Code; provided, that in the event of a discrepancy~tween the standards established in this chapter and ~hese~e~e~-~m~~~~-~~~ Title ~7, the more restrictive h~he~-standard should apply. 2. The design, shape, size and orientation of lots shall be appropriate to the use for which the lots are intended and the - 3 - (Port Townsend 10/92) character of the area in which they are located. Lot areas in excess of minimum standards may be required for reason of sanitation, steep slopes, slide hazards, poor drainage, flood hazards, or other unique conditions or features which warrant protection of the public interest. 3. For the purpose of this chapter, minimum lot area shall meet one of the following standards: a. Lots served by community water and sanitary sewer, seven thousand two hundred square feet; or b. Lots eligible for summary approval pursuant to Section 18.38.040 (e 2) shall have a minimum 10t area of five thousand square feet if both of the following conditions are met: i. Such eligible 10ts abut the platted property which is divided into 10ts of less than seven thousand two hundred square feet in area each, and ii. Such eligible lots do not abut any unplatted property, excluding publicly owned properties. Properties separated bya public street right-of-way shall not be considered abutting properties for the purposes of the section; or c. Property in single ownership on the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section and which property is less than fourteen thousand four hundred square feet in area shall have a minimum lot area of five thousand square feet; or d. All other lots shall meet requirements of the Jefferson County health department and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. B. Roads. 1. Roads shall be designated with appropriate consideration for existing and projected roads, anticipated traffic patterns, topographic and drainage conditions, public convenience and safety, and the proposed uses of land served. 2. Minimum roadway design standards shall be in conformance with "City Design Standards," published by the Washington State Department of Transportation, January, 1980, or latest revision. 3. Cul-de-sacs shall have right-of-way diameters of one hundred feet at the closed end. 4. Where necessary to join with existing roads, or to provide for future overall area circulation, roads may be required to extend to the outside boundaries of short subdivision. 5. Half-width roads shall be prohibited except adjacent to existing half-width roads. 6. Design and construction of public roads shall conform with "1984 Standard Specifications for Road, Bridge, and Municipal Construction," prepared by Washington State Department of Transportation and American Public Works Association, or latest revision thereof. 7. Road grades, curves, and intersections shall provide adequate sight distances for traffic safety. 8. Short subdivisions shall incorporate limited access provisions where they are adjacent to arterial or collector roads. - 4 - (Port Townsend 10/92) C. Parks, Open Spaoe, Community Sites and Facilities. The provisions of parks, open space, and/or community facilities is not required, but is optional on the part of the subdivider, and may weigh in consideration of the application. D. Easement. 1. Easements shall be provided for utility installation and maintenance and shall conform to standard width of five feet on each side of interior lot lines and five feet along front lot lines. 2. Where a subdivision is traversed by a water-course, a drainage channel, or a stream provisions shall be made for a drainage easement conforming substantially with the alignment of the watercourse and an adequate width for maintenance and erosion control purposes. This requirement shall not entail any responsibility for watercourse maintenance on the part of the city and arrangements for maintenance may be required to the satisfaction of the city public works director. 3. Where configuration of the land in a short subdivision is such that it is not feasible to dispose of road and lot drainage by means of a natural watercourse and where volume of runoff anticipated could cause damage if disposed of over neighboring property, suitable easement and necessary drainage works and maintenance arrangements shall be provided over the neighboring property to the satisfaction of the city public works director. 4. Buffer strips or protective easements may be required and the minimum lot depth requirement may be increased where a plat is adjacent to a railroad, an arterial road, a commercial or industrial development, tidelands, shorelands, marshes or streamways, or other land use from which separation or screening is deemed advisable. E. Unsuitable Land. Marshes, swamps, streamways, tidelands, aquifer-recharge areas, and land subject to flooding or having bad drainage, and land having steep slopes, or geological hazards and such other land as the city public works department of Jefferson County health department find unsuitable for the purpose of building sites, may be included in the boundaries of a short plat as community property, recreation area, or other similar open space, or may be included as part of a lot; except any lot containing such unsuitable land must also contain sufficient land of suitable characteristics to meet city standards for construction of a dwelling. Section 5. Severability. In the event any one or more of the provisions of this ordinance shall for any reason be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect or invalidate any other provision of this ordinance, but this ordinance shall be construed and enforced as if such invalid provision had not been contained therein; provided, that any provision which shall for any reason be held by reason of its extent to be invalid shall be deemed to be in effect tO the extent permitted by law. - 5 - (Port Townsend 10/92) Section 6. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective five days after its passage and publication. /~for ~he first, th~City ~ou~il of the thereof, By J ~__ ;-,. . --~ J~:n M. Clise, Mayo~ David A. Grove, City clerk second and third time times and passed by City of Port Townsend, Washington, at a held this 5th . day of October, 1992. Approved as to Dennis McLerran, City Attorney I~H C: ~::om~t\plat:.ord ADDED TEXT - 6 - (Port Townsend 10/92)