Chapter 16.18
IMPROVEMENTS
Sections:
16.18.020 City standards and specifications.
16.18.030 Improvements required.
16.18.050 Review by City Engineer.
16.18.060 Revisions to approved plans.
16.18.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to define, specify, regulate and control the design and improvement of public works facilities, both on-site and off-site, and other construction requirements imposed as conditions of the acceptance or approval or conditional approval of subdivision maps, parcel maps, boundary adjustments, reversions to acreage, land development by use permit or building permit, or other public works permits, and all other procedures and processes where public or private improvements, construction, and improvement or construction plans are required as a condition prior to official City approval. (Ord. 80 § 1, 1982; CC § 81.701)
16.18.020 City standards and specifications.
All public and private improvements and construction required and described in this chapter shall conform to the standards, policies, and specifications of the City, as adopted by resolution of the City Council, on file in the office of the City Clerk. (Ord. 80 § 1, 1982; CC § 81.702)
16.18.030 Improvements required.
A. The minimum public and/or private improvements and conditions which shall be required to be made or guaranteed to be made under the provisions of this division shall include all or any combination of the following:
1. The improvement of public and private streets to provide suitable access and traffic circulation, including the construction and paving of streets, alleys, paths, accessways, private streets and easements, and the construction of sidewalks, curbs and gutters, driveway approaches, transitions and other street work appurtenant thereto, and the execution of a Road Maintenance Agreement, in a form approved by the City Attorney, covering the maintenance of all nondedicated streets and accessways;
2. A sewerage system, consisting of either a gravity sanitary sewerage system or a septic system approved by the County Health Officer, to provide adequate collection of waste from each lot, parcel, or structure within the area being divided or developed;
3. A water supply system, capable of supplying adequate supplies of potable water, either from the City’s water system or from domestic wells;
4. A fire protection system, consisting of hydrants and appurtenances, including storage tanks capable of providing fire protection to the lots, parcels and structures, shall be installed as required by the Director of Safety Services;
5. Storm drain systems, capable of adequately collecting and disposing of storm runoff, shall be installed as required to protect the area of development from flooding, inundation, and from damage caused by erosion or sedimentation;
6. A street lighting system;
7. Traffic control and warning signs, pavement striping and markings;
8. Traffic signal facilities, including controllers, sensors, safety lighting and interconnecting facilities and appurtenances;
9. Landscaping and irrigation facilities and improvements in conjunction with highway slopes, median islands, and parkway beautification. All public and private landscape and irrigation projects shall be designed in accordance with Chapter 17.41 PMC and the City of Poway Landscape and Irrigation Design Manual and approved by the Director of Development Services, except that landscaping which will be maintained by the City shall be approved by the Director of Public Works;
10. Installation of trails, hiking trails, bicycle paths, equestrian trails, and other facilities as required on any element of the City general plan;
11. Installation of utilities, including telephone, electrical power, gas, and cable television systems and facilities to each lot, parcel, or structure in the area of development. All new utility distribution facilities required as a condition of any subdivision or parcel map shall be placed underground. Transformer, terminal boxes, meter cabinets, pedestals, concealed ducts, and other facilities appurtenant to such underground facilities may be placed above ground. The requirement for undergrounding existing utilities shall not apply to any overhead power transmission lines in excess of 34,500 volts and long distance and main trunk communication facilities. The requirement for undergrounding utility facilities may be waived or modified by the City Council in accordance with criteria and provisions for such as adopted by resolution of the City Council;
12. Improvements of supplemental size, capacity or number for the benefit of property not within the boundaries of the subdivision, parcel map, or area of development. All such additional or supplemental facilities shall be dedicated to the City for public use. When such additional or supplemental facilities are required, the City may enter into a reimbursement agreement with the subdivider or developer, in a form approved by the City Attorney, which shall provide for reimbursement from all parties or owners of properties benefited by said facilities at the time such facilities are utilized by said parties, owners, or properties. The amount of the reimbursement shall be equal to the difference in cost between the total actual cost of the improvements, including the additional or supplemental facilities, and the cost of the improvements had not the additional or supplemental facilities been required;
13. Masonry, wood or composite material fences and walls, for sound attenuation, separation, beautification, or for the control of erosion and sloughage onto public sidewalks or streets;
14. Any other facility or improvement deeded necessary for the public health and safety and the orderly development of the surrounding area;
15. The design of a subdivision for which a tentative map is required, pursuant to Chapter 16.08 PMC, shall provide to the extent feasible, opportunities in the subdivision or lot division for future passive or natural heating or cooling:
a. Examples of passive or natural heating opportunities include design of lot or parcel size and configuration to permit orientation of structures in an east-west alignment for southern exposure; and design of lot or parcel size and configuration to permit orientation of structures to take advantage of shade or prevailing breezes,
b. In providing for future passive or natural heating or cooling opportunities in subdivision design, consideration shall be given to local climate, contour, configuration of the property to be divided, and to other design and improvement requirements, and such provision shall not result in reducing allowable densities or the percentage of a lot which may be occupied by a building or structure under applicable planning and zoning in force at the time the tentative map is filed;
16. Each lot within the subdivision or parcel map shall have unobstructed access to sunlight to an area of not less than 100 square feet, falling in a horizontal plane 10 feet above the grade of the buildable area of the lot. The condition of unobstructed solar access shall be considered to be achieved when a specific area of not less than 100 square feet has an unobstructed skyview of the sun between azimuths of the sun at 45 degrees to the east and 45 degrees to the west of true south on December 21st. The purpose of this requirement is to assure solar access to solar water heating systems as required by other applicable codes, located on any future structure built on the lot.
a. This requirement shall not apply to specific lots whenever a subdivider can demonstrate that it is infeasible to comply due to:
i. A finding that the provisions of this section will result in reducing the allowable densities under applicable planning and zoning in force at the time the tentative map is filed;
ii. A finding that the provisions of this section will result in reducing the percentage of a lot which may be occupied by a building or structure under applicable planning and zoning in force at the time the tentative map is filed;
iii. A finding that compliance cannot be accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, social and technological factors;
iv. A finding that it is infeasible to comply due to topographical conditions on or surrounding the land being subdivided, the configuration or orientation of the property being subdivided or existing road patterns contiguous to the subject property;
v. A finding that the nature of the existing or allowed future development contiguous to the subject property precludes adequate solar access to specific lots.
B. No final approval shall be given to any final subdivision map, parcel map, reversion map, adjustment plat, land development permit, use permit, building permit, or other procedure or process requiring City approval, until all improvements required as a condition of its approval or conditional approval have either been constructed in accordance with City standards and specifications, or the subdivider or developer has entered into a suitable agreement to do such work and improvements and has posted improvement securities, all as required and described elsewhere in this division. (Ord. 700 § 2, 2009; Ord. 518, 1999; Ord. 480, 1997; Ord. 322, 1990; Ord. 178 § 1(B), 1985; Ord. 80 § 1, 1982; CC § 81.703)
16.18.040 Improvement plans.
A. Improvement plans for all required improvements conditioned upon the approval or conditioned approval of any subdivision map, parcel map, or other action or procedure requiring City approval, shall be required to be prepared and approved prior to their construction.
B. Such plans shall be prepared by a Civil Engineer, registered in the State. Improvement plans shall show complete plans, profiles, and details of all improvements to be constructed, and shall be in a form and content as approved by the City Engineer.
C. Any such plans submitted for the approval of the City Engineer shall be accompanied with all such supplementary plans, plats, sketches, calculations, and studies as required by the City Engineer, including but not limited to hydrology studies, hydraulics studies, structural calculations, quantity estimates, bond estimates, cost estimates, sewerage and water studies, septic system feasibility analyses, water well yield analyses, geohydrologic studies, soil reports, geology reports, traffic studies, pavement analyses, and all such other information and data as required to determine compliance with City standards, specifications, policies and accepted good engineering practice. (Ord. 80 § 1, 1982; CC § 81.704)
16.18.050 Review by City Engineer.
A. Improvement plans as required in this chapter shall be submitted for the review and approval of the City Engineer. Upon completion of his review, and upon correction and revision of the drawings and when the City Engineer has been satisfied that they comply with City standards, specifications and policies, with the conditions of approval of any map or permit, and when all fees and charges have been paid for such review and required securities posted as outlined elsewhere in this division, the City Engineer shall sign and date the plans. Upon his signature, the originals of the drawings shall become the property of the City. The originals will thereafter be made available for reproduction to the subdivider and his engineer through bonded blueprinting establishments.
B. A reasonable deposit shall be paid by the subdivider or developer, prior to the City Engineer’s review of any improvement plans, to cover the expenses thereof, in an amount and the manner set by City Council resolution.
C. The City Engineer’s signature upon such drawings shall not be construed as his or the City’s acceptance or approval of the detailed design, exact grades, or mathematical correctness of the drawings, but shall only be interpreted as his and the City’s approval of the general design content and with its compliance with established City standards, policies, and specifications, and substantially with the conditions of approval of any tentative map or permit attendant thereto. (Ord. 80 § 1, 1982; CC § 81.704.1)
16.18.060 Revisions to approved plans.
A. By Subdivider. Requests by the subdivider or the engineer for revisions to the approved plans appearing necessary or desirable during construction shall be submitted in writing to the City Engineer or his appointee and shall be accompanied by drawings showing the proposed revision. If the revision is acceptable, the originals shall be made available for revision in a manner as approved by the City Engineer, and afterward shall be initialled by the City Engineer signifying approval of the revision. Construction of any proposed revision will not be permitted to commence until such revision has been approved and revised plans have been received and forwarded to the City’s Engineering Inspection Division.
B. By City Engineer. When revisions are deemed necessary by the City Engineer to protect public health and safety, or as field conditions may require, the subdivider and his engineer shall be so notified. The subdivider’s engineer shall revise the plans and transmit copies to the City Engineer for review and approval within such time as specified by the City Engineer. Construction of all or any portion of the improvements may be stopped by the City Engineer until his required revisions have been incorporated into the drawings and revised drawings have been submitted and approved. (Ord. 334 § 20, 1990; Ord. 80 § 1, 1982; CC § 81.704.2)