Chapter 16.24 Design Standards

The layout of streets shall provide for the continuation of principal streets existing in adjoining subdivisions or of their proper projection when adjoining property is not subdivided. The layout shall also provide for future projection of streets into areas which presently are not subdivided. (Ord. 979 §6.02, 1975).

16.24.030 Streets--Access to bodies of water.

Unless topography or ground conditions prevent, subdivisions bordering on a river or public waterfront reservation shall be provided with at least one street not less than sixty feet wide to the low-water mark or the reservation boundary at one-half-mile intervals as measured along such body of water. (Ord. 979 §6.03, 1975).

16.24.040 Streets--Minor.

Minor streets which serve primarily to provide access to abutting property only shall be designed to discourage through traffic. (Ord. 979 §6.04, 1975).

16.24.050 Streets--Dead end.

Streets designed to have one end permanently closed or in the form of a cul-de-sac shall be no longer than four hundred feet and shall be provided at the closed end with a turnaround having a minimum right-of-way radius of not less than fifty feet, or with a Y or T permitting comparable ease of turning. (Ord. 979 §6.05, 1975).

16.24.060 Streets--Alignment.

Connecting street centerlines deflecting from each other at any one point more than ten degrees shall be connected by a curve of at least one hundred feet radius for minor streets and at least three hundred feet radius for major streets. A tangent at least one hundred feet long shall be introduced between curves on arterial streets. (Ord. 979 §6.06, 1975).

16.24.070 Streets--Intersections.

Street intersections shall be as nearly at right angles as is practicable. When the most feasible plan entails an intersection angle that deviates more than fifteen degrees from a right angle, curves of suitable radius and lengths shall be provided. (Ord. 979 §6.07, 1975).

16.24.080 Streets--Jogs at intersections.

Street jogs with centerline offsets of less than one hundred twenty-five feet shall be avoided. (Ord. 979 §6.08, 1975).

16.24.090 Streets--Grades.

Streets shall conform closely to the natural contour of the land, except where a different grade has been established by the city authorities or the agency furnishing municipal services to the community. Grades shall not be less than 0.30 percent on any street and not more than six percent for major streets or ten percent for minor streets; provided, that grades in excess of the maximum established herein may be permitted,upon approval by the city engineer, when it is determined by said engineer that:

(1) The topography of the site in question does not reasonably allow installation of the streets at the grades established in this chapter; and

(2) That the gradient proposed by the proponent of the plat will result in a street of such a nature as to reasonably serve the needs of traffic thereon. Changes in grade shall be connected by easy vertical curves. (Ord. 1071 §1, 1977: Ord. 979 §6.04, 1975). land area in new developments for all the requirements of community life; to conserve and restore natural beauty and other natural resources; and to facilitate adequate provision for transportation, water, sewerage, and other public uses and requirements. (Ord. 979 §1.02, 1975).

16.04.030 Exceptions.

The provisions of this title shall not apply to the following:

(1) Cemeteries and other burial plots while used for that purpose;

(2) Divisions made by testamentary provisions, the laws of descent, or upon court order;

(3) Any division of land into lots or tracts each of which is 1/128th 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, that no dedication of a public right-of-way is required to service the lots, and further provided, that for the purpose of computing the size of any lot 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 of the lot running perpendicular to such centerline;

(4) Any movement of lot lines or exchange of land between adjacent property owners, provided such movement or exchange does not create a new lot and no existing lot thereby becomes substandard within the meaning of the Montesano zoning ordinance as codified in this title;

(5) Any plat which has been granted preliminary approval prior to July 1, 1974. (Ord. 979 §1.03.01, 1975).

16.04.040 Applicability.

Except as provided in Section 16.04.030, the regulations contained in this title shall apply to the subdivision of any lot, parcel or tract of land into two or more lots or tracts, or other divisions of land, for the purpose of sale or building development, whether immediate or future, including the resubdivision or replatting of land or lots. The regulation shall apply in every situation where there is a dedication of streets, alleys, or easements, or land for public use. (Ord. 979 §1.03.02, 1975).

16.04.050 Regulations mandatory--City council authority.

(a) Any map, plat, replat or plan made after April 22,

1975, of any proposed subdivision or any part thereof lying within the corporate limits of the city of Montesano shall be presented for approval and he recorded as prescribed by this title. No such map, plat, replat or plan shall be recorded or have any validity unless or until it shall have

16.24.100 Streets--Width.

(a) Street right-of-way widths shall be as shown in the comprehensive plan of the city, but shall be not less than as follows:

(1) Major street, 80 feet;

(2) Minor street, 60 feet;

(3) Short loop or cul-de-sac street, 60 feet;

(4) Alley 20 feet.

(b) A street lying along the boundary of a subdivision may be dedicated one-half the required width if it is practical to require the dedication of the other half when the adjoining property is subdivided; and, whenever there exists a dedicated half-street of an adjoining plat, the other half shall be dedicated on the proposed plat to make the street complete. (Ord. 979 §6.10, 1975).

16.24.110 Streets--Name.

Streets that are obviously in alignment with others already existing and named shall bear the names of the existing streets. Other streets shall not bear names that duplicate or phonetically approximate the names of existing streets. A street with a general north-south alignment shall be designated "street"; one with a general east-west alignment shall be designated "avenue"; a cul-de-sac shall be designated "court." The designation "way" shall be reserved for long, continuous streets with major thoroughfare characteristics. The designation "boulevard" shall be reserved for long, continuous streets characterized by a broad right-of-way, tree and turf embellishment and carrying predominately noncommercial traffic. Insofar as possible, new streets shall preserve and continue any alphabetical or numerical sequence and type of name already established in nearby subdivisions. (Ord. 979 §6.11, 1975).

16.24.120 Alleys--Required where.

Alleys shall be provided at the rear of all lots intended for business or industrial uses, except that this requirement may be waived by the commission where other definite and assured provision is made for service access, such as off-street loading, unloading and parking consistent with and adequate for the uses proposed. (Ord. 979 §6.12, 1975).

16.24.130 Alleys--Standards.

Dead-end alleys shall be avoided wherever possible, but if unavoidable, shall be provided with adequate turnaround facilities at the dead end. Alley intersections and sharp changes in direction shall be avoided, but where they are necessary, corners shall be cut off sufficiently to permit safe vehicular movement. Alley right-of-way width shall be not less than twenty feet. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, alleys shall follow the general standards governing streets. (Ord. 979 §6.13, 1975).

16.24.140 Easements--Public utilities.

Where alleys are not provided, easements for public utilities shall be provided on each side of all rear lot lines and side lot lines where necessary. Such easements shall not be less than five feet wide on the half-width that is reserved from the rear of each of the adjacent lots. Insofar as possible, the easements shall be continuous and aligned from block to block within the subdivision and with adjoining subdivisions. Easements for existing or future utility lines which do not lie along rear or side lot lines shall be at least ten feet wide. (Ord. 979 §6.14, 1975).

16.24.150 Easements--Unusual facilities.

Easements for unusual facilities such as high-voltage electric lines, irrigation canals and pondage areas, shall be of such widths as is adequate for the purpose, including any necessary maintenance roads. (Ord. 979 §6.15, 1975).

16.24.160 Easements--Watercourses.

Where a subdivision is traversed by a watercourse, drainage way, wasteway, channel or stream, there shall be provided a storm water easement or drainage right-of-way conforming substantially to the lines of such watercourse, drainage way, wasteway, channel or stream, and such future width for construction, or both, as will be adequete for the purpose. (Ord. 979 §6.16, 1975).

16.24.170 Blocks--Length.

In general, blocks shall be as long as is reasonably possible consistent with the topography and the needs for convenient access, circulation, control and safety of street traffic, and type of land use proposed, but ordinarily, block lengths shall not exceed fifteen hundred feet or be less than five hundred feet. (Ord. 979 §6.17, 1975).

16.24.180 Blocks--Width.

Except for reverse-frontage parcels, the width of blocks shall ordinarily be sufficient to allow for two tiers of lots of depths consistent with the type of land use proposed, that is normally not less than two hundred feet for the sum of two lot depths. (Ord. 979 §6.18, 1975).

16.24.190 Blocks--Super.

For large parcels with access provided by a series of cul-de-sac or loop streets entering from the periphery and for large parcels platted into half acre and larger lots, the criteria in Sections 16.24.170 and 16.24.180 shall be disregarded in favor of considerations on an individual basis. Blocks of acreage-type lots, however, shall have block lengths and widths that will lend themselves to later subdivisions in accordance with the standards prescribed in this title. (Ord. 979 §6.19, 1975).

16.24.200 Blocks--Crosswalks required when.

A pedestrian crosswalk right-of-way not less than ten feet wide shall be provided approximately at the midpoint of any block exceeding one thousand feet in length or in any block of lesser length where such a crosswalk is deemed essential to provide circulation or access to schools, playgrounds, shopping centers, transportation lines and other community facilities. (Ord. 979 §6.20, 1975).

16.24.210 Lots--Access.

Each lot shall be provided with satisfactory access by means of a public street connecting to an existing public highway or by some other legally sufficient right of access which is permanent and inseparable from the lot served. (Ord. 979 §6.21, 1975).

16.24.220 Lots--Size.

Lot widths and lot areas shall conform with the zoning restrictions applicable to the area within which the property may be located, except that corner lots for which side yards are required shall have extra width to permit appropriate setback from and orientation to both streets. Lot depths shall be suitable for the land use proposed. (Ord. 979 §6.22, 1975).

16.24.230 Lots--Shape.

Lots shall be as nearly rectangular as possible with side lot lines approximately at right angles or radial to street lines. Ordinarily the ratio of width to depth shall be one to not more than two and one-fourth (1:21/4). (Ord. 979 §6.23, 1975).

16.24.240 Lots--Key.

Key lots shall be avoided where practicable. (Ord. 979 §6.24, 1975).

16.24.250 Lots--Double-frontage.

Residential lots which have street frontage along apposite boundaries shall be avoided except for reverse-frontage lots which are essential to provide separation of residential development from traffic arteries or to overcome specific disadvantages of topography and orientation. For such lots, there shall be an easement in favor of the appropriate governmental entity at least ten feet along the lot lines abutting such a traffic arterial or other disadvantageous use across which there shall be no right of access. (Ord. 979 §6.25, 1975).

16.24.260 Lots--Unsewered--Approval required.

Lots which do not need to be connected to an approved sanitary sewer system under the provisions of this title shall be of sufficient size, considering the type of soil, ground conditions involved, and location of the lots in realtion to public or private water supplies, to allow complete absorption of such septic tank effluent as may reasonably be expected from the uses permitted by applicable zoning restrictions and proposed uses; provided, that all lots are served by the public water system. Approval shall be given by the Grays Harbor-Pacific County district health department and the public works superintendent prior to the filing of an application for final plat approval. (Ord. 979 §6.26, 1975).

16.24.270 Access and parking for certain commercial property.

For parcels of land zoned commercial and adjacent to major arterial streets, the access streets, off-street parking lots and driveways shall be designed, where practical and where an undue hardship would not be created, so that single or paired curb cuts on major arterial streets are spaced at least three hundred feet apart, and preferably up to six hundred feet apart. (Ord. 979 §6.27, 1975).