Chapter 11.02
STREET AND NUMBERING SYSTEM1
Sections:
11.02.040 Naming of public streets.
11.02.050 Naming of private streets.
11.02.070 Approval of street names.
11.02.080 Notification of address changes.
11.02.090 Posting street names.
11.02.100 Building numbering system.
11.02.110 Street names and address assignment.
11.02.115 Temporary addresses.
11.02.135 Oak Harbor High School address.
11.02.010 Intent.
This chapter is to provide a comprehensive addressing of the city of Oak Harbor for the purposes of implementing an enhanced 9-1-1 system and ensuring that development within the city limits can be located and identified by emergency response units. It is found to be necessary for the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the city of Oak Harbor. (Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.020 Definitions.
(1) “Addressing committee” means a committee consisting of five members appointed by the mayor with the purpose of assisting Island County emergency services communications center (I-Com) and city staff in assigning street names and hearing appeals of address assignment and street name determinations.
(2) “Building” means a principal dwelling, business establishment, meeting hall or other occupied structure for which an address needs to be established.
(3) “I-Com” means Island County emergency services communications center.
(4) “Named street” means any private or public street that bears a name officially recognized by the city.
(5) “Posting” means the visible display of information.
(6) “Private street” means any street, drive, trail or easement not owned and/or maintained by a public agency that provides access to more than one parcel of land.
(7) “Quadrant base lines” means the north-south (N-S) and east-west (E-W) axes that divide the city into quadrants. The intersection of the two base lines shall be located at the intersection of Oak Harbor Street (previously known as 80 NW Street) and Division Avenue (previously known as 700 Avenue).
(8) “Addressing grid” means a grid composed of horizontal and vertical reference lines at 300 feet intervals originating from the quadrant base lines. (Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.030 Consultation.
In designating names for streets and addresses, the department of development services is directed to consult with Oak Harbor emergency assistance providers such as Oak Harbor fire department, I-Com and the Oak Harbor police department. (Ord. 1337 § 1, 2003; Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.040 Naming of public streets.
(1) All public streets shall be designated.
(2) When property is platted, the developer shall have primary responsibility in finding appropriate names, which names shall be subject to city approval. (Ord. 1337 § 2, 2003; Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.050 Naming of private streets.
(1) All private streets providing access to two or more detached dwelling units or two or more parcels of land shall be designated in accordance with OHMC 11.02.060. A private street/access could have a numbered designation if appropriate.
(2) Two or more developed parcels or detached dwelling units sharing a common driveway from a designated road may be exempt from this provision if they both abut the named road from which they would be addressed and physical features do not impair easy identification of each structure.
(3) Owners of undeveloped property may opt to have a private street serving two or more parcels designated. (Ord. 1337 § 3, 2003; Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.060 Street designation.
(1) Public streets lying parallel to the E-W quadrant base line shall be numbered. Street numbers shall be in numeric sequence progressing outward from the E-W quadrant base line in both directions and correspond to their position on the addressing grid. Example: A street that lies closest to the third address grid line shall be designated as 3rd Avenue (see diagram 4).
(2) Public streets lying parallel to the N-S quadrant base line or that meander, change course or otherwise fail to lie parallel with either quadrant base line shall be named in accordance with the following criteria (see diagram 4):
(a) Named streets shall be in alphabetical sequence and correspond to their position on the addressing grid. Example: A street that lies closest to the third address grid line shall be designated with a name beginning with the letter “C”;
(b) Named streets shall not duplicate nor sound similar to street names used elsewhere on Whidbey Island within a 19-mile radius of Oak Harbor;
(c) Named streets shall be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis;
(d) Named streets shall be no longer than 11 characters including spaces;
(e) Named streets shall not contain a compass direction (“East”, “West”, “North” or “South”);
(f) Named streets shall consist of no more than two words excluding street type designator;
(g) Named streets shall be easily pronounced and easily spelled;
(h) Named streets shall not consist of a single letter.
(3) All thoroughfares shall have street type designators as follows:
(a) All thoroughfares that do not meander, change course or otherwise fail to lie parallel with the quadrant base line shall have street type designators of “Street” for N-S orientations and “Avenue” for E-W orientations.
(b) All thoroughfares, regardless of directional orientation, that meander, change course or otherwise fail to lie parallel with the quadrant base line shall have street type designators of “Drive”.
(4) All streets that dead end or terminate in a cul-de-sac shall have street type designators of “Lane”, “Court”, “Way”, “Terrace” or “Place”.
(5) All streets that return to their point of origin shall have street type designators of “Circle”.
(6) All streets that intersect another street at their beginning and ending, but at different locations, shall have street type designators of “Loop” (see diagram 1).
(7) Two named streets that are interrupted by terrain or by existing development patterns shall bear different names where eventual connection is not likely. Grid numbered streets shall be excluded from this section.
(8) A quadrant designator (NW, NE, SW, SE) shall be displayed in front of the street name or number for all streets. Example: SE Pioneer Way, NE 7th Ave, NW 10th Court. (Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.070 Approval of street names.
(1) When a private street has to be named or renamed, the assessed property owners on that street shall be requested by the building department, or its designee in writing by mail, to select a street name (or appropriate grid number) subject to the above criteria. If the property owners do not make a recommendation within 30 days, the addressing committee will make a name selection.
(2) The addressing committee shall approve all street name changes for public and private streets from a list of names proposed by the building department, or its designee, or by owners of property gaining access from the street in question. (Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.080 Notification of address changes.
The city, or its designee, shall notify affected property owners by mail of their new addresses. The city or its designee shall also notify the United States Postal Service, serving utility companies and emergency service agencies. (Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.090 Posting street names.
(1) It shall be the duty of the public works superintendent or his or her designee in charge of streets to sign and identify all existing public intersections by the erection and maintenance of adequate signs and posts.
(2) Property owners using private streets to access their properties shall be responsible for the posting and maintenance of private street name signs in locations visible at the private streets’ intersections with adjoining public or private streets. Private street name signs shall conform to city sign standards. The city may offer to post private street signs for a fee if the private street intersects a public street. After August 1, 1996, the city shall charge the full cost of signing of private street names to those petitioning for a street name change. Costs shall be estimated and payments shall be made prior to the work being done. (Ord. 1166 § 4, 1999; Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.100 Building numbering system.
(1) Address numbers on public and private streets, except for circles, loops and other irregular street configurations, shall coincide with the city’s addressing grid. Each grid increment represents 100 building address numbers (see diagram 4).
(2) In the case of a meandering street or where a street changes course, addresses shall be based on the street’s predominant direction and shall be continuous regardless of the street’s course.
(3) A street’s predominant direction shall be determined by the angle formed by a straight line drawn from the end of the street that is closest to the quadrant base line to its extreme other end. Angles less than or equal to 45 degrees from the horizontal shall be considered East-West. Angles greater than 45 degrees from horizontal shall be considered North-South (see diagram 2).
(4) Addresses on State Route 20 shall be assigned according to the state’s milepost system at the rate of 1,000 numbers per street mile. (Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.110 Street names and address assignment.
(1) The development services director, or other person appointed by the city administrator, shall assign or reassign street names and addresses to existing development to comprehensively implement the city’s addressing system.
(2) Addresses for new developments shall be assigned at the time of building permit issuance or prior to plat map recording in accordance with the adopted addressing system and applicable state law (see RCW 58.17.280).
(3) Addresses shall be assigned according to the location of the intersection of the primary access to a building or unit with the named street. Except as provided for in subsection (3)(a) of this section, if a driveway provides the initial access to a building, the address shall be assigned based on the location of the driveway’s intersection on the named street (see diagram 3). Addresses for circular streets shall be assigned in a counter-clockwise direction at the rate of 100 numbers per 300 feet of street length with even numbers on the right side.
(a) Where a lot or parcel is located at the intersection of two streets with different functional classifications (as designated in the Oak Harbor Transportation Plan) the address may be assigned to the street with the higher functional classification.
(4) Loop roads shall be addressed based on their predominant direction in relation to the addressing grid at the rate of 100 numbers per 300 feet of street length (see diagram 1).
(5) Where one side of a street is in the city and addressed according to the city plan and the other side is in the county, or where small city and county segments alternate back and forth along a section of street, it may be decided that those sections of the street adjacent to the city may be addressed consistent with the county plan to avoid confusion.
(6) Only one address shall be assigned per legal parcel except as specified in subsection (7) of this section.
(7) A single parcel developed with multiple habitable buildings shall conform to the following:
(a) Mobile home parks, recreational vehicle parks and similar establishments shall designate each unit with a number in the address (i.e., No. 1, Space 1, etc.).
(b) All other types of development sharing a single parcel, such as apartments, duplexes, condominiums, office complexes, schools, hospital campuses and commercial shopping centers, shall designate each building with a letter in the address (i.e., 4002 Main St. Bldg. A, etc.). Building letter designation shall progress from left to right and/or nearest to farthest as the buildings are viewed from the named street or in a counter-clockwise order for loop configurations or as deemed appropriate by the building department.
(8) Multiple addresses shall be assigned to one parcel if separate habitable structures have different primary accesses to a named road. All buildings sharing an access shall have the same address.
(9) Multi-unit buildings shall have a number designation for each unit.
(a) Each building shall be numbered independently.
(b) Numbering for single level buildings shall start with one and proceed to the total number of units in the building. Units above ground in multi-level buildings shall be assigned three-digit numbers (or four in buildings with 10 or more floors) to each unit where the leftmost digit(s) reflects the level of the unit. Basement units in multi-level buildings shall be assigned one- or two-digit numbers.
(c) The unit number shall be appended to the building letter where multiple buildings exist (i.e., 4002 Main St. Apt. A12, 4002 Main St. Suite A12, etc.).
(d) Unit number designation shall progress from left to right as the building is viewed from the front side of the building. “Front side” is defined as the side from which the primary access (front door) to the units are located. (Ord. 1864 § 1, 2019; Ord. 1337 § 4, 2003; Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.115 Temporary addresses.
The city may issue temporary addresses for construction sites or unbuilt lots to meet requirements of state law or to provide an address for utility services. After completion of construction, the address shall be re-examined to determine if it is in accordance with OHMC 11.02.110. Notification of changes in address shall be made in accordance with OHMC 11.02.080. Upon receipt of notice, the property owner shall post the new address to the property.
If the temporary address is issued for purposes of providing utility service to a construction site, there shall be a fee charged for this service in accordance with the fee schedule. No permanent occupancy permit shall be issued until the fees hereunder are paid and the permanent addresses are posted. (Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.120 Address posting.
Addresses shall be posted in a manner that they can be read from the public or private street serving the addressed property and that they provide adequate identification of the addressed property in conformance with the International Fire Code and in accordance with the following:
(1) Addresses shall be posted on the addressed building, in colors contrasting with the background in such manner and location as to be plainly visible from the street. Address numbers shall be minimum five inches in height with minimum one-half-inch channel. Building letters shall be minimum 12 inches in height with one-inch channel.
(2) In instances where the main building’s posted address is not clearly visible from the road, house numbers shall be visibly posted at one location at a height between four feet and eight feet from road level and anywhere within an arc of 30 feet from the point of intersection of the driveway with the named road, with numerals at least three inches high on a contrasting background and visible when traveling in either direction.
(3) Multiple building complexes (i.e., apartment complexes, mobile home parks, etc.) where the primary entrance to all addressed buildings are not clearly visible from the street shall display a map directory of the complex drawn to a minimum scale of one inch equals 20 feet and no smaller than two feet by two feet in overall size at each entrance to the complex. The sign must be in compliance with city sign codes. (Ord. 1381 § 1, 2004; Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.130 Annexations.
Properties annexing into the city shall conform to the city’s street and numbering system. (Ord. 1052, 1996).
11.02.135 Oak Harbor High School address.
The address for the Oak Harbor High School may be assigned from the private accessway which is located on the south of the high school connecting to NW 2nd Avenue. This accessway may be named “Wildcat Way” and the address assigned may be “No. 1 Wildcat Way.” This addressing shall conform to the following:
(1) The property owner is responsible for the posting of street signs and addresses. Street signs at the intersection of Wildcat Way and NW 2nd Avenue shall conform to city street sign standards.
(2) Individual building addresses within the high school site shall follow the provisions of OHMC 11.02.110.
(3) Addresses shall be posted in accordance with OHMC 11.02.120.
(4) All other applicable provisions of this chapter shall apply.
(5) The property owner shall be responsible for all costs associated with this address concept. (Ord. 1495 § 1, 2007).
11.02.140 Appeals.
Appeals of a street naming decision are a Type I review process. (Ord. 1337 § 5, 2003; Ord. 1052, 1996).
Code reviser’s note: Diagrams referred to throughout this chapter are attached to Ord. 1052, on file for inspection in the office of the city clerk.