§ 15. General requirements.
(a)
Blocks. Block lengths and widths shall be determined with due regard to:
(1)
Provision of sites suitable to the class of use contemplated.
(2)
Limitations and opportunities of topography.
(3)
Pedestrian and vehicular circulation within the subdivision, control and safety of street traffic.
(4)
Convenience of access to community facilities serving the neighborhood in which the subdivision is located.
(b)
Streets and alleys.
(1)
Streets and alleys generally shall not exceed one thousand two hundred (1,200) feet in length.
(2)
Cul-de-sacs, courts or places may be permitted where the subdivision design or the shape of the property makes such street design appropriate. Cul-de-sacs, courts or places shall provide proper access to all lots and shall generally not exceed six hundred (600) feet in length and a turn-around shall be provided at the closed end which has a minimum right-of-way radius of fifty (50) feet except where an equally safe and convenient form of paved space is approved by the city council in place of a turning circle, such approved space may be installed as agreed upon.
(3)
Unless otherwise approved by the city council, provisions shall be made for the extension of streets in accordance with the pattern of existing streets and thorough fares. Adequate lot streets shall be provided to accommodate these subdivision and provide access to lots.
(4)
In platting the subdivision, the developer shall provide additional right-of-way required for existing or future streets as shown in the master thoroughfare plan or other plans approved by the city council.
(5)
Streets and alleys shall be platted and constructed in accordance with the master thoroughfare plan or other plans approved by the city council.
(c)
Utilities.
(1)
The developer shall furnish all easements and right-of-way necessary for construction of electrical, gas, cable, and telephone service to the subdivision.
(2)
The developer shall pay for the number of streetlights required, if any, in the subdivision as determined by the city. After acceptance of the subdivision, service charges for electricity will be paid by the city.
(3)
The developer shall be responsible for all damage to improvements caused by installation of utilities.
(d)
Miscellaneous. The developer shall provide street signs for the subdivision as required by the city.
(e)
Access criteria, access standards, separation of driveways and corner clearances applicable to SH 121 and FM 423 and other major roadways within the city as defined by the city engineering design manual.
1.
Access criteria. Driveway access to SH 121, FM 423 and other major roadways shall be governed by the following criteria:
i.
Access shall not be allowed unless there is no other reasonable means of providing safe and adequate access to the property.
ii.
Developments and residential subdivisions shall be required to provide a public marginal parallel access street, alley or private parallel access drive to serve the development or individual lots fronting SH 121, FM 423 and other major roadways, unless the requirement would make the property wholly useless for any permitted use as zoned.
iii.
No development shall be allowed access if property excluded from the development plans could have reasonably been used to provide adequate alternative access.
iv.
Any property previously subdivided in violation of state law or city ordinance shall not be allowed access to any arterial street, if other access could have been provided except for such unapproved subdivision of the property.
v.
Any additional access criteria for SH 121, FM 423 or other major roadways contained in the city engineering design manual.
2.
Access standards. When driveway access is the only reasonable means of providing safe and adequate access to the property as determined in accordance with this section and the city engineering design manual the following standards apply:
Only one (1) driveway per property shall be permitted, unless all of the following conditions are met:
i.
The applicant submits a traffic engineering study performed in accordance with accepted professional traffic engineering standards as determined by the city engineer, clearly showing that the traffic for the single permitted driveway would exceed five thousand (5,000) trips per day or five hundred (500) trips per hour during peak hour use; traffic impact analysis guidelines are outlined in the city engineering design manual;
ii.
Permitting the additional driveway would not violate driveway separation or corner clearance standards; and
iii.
The need for each additional driveway would substantially outweigh any traffic problems or hazards created on the arterial street by allowing the additional driveway.
iv.
The driveway shall be required to be located and designed so as to provide joint or shared access with adjoining properties.
v.
The development which is allowed access shall be required to pay for, design or provide, at no cost to the city, all traffic-control signs, equipment, structures, devices or improvements which are reasonably necessary to minimize the effect of the additional access allowed or to provide for the safe movement of traffic or pedestrians.
3.
Separation of driveways. Driveways shall be separated as follows:
(i)
The regulations of this subsection are for the purpose of ensuring that all driveways are separated by sufficient distance so as to avoid interfering with the safe movement of traffic. The separation distances specified shall be measured from the center line of each driveway at the right-of-way line. Driveway separation requirements are specified in the city engineering design manual.
(ii)
The minimum driveway separation standards for SH 121 and FM 423 is 200 feet. Driveway separation is measured from centerline of one driveway to the center line of another driveway.
4.
Corner clearance standards. To ensure that the traffic movements from driveways do not unduly conflict with the movement of traffic on intersecting public streets, the minimum distances between driveways and the intersections of public streets are adopted in the city engineering design manual. In interpreting and applying the standards, the following shall apply:
(i)
A reduced requirement may only be used if absolutely necessary to provide driveway access to property where no other means of access meeting the corner clearance requirement is reasonably possible.
(ii)
The specified distances shall be measured at the right-of-way line from the center line of the driveway nearest the intersecting street to the right-of-way line of the intersecting street.
(iii)
The minimum corner clearance requirements for SH 121 and FM 423 and other major roadways are as outlined in the city engineering design manual.
5.
Access to properties located outside the city limits. Properties located outside the city limits of The Colony and requiring access to a city street or thoroughfare must submit a written request to the city's development review committee for review and then forwarded to the planning and zoning commission for consideration. The request must be approved by the city or jurisdiction in which the property is located before it is submitted to the development review committee for review and processing. The planning and zoning commission shall consider the request and forward a recommendation to the city council for final approval.
(f)
Street lighting.
(i)
Basic policy: It is the policy of the city that adequate streetlights be installed in all new subdivision developments. Street lighting shall be installed and paid for by the developer, including materials and labor. The requirements and standards for street lighting are as adopted in the city engineering design manual. Street lighting material and design shall be approved by the city engineer.
(ii)
Costs: The developer shall be responsible for all engineering and plan preparation costs required for the installation of streetlights according to the city's "Engineering Design Manual—Standard Specifications for Street Lighting," as amended from time to time. Streetlight plans shall be submitted to the city engineer at the same time civil engineering plans are submitted for city approval.
(Ord. No. 99-1123, § 2, 6-21-1999; Ord. No. 99-1132, § 2, 8-2-1999; Ord. No. 00-1202, § 2, 6-19-2000; Ord. No. 03-1470, § 2, 6-16-2003; Ord. No. 07-1725, § 1, 7-2-2007)