In considering applications for approval of subdivision plats, the standards set forth in this article shall be considered minimum requirements. Where a duly adopted general development plan, zoning ordinance, land development standards or any duly adopted police power ordinance requires higher standards, such higher standards shall apply. The Planning Commission and the Township Board of Trustees recognize that the standards set forth in this article are directed primarily to residential subdivisions and that such standards are not always reasonably applicable to mobile home subdivisions, commercial subdivisions, and industrial subdivisions. Therefore §§
12-24,
12-25 and
12-26 are included to provide the necessary modifications. Variances from the standards set forth in this article shall be granted only as provided in Article
VI, herein.
The specifications contained in this chapter are the standards
for all highways, streets, and alleys which might hereafter be platted
or accepted within Pittsfield Township.
A. Street layout.
(1) Street layout shall conform to the duly adopted and published general
development plan or the portion thereof relating to streets and traffic.
The arrangement of streets in the subdivision shall provide for the
continuation of streets in adjacent subdivisions, where such extensions
are deemed desirable by the Planning Commission and County Road Commission,
and where such extension is not precluded by topographic or other
existing conditions. The layout shall provide for proper projection
of principal streets into adjoining properties not yet subdivided.
In general, all such streets shall have a width at least as great
as the street being extended.
(2) Local streets shall be laid out so as to discourage their use by
through traffic.
(3) Streets shall be arranged in proper relation to topography so as
to result in usable lots, safe streets, and reasonable grades, both
for the streets and for driveways intersecting therewith.
(4) The street layout shall not isolate lands from existing public streets
or roads, unless suitable access is provided, and such access be granted
by easement or dedicated to public use. Slight jogs in continuous
streets at points of intersection with other streets shall not be
permitted. Where offsets cannot be avoided, a minimum distance of
125 feet shall be established between center lines of the intersecting
streets.
(5) Where future connections to adjacent areas are to be provided, the
land for such connection shall be covered by an easement and shall
be designated "future road" on the various plats. Each such easement
shall be at least 66 feet wide, and a document conveying the easement
for road purposes shall be filed with the County Road Commission at
the time of filing of the preliminary plat for final approval.
(6) Intersection of local or residential roads with collector and arterial
roads shall be reduced to a reasonable minimum but should, in general,
be at least 500 feet apart, center line to center line, to preserve
the traffic carrying capacity of the collector and arterial roads,
and to reduce the potential of accidents at such intersections. In
general, all streets should intersect each other so that for a distance
of at least 100 feet the street is approximately at right angles to
the street it joins. In no case shall an intersection form an angle
of less than 80°. No more than two streets shall cross at one
intersection.
(7) All street construction shall be centered on the street right-of-way.
Section line and quarter line roads shall be centered on these lines
unless the County Road Commission Engineer approves an exception.
B. Drainage. All streets and alleys shall be provided with facilities
for adequate surface drainage. This may be accomplished by the use
of ditches, county drains, natural watercourses, or tributaries constructed
thereto. It is strongly recommended that drainage be provided by underground
storm drains. In the urban area of Washtenaw County, as defined by
the County Road Commission, the storm drain shall be underground and
only curb-type design shall be permitted. Exceptions may be made for
subdivisions in which each single-family dwelling lot is one acre
or larger in area and has a minimum road frontage of 150 feet, in
which case a thirty-foot-wide pavement section with open ditches might
be permitted.
C. Half-streets. Half-streets shall generally be prohibited, except
where unusual circumstances make them essential to the reasonable
development of a tract in conformance with this chapter. Half-street
dedication will be acceptable only when the boundary of the proposed
plat coincides with the boundary of a recorded plat on which a half
street has previously been dedicated, or on a county certified road.
D. Cul-de-sac streets. Each cul-de-sac street shall not be more than
600 feet in length (1,000 feet in subdivisions of one acre or larger
lots). Exceptions may be made where topographic or other unusual existing
conditions would so require. Each cul-de-sac shall terminate with
an adequate turnaround of a minimum external diameter of 150 feet.
The minimum length of a cul-de-sac shall be 140 feet.
E. Alleys. Alleys shall be prohibited, except in commercial and industrial
subdivisions. Where alleys are provided they shall be at least 30
feet wide. Dead-end alleys shall be prohibited. Alleys shall be provided
in accordance with standards of the County Road Commission.
F. Private streets. Private streets are generally unacceptable in subdivisions
in which any of the streets are dedicated to the public. Exceptions
will be considered in commercial and industrial subdivisions, and
in planned unit developments.
G. Marginal access streets. Where marginal access streets are required,
the proprietor shall dedicate property for the purpose of such streets
to the County Road Commission and shall be responsible for improving
said marginal access streets, according to County Road Commission
standards. A landscaped strip at least 20 feet wide shall be provided
between a marginal access street and the adjacent street.
H. Other required streets. Where a subdivision borders or contains a
railroad right-of-way or limited access highway right-of-way, the
Planning Commission may require a street approximately parallel to
and on one or both sides of such right-of-way, at a distance suitable
for the appropriate use of the intervening land (as for park purposes
in residential areas, or for commercial or industrial purposes in
appropriate districts). Such distances shall also be determined with
due regard for the requirements of approach grades and future grade
separations.
I. Special treatment along major streets. When a subdivision abuts or
contains an existing or proposed arterial or collector street, the
Planning Commission may require marginal access streets, reverse frontage
with screen planting contained in a nonaccess reservation along the
rear property line, or such other treatment as might be necessary
for adequate protection of residential properties, to afford separation
of through and local traffic, and to retain the traffic carrying capacity
of the arterial or collector streets.
J. Street names and house numbers. Street names shall not duplicate
names of any existing street in Washtenaw County, except where a new
street is a continuation of an existing street. Street names that
are spelled differently but sound the same shall be avoided. Duplication
shall be avoided by checking new street names with the master listing
of the County Road Commission. Generally no street should change direction
by more than 90° without a change in street name. In general,
streets should have names and not numbers or letters.
K. Location for utilities. Utilities shall be located so as to best
conform to the layout of existing facilities and any standards published
by Pittsfield Township. In streets where no pattern has been established,
utilities shall be located in conformance with standards of the County
Road Commission.
L. Street standards and specifications.
(1) All public and private streets shall be provided in accordance with
the street standards and specifications adopted by the County Road
Commission.
(2) All right-of-way within a subdivision shall conform to the Township's
adopted right-of-way plan. Where a subdivision includes all, or a
portion of, a street, existing or proposed which is shown on the right-of-way
plan, the proprietor shall dedicate sufficient right-of-way to conform
to the adopted right-of-way plan.
Blocks generally shall not be less than 500 feet or more than
1,320 feet in length as measured from center lines of streets. No
block width shall be less than twice the normal lot depth except where
lots back onto a major street, natural feature or subdivision boundary.
A block shall be designed so as to provide two tiers of lots, except
where the lots back into a major street, natural feature, subdivision
boundary or other feature or facility which necessitates reverse frontage.
In blocks exceeding 800 feet in length the Planning Commission may
require reservation of a twenty-foot-wide easement through the block
to provide for the crossing of underground utilities and/or pedestrian
traffic where needed or desirable, and may specify further, at its
discretion, that a paved footpath be provided by the proprietor. Blocks
intended for nonresidential uses shall be especially designed for
such purposes and in accordance with Zoning Ordinance provisions.
In such cases the above dimensions do not apply.
The Planning Commission shall, wherever possible, require the
preservation of all natural features which add value to the proposed
subdivision and to the community at large, such as large trees or
groves of trees, watercourses, vistas, historic spots and features,
wildlife habitats and ecological areas, and similar irreplaceable
assets. The location, nature, and extent of such features should be
identified in the initial procedures and preliminary plat stages and
shall be made a part of the subsequent plats to the greatest possible
extent. The preservation and/or inclusion of such features may be
made a condition of tentative approval of the preliminary plat.
Lands subject to flooding, or otherwise deemed uninhabitable
in their natural state, shall not be platted for residential use,
or for any other use that might create a danger to health, safety,
or property, or which might increase the flood hazard within or outside
the subdivision. Such lands shall be set aside for recreational use
or shall be retained in their natural state as open space; provided,
however, that such lands may be platted and developed if the features
making the lands uninhabitable can reasonably be removed without destruction
of adjacent or nearby property or desirable natural features of the
land, and if approval is obtained from all the plat approval authorities
required to review plat under the Land Division Act and this chapter.
Any areas of land within the proposed subdivision which lie either
wholly or partly within the floodplain of a river, stream, or lake,
or any other areas which are subject to flooding by stormwater shall
be clearly shown on the preliminary plat and the final plat.
All underground public utility installations, including lines
for streetlighting systems, which traverse privately owned property,
shall be protected by easements granted by the proprietor and approved
by the public utility. Such easements shall be so located as to not
interfere with the use of any lot or other part of the subdivision.
The size of, and restrictions pertaining to, such easements shall
be in accordance with the standards and specifications of the agency
having jurisdiction over the utility lines and the Land Division Act,
and shall be indicated on the preliminary plat submitted for tentative
approval.
Since considerable erosion can take place prior to the construction of houses and other buildings, facilities, and features in a subdivision, the various plats for a subdivision shall contain proposed erosion and sediment control measures. The measures shall be incorporated into the final plat and final construction drawings. Erosion and sediment control measures shall conform to the standards and specifications of Chapter
8, Environment, Article
II, Erosion and Sedimentation Control, of the Code of Pittsfield Charter Township and Part 91, Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control, of the State Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act of 1994, PA 451 (MCL 324.9101 et seq.), as amended. The measures shall apply to all street and utility installations as well as to the protection of individual lots. Measures shall also be instituted to prevent or control erosion and sedimentation during the various stages of construction of the subdivision.
Streetlights, where provided, shall have underground wiring.
Light standards shall meet the minimum specifications of the electric
utility company serving the area of the proposed subdivision. Where
lights are to be provided, they should be installed prior to the occupancy
of structures within the subdivision. Streetlights shall be provided
in all subdivisions except those of one acre or larger residential
lots.