[Adopted 12-20-1961 as Ord.
No. 2660]
[Amended 6-11-1974 by Ord.
No. 2921]
In accordance with Article V of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Code, whoever, being the owner or agent thereof, subdivides any lot,
tract or parcel of land in the City of Bradford by any means into two (2)
or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land, including changes
in existing lot lines, for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease,
transfer of ownership or building or lot development shall, prior to filing
his subdivision plat or map in the office of the County Clerk of McKean County
and before proceeding to sell lots or land so subdivided, submit his plan
of street and lot layout to the City of Bradford Planning Commission and a
duplicate of such plan directly to the Mayor and City Council as provided
below and shall have the approval of the Planning Commission and the City
Council before the plat map may be recorded.
The subdivider shall observe the following requirements and principles
of land subdivision:
A. Street system.
(1) The plat shall conform to such plan or plans (where existing)
for the city and surrounding area as shall have been prepared and adopted
by the City Planning Commission and other borough and township commissions.
(2) The arrangement of streets in new subdivisions shall
make provision for the continuation of the principal existing streets in adjoining
areas (or their proper protection where adjoining land is not subdivided)
insofar as they may be deemed necessary by the City Council and the Planning
Commission for public requirements. The width of such streets in new subdivisions
shall not be less than the minimum street widths established herein. The street
and alley arrangement must also be such as to cause no hardship to owners
of adjoining property when they plat their own land and seek to provide for
convenient access to it. In general, provisions shall be made for through
streets at intervals of approximately one-half (1/2) mile or less. Offset
streets shall be avoided.
(3) Minor streets should approach the major streets at an
angle of not less than eighty degrees (80º) nor more than one hundred
degrees (100º).
(4) Proposed street names shall be checked to prevent duplication
of street names.
B. Street and alley right-of-way widths. The subdivider
shall provide minimum rights-of-way for the following thoroughfares:
(1) Main arterial (city-to-city) highways, boulevards, expressways,
freeways and parkways shall conform to the standards of the Pennsylvania Department
of Highways.
(2) Secondary thoroughfares, seventy (70) feet.
(3) Minor streets, fifty (50) feet.
(4) Dead-end streets, not more than five hundred (500) feet
long, fifty (50) feet wide. All dead-end streets shall terminate in a circular
right-of-way with a minimum radius of forty (40) feet to the outside right-of-way
line, unless the Commission approves an equally safe and convenient form of
paved space instead of the required turning circle.
(5) Alleys, twenty (20) feet.
C. Street alignment; grades. Unless otherwise granted by
the Commission in special consideration, maximum percent grades shall be as
follows:
(1) Main arterial highways, boulevards, expressways, freeways
and parkways, subject to standards of the Pennsylvania Department of Highways.
(2) Secondary thoroughfares, not greater than five percent
(5%).
(3) Minor streets, not greater than ten percent (10%).
(4) Alleys, not greater than twelve percent (12%).
D. Alignment and visibility.
(1) Clear visibility, measured along the center line, shall
be provided for at least six hundred (600) feet on main thoroughfares, boulevards,
expressways, freeways and parkways; three hundred (300) feet on secondary
thoroughfares; and at least one hundred (100) feet on minor thoroughfares.
(2) It is recommended that wherever possible reversed curves
on the center line of any thoroughfare shall always be connected by a tangent,
which in most instances shall be greater than fifty (50) feet in length.
(3) No broken-back curves shall be permitted along the center
line of any thoroughfare.
(4) Street curb intersections shall be rounded by a radius
of at least ten (10) feet. The minimum radius of ten (10) feet shall be increased
when the smallest angle of intersection is less than eighty degrees (80º).
E. Block sizes.
(1) Length. No block shall be longer than one thousand two
hundred (1,200) feet nor less than five hundred (500) feet between street
right-of-way lines.
(2) Width.
(a) In plotting residential lots containing from six thousand
(6,000) square feet to fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet, it is recommended
that the depth of the block not exceed three hundred (300) feet.
(b) Except where existing conditions or special plan provisions
warrant deviation, no block shall be less than two hundred forty (240) nor
more than three hundred fifty (350) feet in width.
(c) If a block exceeds one thousand (1,000) feet in length,
the Planning Commission may require that a footpath of not less than ten (10)
feet in width shall be provided at a convenient place to extend across the
width of the block.
F. Lots.
(1) The lot arrangement shall be such that they will provide
desirable sites for buildings. Whenever, in the same block, certain lots are
wider than others, the wider lots shall be located at the corners.
(2) Double-frontage lots shall be avoided.
(3) Every lot shall abut on a street or on an officially
approved cul-de-sac.
(4) Side lot lines shall be approximately at right angles
to the street line on which the lot faces.
(5) Whenever the subdivision is located in an area affected
by zoning regulations, the lot areas shall be not less than the minimum areas
required in the zoning regulations.
(6) Where corner lots rear upon lots facing the side street,
the corner lots shall have extra width sufficient to permit the establishment
of front building lines on both the front and the side of the lots adjoining
the streets. Extra width should be provided on all corner lots irrespective
of whether they rear upon lots facing the side streets.
G. Building lines. Building lines shall be shown on all
plats of lots intended for residential use of any character and on commercial
or industrial lots immediately adjoining residential areas. In all cases,
building lines shall be no less than required by any zoning or building line
regulation applying to the property. Where the subdivided area is not under
zoning control, the subdivider shall establish building lines in accordance
with the needs of each addition. It is suggested that building lines not be
less than twenty-five (25) feet from the right-of-way of the street or highway
upon which the lot fronts, except that on side streets not used as lot fronts,
building lines may be not less than fifteen (15) feet. Restrictions requiring
buildings to be set back to such building lines shall be shown on the plat.
H. Political boundaries. Political boundary lines shall
be located along side or rear lot property lines, and, whenever possible,
location of the same along center lines of streets and other public thoroughfares
shall be avoided.
Whenever the tract to be subdivided is one (1) acre or less in area
or whenever, in the opinion of the City Council and the Commission, it is
of such unusual size or shape or is surrounded by such development or unusual
conditions that the strict application of the requirements contained in these
rules would result in real difficulties and substantial hardships or injustices,
the City Council and the Commission may vary or modify such requirements so
that the subdivider is allowed to develop his property in a reasonable manner
but also so that, at the same time, the public welfare and interests of the
city and surrounding area are protected and the general intent and spirit
of these rules are preserved.
These provisions shall be considered the minimum requirements for the
protection of the public welfare, and the City Council, through the Planning
Commission, reserves the right to modify or to extend them as may be deemed
necessary for the public good.
[Adopted 9-11-1981 as Ord.
No. 3026]
The specific purpose of these provisions is to:
A. Regulate the subdivision and/or development of land within
any designated floodplain district in order to promote the general health,
welfare and safety of the community.
B. Require that each subdivision lot in flood-prone areas
be provided with a safe building site with adequate access and that public
facilities which serve such uses be designed and installed to preclude flood
at the time of initial construction.
C. To protect individuals from buying lands which are unsuitable
for use because of flood by prohibiting the improper subdivision and/or development
of unprotected lands within the designated floodplain districts.
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
BUILDING
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure having walls
and a roof.
DESIGNATED FLOODPLAIN DISTRICTS
Those floodplain districts specifically designated in Chapter
220, Zoning, as being inundated primarily by the one-hundred-year flood. Included would be areas identified as the Floodway District (FW), the Flood-Fringe District (FF) and the General Floodplain District (FA).
DEVELOPER
Any landowner, agent of such landowner or tenant with the permission
of such landowner who makes or causes to be made a subdivision of land or
a land development and the subdivision of land.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including
but not limited to buildings or other structures, the placement of mobile
homes, streets and other paving, utilities, mining, dredging, filling, grading,
excavation or drilling operations and the subdivision of land.
DWELLING
A building designed and constructed for residential purposes in which
people live.
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD
A flood that, on the average, is likely to occur once every one hundred
(100) years (i.e., that has a one-percent chance of occurring each year, although
the flood may occur in any year).
STRUCTURE
Anything constructed or erected on the ground or attached to the
ground, including but not limited to buildings, factories, sheds, cabins and
other similar items.
SUBDIVISION
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land by any
means into two (2) or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land,
including changes in existing lot lines, for the purpose, whether immediate
or future, of lease, transfer of ownership or building or lot development.
This Article supersedes any ordinances currently in effect in flood
areas. However, any other applicable ordinances shall remain in full force
and effect to the extent that those provisions are more restrictive.
The grant of a permit or approval of a plan for any proposed subdivision
and/or land development to be located within any designated floodplain district
shall not constitute a representation, guaranty or warranty of any kind by
the municipality or by any official or employee thereof of the practicability
or safety of the proposed use and shall create no liability upon the municipality,
its officials or employees.
The following information shall be required as part of the preliminary
plan and shall be prepared by a registered engineer or surveyor:
A. Name of engineer, surveyor or other qualified person
responsible for providing the information required in this section.
B. A map showing the location of the proposed subdivision
and/or land development with respect to any designated floodplain district,
including information on the one-hundred-year flood elevations.
C. Preliminary plan map.
(1) Where the subdivision and/or land development lies partially
or completely within any designated floodplain districts or where such activities
border on any designated floodplain district, the preliminary plan map shall
include the following information:
(a) The location and elevation of proposed roads, utilities
and building sites, fills and flood- or erosion-protection facilities.
(b) The one-hundred-year flood elevations.
(c) Areas subject to special deed restrictions.
(2) All such maps shall show contours at intervals of two
(2) or five (5) feet, depending upon the slope of the land, and identify accurately
the boundaries of the designated floodplain districts.
The finished elevation of proposed streets shall not be more than one
(1) foot below the regulatory flood elevation. The City of Bradford may require,
where necessary, profiles and elevations of streets to determine compliance
with the requirements. Drainage openings shall be sufficient to discharge
flood flows without unduly increasing flood heights.
All sanitary sewer systems located in any designated floodplain district,
whether public or private, shall be floodproofed up to the regulatory flood
elevation.
A. The City of Bradford shall prohibit installation of sewage
disposal facilities requiring soil absorption systems where such systems will
not function due to high ground water, flooding or unsuitable soil characteristics
or are proposed for location in designated floodplain districts. The City
of Bradford may require that the developer note on the face of the plat and
in any deed of conveyance that soil absorption fields are prohibited in designated
areas.
B. The City of Bradford may prescribe adequate methods for
waste disposal. If a sanitary sewer system is located on or near the proposed
subdivision and/or land development, the City of Bradford shall require the
developer to provide sewage facilities to connect to this system, where practical,
and shall prescribe the procedures to be followed by the developer in connecting
to the system.
All water systems located in any designated floodplain districts, whether
public or private, shall be floodproofed up to the regulatory flood elevation.
If there is an existing public water supply system on or near the subdivision,
the City of Bradford shall require the developer to connect to this system,
where practical, and shall prescribe the procedures to be followed by the
developer in connecting to the system.
All other public and private utilities and facilities, including gas
and electric, shall be elevated or floodproofed up to the regulatory flood
elevation.