The Village Board of the Village of Black Earth
hereby declares that the regulations set forth in this chapter are
adopted in accordance with the authority granted by § 236.45,
Wis. Stats., and for the purposes listed in §§ 236.01
and 236.45, Wis. Stats. The provisions of this chapter shall be held
to be minimum requirements adopted to promote the health, safety,
morals, comfort, prosperity and general welfare of the Village. Except
when this chapter imposes stricter restrictions on land use, this
chapter shall not repeal, impair or modify private covenants or public
ordinances.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the following meaning:
ALLEY
A public right-of-way not less than 25 feet in width which
normally affords a secondary means of vehicular access to abutting
property.
ARTERIAL STREET
A street which provides for the movement of relatively heavy
traffic to, from, or within the municipality. It has a secondary function
of providing access to abutting land. An arterial street system is
designed on the municipality's Comprehensive Master Plan.
BLOCK
A portion of a parcel of land surrounded by streets.
COLLECTOR STREET
A street which collects and distributes internal traffic
within an urban area, such as a residential neighborhood, between
arterial and local streets. It provides access to abutting property.
COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN
That policy document which serves as a guide for the future
physical development of the Village or the Smart Growth Plan, when
the same is adopted by the Village.
CUL-DE-SAC
A short street having but one end open to traffic and the
other end permanently terminated in a vehicular turnaround.
HALF STREET
A street having only 1/2 of its intended roadway width developed
to accommodate traffic.
LOCAL STREET
A street of little or no continuity designed to provide access
to abutting property and leading into collector streets.
LOT
A piece, parcel or plot of land intended for building development
or as a unit for transfer of ownership.
MINOR SUBDIVISION
The division of land by the owner or his agent resulting
in the creation of two parcels or building sites, any one of which
is two acres in size or less, or the division of a block, lot or outlot
within a recorded subdivision plot into not more than four parcels
or building sites without changing the exterior boundaries of said
block or outlot.
MUNICIPALITY
The Village of Black Earth or the various towns within the
one-and-one-half-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction of the Village
of Black Earth, individually or collectively.
PLAN COMMISSION
See Chapter
9, Boards, Committees and Commissions, of this Code.
PLAT
The map, drawing or chart on which the subdivider's plan
of subdivision is presented to the Village Board for approval.
SUBDIVISION or LAND DIVISION
Any division of a parcel of land by the owner or owner's
agent for the purpose of sale or building development where:
A.
The act of division creates three or more parcels,
except in the case of the division of a block, lot or outlot into
four parcels or building sites without changing the exterior boundaries
of said block, lot or outlot.
B.
Three or more parcels are created by successive divisions within a five-year period with the same exception as in Subsection
A above.
C.
Provided, however, that this chapter shall not
apply to:
(1)
Transfers of interest in land by will or pursuant
to court order.
(2)
Leases for a term not to exceed 10 years.
(4)
The sale or exchange of parcels of land between
owners of adjoining properties if the lots resulting are not reduced
below the minimum sizes required by this chapter or other applicable
laws or ordinances.
Generally, design standards shall assure that
the layout of the subdivision harmonizes with existing plans affecting
the development and its surrounding area and shall be in conformity
with the Village Comprehensive Master Plan for the development of
the entire area.
A. Streets.
(1) General street design. Streets in the plat shall be
considered in their relation to existing and planned streets, to reasonable
circulation of traffic, to topographical conditions, to runoff of
stormwater and to the proposed uses of the area to be served.
(2) Cul-de-sac, curvilinear and loop street arrangements.
Cul-de-sac, curvilinear and loop street arrangements shall be used
instead of a gridiron design wherever possible in minor street layouts
to promote safety, to reduce through traffic and to improve the general
aesthetics of residential subdivisions.
(3) Extensions of existing streets. Where new streets
extend existing adjoining streets, their projections shall be at the
same or greater width, but in no case less than the minimum required
width. Where adjoining areas are not subdivided, the arrangement of
streets in new subdivisions shall make provision for the projection
of streets, including minor streets, where necessary to provide proper
access. Where a new subdivision adjoins unsubdivided lands susceptible
to being subdivided, new collector and arterial streets, if any, shall
be carried to the abutting boundaries of such unsubdivided land.
(4) Street width and grades.
(a)
The minimum right-of-way of all proposed streets
and alleys shall be of the width specified by the Comprehensive Master
Plan, Official Map or Neighborhood Development Study, or, if no width
is specified therein, the minimum widths shall be as follows:
|
Type of Street
|
Right-of-Way Width
(feet)
|
---|
|
Principal and primary arterial streets
|
120
|
|
Standard arterial and collector streets
|
66
|
|
Local streets
|
60
|
|
Marginal access streets and culs-de-sac
|
60
|
(b)
The Plan Commission may require the subdivider
to conform to urban section standards as shown on Table 1 if the average lot width in the proposed subdivision is
less than 150 feet measured at the street setback line.
(c)
Grades.
[1]
Unless necessitated by exceptional topography,
subject to the approval of the Plan Commission, the maximum center-line
grade of any street or public way shall not exceed the following:
[c]
Local streets and frontage streets: 10%.
[d]
Pedestrianways: 12% unless steps of acceptable
design are provided.
[2]
The grade of any street shall in no case exceed
12% or be less than 0.5%.
(d)
Street grades shall be established wherever
practicable so as to avoid excessive grading, the unnecessary removal
of ground cover and tree growth, and general leveling of the topography.
(5) Streets jogs. Street jogs with center-line offsets
of less than 125 feet shall not be allowed.
(6) Street intersections. Insofar as practical, streets
shall intersect at right angles, and no intersection shall be at an
angle of less than 80°. The number of streets converging at one
intersection shall be reduced to the minimum possible.
(7) Culs-de-sac. Maximum length of permanent cul-de-sac
streets shall be 600 feet measured along the center line from the
intersection of origin to end of right-of-way. Each cul-de-sac shall
be provided at the closed end with a turnaround having a minimum outside
roadway diameter of 96 feet and a minimum street property diameter
of 120 feet.
(8) Half streets. Where an existing dedicated or platted
half street is adjacent to the tract being subdivided, the other half
of the street shall be dedicated by the subdivider. The platting of
new half streets is prohibited.
(9) Street names. Proposed streets obviously in alignment
with existing and named streets shall bear the name of such existing
streets. In no case shall the name of the proposed street duplicate
existing street names, including phonetical similarities. Names shall
be selected with the approval of the Plan Commission.
(10) Private streets. Public improvements shall not be
approved for any private streets or driveways.
(11) Access to arterial streets and highways. Where a proposed
plat is adjacent to an arterial street, spacing between access points
to such thoroughfare of less than 660 feet shall be avoided except
where impractical or impossible due to existing property divisions
or topography.
(12) Street curvature. When a continuous street center
line deflects at any one point by more than 10°, a circular curve
shall be introduced having a radius of curvature on said center line
of not less than the following:
(a)
Arterial streets and highways: 500 feet.
(b)
Collector streets: 300 feet.
(13) Hardship to owners of adjoining property. The street
arrangements shall not be such as to cause hardship to owners of adjoining
property in platting their own land and providing convenient access
to it.
(14) Corners. Curblines at street intersections shall be
rounded at a radius of not less than 20 feet.
(15) Alleys. Alleys shall be prohibited in residential
areas unless special permission is granted by the Village Board. Alley
intersections and sharp changes in alignment shall be avoided, but,
where necessary, corners shall be cut off sufficiently to permit safe
vehicular movement. Dead-end alleys shall be avoided but, if unavoidable,
shall be provided with adequate turnaround facilities at the dead
end.
(16) Reverse curves. A tangent at least 100 feet long shall
be required between reverse curves on arterial and collector streets.
(17) Maintenance. Streets included in approved subdivisions,
except designated state, federal or county roads, shall be maintained
by the Village in which said streets are located unless other written
arrangements are made prior to final plat approval.
(18) Relation to railroads. Streets shall be so located
to railroads that the minimum distance required for the future separation
of grades by means of appropriate approach gradients is provided.
B. Lots.
(1) Access. Every lot shall front or abut on a public
street.
(2) Layout. Where possible, lot lines shall be at right
angles to straight street lines or radial to curved street lines.
Lots with frontage on two parallel streets shall be avoided except
where one street is an arterial feeder or highway with no direct access
to the lot. Reversed frontage lots shall be avoided, except where
a major change in land use might make such a layout preferable.
(3) Corner lots. Corner lots shall be platted at least
10% wider than the minimum lot width required.
(4) Natural features. In the subdivision of land, due
regard shall be shown for all natural features which, if preserved,
will add attractiveness and stability to the proposed development.
(5) Lots along thoroughfares and railroad. There shall
be no direct vehicular access from residential lots to arterial streets
or highways, and residential lots shall be separated from railroad
rights-of-way by a twenty-five-foot buffer strip, which may be in
the form of added depth or width of lots backing on or siding on the
railroad right-of-way.
(6) Lot remnants. Lot remnants which are below the minimum
lot size must be added to adjacent or surrounding lots rather than
be allowed to remain as an unusual outlot or parcel unless the owner
can show plans for the future use of such remnant.
(7) Municipal boundary lines. Lots shall follow, rather
than cross, municipal boundary lines whenever practical.
(8) Size and dimensions. Subdivision lots in the Village shall be in conformance with the area and width requirements of Chapter
310, Zoning. The area and width of subdivision lots in the extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction shall conform to any town or county ordinance or extraterritorial municipal zoning regulations which may be in effect and with Chapter H 65, Wis. Adm. Code, of the State Division of Health.
(9) Reserve strips. There shall be no reserve strips controlling
access to streets, except where the control of such strips is definitely
placed with the Village under conditions approved by the Plan Commission.
C. Block design.
(1) Length, width and shape. The lengths, widths and shapes
of blocks shall be appropriate for the topography and the type of
development contemplated.
(2) Sidewalks. Where a block side exceeds 900 feet in
length, a pedestrian walkway through the center of the block shall
be provided. Such pedestrian walkways shall be not less than 10 feet
wide.
Where the Plan Commission finds that extraordinary
hardships or particular difficulties may result from strict compliance
with this chapter, it may recommend to the Village Board variations
or exceptions to this chapter so that substantial justice may be done
and the public interest secured, provided that such variance shall
not have the effect of nullifying the intent and purpose of this chapter
and further provided that the Plan Commission shall not recommend
variations or exceptions to the regulations of this chapter unless
it shall make findings based upon evidence presented to it in each
specific case that:
A. The granting of the variation will not be detrimental
to the public safety, health or welfare or injurious to other property
or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located.
B. The conditions upon which the request for a variation
is based are unique to the property for which the variation is sought
and are not applicable generally to other property.
C. Because of the particular physical surroundings, the
shape or topographical conditions of the specific property involved,
a particular hardship to the owner would result, as distinguished
from a mere inconvenience, if the strict letter of the regulations
were carried out.
Invalidation of any part of this chapter by
a court of competent jurisdiction shall not invalidate the remainder
of this chapter. Invalidation of the application of any provision
shall not affect the application of said provision to any other subdivision
not specifically included in such judgment.
See Chapter
287, Public Lands, Dedication of, of this Code for parkland dedication requirements.