Article 1. In General

1-1.            Title.

These regulations shall be known and may be cited as the “Subdivision Regulations for Clearwater, Kansas,” and shall hereinafter be referred to as “these regulations.”

1-2.            Purpose and intent.

It is the purpose of these regulations to provide for proper and harmonious development practices toward the goal of fostering wise use and conservation of the land resources of the Clearwater Planning and Zoning jurisdiction. Within this purpose, these regulations are intended to:

(1)   Protect and provide for the public health, safety and general welfare of the city.

(2)   Preserve the natural beauty and topography of the municipality and to insure appropriate development with regard to these natural features.

(3)   Provide for adequate light, air, and privacy; to secure safety from fire, flood, and other danger; and to prevent overcrowding of the land and undue congestion of population.

(4)   Guide the future growth and development of the city in accordance with the comprehensive plan.

(5)   Establish reasonable standards of design and procedures for subdivision and re-subdivisions; to further the orderly layout and use of land to insure proper legal descriptions and proper monumenting of subdivided land.

(6)   Provide for the actual construction of physical improvements.

(7)   Provide equitable processing of all subdivisions and land development proposals by providing uniform procedures and standards.

1-3.            Authority.

These regulations are adopted pursuant to powers and jurisdictions authorized by K.S.A. 12-741 et seq. and other applicable laws, statutes, and regulations of the state and amendments thereto.

1-4.            Jurisdiction.

These regulations shall apply to all land located within the zoning jurisdiction of the city.

1-5.            Applicability.

The regulations contained herein shall apply to the subdivision of a tract or parcel of land into two or more lots, tracts, or other divisions of land for the purpose of sale or building development, whether immediate or future, including the re-subdivision or re-platting of land or lots.

1-6.            Exemptions.

The following shall be exempt from the requirements of these regulations:

(1)   Any lot, parcel, or tract of land within the area of jurisdiction which was legally subdivided, re-subdivided, or re-platted prior to the adoption of these regulations.

(2)   Any lot, parcel, or tract of land which has been ordered by law to be partitioned.

(3)   Correction of a legal description in a prior conveyance.

(4)   Land which is to be used for cemetery purposes.

(5)   A division of land in accordance with the provisions of these regulations which creates no more than one additional lot or tract and which does not involve any new streets or easements of access; is not located in area subject to flooding; which meets the standards set by these regulations for the disposal of sewage and for water supply including lot size; and which conforms with any applicable zoning regulations, provided that the resulting tracts shall not again be divided without re-platting.

(6)   A transaction between owners of adjoining land involving only a change in the boundary between the land owned by such persons and which does not create an additional lot or which does not result in the creation of a substandard lot by either owner according to any applicable zoning regulations or sanitary code.

(7)   The re-subdivision of land used for industrial purposes.

(8)   A division of land for agricultural purposes into parcels or tracts of not less than five acres, which will not involve any new streets or easements of access and will not affect major streets.

(9)   Land used for a public purpose including the dedication of a parcel of land for a public use or instruments relating to the vacation of land for a public use.

(10) Land used for street or railroad right-of-way, a drainage easement or other public utilities subject to local, state or federal regulations, where no new street or easement of access is involved.

1-7.            Restrictive covenants.

The city shall have the right to confer with the subdivider regarding the type and character of development that will be permitted in the subdivision and may require certain minimum regulations be incorporated in the subdivision and/or deed restrictions. Such regulations shall protect the character and value of the development within the subdivisions and the value of surrounding property.

1-8.            Interpretation.

(a)   In their interpretation and application, the provisions of these regulations shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, and general welfare.

(b)   These regulations are not intended to interfere with, abrogate, or annul any other resolution, regulation, statute, or other provision of law. Where any provision herein imposes restrictions, different from those imposed by any other provision of these regulations or any other resolution, regulation, or other provision of law, whichever provisions are more restrictive or impose higher standards shall control.

(c)   These regulations are not intended to abrogate any easement, covenant, or other private agreement; provided, however, that where the requirements of these regulations are more restrictive or impose higher standards or regulations than such easement, covenant, or other private agreement, the requirements of these regulations shall govern.

(d)   A subdivision of land which was not lawfully existing at the time of the adoption of these regulations shall not become or be made lawful solely by reason of the adoption of these regulations.

1-9.            Rules of construction.

Unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary:

(1)   The word “shall” is always mandatory and the word “may” is always permissive.

(2)   The words “used” or “occupied,” as applied to any land or building, shall be construed to include the words “intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied.”

(3)   The word “building” includes “structure,” and a building or a structure includes any part thereof.

(4)   The singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular.

(5)   The present tense includes the past and future tenses and the future the present.

1-10.          Notice to the county.

Whenever amendments to the text of these regulations are proposed, written notice of such proposed action shall be given to the board of county commissioners at least 20 days prior to the proposed action.

1-11.          Applicability of definitions.

For the purposes of these regulations, certain numbers, abbreviations, and words used herein shall be used, interpreted, and defined as set forth in this article. Any word or phrase which is defined in this article, or elsewhere in these regulations, shall have the meaning as so defined whenever the word or phrase is used, unless such definition is expressly limited in its meaning or scope.

1-12.          Definitions.

The following words and phrases, when used in these regulations, shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them:

Administrator. A person designated by the governing body as the administrator of these regulations.

Agriculture. The use of a tract of land under one ownership for growing crops, pasturage, horticulture, nurseries, truck farms, dairying, or the raising of poultry or cattle and other livestock, including commercial feed lots and the structures necessary for carrying out farming operations and the dwelling(s) of those owning and/or operating the premises such as a member of the family thereof or persons employed thereon and their families. The feeding or disposal of community or collected garbage shall not be deemed an agricultural use.

Alley. A public or private right-of-way primarily designed to serve as secondary access to the side or rear of those properties whose principal frontage is on some other street.

Applicant. The owner or duly designated representative of land proposed to be subdivided, or for which other action has been requested. Consent shall be required from the legal owner of the premises.

Approved public sanitary sewer system. A sewage disposal plant, main sanitary sewer lines and other lines approved by the city and by the state department of health.

Approved public water system. Water supply and service lines approved by the city and by the state department of health.

Area. The size of a piece of land, usually described in terms of square feet or acres.

Arterial street. Any street serving major traffic movements which is designed primarily as a traffic carrier between cities or between various sections of a city or county, which forms part of a network of through streets, and which provides service and access to abutting properties only as a secondary function.

Bench mark. Surveying mark made in some object which is permanently fixed in the ground showing the height of that point in relation to sea level.

Block. A tract of land bounded by streets, or by a combination of streets and public parks, cemeteries, railroads, rights-of-way, shorelines, or boundary lines of the municipality.

Bond. A form of security, including a cash deposit, surety bond, collateral, property, or instrument of credit in an amount and form satisfactory to the city governing body.

Building. Any covered structure built for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, or movable property of any kind and which is permanently affixed to the land.

Building setback line. A line on a lot indicating the limit beyond which buildings or structures may not be erected or altered and establishing the minimum open space to be provided. Such line may be more, but not less restrictive than applicable zoning or other regulations.

City engineer. The person responsible to perform the duties of the city engineer including any and all special engineers as appointed by the governing body.

Collector street. Any street designed primarily to gather traffic from local or residential streets and carry it to the arterial system.

Comprehensive plan. The adopted Comprehensive Development Plan for the City of Clearwater including modifications or refinements which may be made by amendments from time-to-time.

County. Sedgwick County, Kansas.

Cul-de-sac. A street having only one outlet and being permanently terminated by a vehicle turnaround at the other end.

Curb cut. The opening along a curb line at which point vehicles may enter or leave a roadway.

Dead-end street. A street having only one outlet.

Dedication. A gift or donation of property by the owner to a governmental unit. The transfer is conveyed by a plat or a written separate instrument. The governing body completes the act of dedicating with a formal acceptance.

Design. The location of streets, alignment of streets, grades and widths of streets, alignment of easements, grades and widths of easements, alignment and rights-of-way for drainage and sanitary sewers, and the designation of minimum lot area, width and length.

Detention pond. A storage facility for the temporary storage of storm water runoff. The storm water may be released by gravity or by mechanical means at such time as downstream facilities can handle the flow.

Developer. The legal or beneficial owner of all of the land proposed to be included in a subdivision or planned development or duly authorized agent thereof, the holder of an option or contract to purchase, a lessee having a remaining term of not less than 40 years, or other person having an enforceable proprietary interest in such land, shall be deemed to be a developer for the purpose of these regulations.

Easement. A grant by a property owner of the specific use of a strip of land by others.

Engineer. When used in the sense as designing or surveying the plat or subdivision, he shall be a professional engineer or a surveyor licensed by the state or licensed to practice in the state. When used in connection with designing or engineering any improvements either on-site or off-site, he shall be a professional engineer licensed by the state or licensed to practice in the state.

Fence. A freestanding structure of metal, plastic, masonry, composition, or wood or any combination thereof resting on or partially buried in the ground and rising above ground level, used for confinement screening or partition purposes.

Final plat. A subdivision represented as a formal document by drawing and writing which is prepared in accordance with these regulations to be placed on record with the county register of deeds.

Floodplain. A watercourse and land adjacent to a watercourse subject to inundation from a flood having a chance occurrence in any one year of one percent.

Frontage. The property on one side of a street between two intersecting streets (crossing or terminating) measured along the line of the street; or with a dead-end street, all property abutting one side of such street measured from the nearest intersecting street and the end of the dead-end street.

Governing body. The City Council of the City of Clearwater, unless otherwise identified as another city, township or county governing body cooperating in the installation of improvements.

Half-street. A street bordering one or more property lines of a subdivision tract to which the subdivider has allocated only a portion of the ultimate and intended street width.

Improvements. All facilities constructed or erected by a subdivider or the general public within a subdivision to permit and facilitate the use of lots or blocks for a principal residential, commercial, or industrial use.

Landscaping. The improvement of a lot, parcel, or tract of land with grass, shrubs, and/or trees. Landscaping may include pedestrian walks, flower beds, ornamental objects such as fountains, statuary, and other similar natural and artificial objects designed and arranged to produce an aesthetically pleasing effect.

Land use plan. A portion of the comprehensive plan indicating the general anticipated use of the land within the city planning jurisdiction.

Local street. Any street designed primarily to provide access to abutting property and of limited continuity within a neighborhood.

Lot. A portion of land in a subdivision, or other parcel of land, intended to be the unit by which such land would be individually transferred and/or developed, whether immediate or future.

Lot depth. The distance between the midpoint of the front lot line and the midpoint of the rear lot line.

Lot, double frontage. A lot, two opposite lot lines of which abut upon streets which are more or less parallel.

Lot line. The boundary line of a lot.

Lot split. The dividing or re-dividing of a lot or lots in a recorded plat of a subdivision into not more than two tracts which meet the criteria established within these regulations.

Lot width. The distance on a horizontal plane between the side lot lines of a lot, measured at right angles to the line establishing the lot depth at the established building setback line.

Major street. A street, highway or roadway designated as such on the official major street plan of the comprehensive plan.

Marginal access and/or frontage streets. A local street which is parallel with and adjacent to a limited access highway or arterial street, and which provides access to abutting properties and protection from fast through traffic on the limited access highway or arterial street.

Minimum pad elevation. The lowest ground elevation completely surrounding a structure or the lowest flood proofed opening into a structure. This elevation is expressed in city datum or mean sea level.

Monument. A device used to mark and identify the corners in the boundaries of subdivisions, blocks and lots and the points of curves in the street rights-of-way. Usually such devices are made of a metallic bar or tube and may or may not be in concrete.

Open space. An area of land or water or combination thereof planned for passive or active recreation, but does not include areas utilized for streets, alleys, driveways or private roads, off-street parking or loading areas, or required front, rear or side yards.

Owner. Any person or persons, firm or firms, corporation or corporations, or any other legal entity having legal title to land sought to be subdivided under these regulations.

Pedestrian way. A right-of-way dedicated to public use, which cuts across a block to facilitate pedestrian access to adjacent streets and properties.

Pedestrian way (crosswalk). A right-of-way across a block or providing access within a block to be used primarily by pedestrians.

Petition. A legal instrument that serves as the basis for initiation of a public improvement project.

Planning commission. The City Planning Commission of Clearwater, Kansas.

Preliminary plat. A tentative map or plan of a proposed subdivision of land showing the character and general details of the proposed development.

Protective covenants. Restrictions governing the use of land within a given subdivision placed on the land by the owner at the time of platting.

Reserve. An area of property within a subdivision which is platted for specific uses, e.g., open space landscaping, entry monuments, recreational facilities, utilities, drainage, floodway, etc. Typically, future ownership and maintenance responsibilities for a reserve is set forth by a restrictive covenant which provides that a homeowners or lot owners association will hold title to the reserve and therefore be responsible for the reserve’s maintenance.

Resubdivision. The subdivision of a tract of land which has previously been lawfully subdivided and a plat of such prior subdivision duly recorded (sometimes also referred to as a “replat”).

Retention pond. A water retention pond retains water all the time. The pond levels may go up and down, but ordinarily the pond has some water in it.

Right-of-way. The area between boundary lines of a street or other easement.

Road or roadway. The paved or improved area existing on the street right-of-way which is used for vehicular traffic, exclusive of sidewalks, driveways, or related uses.

Secretary. Secretary of the planning commission.

Screening. Decorative fencing, evergreen vegetation, earthen mounds, or a combination of these maintained for the purpose of concealing from view the area behind such structures or evergreen vegetation.

Setback line or building line. A line on a plat, generally parallel to the street right-of-way, indicating the limit beyond which buildings or structures may not be erected or altered.

Sidewalk. A pedestrian walkway with a concrete surface constructed to city minimum standards.

Site triangle. A triangular area at the intersection of streets maintained in such a manner as to provide a safe and open line of vision for drivers of vehicles and pedestrians approaching the intersection. Within the vision triangle, no one shall install, construct, plant, park, or maintain any sign, fence, hedge, shrubbery, tree, natural growth, or other obstruction which would materially impede vision between the heights of 2½ and ten feet above the street level. Such restrictions shall not apply to official traffic signs and signals and utility poles.

Sketch plan. A map or plan of a proposed subdivision preparatory to the preparation of the preliminary plan to enable the subdivider to save time and expense in reaching tentative general agreements by a discussion of the form and objectives of these regulations.

Street. A right-of-way, other than an alley, dedicated to public use, which provides principal vehicular and pedestrian access to adjacent properties.

Street, cul-de-sac. A street having only one outlet and being permanently terminated by a vehicle turn-around at the other end.

Street, frontage. A public or private marginal access street generally paralleling and contiguous to any arterial or collector street and designed to promote safety by eliminating unlimited ingress and egress to such arterial or collector street by providing points of access at predetermined and more or less evenly spaced intervals.

Street, private. Any street designed for vehicular traffic not dedicated as a public thoroughfare. The city has no maintenance responsibilities for a private street.

Street width. The shortest distance between the property lines abutting both sides of a street right-of-way.

Structure. Anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground, or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground. Structures include, but are not limited to: buildings, walls, sheds, towers, and bins.

Subdivide land. To partition a parcel of land into two or more parcels, tracts, lots, or sites for the purpose of transfer of ownership or development, whether immediate or future, when such parcel exists as a unit or contiguous units under a single ownership.

Subdivider. The owner, or any other person, firm or corporation, authorized by the owner, undertaking proceedings under the provisions of these regulations for the purpose of subdividing land.

Subdivider’s agreement. A contractual agreement signed and notarized by the subdivider and the applicable governing body that is conditioned upon acceptance of the final plat for the dedications thereon with primary concern for the design, installation, inspection and financing or guarantees for public improvements.

Subdivision. The division of a tract of land into two or more lots or parcels for the purpose of transfer of ownership or building development, or, if a new street is involved, any division of a parcel of land. The term “subdivision” includes “re-subdivision,” and the term “re-subdivision,” as used herein shall include any further subdivision of a lot or parcel of land previously subdivided, for sale, use, or other purposes, which varies from the latest approved plat of the same.

Turnaround. An area at the closed end of a dead-end street or cul-de-sac within which vehicles may reverse their direction without any backing up.

Utility strip. That portion of street right-of-way that is unpaved and which is located between the back of a curb and the street right-of-way line. Such strip provides right-of-way for the installation of public utilities (typically gas and water lines), street signs, street lights, sidewalks, driveways, traffic control devices, fire hydrants, street furniture, street trees and other ancillary lanes that are often provided as part of street pavement.

Watercourse. A body of water flowing in an identifiable channel or course, natural or man-made, and which is not dry more than six months a year.

1-13.          Duties of the zoning administrator.

(a)   Maintain permanent and current records with respect to these regulations including amendments thereto. Keep minutes and agendas of all meetings and hearings.

(b)   Accept applications, filing fees, and preliminary and final plats.

(c)   Transmit preliminary and final plats to the planning commission.

(d)   Transmit planning commission recommendations regarding final plat approval and acceptance of dedications or easements to the governing body for its action.

(e)   Transmit final plats where appropriate to the city clerk to file with the county register of deeds on behalf of the city.

1-14.          Duties of the planning commission.

(a)   Review and approve, approve conditionally, or disapprove preliminary plats.

(b)   Review and recommend approval, conditional approval, or disapproval of final plats and transmit the same together with recommendations for acceptance of dedications of easements and rights-of-way to the governing body for their review and approval.

(c)   Make other determinations and decisions as may from time to time be required by these regulations and by the applicable sections of the Kansas Statutes Annotated.

1-15.          Duties of the governing body.

(a)   Consider planning commission recommendations and consider final plats for approval, and accept or reject dedications of easements and rights-of-way.

(b)   Approve engineering drawings of proposed improvements prior to construction.

(c)   Accept or reject financial guarantees from subdividers in lieu of immediate completion or installation of improvements required by the regulations.

(d)   Take other actions as required from time to time including the consideration of amendments to these regulations.