Section 24.10.070 Definitions.

1. “ Alley” shall mean a public right-of-way, less than twenty feet wide and not intended for traffic circulation, which serves as a secondary means of vehicular access to abutting properties.

2. “ Auditor’ s plat” shall mean a subdivision plat required by the county auditor or the assessor, pursuant to sections 354.13 through 354.17 of the 2001 Code of Iowa.

3. “ Bulk regulations” shall mean requirements or limitations of structure height, location, setback or yard dimensions, floor area ratios, and maximum ground coverage.

4. “ Cul-de-sac” shall mean a minor street having only one end open to traffic that is permanently terminated by a vehicular turnaround. Cul-de-sac may also refer to a paved circular turnaround at the end of such a dead-end street.

5. “ Dedication” shall mean a conveyance of an ownership in real property to the city or other public agency for public use in conformance with the provisions of section 354.19 of the 2001 Code of Iowa.

6. “ Design Standards Manual” shall mean the manual of design standards adopted by resolution of the city council in force at the time a preliminary plat is filed.

7. “ Development” shall mean any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation and drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.

8. “ Division” shall mean the splitting of a parcel or tract of land into more than one parcel or tract of land for conveyance or tax purposes. The term may be used as distinct from a subdivision.

9. “ Easement” shall mean an authorization by a property owner for the use by another person of a designated part of the owner’ s property for a specified purpose.

10. “ Final Plat” shall mean a subdivision plat map drawn to the standards of section 355.8 and pursuant to the provisions of sections 354.6 though 354.11 of the 2001 Code of Iowa.

12. “ General Plan” shall mean the plans made for future development of the area formulated by the planning and zoning commission and adopted by the city council. Such plans may indicate general recommended locations and interrelationships for land uses, streets, parks, public facilities and other public improvements, as well as statements of the policies of the city with respect to physical development of the community. The general plan is a guide and resource for officials and agencies of the city in the performance of their duties, but except as otherwise provided, is not binding upon them.

13. “ Grade” shall mean the elevation of the surface of the ground or paving. Also, the physical process of changing the surface of the ground. Also, the slope of a street expressed as a percentage of rise to run.

14. “ Improvements” shall mean changes and additions to the land necessary to prepare it for building sites, including but not limited to, street paving, grading, monuments, stormwater facilities, sanitary sewers, water mains, fire hydrants, sidewalks and pedestrian ways.

15. “ Legal description” shall mean a written statement describing the boundaries or the area of a parcel or tract of land that is sufficiently explicit for the purpose of sale and conveyance, recording, tax assessment and collection.

16. “ Lot, double-frontage” shall mean a lot, other than a corner lot, that has frontage on two streets. Generally, the bulk requirements for a front setback apply to both frontages.

17. “ Lot, flag” shall mean a lot with less than the required lot width at the front setback as specified in the bulk regulations for a zone that widens to the required minimum width farther from the street. Flag lots are intended to allow development of parcels that would otherwise be undevelopable due to constraints of terrain or size and shape of the original parcel.

18. “ Lot, reverse corner” shall mean a lot in which the side street lot line is a continuation of the front lot line of the lot to its rear.

19. “ Lot, subdivision” shall mean a land parcel within a subdivision, identified by number, intended as a unit for transfer or development.

20. “ Owner” shall mean the holder of legal title or any equitable interest, such as trust beneficiaries, contract purchasers, option holders, lessees (with an unexpired lease term of at least 10 years), etc. which are filed of record in the offices of the county recorder.

22. “ Plan of improvements” shall mean maps, engineering design drawings, specifications, plan and other information necessary to define and describe the location, design, capacity, materials, and other characteristics of a proposed subdivision improvement.

25. “ Plat of survey” shall mean a graphic representation of one or two parcels of land prepared by a land surveyor as an illustration of a metes and bounds description of the parcels.

26. “ Preliminary plat” shall mean maps and supportive information indicating the proposed layout of a subdivision and preliminary design of required public improvements.

27. “ Replat , resubdivision” shall mean a subdivision plat representing land that has previously been included in a recorded subdivision plat.

28. “ Right-of-way” shall mean a parcel of land intended to be occupied for streets, sidewalks, utilities and other public purposes. On a plat, rights-of-way are to be separate and distinct from other lots or parcels. Rights-of-way intended for public facilities shall be dedicated to public use and title transferred to the appropriate public agency.

29. “ Simple division” shall mean a division of a parcel or tract of land into not more than two lots that do not require any public improvements.

30. “ Standard Specifications for Public Improvements” shall mean the standard specifications for public improvements as adopted by resolution of the city council.

31. “ Street” , depending on context, shall mean either the right-of-way for a public thoroughfare, other than an alley; or the improved portion of such a public right-of-way primarily intended for vehicular travel.

32. “ Subdivider” shall mean the owner or agent of the owner who undertakes to cause a parcel of land to be designed, constructed as a subdivision.

37. “ Utility” shall mean the services and facilities that provide usefulness and amenity for developed property. Utilities include, but are not limited to, sanitary sewer, water, natural gas, electricity, telephone, cable television and other telecommunication systems. (Ord. 2001-0849)