Hanford Municipal Code Ch. 16.04 General Provisions

The provisions of this title are adopted to preserve, protect and promote the public health, safety, convenience, prosperity and general welfare. More specifically, the provisions of this chapter are adopted in order to achieve the following objectives:

A. To aid in the implementation of the general plan of the city, and the elements thereof, as adopted by the council;

B. To provide lots of sufficient size and appropriate design for the purposes for which they are to be used;

C. To provide streets of adequate capacity for the anticipated traffic which would utilize them and to ensure that they are designed to promote a safe vehicular and pedestrian traffic circulation system;

D. To accommodate new development in a manner which will preserve and enhance the city's living environment and create new beauty through skilled subdivision design;

E. To provide for water supply, sewage disposal, storm drainage, and other utilities and facilities which are required by conditions of an urban environment;

F. To ensure that the costs of providing the rights-of-way, street improvements, utilities, and public areas and facilities needed to serve new developments are borne fairly and equitable by the subdivider rather than by property owners of the city at large; and

G. To protect and enhance real property values.

(Prior code § 9-3.101)

The provisions of this title shall be supplemental to those of the Subdivision Map Act and shall apply to all subdivisions within the city.

(Prior code § 9-3.102)

For the purposes of this title, certain words and phrases used in this title are defined as follows:

"Alley"

means a public way permanently reserved primarily for vehicular service access to the rear side of properties otherwise abutting on a street.

"Arterial street"

means a street designated as an arterial street on the general plan or an element thereof which, because of its design and location with respect to other streets and other sources of traffic, is used or designed to carry relatively heavy volumes of traffic through an urban area or between urban areas or an approach to a highway or a freeway.

"Bicycle path"

means a strip or parcel of land permanently reserved and designed for use by bicyclists, not located within a street right-of-way.

"Block"

means the distance measured along a street center line between the outer line of intersecting streets, between the center line of an intersecting street and a railroad right-of-way, or between the center line of an intersecting street and the end of the street.

"Collector street"

means a street designed as a collector street on the general plan or an element thereof which, because of its location with respect to other streets and other sources of traffic, is used or designed to carry moderately heavy volumes of traffic between portions of urban areas or between arterial streets.

"Commission"

means the planning commission of the city.

"Cul-de-sac street"

means a street having only one outlet for vehicular traffic and which is not intended to be extended or continued to serve future subdivisions on adjacent lands.

"Frontage street"

means a local street which is parallel to and adjacent to an arterial street, limited access highway, or freeway and which provides access to abutting properties while relieving them of the effects of heavy volumes of fast through traffic.

"Local street"

means a street which, because of its design and location with respect to other streets, is used primarily for access to abutting properties.

"Lot"

means a parcel of subdivided land under one ownership used, or susceptible to being used, in accordance with the provisions of this title and in accordance with the zoning regulations applicable to the district in which the parcel is located.

"Non-access strip"

means a strip adjoining the property line within a street right-of-way which is intended to prevent access to abutting properties from the street.

"Pedestrian way"

means a public way designed and intended for use by pedestrians and which is not located within a street right-of-way.

"Planting strip"

means a strip adjoining the sidewalk within a street right-of-way or between the pavement of a frontage street and the arterial street, limited access highway, or freeway it parallels and which is intended to be planted with trees or other-wise landscaped.

"Sidewalk"

means a way designed for use by pedestrians and which is located within a street right-of-way.

"Standard specifications"

means the specifications of the city established by recommendation of the commission and adopted by resolution of the council pertaining to subdivision design and improvements.

"Stubbed street"

means a street having only one outlet for vehicular traffic and which is intended to be extended or continued to serve future subdivisions on adjacent lands.

"Subdivision Map Act"

means the applicable provisions of the Government Code of the state governing the subdivision and/or resubdivision of land in the state.

Subdivision Map Act Terms.

All terms, unless defined in this section, which are defined in the Subdivision Map Act shall have the same meaning as ascribed thereto in said Act and as the said Act may hereafter be amended.

(Prior code § 9-3.104)