City Code Chapter
(Chapter added by Ordinance 176555, effective July 1, 2002).
17.82.010 Administration.
- In addition to other regulations in this Title, land divisions must comply with the regulations herein.
17.82.020 Streets and Alleys.
(Amended by Ordinance 180917, effective May 26, 2007.)
- Public streets and public alleys shall conform to the requirements of the City Engineer for elements, widths, intersection location, grades, curves, materials and construction. If necessary, construction and slope easements may be required.
- Public Streets shall be laid out to intersect at angles as near to right angles as practical except where topography requires a lesser angle, but in no case shall be less than 80 degrees unless the City Engineer has approved a special intersection design.
- As far as is practical, public streets other than minor streets shall be in alignment with existing streets by continuation of the center lines thereof. Staggered street alignment resulting in "T" intersections shall, wherever practical, leave a minimum distance of 200 feet between the center lines of streets having approximately the same direction.
- Intersecting public alleys shall be avoided, and sharp changes in alley alignment shall be avoided, but where necessary, the corners shall be widened sufficiently to permit safe vehicular movement. Dead-end public alleys shall be avoided, but where unavoidable, turnaround facilities as determined by Portland Fire & Rescue and the City Engineer shall be provided.Where a private street or private alley accesses the public right-of-way, the location and width of the access shall conform to 17.28.110 Driveways – Permits and Conditions.
- Land divisions shall provide for the continuation or appropriate projection of existing arterial or collector streets in the surrounding area unless otherwise approved by the City Engineer.
17.82.030 Partial Width Streets.
- Partial width streets are public streets where right-of-way dedicated to the public is of insufficient width to accommodate all standard improvements for a full street. Partial width rights-of-way should be considered only when alignment or existing improvements make a full street impractical. Partial street dedications must be approved by the City Engineer to ensure that the partial width called for accommodates access and provides adequate area for construction as needed.
17.82.040 Access Control Strips.
- Access control strips, also known as reserve strips, are tracts of land conveyed to the City in fee. The strips are one foot in width and run for the length designated by the City Engineer. Access control strips may be required along public rights-of-way to restrict access until a street is fully developed. When new rights-of-way are being created, the access control strip will be located within the area intended to serve as right-of-way when the street is fully developed. Required access control strips must be shown on the land division plat. The City Engineer may convert access control strips to public right-of-way when there is no longer a need for access control.
17.82.045 Driveway Access Plans.
(Added by Ordinance 182760, effective June 5, 2009.)
- The City Engineer may require that future driveway locations be identified on plans submitted with the land division. The City Engineer may impose conditions of approval as appropriate and necessary regarding the number, configuration, and use of driveways necessary to ensure the safe and orderly flow of traffic, preserve on-street parking, preserve or establish street trees, maximize opportunities for vegetated stormwater management, reduce pedestrian conflicts, and enhance the pedestrian environment. The City Engineer may require access easements to facilitate joint or shared use of a driveway consistent with Chapter 17.28.
17.82.050 Temporary Turnarounds.
- The City Engineer may require temporary turnarounds on public streets that are intended to be extended in the future. An easement for public use must be provided for the turnaround.
17.82.060 Public Utility Easements.
- Easements for public utilities may be required by the City Engineer adjacent to public rights-of-way. Where used, public utility easements shall be a minimum of 10 feet in width unless otherwise specified by the City Engineer. Public utility easements required by the City Engineer shall be shown on the land division final plat.
17.82.070 Improvements in Land Divisions.
(Amended by Ordinances 176955 and 182760, effective June 5, 2009.)
- The following improvements shall be installed at no cost to the public:
- A. Streets: Public streets and public alleys within or adjacent to the land division shall be improved in accordance with the requirements of the City Engineer. Street inlets shall be installed and connected to storm sewers or other approved drainage facilities.
- B. Public pedestrian and bicycle connections, within the Land division site and located in public right-of-way or easements dedicated to the City shall be improved in accordance with the requirements of the City Engineer.
- C. Storm sewers and drainageways: Storm sewers and drainageways shall connect the Land division site to an approved drainage system (as defined in 17.38.030) within or outside the Land division site as approved by the Chief Engineer of the Bureau of Environmental Services or the Bureau of Development Services. Design of these systems shall comply with the Bureau of Environmental Services Stormwater Management Manual and the Bureau of Environmental Services Design Manual.
- D. Sanitary sewers: Sanitary sewers shall be installed to serve the Land division by extension of existing City sewers. In the event that the Chief Engineer of the Bureau of Environmental Services determines that it is impractical to connect the Land division site to the City sewer system, the Land division may be approved with a private disposal system which has been approved by the State’s Department of Environmental Quality and the Bureau of Development Services.
- E. Electrical and other wires in the public right-of-way: Electrical distribution laterals and other primary and secondary lines and other wires serving the Land division, including but not limited to communication, street lighting and cable television, shall be placed underground. The developer shall make necessary arrangements with utility companies or other appropriate persons for the installation of underground lines and facilities. This ordinance shall not apply to temporary utility service facilities during construction, or to utility transmission lines operating at 50,000 volts or above.
- F. Street lighting for public rights-of-way: Street lighting shall be provided as approved by the City Engineer and shall include conduits, wiring, bases, poles, arms and fixtures as required by the City Engineer to provide a complete system.
17.82.080 Improvement Procedures for Land Divisions.
- Improvements installed by a land divider in the public right-of-way shall conform to the requirements of this Title and to improvement standards of the City Engineer, and shall be installed according to the following procedure:
- A. All public and local improvements to be placed in the public right-of-way shall meet the design requirements of the City Engineer. In addition, if the improvement also includes storm and sanitary systems, the improvement shall also meet the design requirements of the Chief Engineer of the Bureau of Environmental Services.
- B. All improvements to be placed in the public right-of-way are subject to approval of the City Engineer through a street improvement permit, street use permit or other revocable permit from the City Engineer.
- C. Public and local improvement work shall not commence until a permit has been issued by the City Engineer, and County Engineer, if work is to be undertaken that involves an area under county jurisdiction, such as a county road. If such work is discontinued for any reason it shall not be resumed until after the City Engineer is notified.
- D. Street improvements, that are public or local improvements, shall be constructed under the inspection and to the satisfaction of the City Engineer. Public sanitary and storm systems shall be constructed under the inspection and to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer of the Bureau of Environmental Services.
- E. Underground utilities, street lighting facilities, sanitary sewers, storm drains and water mains installed in a public roadway shall be constructed prior to the surfacing of the roadway. Stubs for service connections for underground utilities shall be placed according to the plans and specifications approved by the City Engineer. Stubs for public sewer and storm systems shall also be approved by the Chief Engineer of the Bureau of Environmental Services
17.82.090 Agreement for Construction of Public Improvements.
- The land divider shall complete all required minor public street improvements (Sidewalk and curb work where engineering is not required to establish line or grade) prior to City Engineer approval of the land division final plat unless otherwise allowed by the City Engineer. The land divider shall complete permit applications for other public improvements prior to City Engineer approval of the land division final plat.