§ 57-2. Definitions.

For the purpose of this chapter, certain words and terms used herein are defined as follows:

Alley. A permanent public service way, dedicated to or in public use, other than a street, place, road, crosswalk, or easement, designed to provide a secondary means of access for special accommodation to the back or side of abutting properties and not intended for general traffic circulation.

Area, building. The total of areas, taken on a horizontal plane, at the main grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings exclusive of uncovered porches, terraces, and steps.

Area, net site. The total area within the property lines of the site, less the area of any street right-of-way.

Barrier (natural or artificial). Any street, highway, river, pond, canal, railroad, levee, embankment, berm, stream or drainage ditch, or screening by fence or hedge.

Benchmark. A definite point of known elevation and location and of more or less permanent character as defined by the coast and geodesic survey.

Block. A unit of property entirely surrounded by public highways, streets, railroad rights-of-way, waterways, public parks, cemeteries, corporate boundary lines, or other barriers (except alleys, crosswalks, or exterior boundaries of a subdivision, unless such exterior boundary is a street or highway), or any combination thereof.

Board of aldermen. The Board of Aldermen of Jackson, Missouri.

Building line/building set back line. The line parallel to the front, side, or rear lot line establishing the line upon which all principal structures will front.

City. The City of Jackson, Missouri.

City council. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen of Jackson, Missouri.

Commission or planning commission or planning and zoning commission. The Planning and Zoning Commission of Jackson, Missouri.

Common land. That land set aside for open space or recreational use for the owners of the residential lots in a subdivision, which land is conveyed by the developer in fee simple absolute title by warranty deed to trustees whose trust indenture will prove that said common land be used for the sole benefit, use and enjoyment of the lot owners, present and future. No lot owner shall have the right to convey his interest in the common land except as incident to the ownership of a regularly platted lot.

Comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan of the city, whether in whole or in part, prepared by the city planning commission and adopted by the board of aldermen, in accordance with the authority conferred by RSMo Ch. 89.

Cul-de-sac. A short, local street having one end open to traffic and the other end permanently terminated by a vehicular turnaround.

Dead-end street. A street having one end open to traffic and the other end closed.

Density, high. See subdivision density, high.

Density, low. See subdivision density, low.

Design. The arrangement of land for easements, lots, and right-of-way, including materials, improvements, alignments, grades, and widths of these elements.

Developer. Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, estate, or any other group or combination acting to develop real estate within the city. The term "developer" shall include any subdivider and any agent of any subdivider or developer.

Director. The Public Works Director of Jackson, Missouri.

Drainage channel. A natural watercourse or man-made indenture for the drainage of surface water.

Drainage right-of-way. The land required for the installation of storm sewers or drainage ditches, or required along the natural stream or watercourse for preserving the channel and providing for the flow of water therein to safeguard the public against flood damage.

Easement. A grant by the property owner of the use, for a specific purpose or purposes, of a strip of land by the general public, utility companies, or private individuals.

Engineer. The City Engineer of Jackson, Missouri.

Escrow agent. A title company, savings and loan association, trust company, reputable attorney or any other persons or agency approved by the city council to act as an escrow agent under the provisions of this chapter.

Floodplain. The area, usually lowlands, adjoining the channel of a river, stream, watercourse, lake or other body of standing water, which has been or may be covered by floodwaters, as mapped and defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Flood-prone areas. All land subject to periodic inundation by the overflow of natural waterways.

Grade. The slope of a road, street, or sewer specified in percent and shown on road, street, or sewer profiles as required herein.

Grading. Any and all earthwork required to remove vegetation, reshape topography, or otherwise prepare a site for development.

Health department. The Cape Girardeau County Health Department or city sanitarian.

Hillside street. A street in which the cross slope of the existing ground exceeds fifteen (15) percent and the centerline slope exceeds fifteen (15) percent.

Improvement guarantee. Any security, including performance bonds, escrow agreements and other similar collateral or surety agreements, including irrevocable letters of credit, which guarantees funds for the maintenance and repair of installed improvements for a specified period.

Improvement plans. The engineering plans, prepared by a registered professional engineer, containing all profiles, specifications, construction details, and types of materials for all improvements, excluding dwelling units, to be installed for the development of a subdivision.

Improvements. The totality of crosswalks, culverts, bridges, sanitary and storm sewers, water mains, street surfaces, and/or pavements, street and road signs, street lights, curbs and gutters, sewage treatment facilities, pedestrian ways, gas mains, landscaping, monuments, electric utilities, and all other appropriate improvements required to render land suitable for the use proposed.

Jurisdiction. The corporate area of the City of Jackson, Missouri, or any areas which may subsequently come into the corporate area of said city.

Lot. A portion of a subdivision or other parcel of land intended to be separately owned, rented, leased, developed, or otherwise used as a unit, occupied or to be occupied by a building or group of buildings and accessory buildings, together with such yards and lot area as required by this chapter, and having its principal frontage upon a street, road, or place approved by the commission and city council.

Lot area. The total horizontal area within the boundaries of a lot exclusive of any land designated for rights-of-way for street or roadway purposes.

Lot, corner. A lot abutting upon two (2) or more streets or road rights-of-way at their intersections.

Lot depth. The horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines, measured along the median between the two (2) side lot lines.

Lot, double frontage. A lot which runs through a block from street to street and which has two (2) non-intersecting sides abutting on two (2) or more streets.

Lot, frontage. All of the property fronting on one (1) side of a street between the two (2) nearest boundaries, including lot lines and/or intersecting streets or alleys.

Lot lines. The boundaries of a lot.

Lot width. The dimension (width) of a lot, measured between side lot lines on the required building setback line for the district in which the lot is located.

Major street plan. The official plans of highways, arterial streets, and collector streets, approved by the city planning commission, and duly recorded in the office of the county recorder of deeds.

Monument. An object set in the ground to mark the boundaries of real estate or to mark a survey station.

Nonresidential subdivision. Either or both of:

(1)

A division or re-division of a tract into more than one (1) lot, plat, or site for commercial or industrial purposes, and

(2)

The dedication or establishment of a street or improvement in conjunction with or use in any such tract.

Official map. The base map of the city, showing highways, streets, parks, and drainage rights-of-way, both existing and proposed.

Official submission date. The date when a subdivision plan shall be considered submitted to the commission, and is hereby defined to be the date of the meeting of the commission at which all required surveys, plans, plats, and data are submitted.

Open space, public. Land which may be dedicated or reserved for acquisition for general use by the public, including parks, recreational areas, school sites, community or public building sites, open or "green space" areas, and other such areas that shall be deemed necessary by the commission.

Parking bay. An area, either on an individual lot or on any other portion of a subdivision, which is reserved for vehicular parking.

Parking lane. An auxiliary lane of a street or roadway used primarily for vehicular parking.

Pavement. An all-weather, dust-free asphalt seal on appropriate base, asphalt concrete, or concrete surface.

Pedestrian way. An easement or right-of-way dedicated to public use to facilitate pedestrian access to adjacent streets, roadways, and properties.

Performance guarantee. Any security, including performance bonds, escrow agreements and other similar collateral or surety agreements, which guarantees certain improvements will be made by the subdivider or developer.

Person. Any individual, corporation, firm, partnership, association, estate, organization, or any other group acting as a unit.

Place. Any open, unoccupied, officially designated space, other than a street or alley, permanently reserved as the principal means of access to abutting property.

Plan, final. The final plan consists of:

(1)

The final plat; and

(2)

The improvement plans for all or a portion of a land subdivision.

All references to "final plan" within this regulation shall refer to both the final plat and the improvement plans.

Plat. A map, plan, or layout of a city, township, section, county, subdivision, or mobile home park indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.

Plat, final. The final plat, prepared by a registered Missouri land surveyor, showing complete bearings and dimensions of all lines defining lots and blocks, right-of-way for all streets, alleys, roadways and easements, public areas, and other dimensions of land as may be required for the development of a subdivision.

Plat, preliminary. A map or plan of a proposed land subdivision showing the character and proposed layout of the tract in sufficient detail to indicate the suitability of the proposed use of the tract.

Public service commission. The Public Service Commission of Missouri.

Right-of-way. The land opened, reserved, or dedicated for a street or roadway, sidewalk, drainage area, railroad, or other public purpose.

Setback line. See "building line/building setback line."

Sidewalk. That portion of the street between the curb line and the adjacent property line which is intended for the use of pedestrians.

Sinkhole. A depression in the land surface of circular or roughly circular form, within which all surface drainage is internal and within which surface water is impounded or drains into the subsurface through an opening in the soil or bedrock.

Slope. The inclination of the ground surface from the horizontal plan, usually expressed, in percent, degree, or feet per mile.

Street. A right-of-way, other than an alley, dedicated or otherwise legally established for public or private use, with a surface, usually affording the principal means of access to an abutting property. A street is intended primarily as a means of vehicular travel. The street right-of-way may provide space for public facilities such as sanitary and storm sewers, water, gas, and electric lines, and sidewalks. A street may be designated as a highway, thoroughfare, road, throughway, pike, avenue, boulevard, lane, drive, court, or circle. For the purpose of this chapter, streets shall be classified as follows:

(1)

Arterial. A street so designated on the major street plan of the city, as approved by the board of aldermen. This type of street serves the major traffic movements entering, leaving, or moving within an area. Its principal function is to move traffic. These streets are normally characterized by traffic controls and parking restrictions.

(2)

Collector. Streets which provide for traffic movement between arterial and local streets, and provide direct access to abutting property.

(3)

Local. The sole function of a local street is to provide access to immediately adjacent property. A cul-de-sac is classified as a local street.

Structure. Anything constructed or manufactured, which requires location on the ground or is attached to something having a location on the ground.

Subdivider. A person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, estate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit for the purpose of subdividing or re-subdividing or proposing to divide a lot, tract, or other subdivision of land that constitutes a subdivision as defined herein, for the purpose of transfer of ownership or development, whether immediate or future, including all changes in street or lot lines. The term "subdivider" shall include any agent of a subdivider or developer.

Subdivision, major. The division of a tract of land into five (5) or more lots, tracts, sites, parcels or areas, and/or the division of a tract of land into any number of lots, tracts, sites, parcels, or areas of any size which includes improvements, new streets, easements, rights-of-way, rights of ingress and egress or provision for a public area or a public facility. The term "subdivision" shall also include all re-subdivisions of land or lots.

Subdivision, minor. The division of land into not more than four (4) lots, tracts, sites, parcels or areas for residential purposes, any one of which is three (3) acres or less in area and each having a lot width of not less than the minimum lot width as specified by the zoning code for the zoning district in which the property is located and frontage on an existing city, state or federal highway or road dedicated or deeded to the public prior to the adoption of this chapter, provided that the proposed subdivision of land:

(1)

Does not include any new streets, sewer, water, electric systems or any other utilities; and

(2)

Does not include a provision for a public area or public facility; and

(3)

Conforms to the set back line requirements and other requirements contained in the zoning ordinance of the city; and

(4)

Conveys the right-of-way necessary for road widening and maintenance of city roads, where the granting of such right-of-way can be given without undue hardship.

Surety company. An insurance company qualified and acting under the provisions of RSMo Ch. 379, which has met the requirements thereof and which is approved by the city attorney.

Title company. A corporation qualified and acting under the Missouri Title Insurance Law or a corporation which is an issuing agency for an insurance company insuring land titles.

Tract. An area or parcel of land which the developer intends to subdivide and improve, or to cause to be subdivided and improved, pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.

Yard. Any open space located on the same lot with a building or structure, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground up, except for any accessory building or projections as are permitted on the lot.

Yard, front. A yard extending across the front of a lot, facing the street, between the side lot lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the front lot line and the main building.

Yard, rear. A yard extending along the rear of a lot and being the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the main building. On all lots, the rear yard shall be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard.

Yard, side. A yard extending along each side of a lot between the front yard and the rear yard line and being the minimum horizontal distance between the side lot line and the side building line.

Zoning district map. A map entitled "Zoning District Map for the City of Jackson, Missouri," dated August 1, 1994, and any amendments thereto.

Zoning ordinance. The part of the comprehensive plan, now or hereafter adopted, including any amendments thereto, which includes an ordinance and map dividing the city into zoning districts with regulations, requirements, and procedures for the establishment of land use controls within the city.

(Ord. No. 02-45, § 1, 7-1-02; Ord. No. 03-82, § 1, 7-21-03)