This article is designed to establish the minimum criteria for review of site plans by the city planning commission in order to provide for safe and convenient traffic movement throughout the city, and to provide for safe harmonious development between adjacent uses.

(Ord. No. 08-3935, § 1, 2-4-08)

Any development, other than single-family residential, constructed along streets designated collector or above by the long range plan of the city shall be required to obtain site plan approval from the city planning commission prior to issuance of a building permit, subject to the provisions of section 25-166.

(Ord. No. 08-3935, § 1, 2-4-08)

Twenty-five (25) copies of a site plan as specified below shall be submitted to the planning department twenty-one (21) days prior to the planning commission meeting.

(Ord. No. 08-3935, § 1, 2-4-08)

A site plan shall be prepared and sealed by a registered professional engineer licensed in the State of Alabama and show the following:

(1)

Ingress and egress to the property.

(2)

Building footprints (including any covered walkways or entrances).

(3)

Traffic circulation within the boundaries of the property including drive-through plans.

(4)

Drainage plans will include 2-foot contours and proposed grading plan, drainage piping and inlets designed for a 10-year event (calculations required if requested by the city engineer), capacities of downstream drainage piping, curb and gutter in the parking lot(s) and a 5-foot wide sidewalk along collector streets.

(5)

Stormwater detention facilities to include the following:

a.

No detention will be required for new development sites less than one (1) acre;

b.

No detention will be required for redevelopment sites which increase the net impervious area by less than two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet;

c.

For sites between one (1) to twenty-five (25) acres - provide detention for a minimum of a 10-year storm event along with calculations to show the effect of a 25- and a 100-year storm;

d.

For sites greater than twenty-five (25) acres, provide detention for a 25-year storm with calculations to show effect of 100-year storm.

(6)

Erosion and sediment control - Minimum requirements. Construction which disturbs one (1) acre or more of ground surface within the city limits of Decatur will require a general permit for stormwater runoff control. This permit will be obtained from ADEM (Alabama Department of Environmental Management) by the owner/developer of the property. A copy of the approved permit will be submitted to the city engineering department prior to beginning site construction, grading or clearing activity. The owner/developer, along with his construction plans, will be responsible for preparing a construction best management practices plan (CBMPP) using good engineering practices that will result in specific strategies to protect water quality. The CBMPP must use the basic design principles available in the Alabama Handbook for Erosion Control, Sediment Control and Storm Water Management on Construction Sites and Urban Areas (Alabama Handbook) and other recognized best management practices (BMP) documents. The Alabama Handbook, such may be amended from time to time, can be downloaded from the ADEM (Alabama Department of Environmental Management) website. The CBMPP will describe in detail the use of silt fences, hay bales, rip rap, siltation basins or other means to be used for erosion control.

All construction plans will include by notation in the project notes, requirements for the contractors to provide erosion control, for preventing fuel or hazardous chemical spills and over use of pesticides, fertilize, or herbicides. Waste material such as asphalt, petroleum products, sealants, concrete, etc., will not be left on site in contact with stormwater runoff.

Any information provided by the public as to betterment of the proposed BMP or as to the failure of an operating BMP can be addressed to the city engineering department for consideration or correction.

Any owner/developer of a site one (1) acre or larger which does not conform to these regulations is subject to a stop-work order and/or a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) per day.

Once an owner/developer has been notified by the city engineering department that his/her BMP is not meeting the requirements of these regulations, the owner/developer will have ten (10) working days to correct the problem before fines become effective. The fine will be enforced each day thereafter that the BMP is not corrected. The owner/developer will be responsible for the correction and for notifying the city engineering department when the corrections are made.

Maintenance of any detention or retention facilities and any other post-construction water quality measures will have to be maintained on a continuing basis.

(7)

Number of parking spaces proposed (as established by the zoning ordinance or by applicant whichever is greater).

(8)

Landscaping (15 parking spaces or greater will require compliance with the landscaping ordinance. See section 25-16 of this chapter.)

(9)

Lighting (more than 50 spaces will require compliance with the lighting requirements. See section 25-16 of this chapter.)

(10)

Dumpster location.

(11)

Loading and unloading.

(12)

A boundary survey prepared by a registered land surveyor licensed in the State of Alabama that depicts all structures, known easements, rights-of-way, existing drainage facilities, existing utilities, blue line streams, current FEMA 100-year floodplain, and wetlands.

(Ord. No. 08-3935, § 1, 2-4-08;Ord. No. 13-4151, 7-1-13)

Property having frontage along Beltline Highway/Highway 67 will be required to make provisions (bond, build or realign) to construct a frontage road to city specifications.

(Ord. No. 08-3935, § 1, 2-4-08)

No site plan shall be submitted that does not conform to the zoning ordinance.

(Ord. No. 08-3935, § 1, 2-4-08)

Administrative review and approval may be obtained if the development does not:

(1)

Affect traffic flow;

(2)

Change the building footprint significantly;

(3)

Negatively affect the character of any surrounding residential neighborhood;

(4)

Affect the drainage.

Administrative approval shall require signatures from the planning director, city engineer and building director or their designated representative.

(Ord. No. 08-3935, § 1, 2-4-08)

Plans will be reviewed for well designed ingress and egress, and the impact on, and mitigation of impact on current traffic patterns; drainage systems; and on adjacent, contiguous or adjoining properties.

(Ord. No. 08-3935, § 1, 2-4-08)

Prior to issuance of a building permit the site plan shall require an approval signature from an officer of the planning commission as obtained by a member of the planning department staff.

(Ord. No. 08-3935, § 1, 2-4-08)