Gem County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 26
SUPPLEMENTARY STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO ALL ROADS
11-26-1: ROAD NAMING:
A. Authority. The director of development services shall have authority to approve road names.
B. Approvals Required. Approval shall be obtained from the director of development services according to the requirements of this chapter for the right to use a road name and its accompanying predirection and post type. No sign designating any road may be erected until such approval is obtained and address assigned.
C. Road Naming Application Procedure.
1. Applications to name new roads or existing unnamed roads may only be submitted by the property owner or their authorized representative in conjunction with a development application such as for a subdivision or private road.
2. An application to name a new road shall contain the following:
a. A completed application form.
b. A map or plan which accurately depicts the location and names of existing and proposed roads. If the application is associated with a proposed subdivision, a copy of the preliminary plat must be submitted.
3. Road Naming Application Review.
a. The director of development services shall review proposed road names for conformance with the requirements fo this chapter and shall grant tentative approval for applications that are found to be in compliance.
b. A property owners having frontage on the affected private road shall be notified by mail of the proposed naming of the private road and provided a copy of the application.
c. Property owners have fourteen (14) business days from the mailing of the application notice to provide written comments to the director of development services regarding the proposed name.
d. The director of development services shall not make a final approval pursuant to the procedures provided in this chapter until the fourteenth (14) business day period has expired.
e. As part of the review process, the director of development services shall forward the application to relevant referral agencies for review, and those agencies shall be given ten (10) business days to provide comment on the application’s compliance with this chapter and the agency’s standards. The director of development services shall consider these comments in determining whether to approve or deny the application. Application must be sent to the designated committee for review.
f. The director of development services shall notify the applicant of the results of the review. If an applicant is denied, the reasons for denial shall be provided.
4. Tentative Approval.
a. Upon granting tentative approval for a proposed road name, the director of development services shall reserve the road name for the exclusive use of the applicant, pending final approval of the associated development application.
b. Tentative approval shall be rescinded for the following reasons, in which case the applicant must reapply to use the road name:
(1) The applicant changes the layout of the proposed road after tentative approval.
(2) Final development approval is not obtained within twenty- four (24) months of the tentative approval.
(3) Another development and the development’s road names or layout cause the applicant proposed names to be out of compliance with this chapter.
5. Final Approval.
a. If no exceptions are taken to the tentative approval then final approval of the road name shall be granted automatically with final approval of the associated development application.
D. Changing Existing Road Names.
1. Existing road names may only be changed by an affirmative action of the board of county commissioners at a public hearing, except for the correction of scrivener’s errors as provided in this section.
2. Initiation Of Change.
a. The director of development services or another public agency may request a road name change if the current name is no tin compliance with this chapter and/or the current name negatively impacts public safety or the delivery of public services.
b. An owner of property along a road may request that the road name be changed by filing an application with the director of development services. In order for the application to be considered, the property owner must first obtain approval for the change form two thirds (2/3) of the property owners along the subject road.
3. Application. A road name change application shall contain the following:
a. A completed application form.
b. A map or plan which accurately depicts the location and names of existing and proposed roads.
c. An explanation of the reason for the requested name change.
d. A list of the names and addresses of all property owners along the road or with access from the private road.
e. A signed petition exhibiting consent from a minimum of two thirds (2/3) of the property owners along the road or with access from the private road for which the name change is being requested.
4. Application Review.
a. The director of development services shall review proposed road names for conformance with the requirements of this chapter and shall schedule a board of county commissioners hearing for applications that are found to be in compliance.
b. As part of the review process, the director of development services shall forward the application to applicable referral agencies for review, and those agencies shall be given ten (10) business days to provide comment on the application’s compliance with this chapter and the agency’s standards. The director of development services shall forward such comments to the board of county commissioners for consideration. Applications must be sent to the designated committee for review.
c. The director of development services shall notify the applicant of the results of the review. If an application is denied, the reasons for denial shall be provided.
5. Notice Of Public Hearing: All owners of property along the subject road shall be notified by mail of the public hearing at least fifteen (15) days before the hearing. The notice shall include the reason for the change and information about the board of county commissioners hearing.
6. Effective Date: Upon an affirmative action by the board of county commissioners, a road name change shall become effective sixty (60) days after the date of the board of county commissioners decision.
7. Notice Of Change: The director of development services shall mail notices of a road name change to affected property owners within seven (7) days of the board of county commissioners decision. The director of development services shall notify certain public agencies of a road name change within thirty (30) days of the board of county commissioners decision. Notice shall be provided to affected agencies, as determined by the director of development services, including public health and safety agencies, the United States Postal Services and utility companies.
8. Subsequent Address Changes: After a road name change, the director of development services and the county assessor shall change the addresses of any affected structures or properties to reflect the new road name, according to the requirement of this chapter.
9. The applicant is responsible for all costs and fees related to the new sign and placement.
10. If the road is part of a subdivision, and recorded as such on a plat, a subdivision re-plat shall be required to update the road name on the plat. All costs associated with the re-plat, including recording, shall be the responsibility of the applicant.
11. Corrective Scrivener’s Errors.
a. In the event a plat is recorded with a scrivener’s error, including, but not limited to, a misspelled road name or an incorrect or missing predirectional or posttype, the director of development services may correct the road name by filing an affidavit of read name change with the county recorder.
b. The director of development services shall mail a notice of the road name affidavit to all owners of property along the subject road at least fourteen (14) business days prior to recordation.
c. If, as determined by the director of development services, the incorrect road name is significantly different in spelling or pronunciation from the correct name and the incorrect name is already in public use, the road name change affidavit must be approved by the board of county commissioners at a public hearing prior to recordation.
E. Road Naming Standards. Roads names shall conform to the following standards:
1. Any road, whether public or private, that provides access to three (3) or more addressed structures or properties must be officially named accoridng to the provisions of this chapter.
2. Road names shall not be more than thirteen (13) letters in length, including spaces, except for when an existing road with a nonconforming name is to be extended.
3. Road names shall not contain the words North, South, East, or West or any combination thereof. These shall only be used as predirectionals.
4. Proposed road names shall not duplicate existing names in spelling or pronunciation. Differentiation between existing and proposed names shall not be accomplished by changes in spelling or by the use of different predirectionals or posttypes.
5. Proposed road names shall not sound alike or be easily confused with existing road names as determined by the director of the development services.
6. Proposed road names shall not be vulgar or profane as determined by the director of development services.
7. Where a proposed road is in general alignment with an existing road and is determined by the director of development services to be a continuation of that road, the existing road’s name shall be continued to the proposed road.
F. Variances And Appeals:
1. Variance: The requirements of this chapter may be varied by the board where their enforcement will result in extraordinary individual hardship, provided the public interest is served. An applicant for such a variance must specifically state the hardship caused by these regulations and adequately prove that the variance will not cause an adverse effect to the health, safety and welfare of the public. In granting any variance, the board may impose conditions, as necessary, to ensure substantial compliance with the general principles of this chapter.
2. Appeal: Any person, firm or corporation may appeal a decision of the director of development services to the board by filing a written notice of appeal within twenty (20) days after the decision. The notice of appeal shall specifically state where the director of development services erred in the interpretation or application of this chapter; failure to do so shall be grounds of dismissal of the appeal. Copies of the notice shall also be submitted to the director of development services and county clerk. (Ord. 2025-06, 3-24-2025)
11-26-2: BUS STOPS:
A. Applicability. This section shall apply to all official school bus stop lications on public and private roads.
B. Design Standards. All school bus stops shall be designed to the following standards:
1. The bus stop shall be located so that the school bus stops in the far- right lane of traffic.
2. A concrete pad with minimum dimensions of ten (10) feet wide by ten (10) feet long shall be located adjacent to the roadway abutting the edge of pavement or edge of the road’s travelway.
a. Bus stops shall be located within the right-of-way and shall not interfere with roadside drainage.
C. A minimum of one (1) pedestrian light shall be provided which fully illuminates the concrete pad to meet the following minimum standards:
1. Light pole shall be a minimum of ten (10) feet in height;
2. Light shall be solar operated; and
3. Light fixture shall be downward directed and shielded.
D. Signage shall be installed which clearly designates the dedicated space as a school bus stop.
E. Sidewalks or pathways connecting to the bus stop or in the vicinity of the bus stop shall be located separate from and adjacent to the concrete pad with clear and safe physical and visual access to the bus stop area per the Americans with disabilities act (ADA) requirements.
Figure 1. Bus Stop Standards Illustrated
(Ord. 2025-06, 3-24-2025)
11-26-3: PEDESTRIAN ACCESS:
A. Applicability. This section shall apply to all pathways associated with public and private roads.
1. All major subdivisions shall include a pedestrian pathway per the design standards below.
2. All minor subdivisions shall include an easement for future potential development of a pedestrian pathway to provide access to bus stops and connect to adjacent pathways as additional subdivision occurs expanding the collective development beyond the scope of a minor subdivision.
3. All subdivisions that meet the definition of hillside development per this code shall be exempt from meeting these pedestrian access requirements.
B. Design Standards. All pathways shall be designed to the following standards:
a. Pathways shall be located in one of the following:
b. Within the right-of-way which may be expanded to accommodate the pedestrian improvements as necessary;
c. Within a minimum ten (10) foot wide pedestrian pathway easement adjacent to the right-of-way; or
d. Within a minimum ten (10) foot wide pedestrian pathway easement elsewhere on the property that connects at major roadway intersections.
Figure 2. Pedestrian Pathway Standards Illustrated
C. All pathways shall be a minimum of five (5) feet in width.
D. Pathways along paved roads shall be paved per Gem County road and bridge standards.
E. Pathways along unpaved roads shall be constructed of materials approved for Americans with disabilities act (ADA) accessibility.
F. All pathways shall maintain grades to meet ADA accessibility standards. (Ord. 2025-06, 3-24-2025)