Newport City Zoning Code

Regulate the division of land and promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the residents of Newport in accordance with standards established by the state to prevent the overcrowding of land;

Provide the most beneficial relationship between the uses of land and buildings and the circulation of traffic throughout Newport, with particular regard to the avoidance of congestion in the streets and highways, the provision of suitable ingress and egress, and the creation of safe and adequate pedestrian and traffic movements appropriate to the various uses of land and buildings;

Protect the character and the social and economic stability of Newport and encourage the orderly and beneficial development of the community through appropriate growth management techniques assuring the timing and sequencing of development;

Ensure that public facilities, such as streets, water, sewerage, parks and recreation areas and other public services are sufficient and concurrent with development;

Ensure proper legal descriptions and monumenting of divided land; and

Provide for the expeditious review and approval of proposed subdivisions which conform to the comprehensive plan, zoning standards and local plans as adopted under the Growth Management Act.

Any division, redivision, platting or subdivision or any division of land containing a dedication of any part to any public purpose, such as a public street, highway, or public open space, shall comply with the provisions of this chapter.

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the following:

Purpose. A lot line adjustment allows an established lot line to be moved, without increasing the number of lots. The purpose of this chapter is to implement the authority granted to the city by Chapter 58.17 RCW and to conform to its provisions, which govern the platting and subdivision of land.

Prohibition on Further Division. Property in short plat subdivision shall not be further divided in any manner within a period of five years, except if the short plat contains fewer than nine lots. If the short plat contains fewer than nine lots, the property owner may alter the short plat within the five-year period to create up to a total of nine lots within the original short plat boundaries. Under no circumstances may a short plat containing four lots be further divided.

Purpose. The purpose of design standards is to create land divisions that are efficient and safe and that fit within the overall pattern of the community.

General Provisions.

Streets.

Block Sizes.

Access.

Lot Frontage.

Lot Dimensions. If lots within a proposed short plat or preliminary subdivision plat are more than double the minimum required area for the zoning district, the city may require that those lots be arranged so as to allow further subdivision and the opening of future streets where they would be necessary to serve potential lots.

Curbs, Sidewalks, and Planter Strips.

Street Amenities.

Water Facilities.

Drainage and Storm Sewers.

Sanitary Sewer Facilities.

Public Utilities and Easements.

Dedication of Public Parks. If the preliminary plat includes a dedication of a public park with an area of less than two acres and the donor has designated that the park be named in honor of a deceased individual of good character, the city council may adopt the designated name.

Naming of Divided Land. The proposed name of a short plat or subdivision shall not duplicate, or closely approximate phonetically, the name of any other division of land.

Protective Covenants. If a property owner has covenants or deed restrictions on a proposed short plat or subdivision, the recording date of said covenants or deed restrictions shall be on the face of the plat.

Solar Access. The lots and building pads shall be oriented to maintain solar access to properties within and adjacent to the subdivision.

Flood, Inundation or Swamp Conditions. A proposed plat may be denied because of flood, inundation, or swamp conditions. Construction of protective improvements may be required as a condition of approval, and such improvements shall be noted on the final plat. No plat shall be approved covering any land situated in a flood control zone as provided in Chapter 86.16 RCW without the prior written approval of the State Department of Ecology.

Easements established by a dedication are property rights that cannot be extinguished or altered without the approval of the easement owner(s), unless the plat or other document creating the dedicated easement provides for an alternative method(s) to vacate or alter the easement.

After approval of an alteration, the applicant shall produce a final drawing of the approved alteration which shall be filed with the county auditor to become the lawful plat of the property.

If any land within the alteration is part of an assessment district, any outstanding assessment shall be equitably divided and levied against the remaining lots, parcels, or tracts, or be levied equitably on the lots resulting from the alteration.

If any land within the alteration contains a dedication to the general use of persons residing within the subdivision, such land may be altered and divided equitably between the adjacent properties.

In lieu of the completion of the actual construction of any required improvements or monumentation, prior to the approval of a short or final plat, the city may accept a bond, approved as to form by the city attorney, in an amount and with surety and conditions satisfactory to it, or other secure method, providing for and securing to the city the actual construction and installation of such improvements within a period specified by the city and expressed in the bonds. In addition, the city may require the posting of a bond securing to the city the successful operation of improvements for up to two years after final approval.

All bonded improvements shall be designed and certified by or under the supervision of a registered civil engineer prior to the acceptance of the improvements.

Fee in Lieu of Improvements. Every year council will adopt a cost for linear foot of improvements. Applicants may apply this cost to required improvements if approved by administration.

All front and rear corners shall be set with monuments, except as provided in subsection B of this section.

All monuments for the exterior boundaries of the subdivision shall be set and referenced on the plat prior to plat recording. Interior monuments need not be set prior to recording if the developer certifies that the interior monuments shall be set within 90 days of final subdivision construction inspection by the city, and if the developer guarantees and certifies the interior monumentation.