Sec. 32-3. Definitions.
Abandonment by plat means the procedure whereby the owner of land may abandon temporary easements and landscape easements by including those easements on a subdivision plat. Such easements are abandoned, removing any City interest therein, upon approval of the plat by City Council and recording of the plat in the office of the County Recorder. Roadway, as defined by Section 31-63 of the City Code, can be abandoned by plat only if processing of the plat complies with the requirements of Section 31-63 et seq. of the City Code.
Approved lending institution means any (1) title insurance company, (2) title insurance agent, (3) bank, (4) savings and loan association, or (5) mortgage lending company currently approved by the Federal Housing Administration to act as a mortgagee, and qualified to transact business in the State of Arizona and having a business office within the Phoenix metropolitan area and any other lending institution approved by the Finance Director.
Area of special flood hazard means land within a floodplain which is subject to inundation by the base flood.
Base flood means the flood as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or other City floodplain management study having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, i.e., the 100-year flood.
Block means a piece or parcel of land or group of lots entirely surrounded by public streets, streams, railroads, or parks, or combination thereof.
Building setback line means a line between which and the street right-of-way line no building or structure, or portion thereof, shall be erected, constructed, or otherwise established, excluding awnings, open porches, carports, open balconies or other Zoning Code exemptions.
Building site means that portion of the lot or parcel upon which a building and appurtenances are to be placed or are already existing, including adequate areas for parking, sewage disposal, clearance, proper drainage, and the safest and most convenient means of access and which conforms to the requirements of the provisions in this chapter of the Phoenix City Code.
Certificate of correction or change means the procedure for amending recorded plats that is administrative and does not change any real property description.
City General Plan means a comprehensive plan, or parts thereof, providing for future growth and improvement of the City of Phoenix and for the general location and coordination of streets and highways, schools and recreation areas, public building sites, specific neighborhood elements, and other physical development, which shall have been duly adopted by the City Council (sometimes referred to as "General Plan").
City Manager’s representative means the Planning and Development Director or the Director’s designee.
Conditional approval means an affirmative action by the Planning and Development Department indicating that approval will be forthcoming upon satisfaction of specified stipulations.
Conservation means the retention or acquisition of land for the purposes of preservation and public use.
Conservation easement means a right granted to a governmental body over privately owned land, to prohibit development of property, including roads and utilities, and to use the land for permanent public open space purposes.
Context plan means the principal document showing the relationship of the project site to the adjacent setting as required in the Zoning Ordinance.
Council means the City Council of the City of Phoenix.
Cut means the land surface which is shaped through the removal of soil, rock or other materials.
Department means the Planning and Development Department of the City of Phoenix for purposes of Articles II, III and IV of this chapter.
Development means the utilization of private land for private purposes.
Development Advisory Board means a Board appointed by the Council that advises the Council and Planning and Development Director on the development process, and hears appeals of technical requirements.
Development master plan (DMP) means a preliminary master plan for the development of a large or complicated land area, the platting of which is expected in progressive stages. A development master plan may be designed by the subdivider or by the Department and shall be subject to the Planning and Development Department approval.
Design Review Committee (DRC) means the City Council appointed board to hear appeals on the presumptions (P) and design review requirements followed by an asterisk (R*) located in Section 507 TAB A.II.c of the Zoning Ordinance.
Easement means a grant by the owner of the use of a strip of land to the public, a corporation, or persons for specific uses and purposes and so designated.
Engineering plans means the plans, profiles, cross sections, and other required details for the construction of public improvements prepared by an Arizona registered engineer of appropriate discipline in accordance with the approved preliminary plat and in compliance with standards of design and construction approved by the Council.
Exception means any parcel of land that is within the boundaries of the subdivision and is not owned by the subdivider.
Fill means the deposit of soil, rock or other materials placed by mankind.
Final approval means the unconditional approval of the final plat by the Council as evidenced by certification on the plat by the Phoenix City Clerk authorizing recordation of the plat.
Finish grade means the final grade or elevation of the ground surface after grading is completed.
Floodplain means the 100-year flood established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or other City floodplain management approved area adjoining the channel of a watercourse, or areas where drainage is or may be restricted by natural or manmade structures which may have been or may be covered partially or wholly by floodwater from a base flood.
General Plan. See City General Plan.
Grading means any excavating or filling or combination thereof, including (1) the conditions resulting from any excavation or fill, (2) any alteration of the natural drainage pattern or (3) the removal or rearrangement of surface soil.
Hillside development area means all land, in all zoning districts, which has a natural terrain with a slope of ten percent or greater (vertical rise of ten feet in a horizontal distance of 100 feet), computed in accordance with the method set forth in Section 710 of the Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 41 of the Phoenix City Code.
Irrigation facilities means those facilities, including canals, laterals, ditches, conduits, gates, pumps and allied equipment necessary for the supply, delivery, and drainage of irrigation water and the construction, operation, and maintenance of such.
Land split (lot split) means the division of improved or unimproved land that is two and one-half acres or less into two or three tracts or parcels of land for the purpose of sale or lease.
Lot means a piece, tract, or parcel of land separated from other pieces or parcels by description, as in a subdivision or on a record survey map, or by metes and bounds, for purposes of sale, lease, or separate use and abutting or having legal access to a public street.
1. Corner lot means a lot abutting on two or more intersecting streets where the interior angle of intersection does not exceed 135 degrees. A corner lot shall be considered to be in that block in which the lot fronts.
2. Interior lot means a lot having but one side abutting on a street.
3. Key lot means an interior lot, one side of which is contiguous to the rear line of a corner lot.
4. Through lot means a lot abutting two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
Lot width means the width of a lot is:
1. If the side property lines are parallel, the shortest distance between these side lines.
2. If the side property lines are not parallel, the width of the lot shall be the length of a line at right angles to the axis of the lot at a distance equal to the front setback required for the district in which the lot is located or as designated on the subdivision setback exhibit. The axis of a lot shall be a line joining the midpoints of the front and rear property lines.
Map of dedication means the form of subdivision plat that dedicates right-of-way and/or easements and is processed as a minor subdivision.
Minor subdivisions means a subdivision plat with 20 or less lots processed in accordance with Section 32-14.H of this chapter.
Natural terrain means the existing grade of the land at the time of application submittal unless the original grade has been altered by other than natural events and engineering proof of the original grade such as original topographic maps or aerial photos with topography shown and certified as to date by a recognized competent official or other evidence of similar validity acceptable to the Planning and Development Department.
Owner means the person or persons holding title by deed to land or holding title as vendees under land contract, or holding any other title of record.
Pedestrian way means a public walk dedicated entirely through a block from street to street and/or providing access to a school, park, recreation area, or shopping center.
Planning and Development Director means the City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department Director or the Director’s designee.
Plat means a map of a subdivision.
1. Preliminary plat means a preliminary map, including supporting data, indicating a proposed subdivision development, prepared in accordance with Article II, Division 2 of this chapter.
2. Final plat means a map of all or part of a subdivision providing substantial conformance to an approved preliminary plat, prepared by a registered Arizona land surveyor in accordance with Article II, Division 3 of this chapter.
3. Recorded plat means a final plat bearing all of the certificates of approval required in Article II, Division 3 of this chapter and duly recorded in the Maricopa County Recorder’s office.
Preliminary approval means approval of the preliminary plat by the Planning and Development Department in accordance with Section 32-15.
Private accessway means any private street or private way of access to one or more lots, which is owned and maintained by an individual or group of individuals and has been improved in accordance with City standards for private accessways and plans approved by the Planning and Development Department and inspected by the Planning and Development Department. A private accessway is intended to apply where its use is logically consistent with a desire for neighborhood identification and control of access, and where special design concepts may be involved, such as within planned area developments, mobile home developments, PRD, and hillside areas.
Public improvement standards means a set of regulations setting forth the details, specifications, and instructions to be followed in the planning, design and construction of certain public improvements in the City of Phoenix, formulated by the Water Services Director, Street Transportation Director, the County Health Department, and other City departments.
Slope means the vertical rise in feet measured over a horizontal distance of 100 feet, expressed as a percentage, measured generally at right angles to contour lines but which shall not extend across significant changes in grade. A portion of the 100-foot line shall extend across property lines if necessary to obtain the 100-foot measurement at a property line so long as not more than 50 feet shall so extend.
Street means any street, avenue, boulevard, road, lane, parkway, place, viaduct, easement for access, or other way which is an existing State, County, or municipal roadway; or a street or way shown in a plat heretofore approved pursuant to law or approved by official action; or a street or way in a plat duly filed and recorded in the County Recorder’s office. A street includes the land between the right-of-way lines whether improved or unimproved and may comprise pavement, shoulders, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, parking areas, landscaping, and above- and below-ground utilities.
1. Arterial route means major roadways including freeways, expressways, and major arterial streets; and interstate, State, or County highways having regional continuity.
2. Collector street means those streets providing for traffic movement within neighborhoods of the City and between major streets and local streets and for direct access to abutting property.
3. Local street means those streets providing direct access to residential, commercial, industrial, or other abutting land and for local traffic movements and connecting to collector and/or major streets.
a. Marginal access street or frontage road means a minor street parallel and adjacent to an arterial route which provides access to abutting property and intercepts local streets and controls access to an arterial route.
b. Cul-de-sac means a short local street having one end permanently terminated in a vehicular turnaround.
4. Alley means a public service way used to provide secondary vehicular access to properties otherwise abutting a street.
Street classification system means a part of the City General Plan which provides for the development of a system of major streets and highways, including the location and alignment of existing and proposed thoroughfares.
Subdivider means the individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, syndication, trust, or other legal entity that files the application and initiates proceedings for the subdivision of land in accordance with the provisions of this chapter; and said subdivider need not be the owner of the property as defined by this chapter but must provide evidence of the owner’s authority to do so.
Subdivision means improved or unimproved land or lands divided for the purpose of sale, whether immediate or future, into four or more lots, tracts or parcels of land, or if a new street is involved, any such property which is divided into two or more lots, tracts or parcels of land, or, any such property, the boundaries of which have been fixed by a recorded plat, which is divided into more than two parts.
Subdivision Committee means senior staff of the Planning and Development Department who represent the three major disciplines: transportation, civil engineering (including the Water Services Department) and planning; written communication to this committee should be addressed to the Planning and Development Director.
Usable lot area means that portion of a lot usable for or adaptable to the normal uses made of residential property, excluding any areas which may be covered by water, excessively steep, or included in certain types of easements.
Utilities means installations for facilities, underground or overhead, furnishing for the use of the public electricity, gas, steam, communications, water, drainage, sewage disposal, or flood control, owned and operated by any person, firm, corporation, municipal department, or board, duly authorized by State or municipal regulations. Utility or utilities as used herein may also refer to such persons, firms, corporations, departments, or boards, as applicable herein. (Ord. No. G-3588, § 2; Ord. No. G-3851, § 1; Ord. No. G-3995, § 1, 1997; Ord. No. G-4176, § 4, 1999; Ord. No. G-5590, § 1, 2011; Ord. No. G-5707, 2012)