Policy on Addressing
1)
Addresses are assigned by the City Engineer, or his designee, and
take effect through the transmission and distribution of an Address
Assignment Letter.
2)
Addresses are officially assigned for:
A.
New Plats – Addresses are assigned following City Council
approval of the Final Plat. Proposed lot addresses may be determined
for the Final Plat prior to its acceptance, however, the City will not
issue an Address Assignment Letter prior to Final Plat approval.
B.
Certified Survey Maps (CSMs) – Addresses will be assigned
following Common Council Approval.
C.
Existing Lots – If an address has not been previously assigned
(is not listed in the Assessor’s Atlas or the City’s
GIS)
then new addresses will be assigned at the time of building permit
application. If there is an existing address for the lot, then an
Address Confirmation Letter may be issued, pending the development
situation. It is not necessary to issue an Address Confirmation
Letter for lots in subdivisions within the first 36 months following
Final Plat Approval.
3)
Method for assigning addresses:
A.
Addresses are assigned on a grid that originates at the
intersection of Main Street and Elm Street.
B.
A preferred address grid has been established for future City
development areas within the Urban Area boundary. The grid attempts to
reflect that four hundred forty (440) feet is equivalent to 100 address
units or one (1) mile equals 1200 address units. This practice follows
the grid layout of the established downtown streets, where the
centerline-to-centerline length of blocks is 440 feet, or 12 blocks per
mile. The grid has been adjusted to fit with past assigned addresses
where possible. The grid will be adjusted to reflect actual address
assignments and street layouts when developed. Efforts should be made
to cause 100 break points in the grid to fall at established
intersections.
C.
Each street name shall be addressed as a north-south street or as
an east-west street depending on the direction that results in the
greatest number of address units for that street. North-south and
east–west addressing shall not be combined for the same street name.
D.
Streets directions/names break
East-West at Main Street and North-South at Elm Street, or its closest
alignment (i.e. Hazel Street).
E. Addresses are assigned such that odd numbers are on the north and
west sides of the street and even numbers are on the south and east
sides of the street.
F.
Addresses are assigned to the street where the principal building
entrance faces. Note: that driveway locations and curb openings do not
determine address assignments.
G.
Addresses for undeveloped lots (CSMs and Final Plats):
a.
Addresses for undeveloped lots shall be assigned for where the
center of the lot falls on the addressing grid.
b.
Two addresses will be assigned for corner lots when the Final
Plat or CSM is approved. The permanent building address shall be
selected from the assigned options at the time of building permit
application when the direction of the principal entrance faces is
determined.
H.
One address number is to be assigned per single-family dwelling
unit. Single-family dwelling units are defined as: single-family homes,
and the individual, side-by-side elements of multiplexes, town houses
and twin-homes with individual principal entrances.
I. One address number is to be assigned for each occupied building
of a multiple family dwelling complex, where multiple residences share a
common principal entrance. Occupied buildings include residences and
managerial office space, if separate.
J. For business and commercial establishments, one address number is
to be assigned for each principal building entrance.
a.
Multiple businesses using the same principal entrance shall share
the same address and be designated as Suite #1, #2 #3. Lettered (A, B,
or C) suites shall not be used; these designators are reserved for the
extension of primary building addresses.
b.
Large commercial establishments may have more than one principal
entrance (such as office space and plant space) and may be assigned
multiple addresses for separate entrances at the approval of the City
Engineer.
K.
Use of “˝,” or “A/B” designators:
a.
If the unit to be numbered is on a second story (above or below)
and is accessed by its own separate entrance, then it shall receive the
same number as the primary address followed by “1/2.”
b.
When multiple buildings are addressed on the same lot such that
one building obscures another, then the lot shall have one primary
address number (##) and each building shall be followed by a
letter extension (##A, ##B, ##C). Building “##A” shall be either the
primary building, or that which is closest to the street. The addition
of a second building on a lot shall cause the first building to be
re-addressed with either an “A” or “B” extension. The addition of
subsequent buildings shall follow with the next available letter.
L.
In areas where there are existing address assignments:
a.
Addresses will be assigned to match the existing numbers, such
that adjacent buildings are numbered in an either ascending or
descending sequence.
b.
Number ranges should closely approximate adjacent blocks’ number
ranges to facilitate ease of use such that the address assignments
assist rather than hinder the search for an address (ie: emergency
response).
M.
In situations where the roadway is curvilinear, and does not
follow the conventional addressing grid, then the addresses will be
assigned by the predominant roadway direction such that when traveling a
street, all address on one side of the street are consistently odd or
even.
