§ 42-1. Purpose.

The purposes for which this chapter is created are:

(1)

To provide for the orderly, safe and healthful development of the area within the city and within the area surrounding the city and to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the community;

(2)

To establish orderly policies and procedures to guide development of the city; to provide for establishment of minimum specifications for construction and engineering design criteria to maintain land values, reduce inconveniences to residents of the area, and to reduce related unnecessary costs to the city for correction of inadequate environmental conditions;

(3)

To ensure that development of land and subdivisions shall be of such nature, shape and location that utilization will not impair the general welfare and to ensure against the dangers of fires, floods, erosion, landslides, or other such menaces; to provide proper utilities and services for adequate drainage, water supply, and disposal of sanitary and industrial waste;

(4)

To provide streets that ensure safe, convenient and functional systems for vehicular and pedestrian circulation;

(5)

To furnish adequate sites, convenient to schools, parks, playgrounds, and other community services, respecting topography and existing vegetation so that the natural beauty of the land shall be preserved;

(6)

To guide the future growth and development of the municipality, in accordance with the comprehensive plan and adopted development policies;

(7)

To provide for adequate light, air, and privacy, to secure safety from fire, flood, and other danger, and to prevent overcrowding of the land and undue congestion of population;

(8)

To protect the character and the social and economic stability of all parts of the municipality and to encourage the orderly and beneficial development of all parts of the city;

(9)

To protect and conserve the value of land through the city and the value of buildings and improvements upon the land;

(10)

To guide public and private policy and action in order to provide adequate and efficient transportation, water, sewage, drainage, schools, parks, playgrounds, recreation, and other public requirements and facilities;

(11)

To provide the most beneficial relationship between the uses of land and buildings and the circulation of traffic throughout the city, having particular regard to the avoidance of congestion in the streets and highways, and the pedestrian traffic movements appropriate to the various uses of land and buildings, and to provide for the proper location and width of streets and building lines;

(12)

To establish reasonable standards of design and procedures for subdivisions and re-subdivisions, in order to further the orderly layout and use of land; and to ensure proper legal descriptions and monumenting of subdivided land;

(13)

To ensure that public improvements are available and shall have a sufficient capacity to serve the proposed subdivision;

(14)

To prevent the pollution of air, streams, and ponds, to ensure the adequacy of drainage facilities; and to encourage the wise use and management of natural resources throughout the city in order to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the community and the value of the land;

(15)

To preserve the natural beauty and topography of the municipality and to ensure appropriate development with regard to trees and other natural features;

(16)

To provide for open spaces through the most efficient design and layout of the land.

(Code 1994, ch. 9, art. 3; Ord. No. 248, exh. A(art. 3), 3-24-1997)