Chapter 12.60
ROAD NAMING SYSTEM
Sections:
12.60.010 Purpose.
12.60.020 Definitions.
12.60.030 Responsibilities of the public works department.
12.60.040 Appointment and responsibilities of the citizen address and road name appeals committee.
12.60.050 Requirement for road name.
12.60.060 Criteria for road name selection.
12.60.070 Name assignment procedure.
12.60.080 Road name signs.
12.60.090 Road sign specifications.
12.60.100 Address numbering system.
12.60.110 Correction of address number sequence.
12.60.120 Address number assignment.
12.60.130 Life, safety and property protection standards for address designation markers.
12.60.140 Road name changes and procedures.
12.60.150 Master map.
12.60.160 Compliance requirements and penalties.
12.60.190 Severability.
12.60.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for a logical system of road naming and address numbering, which is consistent with the desires of Whatcom County residents, with the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan, and with the practical needs of county residents, emergency service providers, and visitors. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.020 Definitions.
A. “Address” means the appropriate combination of address number, directional prefix or suffix, road name, and road type, e.g., 100 East Bakerview Road.
B. “Address grid system” means an imaginary network of uniformly spaced horizontal and perpendicular lines used to establish regularly spaced intervals as the basis for assigning address numbers.
C. “Address marker” means a marker with numbers on two sides used to designate an address number along a road, or numbers affixed to a building.
D. “Address number” means the assigned property number which is written ahead of the road name, e.g., 525 Noon Road, and shall be numerical only.
E. “Alpha road name” means a word, usually a proper or common noun, or a combination of words used to identify a road, e.g., Smith Road, Trout Lake Road.
F. “Applicant” means the individual or entity responsible for initiating the creation or expansion of a road.
G. “Block number” means the 100 number interval based on the address grid system.
H. “Building address number including building designation” means the property number assigned to a building.
I. “Directional prefix” is the word such as “West” or “East” placed ahead of the name of a road.
J. “Directional suffix” is the word such as “West” or “East” placed after the road type, e.g., Willow Lane East.
K. “Driveway”: Primary function is to provide direct access to property.
L. “Joint driveway” means a driveway with primary function to provide direct access for up to four properties.
M. “Mobile home park” means any parcel of land or adjacent parcels of land in the same ownership which is utilized for occupancy by more than two mobile homes.
N. “Numeric road name” means an ordinal number used to identify a road, e.g., 2nd Street, 31st Avenue.
O. “Private road” means a road which is on private property and which is maintained with private funds.
P. “Recreational vehicle park” means a parcel of land in which three or more sites are primarily for occupancy by recreational vehicles for travel, recreation or vacation uses.
Q. “Right-of-way” means a legal right of passage over a piece of land, generally established by either dedication, ownership, or easement.
R. “Road” means a travel way intended for the use of motorized vehicles or other modes of transportation.
S. “Road name sign” means a sign designating the name of a travel way.
T. “Road name type” follows the road name proper and indicates type of travel way, e.g., Britton Road, Sunset Lane. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.030 Responsibilities of the public works department.
A. Whatcom County department of public works, hereinafter called the department, is directed to assign and/or change address numbers to buildings and unimproved property, to facilitate and record the naming of roads, and to assure placement of road name signs, according to the provisions of this chapter.
B. The department will recommend to the executive for approval by the county council rules and regulations regarding all address numbering and road naming policies.
C. The department and the applicant shall work cooperatively and in a timely manner to facilitate and expedite the procedures required by this chapter. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.040 Appointment and responsibilities of the citizen address and road name appeals committee.
A. The county council shall appoint a citizen address and road name appeals committee, hereinafter called the “citizen appeals committee”, of five members representing the diversity of Whatcom County residents. Committee members shall serve three-year overlapping terms and shall be eligible for reappointment.
B. The responsibilities of the citizen appeals committee shall be as follows:
1. Consider and decide appeals of address numbering, road name assignments and corrections;
2. Review and decide appeals in enacting the policies and procedures of this chapter;
3. Develop a list of preapproved road names from which applicants may choose;
4. May propose changes or additions in the county’s address numbering, road naming and sign policy.
C. Decisions by the citizen appeals committee may be appealed by the department to the county council. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.050 Requirement for road name.
A. Road names shall be required for all public roads and private roads now existing or hereafter created when such roads:
1. Serve five or more lots; or
2. Are 1,000 feet in length and serve three or more lots.
B. Roads which are not required to be named by these standards may also be named at the request of the applicant and/or property owners served by the road. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.060 Criteria for road name selection.
A. Objectives. Names should be pleasant sounding, appropriate, and easy to read and pronounce (so that the public, and children in particular, can handle the name in an emergency situation) and shall meet What-Comm (9-1-1) computer programming requirements.
B. Recommended Types of Names. Names of local historic families, individuals, landmarks and events, features of the natural terrain, plants and animals, names of aesthetic or community significance.
C. Unacceptable Names. Numeric (e.g., 42nd, 56th, Fifty-Fifth, etc.) if they have already been used or if they do not conform to the address grid system; alphabetical letters (A, B, C, etc.); frivolous, complicated or unseemly names (e.g., My Road, Slick Road).
D. Avoidance of Name Duplication. Similar sounding names shall be considered duplication regardless of spelling. No duplication of names shall be permitted within Whatcom County. Road type shall not be used to distinguish road names within these areas, except in logically compelling instances where there is contiguity (e.g. Oak Circle at the end of Oak Street; but not Oak Lane at a location not contiguous with Oak Street). Directional indicators (e.g., North, South, Northeast) shall not be allowed as street names to distinguish noncontiguous roads (i.e., if there were an existing Wilson Road, “North Wilson Road” could not be considered a distinct, nonduplicative name).
E. Road Type Designations. Due to existing road names, “view”, “vista”, “trail” and “plaza” shall not be permitted as road type. The designation “highway” shall be reserved for state and federal administered roads.
F. Directional Prefixes. Roads running east-west which intersect (cross or abut) the Guide Meridian shall be prefixed “East” on the east side of the Guide and “West” on the west side of the Guide.
G. Directional Suffixes. Directional suffixes shall not be allowed in road names. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.070 Name assignment procedure.
A. The applicant for a new road may propose three original names: a preferred name and two alternates. The department shall provide the road applicant with a copy of this chapter and a list of preapproved names from which a road name may be selected, if the applicant prefers not to propose an original name.
B. If preapproved name is not selected, the road name approval process shall consist of submission to the department for review including What-Comm 9-1-1 and the local fire chief according to the criteria set forth in WCC 12.60.060.
C. If an appeal is made, the citizen appeal committee shall evaluate the appeal with regard to compliance, review proposed road names for appropriateness, and make recommendations on new road names and road name changes.
D. When the recommendations of the department and the citizen appeal committee do not agree, or when the applicant contests the decisions of the department and the citizen appeal committee, the matter may be referred to the council for consideration. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.080 Road name signs.
A. Signs on public county roads shall be placed and maintained by the county. When an applicant dedicates a road to the public, the applicant shall pay for the initial installation of the road name sign(s).
B. Signs on new private roads shall be installed and maintained by the applicant in accordance to Whatcom County Development Standards. On existing private roads, the responsibility for installation and maintenance of signs shall rest collectively with the owners of real property which abuts or may use the private road as access or as outlined in the plat covenants. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.090 Road sign specifications.
A. For Arterial Roads. The color and letter size shall be consistent with current county road signs for all public county roads. In addition to the road name, block numbers shall be shown on all new and replacement arterial road signs.
B. For Private Roads. Signs designating private roads shall be the same style as public road signs in accordance with Whatcom County Development Standards. Block numbers shall be shown on or with all new and replacement private road signs at public road intersections. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.100 Address numbering system.
An address numbering system following a grid pattern of 400 three- or four-digit numbers per mile meets current and projected future needs in Whatcom County. This system provides for one address number every 26.4 feet on either side of the road. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.110 Correction of address number sequence.
The department shall make corrections where necessary to accomplish full implementation of the address numbering system for all county addresses in accordance with the following time-line and criteria:
A. The department shall correct addresses beginning in 1997.
B. One-fourth of the county shall be reviewed and corrected each year for four years. The quarter of the county being corrected shall correspond with the geographical quarters used by the county assessor’s office. This review shall not preclude the department from making addressing corrections as needed.
C. Notices of address corrections shall be mailed to affected property owners in October, and become effective in April of the year following review by the department.
D. Address changes shall become effective within six months of issuance. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.120 Address number assignment.
A. The department shall assign address numbers to previously unaddressed lots prior to issuance of a building permit.
B. New address number assignments and address number corrections shall follow the address number system. New address numbers shall logically fit into the existing numbering system of the particular area. When incorrect address numbers are found during the permit process, corrections should be made to those addresses at that time.
C. One address per legal lot of record shall be assigned, except in the following cases:
1. There shall be one address per building for multidwelling units or alternately one address number may be assigned for the entire complex with alphabetical letters assigned to the individual buildings as a prefix to the individual apartment identification.
2. An alpha building designator on a legal lot shall be allowed for a permitted accessory dwelling unit. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.130 Life, safety and property protection standards for address designation markers.
A. The owner of real property on which any building is located which is habitable or tenantable for residential, commercial, business, storage, or other purposes shall be responsible for ensuring that the proper address numbers are placed in such a position as to be plainly visible and legible from the road fronting the property.
B. Address Designation Marker. Where the building is not visible from the road or the address is not legible from the road, or more than one building is on a site, one address designation marker per building or address shall be provided at the junction of the driveway and the named road, and another address designation marker should be provided at the intersection of the individual driveway and the joint driveway. The ultimate responsibility for health and safety issues on private property rests with the property owner.
1. Placement. Address designation markers shall be placed so that the numbers are not obstructed by grass or landscaping. Installation and maintenance are the responsibility of the property owner.
2. Installation. Installation and maintenance of temporary address designation markers during all permitted construction shall be the responsibility of the permit applicant in compliance with subsections B and C of this section.
3. Specifications. Address designation markers must be visible at night. The minimum standard shall be three-inch numbers arranged horizontally or vertically on a clearly contrasting background. Reflective numbers and reflective backgrounds are recommended. Blue and white are the recommended colors to be used on address designation markers.
C. Specifications for Mobile Home Parks. In mobile home parks, including RV parks, site numbers shall be assigned to the individual mobile home sites and not to the mobile homes themselves. One address number shall be assigned to the mobile home park as a whole. (The address of any one unit in the mobile home park shall consist of the mobile home park address followed by the site number.) The property owner(s) of mobile home parks are responsible for ensuring that each mobile home space is marked with the individual site number. The site number shall be easily visible and legible and affixed to some permanent structure located on the mobile home space. In mobile home parks with multiple access lanes, the access lanes shall be marked with the range of site numbers served.
D. Specifications for Apartment Complexes. One address number per building shall be assigned to each apartment building in the complex. The address of any one (individual apartment) unit in the apartment building shall consist of the address of the building followed by the individual apartment identification.
E. Map Signs. In apartment complexes or mobile home parks where multiple buildings exist, map signs are recommended to be posted at the main entrance of the complex. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.140 Road name changes and procedures.
Some road names warrant being changed in order to reduce confusion arising from duplicate names or by different names on segments of the same travel way (which may or may not change direction). Whenever possible, road name changes shall be made concurrently with correction of address number sequencing (refer to WCC 12.60.110). The road(s) shall be renamed by the following procedure:
A. The department shall notify all property owners served by the roads that their road(s) requires a name change. Within this notification, the property owner will be informed of the opportunity they have to participate in the selection of the new road name and the department will also outline the following:
First Notification:
1. The reason for the road name change (duplication, merging roads, etc.);
2. The two (or more) existing affected road names;
3. The department may recommend road name(s) or changes based on the following criteria:
a. WCC 12.60.060, Criteria for road name selection,
b. WCC 12.60.070, Name assignment procedure,
c. Historical records (deeds, plats, etc.),
d. Date on which road(s) were named,
e. Number of affected residents and/or property owners of record located on each road,
f. Extenuating circumstances known by the department,
g. Preapproved road name list;
4. The date at which a response is due back to the department, any additional circumstances to be considered, and the road name proposals (a three-week period).
Second Notification:
1. A brief summary of prior notice;
2. A list of all proposed road names submitted by residents;
3. A date in which the residents need to submit their top two choices (a two-week period).
Third Notification:
1. Tallied results from responses for new road name. The department will strive to obtain consensus.
2. An outline of the appeal process with the deadline to submit an appeals request (three weeks from date of third notice);
3. The department will make the official road name announcement;
4. The date when the new road name may become effective (additional three-week period). (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.150 Master map.
The department shall develop a master map of all public and private roads in Whatcom County in conjunction with WCC 12.60.110 and shall maintain and keep current thereafter. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.160 Compliance requirements and penalties.
A. All address assignments or changes duly required by the department shall be recorded on title transfers.
B. Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter, or of the codes adopted by reference by this chapter, shall be deemed guilty of a civil offense and shall be given 30 days to correct the situation and shall be fined not more than $250.00 for each offense. (Ord. 96-049).
12.60.190 Severability.
If any portion of this chapter is deemed to be invalid or inoperative, all remaining sections shall continue in effect. (Ord. 96-049).