Title
Ordinance supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title Four, Public Places and Property, Article 1, Public Rights-of-Way, by adding Chapter 420, Uniform Street Naming and Addressing.
Body
Be it resolved that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The Pittsburgh Code, Title Four, Public Places and Property, Article 1, Public Rights-of-Way, is hereby supplemented by adding Chapter 420, Uniform Street Naming and Addressing, as follows:
Chapter 420: UNIFORM STREET NAMING AND ADDRESSING
420.01 Uniform street naming system
420.02 Definitions
420.03 Street name and address applicant
420.04 Street name applications
420.05 Street naming standards
420.06 Street name process
420.07 Uniform addressing system
420.08 Addressing application
420.09 Addressing process
420.10 Street name and address notification
420.11 Accurate street signage
420.01 Uniform street naming system.
This chapter establishes a uniform method for naming streets and assigning property addresses within the City of Pittsburgh and shall apply to:
A. All new streets;
B. For public safety concerns only, all existing streets that conflict with the NENA naming standards;
C. All properties requiring property address assignment; and
D. For public safety concerns only, all existing addresses that conflict with the NENA addressing standards.
420.02 Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:
A. "NENA" means the National Emergency Number Association.
B. "Building" means any combination of materials constructed, placed or erected permanently on the ground or attached to something having a permanent location on the ground, for the shelter, support or enclosure of persons, animals or property, or supporting any use, occupancy or function.
C. "Street" means any public right of way in the City of Pittsburgh including but not limited to any public alley, avenue, boulevard, circle, court, drive, extension, freeway, highway, lane, place, road, street or way.
D. "Department" means Department of Public Works.
E. "Committee" means the City of Pittsburgh Addressing Review Committee, which shall include the Directors, or their designees, from the following Departments: Public Safety, Public Works, City Planning, the Bureau of Building Inspection, Allegheny County Emergency Services Emergency Operations Center and the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
F. "Root street name" means all parts of a street name except the suffix and, where applicable, the predirectional and/or postdirectional.
420.03 Street name and address applicant.
An application to name or rename a street or to change a property address may be submitted by:
A. A property owner owning property next to or using the street.
B. Any public or quasi-public agency that provides law enforcement, fire protection and/or emergency response services to the public;
C. The Department and the Committee.
420.04 Street name applications.
An application to name or rename a street shall be submitted to the Department and shall include, at a minimum, all of the following information:
A. Name of the applicant(s);
B. Existing street name;
C. Proposed street name;
D. Location of the street and legible map;
E. Reason for request;
F. Written consent from a majority of the people owning property or living on the street stating they agree with the proposed street name.
G. An agreement to pay for all necessary changes required for official documentation and street name signage required to implement the new street name. These fees will be waived when an existing name for a particular street does not meet the standards of NENA and this ordinance.
420.05 Street naming standards.
A proposed street name shall comply with the following standards:
A. Street names will at a minimum contain a root street name followed by one (1) suffix that indicates the road type. The root street name will contain no numbering, no road types, no compass directions, and no derivatives of road types or compass directions that could be confused with the suffix or directional.
B. Root street names will have spellings and pronunciations that are unique within the City of Pittsburgh and shall not have a pronunciation and/or spelling similar to an existing street name (Example: Rodger, Roger).
C. Contiguous streets will be named so that they bear the same root street names and suffixes throughout their lengths. Streets which bear directionals in neighboring jurisdictions will be assigned directionals in a manner that provides for consistent schemes of directionals along the full lengths of these streets. The Committee will consult with the addressing staffs of all neighboring local governments in order to coordinate the assignment of directionals to multi-jurisdictional streets.
D. Historical street names shall not be changed unless the Committee finds that the best public safety interests of the public outweigh the historical value of retaining the street name.
(E) This section shall also apply to the naming of private streets and ways.
420.06 Street name process.
The Department shall receive applications and the Committee shall review for compliance with this ordinance and NENA naming standards.
420.07 Uniform addressing system.
In implementing and administering a uniform property addressing system, the Department and Committee shall maintain uniformity with the NENA addressing standards and consider uniformity with existing addresses in the area of the subject property. The Committee shall be responsible for the promulgation of administrative rules and procedures associated with meeting the standards of NENA and this ordinance.
420.08 Addressing application.
An application for a new property address shall be submitted to the Department, together with all applicable fees. The application fees will be waived when an address is assigned because the existing addressing scheme for a particular street does not meet the standards of NENA and this ordinance.
420.09 Addressing process.
A. The Department shall receive property address applications and shall verify the property addressing application is complete and that all applicable fees have been paid or waived;
B. The Department shall verify the property location;
C. The Committee shall review the application and approve an address that is in accordance with the standards of NENA and this ordinance.
420.10 Street Name and Address notification.
A. Upon the decision of the Committee, the Department shall transmit its recommendation(s), in writing, to City Council and the City Clerk. Council shall approve said recommendation(s) with an affirmative vote of a simple majority of its members. Should Council wish to reject the recommendations, it shall require the negative vote of six (6) members of Council. Should Council fail to act on the Committee's recommendations within 45 days, that failure to act shall be deemed an approval of said recommendation(s). Upon approval of the Committee's recommendation(s), the Department shall notify the applicant, in writing, of the name and address assigned to the property and except in the case of new construction, shall allow 90 days before the effective date of the street name and/or address change.
B. The Department shall notify the City of Pittsburgh Treasurer, the Allegheny County Treasurer and the appropriate Post Office of the address assigned to the property. The Department shall have no responsibility to notify any other third party of the new or changed property address.
C. The property owner has the sole responsibility to notify all utilities, banks, creditors and other persons and entities of the property owner's new or changed property address.
(D) The owner of a property to which a number has been assigned will affix the number to the structure or on the property in such a way that it is visible from the street. All non-valid address numbers shall be removed.
420.11 Official street file
The CAD Geofile maintained by the City/County 911 Center in conjunction with the Committee is hereby adopted as the official street file for the City of Pittsburgh.
The Department shall ensure that signage is visible at every street intersection in accordance with City of Pittsburgh Code Section 421. Where new signage is needed due to normal wear, a street name change, a lack of existing signage or a decision to replace existing signage that is inadequate or inaccurate, the City of Pittsburgh shall provide new signage and the Department shall ensure that:
A. All components of the street names, including directionals and street types, are visible on the signs.
B. The street name is displayed identically on all signage along the course of a given street.
C. The street name displayed on the signage along the course of a given street is an accurate representation of the actual street name as recorded in the CAD Geofile maintained by the Committee.