DECEMBER 2017 Kalaazoo County STREET DIRECTORY Includes Street Naming Policy, Procedures and Guidelines OUNTY O C GO ZO VE A R M N A M Kalamazoo County Planning & Development Department L E A N K T 201 West Kalamazoo Avenue, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007 www.kalcounty.com/planning (269) 384-8112 The Kalamazoo County Street Directory Includes Street Naming Policy, Procedures and Guidelines Kalamazoo County Planning & Development Department 201 West Kalamazoo Avenue Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007 (269) 384‐8112 http://www.kalcounty.com/planning December 2017 USER GUIDE The format of this directory is easy to understand. Starting at the left hand and moving across the top of each directory page, each field is described below: DIR – indicates the direction in which the street runs (i.e., “N” = North). STREET NAME & TYPE – provide the street name and the street type (i.e., “DRAKE” = name, “RD” = type) LO, HI – these are the address range fields showing the range of house address numbers for that portion of the street, indicating the low (“LO”) and high (“HI”) address values for that street OE* - indicates if the address range contains all house numbers, only even numbers or only odd numbers. “E” indicates even numbers only, “O” indicates odd numbers only, and the asterisk (“*”) indicates all numbers, even and odd. MUNICIPALITY & C/T/V – indicate which local unit of government the street is located within. For example, a street in Kalamazoo Twp. will be “KALAMZOO” and “TWP”, while a street within the City of Kalamazoo will read “KALAMAZOO” and “CITY,” respectively. ZIP – shows the ZIP Code covering that portion of the street. TRACT – indicates the 2000 Census Tract covering that portion of the street. LOCATION – provides a description of the street, often to the nearest major roads. ERRORS AND OMISSIONS The Planning & Development Department is providing this directory for informational purposes only and is not responsible for any errors or omissions. If you are using this directory and find an error or omission, please contact the Planning Department at (269) 384-8112 or plngis@kal- county.com, so that we may make the appropriate corrections. Through the assistance of the local units of government in Kalamazoo County and you, the user, we make every effort to ensure the street directory is up to date and accurate. Thank you for your cooperation! CONTENTS USER GUIDE .............................................................................................................................1 ERRORS AND OMISSIONS .....................................................................................................1 STREET NAMING POLICY, PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES ......................................................2 A. POLICY .........................................................................................................................2 B. PROCEDURES ...............................................................................................................2 C. STREET NAME REVIEW CRITERIA ..................................................................................3 D. GUIDELINES .................................................................................................................5 KALAMAZOO COUNTY STREET DIRECTORY .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 2016 Kalamazoo County Street Directory 1 February 8, 2018 STREET NAMING POLICY, PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES Adopted by the Kalamazoo Metropolitan County Planning Commission on November 3, 1994 and amended on February 7, 2002 A. POLICY 1. Preface As Kalamazoo County develops, the construction of new streets requires new street names. While the naming of a street may appear minor in the issues of growth in the County, in actuality, it is an important task in maintaining efficiency and simplicity in to- day's highly mobile society. In order to maintain a county-wide standard for street names, the Kalamazoo Metropolitan County Planning Commission has created the follow- ing policy, procedures and guidelines. 2. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to establish a coordinated and efficient system in the nam- ing of all streets in Kalamazoo County. The primary objectives of the policy are as fol- lows: a. Confirm clear and easy to pronounce street names. b. Eliminate potential confusion by avoiding street name duplication and close simi- larities. c. Establish a simple to understand geographic orientation of street names through the consistent use of certain street name suffixes (i.e., “streets” run north and south, “avenues” run east and west, “courts” are cul-de-sacs, etc.) 3. Area of Responsibility The Kalamazoo County Planning & Development Department, on behalf of the Kalamazoo Metropolitan County Planning Commission, has been functioning as a central clearing- house for street name approval for all public and private streets in the County since the late 1960s. The County provides the service in order to coordinate the issuance of new street names located in all local units of government. Approved street names are permanently reserved in the “Kalamazoo County Street Direc- tory” which is maintained by the Planning & Development Department. B. PROCEDURES 1. Applicants for New Streets The following entities/persons may qualify as applicants for street name approval: a. Any municipality in Kalamazoo County. b. A developer (or a designated representative) constructing a public or private street in the County per local regulations. c. A property owner who is constructing a private street per local regulations. 2016 Kalamazoo County Street Directory 2 February 8, 2018 2. Applicants for Existing Streets Proposed name changes to existing streets are first to be cleared by the Kalamazoo County Planning & Development Department. All proposed names changes must follow local governmental and/or Kalamazoo County Road Commission procedures and require their subsequent approval. 3. Preliminary Approval Temporary verbal approval may be granted over the telephone or via e-mail by contacting the Planning & Development Department at (269) 384-8112 or [email protected] during normal business hours. Temporary approval is only valid for 60 days. It is suggested that at least two names for each street are submitted in the event of du- plication and in an effort to expedite the approval process. 4. Application for Final Approval A letter requesting street name approval with a map or copy of a plat should be sent to the following address: Street Directory Planning & Development Department 201 W. Kalamazoo Ave. Kalamazoo, MI 49007-3777 or electronically to: [email protected] The letter must indicate the proposed street name requested for approval. The map or copy of the plat must indicate the location of the street, including municipality, township section, plat name (if applicable), location to nearest major cross streets and any other information which will provide an accurate location of the street. 5. Final Approval or Disapproval A letter of approval or disapproval from the Planning & Development Department will be sent to the applicant. Copies of the street name approval or disapproval letter will be sent to the Clerk of the respective local unit of government (unless another designee is specified by the local unit), the Kalamazoo County Road Commission, and the U.S. Post Office. 6. Municipal Review All street names approved by the Planning & Development Department are subject to re- view by the municipality and/or the Kalamazoo County Road Commission. Any changes to a street name by a municipality or the Kalamazoo County Road Commis- sion, after approval has been granted by the Planning & Development Department, re- quires that the municipality or Road Commission notify the Department of the change. C. STREET NAME REVIEW CRITERIA 1. Street Orientation The following is a list of accepted street types required for the orientation of a street: 2016 Kalamazoo County Street Directory 3 February 8, 2018 Orientation Name North–South Street East–West Avenue Cul-de-Sac Circle, Court, Place, Way Meander and other Boulevard, Crescent, Drive, Lane, Parkway, Pass, Path, Road, Terrace, Trace, Trail, etc. Service Alley 2. Spelling and Pronunciation a. A proposed street name cannot match an existing street of the same name, regard- less of spelling or slight variation. b. Sound-a-like or similar sounding names are prohibited. c. Complex, hard to pronounce or exotic names are to be avoided. 3. Overuse of Street Names Proposed street names with the same first word or the same second word as an existing street (i.e., Woodbury, Woodcrest, Woodgrove, Woodhams, Woodhaven or Stonebrook, Mastenbrook, Meadowbrook, Sunnybrook, Springbrook) are prohibited if there are more than five (5) names with the same first word or same second word. If there are less than five (5) names with the same first word or same second word, the proposed street name will only be permitted when the streets are located in separate ZIP Codes or in different local units of government in the County. 4. Name Length The length of street names is to be restricted to eleven (11) letters due to the standard size of street signs. 5. Numbers No new street name shall use any number (either lettered or numerically) as a prefix name, core name or suffix name. 6. Directional Words No new street name shall use any directional word (north, south, east, west) as a prefix name, core name or suffix name. Directional words may only be used if necessary to dis- tinguish bearing in accordance with the County street