Hartford/Beaver Dam is well known as a community with a good quality of life, with small and cohesive neighborhoods.  This deserving reputation is due in part to the City’s small size, entrepreneurial spirit, civic-minded citizens and activist government. One of the many factors that makes Hartford/Beaver Dam such a great place to live, work and visit is the community’s attention to detail, and respect for it’s setting, heritage and quality urban design.

Hartford/Beaver Dam’s Design Guide strives to protect the city’s unique qualities and strong sense of place by carrying out citywide development and design objectives. 

The purpose of this Design Guide is to help applicants in preparing projects to be reviewed by the Hartford/Beaver Dam Planning Commission. Through materials such as this, the Hartford/Beaver Dam Joint Planning Commission seeks to make information available well before the final design of a project saving the applicant, and the cities, time and money.

WHAT IS A SITE PLAN?

A Site Plan is a bird’s eye view of your property as if you were looking down at it from above. A site plan shows everything that is on your property now. This includes the footprint of any buildings (home, garage, storage shed, decks or patios) and any other improvements such as driveway, walkways, fences, swimming pool, etc. on the property. A site plan should also show any proposed buildings or improvements. Dimensions should be included for each item, and the drawing should be done to scale (i.e. 1 inch on the plan is equal to 30 feet on the ground).

IS A SITE PLAN REQUIRED?

No, however, it can be a valuable aid to the Joint Commission when applying for a zoning permit.

THEN, WHY DO I NEED A SITE PLAN?

Generally speaking, a site plan is helpful whenever applying for a zoning permit. This may include a fence, an addition to your home, a new deck, or a storage shed.  The City uses the site plan to understand exactly what you wish to do, and to determine two important design issues: setback and coverage. This information is important to maintaining, the profiles of  the Hartford and Beaver Dam  neighborhoods. The site plan becomes part of the official record and will be attached to your permit.

DEFINITIONS:

Clear Sight Triangle:

When a property in a residential district is located at the intersection of two streets a "clear sight triangle" must be maintained at the corner where the two streets come together. This is so a driver can see around the corner before making the turn. Within this area, there can be no obstruction higher than 3 feet. This includes 'see through’ fences like chain link or picket.  A clear sight triangle is measured along your property line 25 feet in both directions from the intersection. Connect the two lines at their farthest point, to create a triangle at the intersection of the two streets.

Corner lot

If your lot is on the corner, and has frontage on two streets, you have a "corner lot." This means that you have two "front yards" for the purposes of calculating your setbacks as applying to visibility.

Coverage

Refers to the total percentage of hard surface on your property. To calculate coverage, add up the square footage of all buildings (ground floor only) and other site improvements such as walkways, driveways and decks; multiply by 100, and then divide by the total square footage of your lot. Do this for both the existing site and then again for the proposed changes to your property. 

Set Back is the distance from the property line to any structure or site improvement. The front yard setback is typically measured from your side of the sidewalk. If you don’t have a sidewalk, the area where it normally would be placed. Each street is a different width.  Contact public works for more information.