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HOUSE NUMBERING ORDINANCE GENERAL HIGHLIGHTS The ordinance requires that homes and businesses display their house number in a manner that makes their house number plainly visible from the road. The ordinance will benefit all the residents of the county since it will assist emergency service crews – police, fire and ambulance. By state law, the ordinance can not apply to locations within the city or village limits of Gaylord or Vanderbilt. It is hoped that the vast majority of citizens will recognize the need for having house number display uniform in the County, and then voluntarily display their house numbers. Even though the ordinance does contain a fine of up to $100.00 for each day of non-compliance, our goal is voluntary compliance, giving plenty of time, opportunity, and notice of number changes, if any, to the residents of our county. Duplicate road names presents serious problems to emergency service crews. The ordinance will address and eliminate these duplications. The Otsego County Road Commission now the duty and sole authority to eliminate these problems in the county. The ordinance does apply to persons living on private roads, if more than one improved lot is off of that private road. Private roads must be named and then numbered. If private roads are excluded from the ordinance then the law’s effectiveness will be severely reduced. These roads must first be named through the Road Commission, before any number assignments can be given by Equalization. Number assignments or changes will be through the County Equalization Department. No one should change their house number unless they receive written notice of a new number from Equalization. There are approximately 10 problem areas in the county where certain homes may need to be renumbered. The key to the display of your assigned number is visibility. Most houses are set back 100 feet or less with numbers that are both at least 3 inches high and plainly visible from the road at the end of your driveway will be in compliance. If your house or business sets too far back, or is blocked by the terrain or by trees, then a post with the numbers must be set adjacent to the driveway but no closer than 20 feet from the road’s edge. Ordinance passage date is Dec. 8, 1992. It will not become effective until 60 days after Dec. 8, 1992. The publication date of the complete and final test of the ordinance in the Herald Times is Dec. 10, 1992.