Dunes City City Zoning Code
ACCESS AND
CIRCULATION
§ 155.200 PURPOSE.
The purpose of this subchapter is to ensure that developments provide safe and efficient access and circulation for pedestrians and vehicles.
(Ord. 259, passed - -)
§ 155.201 VEHICULAR ACCESS AND CIRCULATION.
(A) Intent and purpose. The intent of this section is to manage vehicle access to development through a connected street system while preserving the flow of traffic in terms of safety, street capacity, and efficiency. Access shall be managed to maintain an adequate “level of service” and to maintain the “functional classification” of streets, and will conform to the City Engineer’s specifications.
(1) Level of service (LOS). A concept that is used to assess how well a roadway system serves its current or projected needs. It measures traffic flow quality as experienced by motor vehicle drivers and passengers.
(2) Functional classification.
(a) A street classification system that describes streets according to their purpose and capacity.
(b) The roadway classification system for the city includes three levels of roads: major collector, minor collector, and local roads.
(B) Applicability. This section applies to all streets within the city and to all properties that abut these streets.
(C) Access permit required. Access to a public street requires an access permit in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) (a) Permits for access to city streets shall be subject to review and approval by the Planning Commission based on the standards contained in this section, and the provisions of § 155.231.
(b) The Planning Official may request comments from the city’s Public Works Maintenance Supervisor or an application for an access permit.
(2) (a) Access to state highways shall be subject to review and approval by the State Department of Transportation (ODOT), except when ODOT has delegated this responsibility to the city or the county.
(b) In that case, the city or county shall determine whether access is granted based on its adopted standards.
(D) Traffic study requirements.
(1) The city, after review by the City Engineer, or other road authority with jurisdiction, may require a traffic impact study (TIS) as part of an application for development, a change in use, or a change in access. A TIS shall be required when a land use application involves one or more of the following actions:
(a) A change in zoning or a plan amendment designation;
(b) Any proposed development or land use action that a road authority states may have operational or safety concerns along its facility(ies);
(c) An increase in site traffic volume generation by 300 average daily trips (ADT) or more;
(d) An increase in peak hour volume of a particular movement to and from the state highway by 20% or more;
(e) An increase in use of adjacent streets by vehicles exceeding the 20,000 pound gross vehicle weights by ten vehicles or more per day;
(f) The location of the access driveway does not meet minimum sight distance requirements, or is located where vehicles entering or leaving the property are restricted, or such vehicles queue or hesitate on the state highway, creating a safety hazard; or
(g) A change in internal traffic patterns that may cause safety problems, such as back up onto a street or greater potential for traffic accidents.
(2) A traffic impact study must be prepared by an engineer currently licensed by the state, in consultation with the State Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) regional development review planner and O.A.R. Chapter 734, Division 51, and applicable O.A.R. statutes.
(E) Conditions of approval. The city may require the closing or consolidation of existing curb cuts or other vehicle access points, recording of reciprocal access easements (that is, for shared driveways), development of a frontage street, installation of traffic control devices, and/or other mitigation as a condition of granting an access permit.
(F) Access options.
(1) General. When vehicle access is required for development (that is, for off-street parking, delivery service, drive-through facilities, and the like), access shall be provided by one of the following methods (a minimum of ten feet per lane is required). These methods are “options” to the developer/subdivider, unless one method is specifically required by §§ 155.050 through 155.053.
(a) Option 1. Access is from an existing or proposed alley or mid block lane. If a property has access to an alley, direct access to a public street is not permitted.
(b) Option 2.
1. Access is from a private street or driveway connected to an adjoining property that has direct access to a public street (that is, shared driveways).
2. An access easement covering the driveway shall be recorded in this case to assure access to the closest public street for all users of the private street/drive.
(c) Option 3.
1. Access is from a public street adjacent to the development parcel. The owner/developer may be required to close or consolidate an existing access point as a condition of approving a new access.
2. Street accesses shall comply with the access spacing standards in division (G) below.
(2) Subdivisions fronting onto an arterial street. New residential land divisions fronting onto an arterial street shall be required to provide alleys (local or collector) and streets for access to individual lots.
(3) Double-frontage lots. When a lot has frontage onto two or more streets, access shall be provided first from the street with the lowest classification.
(4) Flag lots. In all land divisions, flag lots are only allowed through a variance process. The Planning Commission and City Council may approve flag lots at their discretion.
(G) Access spacing. Driveway accesses shall be separated from other driveways and street intersections in accordance with the following:
(1) Local streets. A minimum of 50 feet separation (as measured from the near sides of the street) shall be required on local streets, except as provided in division (G)(3) below.
(2) Arterial and collector streets. Access spacing on collector and arterial streets, and at controlled intersections (that is, with four-way stop signs or traffic signal) shall be determined based on the policies and standards provided by the City Engineer.
(H) Number of access points. For single-family, two-family, and three-family housing types, two street access points are permitted per lot if they maintain a 50-foot separation. The number of street access points for multi-family, commercial, industrial, and public/institutional developments shall be minimized to protect the function, safety and operation of the street(s) and sidewalk(s) for all users.
(I) Shared driveways.
(1) Shared driveways and frontage streets. Shared driveways are allowed.
(2) Access easements. Access easements must be recorded as a condition of final plat approval.
(J) Street access.
(1) A lot capable of future division and greater than five acres shall be created only if it fronts a street for at least 60 feet.
(2) A driveway shall serve a maximum of four tax lots.
(3) In the Community Commercial Zone, access to and from off-street parking areas shall be designed to prevent backing onto a public street.
(4) Existing non-conforming accesses and parking lots shall be brought into conformance when expanded or redeveloped more than 75%.
(K) Driveway standards and fire access. To construct or modify a driveway on a lot where any portion of any existing or proposed structure is 150 feet or more away from a public street, a fire-access street approval issued by the Siuslaw Valley Fire Marshal is required prior to issuance of a building permit or at the time of an application for a tentative plan.
(1) Pursuant to Chapter 90, all driveways shall meet the following standards as a minimum:
(a) Single driveways shall have at least a 12-foot running surface width;
(b) A driveway on a two-, three-, or four-lot shared easement shall have at least a 30-foot width and be constructed with no less than a 12-foot asphalt or concrete running surface with four feet of rocked shoulders. The easement shall be at least 30 feet wide plus any additional width needed to support the driveway surface and any required fill;
(c) Each driveway accessing a street shall have at the intersection with the street running surface, an asphalt or concrete pad at least eight feet in length and as wide as the running surface of the driveway plus an approach radius of ten feet on each side; and
(d) To ensure proper stormwater management, any driveway with a slope in excess of 10% shall be designed by an engineer licensed by the state.
(2) If any lot or parcel that shares a driveway meets the requirements for further division and exceeds five acres, the driveway easement shall be a minimum of 50 feet in width.
(L) Vertical clearances. Driveways, private streets, aisles, turn-around areas, and ramps shall have a minimum vertical clearance of 14 feet for their entire length and width.
(M) Vision clearance.
(1) (a) A vision clearance area must be maintained on the corners of all property adjacent to the intersection of two streets, an alley and street or a driveway providing access to a street.
1. The clear vision area is a triangle established across the corner of property adjacent to intersections of public or private streets or alleys and at intersections of driveways and streets.
2. The two legs of the clear vision triangle are each measured from the point of intersection with the roadway.
3. Measurements along a driveway are taken at the edge of the roadway.
(b) 1. No signs, structures, vegetation, or other obstructions to vision in excess of three and one-half feet in height are allowed in the vision clearance area except street signs, posts or poles (for example, power, signal, or luminaire poles).
2. Driveway approaches and driveways are not permitted within the clear vision area.
(2) Minimum vision clearance setbacks (see also §§ 155.500 through 155.504) are as follows. These measurements define the clear vision areas.
Intersections at a Street | Minimum Distance of Triangle Side |
Alley | 10 ft. |
Driveway | 10 ft. |
Street | 25 ft. |
(Ord. 259, passed - -)