Site development plans for all site developments within the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction shall conform to the requirements of these standards and be approved by the city prior to construction.

Site developments, not including single-family residential, shall include any project that affects public water, wastewater, storm drainage, or paving facilities.

All site development plans for proposed developments shall be submitted to the city for approval prior to construction. Site development plans shall show all proposed water, wastewater, paving, parking, drainage, and flood protection facilities.

One (1) copy of the site development plans shall be submitted for review. The city will respond within fourteen (14) days with an approval letter and/or with plans showing the required changes.

When plan changes are requested, two (2) copies of the revised site development plans shall be resubmitted to the city for final review and issuance of an approval letter.

Site development plans for projects located within the city shall be submitted to the building code enforcement department, with the approval letter attached, and construction plans, for issuance of a permit prior to construction.

The internal site storm sewer shall be connected to a public storm sewer at a manhole or at an inlet adjoining the site. The site drainage outfall shall be connected to the nearest existing drainage system with adequate capacity to serve the drainage area. Where extension of the existing drainage system is required, all costs for extension shall be the responsibility of the development.

All storm sewers extended into a public right-of-way or easement shall be reinforced concrete pipe or high-performance polypropylene pipe (PP) ASTM F2881 pipe at least twelve inches (12") in diameter. Storm sewers shall be reinforced concrete pipe, ASTM C-76, class III or high-performance polypropylene pipe (gray) [and] shall meet or exceed ASTM F2881 “Standard Specifications for 12" to 60" Polypropylene Dual Wall Pipe and Fittings for Non-Pressure Storm Sewer Applications.”

All internal facilities shall be designed by a registered professional engineer and shall be sized to drain the site in accordance with these standards.

Drainage calculations shall be submitted with all site development plans.

When the site drains directly into a Wharton County drainage facility and/or into a highway right-of-way, the appropriate governmental entity (entities) shall approve the site development connection to public facilities.

The location and width of all driveways that will connect to a public street must be reviewed and approved by the city prior to construction and may be required to be identified at the time of platting, prior to the submission of a building permit, or at the time a land plan or site plan is submitted. This includes replats where relocating or shared access may be required or denial of an additional driveway on the newly formed lot.

All driveways are required to first obtain a permit through the city. In addition, if the driveway is located on a state roadway, the city requires the applicant to obtain a driveway access permit from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). No permit from the city shall be released until a permit has been approved by TxDOT and delivered to the city. The city will adhere to the guidelines, rules adopted and approved by TxDOT on all TxDOT controlled roadways.

No residential driveway shall be allowed on a major thoroughfare. If it is an existing lot, access will be allowed if there is no adjacent side street or rear street in which safer access is available. When located on a major thoroughfare, if possible, a circle driveway will be designed in which the driveway width will be a minimum twenty feet wide, the driveway entrances are to be thirty feet (30') apart from outside turning radii at the curb line and turning radii at curb line shall be a minimum of twenty feet (20'). If not possible, every effort should be made to create space on the lot to provide a turnaround maneuver and turning radius at the curb line of twenty feet (20'). All other streets, residential driveways shall be a minimum of ten feet (10') and maximum of thirty feet (30') wide at the right-of-way line with a turning radius of five (5) feet on local streets and ten (10) feet on collectors. No lot shall have more than one driveway (circle drive is considered two drives) on a local street unless it has at least one hundred (100) feet of frontage or the additional drive is on another street. No turn radius with the curb return shall extend beyond the property line of the property when extended in a straight line from the right-of-way to the curb line.

A traffic impact study may be required as a part of the approval process for driveways and other roadway access. A traffic impact analysis (TIA), when required, shall be prepared by an individual, group, firm or corporation having demonstrated professional emphasis and experience in transportation planning, engineering and in the preparation of similar analyses. The TIA document shall bear the seal and signature of a Texas registered professional engineer.

Large speed differentials shall be minimized to prevent unsafe conditions. Every attempt should be made to have driveway designs that create no more than 20 mph maximum speed differential on roadways. Driveway approaches accessing major thoroughfares should be situated in a manner that minimizes the number of potential conflict points. Use of deceleration lanes, acceleration lanes, turning lanes, turning bays, shared driveways, access easements for adjoining properties, cross driveway easements (an easement allowing two or more properties to share a common drive(s)), traffic signals and traffic-control devices, special lanes for pedestrians, crosswalks, medians and median markings, special signage, and other internal and external designs, signage, devices, markings, etc., shall be considered on all driveway requests.

Anyone planning on developing a site, parcel of land, or preparing a parcel of land or site for such shall be prepared to submit a driveway plan for the entire property. If the parcel to be platted is a portion of a larger tract, the city may require all driveways be identified or at a minimum the number, general location and access easements identified to allow joint use of driveway(s) located on separate tracts or parcels on the larger tract before the platting of the smaller tract or sub-parcel. A TIA may be required to take into consideration a larger section of roadway or other roadways other than the roadway immediately adjoining the tract(s) of land under consideration.

An individual may be required to negotiate driveway access on an adjacent property prior to or instead of being granted a driveway access on a tract or parcel of land.

Driveways serving nonresidential and multifamily tracts that connect to a street classified as a thoroughfare or collector street or has a speed limit exceeding 35 mph must be thirty-five (35) feet to forty-five (45) feet wide at the right-of-way line. Nonresidential and multifamily tracts fronting on all other streets shall be twenty-five (25) to thirty-five (35) feet wide at the right-of-way line.

It is the city’s policy to minimize whenever practical the number of non-single-family residential driveways on all arterial and collector streets in order to reduce the number of conflict points and facilitate traffic flow. To facilitate that policy, driveways shall be placed no closer than the following distances from adjacent streets and driveways (measured from the turn radius at the curb line to the nearest turn radius at the curb line). More than one driveway may be allowed as long as it meets the following criteria:

If the separation requirements for non-single-family residential driveways cannot be met because of the location of existing driveways on adjoining tracts, joint access driveways, access easements, or cross driveway easements, across adjoining tracts should be used. When minimum separation requirements cannot be met with the existing private driveway on the adjacent property and joint access cannot be obtained, the controlling factor shall be to maximize the distance between the subject property’s private driveway and the public cross street.

On streets classified as collectors, thoroughfares (arterials), and highways that do not contain medians, nonresidential driveways must align with driveways on the opposite side of the street the minimum separation requirements [sic].

At a signalized intersection in which one public street terminates at the intersection of a connecting cross street, a driveway should be avoided in the area of the signal at a spacing outlined above and not be placed on the cross street as to be in alignment with the terminating street. If the requirements for driveways otherwise allow the placement of a driveway within the area due to size or a TIA, then the driveway width must match the cross-section of the intersection public street and be properly aligned. Nonresidential driveway connections to the public street shall be approved and inspected by the city.

Driveways shall be located and designed so as to have adequate sight distances along the intersecting street.

Fire lane easements shall be created on all multifamily and nonresidential tracts. Fire lane easements shall be an all-weather driving surface capable of supporting the imposed loads of fire apparatus and subject to the approval of the fire [official]. All fire lane easements must have access to public-access streets.

Fire lanes shall be of an unobstructed width of not less than twenty feet (20'), with adequate turning radius capable of supporting the imposed loads of fire apparatus and shall extend for the minimum length necessary to provide access for emergency vehicles as determined by the fire official in accordance with accepted fire safety standards. A ninety (90) degree intersection is acceptable with prior approval of the fire official. All fire lanes [shall] have a minimum vertical clearance of thirteen feet six inches (13'6").

Fire lanes shall be designed to drain in compliance with the site development requirements.

Decorative masonry wall. If the wall includes a gate, the gate shall be constructed with an opaque non-masonry material. The construction materials of the wall shall match material used on the principal building located on the same lot; and

All service areas (e.g., garbage and recycling rooms, mechanical areas, outdoor storage, utility and meter rooms, etc.) must be architecturally integrated within the body of the building or architecturally screened from all public areas.

The dumpster service area shall be solid screened on three sides, with an optional personnel gate on the third side for access to the dumpster. Sidewalk access shall be provided to the personnel entry. This optional personnel entry gate shall not be visible from the street. Screening shall be a minimum height of six (6) feet, constructed with quality masonry, brick, stone, stucco or split-face concrete block with cap. The builder will provide details with building plans and submit a list of materials at the time of permitting for city approval. In residential areas only, western red cedar with a capped top rail is permitted.

If six (6) foot height does not provide a solid screen, city approval is required at the time of site development review.

The opening for removal of the dumpster for collection shall be a minimum of 12 feet to allow for proper access when it is serviced. For every dumpster added, an additional 10 feet in width is required.

The opening for removal of the dumpster for collection shall be located away from the sidewalk.

The property owner shall make every reasonable effort to incorporate appropriate landscaping to make the screen more effective and attractive. Refer to the city’s landscape design standards for recommended minimum plant varieties, size and quantities.