The primary objectives of these access management regulations are to promote traffic safety and efficiency, preserve future rights-of-way, maintain proper traffic capacity and traffic flow, reduce interferences with public travel, protect the public's interest in its rights-of-way, and to provide for the efficient and uniform administration of the public road rights-of-way. These regulations further the orderly layout and use of land, and can serve to protect the Trenton community character and natural resources by promoting well-designed road and access systems and discouraging the unplanned development and re-development of land. Specific purposes are as follows:

   (a)   To protect the safety of motorists traveling on city roads and their crossroad intersections and preserve the efficiency of traffic flow along roadways.

   (b)   To protect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists and provide for pedestrian facilities in appropriate locations.

   (c)   To encourage development on the corridor that is compatible with or does not detract from the aesthetic character or natural beauty of the surrounding area.

   (d)   To preserve and enhance development options by promoting consolidation of small, irregular lots into larger, more developable properties and promoting development of unified access and circulation systems that serve more than one property.

   (e)   To assure that driveways and street connections to city roads are designed according to standards, have adequate sight distance for safe entry and exit, and are adequately spaced in accordance with the access spacing requirements set forth in these regulations.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)

   These access management regulations shall apply to the location and design of any public roadway and any private street and driveway proposed to access the City of Trenton public roadway system unless roadway jurisdiction is provided to another reviewing agency per the Ohio Revised Code. These access management regulations shall also apply to other development and redevelopment events as specified below.

   (a)   Relationship to Development Applications.

   (b)   Change in Use.

      (1)   Properties that do not meet these access management requirements shall be brought into compliance with the regulations contained herein when modifications to the roadway are made or when there is a significant change in the use of the property. For the purposes of this Chapter, a change of use upon land or within a structure or a facility occurs when the vehicle trip generation of the property is increased by 25% (either peak hour or daily) over the vehicle trip amount generated by the prior use. The change of use must also generate a total of at least 100 trips per day. One of the following methods shall be used by the City Engineer to determine if a change of use has occurred:

         A.   An estimation based on the latest edition of "Trip Generation" by the Institute of Transportation Engineers for typical land uses; or

         B.   Traffic counts made at similar traffic generators located in the area; or

         C.   Actual traffic monitoring conducted during the peak hour of the adjacent roadway traffic for the property.

   (c)   Nonconforming Access.

      (1)   Any access to a public roadway which is legally in existence as of the effective date of these access management regulations and does not conform to these standards shall be considered a "nonconforming access." A nonconforming access may continue to be used indefinitely, but shall be retrofitted or otherwise brought into conformance with all applicable requirements of these access management guidelines when:

         A.   The lot is subdivided, re-subdivided, developed, or redeveloped;

         B.   A new or relocated access is requested;

         C.   There is a substantial enlargement, improvement, or change in the use of the property consistent with the criteria set forth in Section 1270.02(b);

         D.   The principal use of the property is discontinued, abandoned or otherwise out of service for a continuous period 180 days as provided for in Chapter 1254;

         E.   Any new or modified land use that increases trip generation by 25% or more and exceeding at least 100 trips per day, as calculated from traffic data or the current Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) "Trip Generation Manual."

   (d)   Review of Access Management Regulations.

      (1)   The review and approval process for these access management regulations shall take place during the minor or major subdivision application review, a site plan application review or any other administrative review for which these access management regulations shall apply.

      (2)   In the event there is a conflict between access management or related regulations found in this Chapter and the Trenton Subdivision Regulations, the respective conflicting regulation found in these access management regulations shall prevail.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)

   (a)   The length of driveways or "Throat Length" shall be designed in accordance with the anticipated storage length for entering and exiting vehicles to prevent vehicles from backing up into the flow of traffic on the public roadway or causing unsafe conflicts with onsite circulation.

   Figure 1: Illustration depicting the measurement to determine throat length of an access drive.

   (b)    Drive way access shall align with an exist ing oppo sing drive way or roadw ay where ver possib le. The creat ion of new offset driveway patters shall be discouraged unless shown to be necessitated by unique topographical or other site related features or conditions.

   Figure 2: Offset driveway designs shall be discouraged.

   Figure 3: Aligned access points are preferred.

   (c)   Driveway design shall conform to the City of Trenton Subdivision Regulations construction standards.

   (d)   All access points along a public roadway must satisfy the sight distance requirements per the ODOT Location & Design Manual, Volume One.

   (e)   The length of driveways or "Throat Length" shall be designed in accordance with the anticipated storage length for entering and exiting vehicles to prevent vehicles from backing up into the flow of traffic on the public roadway or causing unsafe conflicts with onsite circulation.

   (f)   Driveway approaches must be designed and located to provide an exiting vehicle with an unobstructed view. Unless a connection spacing deviation request is granted as provided for in Section 1270.10, construction of full access driveways along acceleration and deceleration lanes and tapers is prohibited due to potential for vehicular weaving conflicts and obstructing the public roadway.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)

   (a)   Adjacent commercial or office properties and compatible major traffic generators (i.e. multi-tenant retail developments, office and industrial parks, multi-family residential uses, mixed-use developments, etc.) shall provide a cross access drive and pedestrian access way to allow circulation between sites (see Figure 4). This requirement shall also apply to a new building site that abuts an existing developed property unless the Planning Commission finds that this would be clearly impractical based upon a showing of unique topography or other site specific condition.

      (1)   Property owners shall record a cross access easement and a joint maintenance agreement with the Butler County Recorder's Office.

   Figure 4: Illustration of common cross access easement and shared driveway design.

   (b)   Nonconforming Connection Permit. Property owners that provide for joint and cross access may be granted a nonconforming connection permit, where necessary, to provide reasonable access until such time as the joint use driveway and cross access drives may be provided with adjacent properties. All necessary easements and agreements shall be recorded with the deed to the property, including:

      (1)   An easement allowing cross access to and from the adjacent properties;

      (2)   An agreement to close and eliminate any pre-existing driveways provided for access in the interim after construction of the joint-use driveway; and

      (3)   A joint maintenance agreement defining maintenance responsibilities of property owners that share the joint use driveway and cross access system.

   (c)   Service drives providing cross access shall be designed and constructed with a minimum total width of 20 feet to accommodate a 2-way travel aisle and designed to accommodate automobiles, service vehicles and loading vehicles.

   (d)   Stub streets and other design features shall be encouraged to make it visually obvious that the abutting properties may be tied in to provide cross-access via a service drive.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)

   (a)   Internal service roads may be required to provide adequate access to multiple lots. In particular, the Planning Commission may require the development of internal service roads where such facilities can provide access to signalized intersections, where service drives may minimize the number of driveways, and as a means to ensure that traffic is able to more efficiently and safely ingress and egress. Internal service roads shall consist of either "frontage roads" or "reverse frontage roads" including the driveways that connect to adjacent streets or parking areas. All internal service roads shall be designed, constructed and maintained in accordance with the following standards:

      (1)   Location - Frontage roads and reverse frontage roads shall generally be parallel to the front property line and may be located either in front of, or behind, principal buildings and may be placed in required yards. In considering the most appropriate alignment for an internal service road, the Planning Commission shall consider the setbacks of existing and/or proposed buildings and anticipated traffic flow for the site.

      (2)   Alignment - The alignment of the service road can be refined to meet the needs of the site and anticipated traffic conditions, provided the resulting terminus allows the drive to be extended through the adjacent site(s). This determination may require use of aerial photographs, GIS property maps, topographic information and other supporting documentation as required for the respective development application.

   Figure 5: Illustration depicting the use of a reverse frontage road.

   Figure 6: Illustration depicting the use of a reverse frontage road.

      (3)   Access Easement - An internal service road shall be wholly located within an access easement permitting traffic circulation between properties. The easement shall be recorded with the Butler County Recorder's Office as a condition of approval.

         A.   In any development containing commercial, retail, service related uses or mixed use developments containing a residential land use component, an internal service road shall have a minimum pavement width of 24 feet, measured face to face of curb with an approach width of 36 feet at intersections.

         B.   The frontage road or service drive shall be constructed to meet the City of Trenton public street construction standards for base and thickness of asphalt or concrete.

         C.   In any development containing residential land uses exclusively, a frontage road shall have a minimum pavement width of 20 feet. The Planning Commission may waive the request of curb and gutters for an internal private service road.

      (4)   Maintenance Agreement - The applicant proposing any internal service road intended to be owned and maintained as a private roadway shall record a maintenance agreement at the time of recordation of the access easement. The maintenance agreement shall delineate the parcels included within the maintenance agreement area and provide for the routine maintenance, repair and upkeep of the private roadway infrastructure and any associated facilities. The maintenance agreement shall run with the property and be wholly enforced upon subsequent property owners served by the internal service road. A copy of the maintenance agreement evidencing proof of recordation shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator prior to any work commencing on the project.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)

   (a)   In the interest of promoting unified access and circulation systems, development sites under the same ownership or consolidated for the purposes of development and comprised of more than 1 building site shall be considered unified parcels for the purposes of compliance with these access management requirements. This shall also apply to phased development plans when site plan reviews or subdivision plats are required. Accordingly, the following requirements shall apply:

      (1)   The number of access connections permitted shall be the minimum number necessary to provide reasonable access to the overall site and not the maximum available for that frontage.

      (2)   All easements and agreements required under this Chapter shall be provided.

      (3)   Access to outparcels shall be internalized using the shared circulation system and designed to avoid excessive movement across parking aisles or queuing across surrounding parking and driving aisles.

   (b)   Where abutting properties are in different ownership and not part of an overall development plan, cooperation between the various owners in development of a unified access and circulation system shall be sought. The cross access requirements set forth in Section 1270.04 shall be provided for in anticipation of future adjacent development and change of use projects. However, only the building site(s) under consideration for development approval shall be subject to the requirements of this Section at the time of review. Abutting properties shall be required to provide unified access and circulation along with connection to cross access easements when an event listed in Section 1270.02 initiates the applicability of these access management regulations.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)

   (a)   Corner clearance is the distance from an intersection to the closest driveway or street, measured from the intersection radius to the inside edge of the driveway or street (see Figure 7). The purpose of corner clearance requirements is to preserve safe and efficient traffic movement within the functional area of an intersection.

      (1)   Corner clearance spacing for connections to the public roadway shall meet or exceed the minimum street connection spacing requirement of 100 feet as set forth in the Trenton Subdivision Regulations. This 100 foot minimum spacing requirement shall apply to both new public streets and private roadways and driveways.

   (b)   Additional corner clearance may be required where the traffic impact analysis indicates it is needed due to the specific trip characteristics of the development or the typical length of standing queues on the abutting roadway.

   (c)   When a property cannot meet the minimum corner clearance requirements of this section due to a physical impediment found on the lot or adjacent right-of-way area, the Planning Commission may modify the corner clearance standards where joint access is established with an abutting property, as provided for in Section 1270.10.

   Figure 7: Illustration of the corner clearance measurement determination.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)

   (a)   Shared parking facilities and driveways shall be provided where feasible and the parking space requirements reduced where shared parking is designed to maximize complimentary use and it has been demonstrated to the Planning Commission that sufficient parking will be available when it is needed subject to the following conditions:

      (1)   Non-Overlapping Hours of Operation. Two or more nonresidential uses may jointly provide and use parking spaces when their peak hours of operation do not normally overlap, provided that a written agreement is submitted to the Zoning Administrator prior to the commencement of any construction on the project.

      (2)   Overlapping Hours of Operation: Two or more nonresidential uses which do have overlapping peak hours of operation may jointly provide and use parking spaces, with a reduction of their combined required number of spaces by 25%. This is to encourage sharing of facilities, thus reducing the amount of land devoted to parking facilities. A written agreement between the joint nonresident users shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator prior to the commencement of any construction on the project.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)

   (a)   The number of non-residential driveways permitted per principal structure shall be the minimum necessary, as determined by the Planning Commission, to provide reasonable access for regular traffic and emergency vehicles, while preserving traffic operations and safety along the public roadway. Such determinations shall be based on the street frontage of the parcel and the following:

      (1)   Where an existing site includes driveways that are not in conformance with these access management standards, the Planning Commission may require the closing 1 or more nonconforming driveways as part of any applicable development approval as set forth in Section 1270.02.

      (2)   Where feasible, new vehicular access to a site shall be provided by a shared driveway, cross access drive or internal service road.

      (3)   Additional driveways may be permitted where determined by the Planning Commission to adequately accommodate traffic or ensure public safety.

   (b)   The Planning Commission may, as part of the site plan or subdivision review process, require that existing driveways be moved, combined, re-aligned, or eliminated to reduce the potential for accidents.

   (c)   Conditional Approval of Driveways and Curb Cuts. As part of the site plan or subdivision review process, the Planning Commission may approve a plan with a specific driveway or curb cut location with the condition that an agreement be first entered into between the property owner and the city, requiring that if an internal service road is constructed in the future, or if the opportunity for a shared driveway should present itself with development of adjacent property, 1 or more approved driveways or curb cuts shall be closed and measurements taken to utilize such service road or shared drive. Approval of driveways or curb cuts may also include restrictions on turning movements, locations, or other requirements to ensure safe and efficient traffic movement.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)

   Deviation from access spacing standards may be permitted as follows:

   (a)   Minor Deviation Request. Minor deviations of 10% or less of the allowable connection spacing standard may be authorized by the Planning Commission where a property is otherwise unable to meet the minimum connection spacing standards and where this deviation would not create a safety problem on the public roadway. The Planning Commission may consider the request and may approve, approve with conditions, or deny the minor deviation request.

   (b)   Major Deviation Request. Requests for major deviations of greater than 10% shall be reviewed by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall request a review and technical recommendation from the City Engineer relative to the deviation request to assist in the evaluation on the merits of the request. The Planning Commission shall consider the request and may approve, approve with conditions, or deny the major deviation request based on a showing of the standard of review in Section 1270.10(B)(2) herein.

      (1)   Application Requirements. Applicants requesting a major deviation from these access spacing standards must submit an access management plan to the Planning Commission for consideration and a traffic impact study shall be required at the expense of the applicant to assist in these determinations. At a minimum, the access management plan must:

         A.   Encompass a study area defined by the length of the site's frontage plus the distance of the applicable connection spacing standard, measured from the property lines.

         B.   Include a review of both existing and future access for all properties within the study area.

         C.   Include a justification for the requested deviation. The justification must address how the proposed plan advances the principles of access management consistent with the stated goals and intent of these access management regulations and, where a major deviation is being sought, the justification must clarify why development of a unified or shared access and circulation system is impractical.

      (2)   Access Spacing Modification Requirements. After a review of the applicant's request for a Major Deviation Request, the Planning Commission may modify access spacing requirement if all of the following conditions have been met:

         A.   A shared use driveway will be constructed to serve 2 or more abutting building sites;

         B.   The building site is designed to provide cross access and unified circulation with abutting sites with cross access easements provided in accordance with Section 1270.04; and

         C.   The property owner executes an agreement to close any pre-existing curb-cuts that do not meet the requirements of these access management regulations after the construction of both sides of the shared use driveway, and agrees to enter into a joint maintenance agreement defining maintenance responsibilities of property owners that share the joint use driveway and cross access system.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)

   (a)   Intent and Purpose. A Traffic Impact Study (TIS) is a document that analyzes the impact of a specific development to the area roadway system, identifies any improvements necessary to maintain a satisfactory level of service, and addresses potential safety concerns. The Traffic Impact Study will also help to determine the appropriate location, spacing, and design of the access system for the proposed development to ensure compliance with the access management regulations set forth in this Zoning Code as well as evaluate the internal circulation and connectivity systems of the proposed development to provide safe and efficient internal traffic flow and access to/from the adjacent and nearby roadway system.

   (b)   Traffic Impact Study Applicability. A Traffic Impact Study will be required when any of the below conditions are met:

      (1)   A proposed development generating 100 or more trip ends (entering plus exiting traffic) in the highest peak hour.

      (2)   A change in the use of an existing parcel whereas the new use will generate 100 more trip ends in the highest peak hour.

      (3)   At the discretion of the City Engineer, uses generating less than 100 trips in the hour but whose access location or generated volumes could still have a detrimental impact to the operation of the adjacent roadway.

      (4)   Where the proposed development is near a location that has experienced a high number of vehicular accidents.

   (c)   These trip ends shall be calculated using the latest edition of the Trip Generation Manual as published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

   (d)   The City Engineer may require the applicant to provide counts from a similar development in the absence of available information from the ITE Trip Generation Manual. Any data other than that derived from the ITE Trip Generation Manual must be approved by the City Engineer prior to its use in any Traffic Impact Study.

   (e)   Traffic Impact Study Contents. Prior to commencing the preparation of a Traffic Impact Study, the preparer shall contact the City Engineer to determine the scope of the study. Traffic impact studies shall include analysis of the typical weekday morning and afternoon peak hours, unless otherwise modified by the City Engineer. The City Engineer may require other hours of analysis based on the characteristics of the proposed development. The Traffic Impact Study shall include the following contents:

      (1)   Title Page.

      (2)   Development name and location.

      (3)   Name of applicant.

      (4)   Name and contact information of preparer.

      (5)   Date.

      (6)   Purpose and study objectives.

      (7)   Description of proposed development.

      (8)   Summary of Area Conditions.

      (9)   Study area boundaries.

      (10)   Study area land uses.

      (11)   Description of existing roadway network (lane usages, lane widths, traffic control devices, speed limits, etc.).

      (12)   Location of proposed site access (reference exhibit).

      (13)   Evaluation of sight distance from proposed access.

      (14)   Existing traffic volumes.

      (15)   Accident experience (when requested).

      (16)   Summary of trip generation calculations referencing the most recent edition of the ITE Trip Generation Manual.

      (17)   For phased developments expected to take longer than 5 years, include trip generation calculations for each phase and for full build-out.

      (18)   Proposed distribution of site-generated trips onto the adjacent roadway system.

      (19)   Background traffic projections based upon anticipated growth within the study area. Traffic shall be projected to the opening year of the development and the future design year. The future design year shall be defined as the opening year plus 20 years. Traffic shall also be projected for the completion year of each phase of the development, if applicable.

      (20)   Level of Service, Capacity Analysis - According to most recent edition of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM). Analysis shall be performed for both "no-build" and "build" conditions in the project's opening year, future design year and for completion year of each phase of construction, if applicable.

         A.   Unless otherwise approved by the City Engineer, the level of service (LOS) for the "build" scenario shall be LOS D for each intersection movement. In areas where the "no-build" LOS is D or worse, the base level of service must be maintained or improved after the development.

      (21)   Turn Lane Warrant Analysis - Per the ODOT Location and Design Manual, Volume One.

         A.   If needed, turn lane lengths shall be calculated per the ODOT Location and Design Manual, Volume One.

      (22)   Traffic Signal Warrant Analysis (when applicable) - Per OMUTCD.

      (23)   Conclusions and Recommendations.

      (24)   Appendices section which, at a minimum, shall include the following items:

         A.   Site plan clearly indicating the proposed access and internal circulation design.

         B.   Traffic Volume Data.

         C.   Computer Analysis Summaries.

         D.   Other relevant information utilized to support the findings of the Study.

   (f)   General Traffic Impact Study Provisions.

      (1)   Traffic Impact Studies shall be prepared under the supervision of a registered professional engineer in the State of Ohio with training and experience in traffic engineering (operations and safety analysis experience).

      (2)   Generally accepted principles of traffic engineering, roadway design transportation planning, and site design as outlined in the ODOT L&D Manual, the Ohio Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (OMUTCD), the ODOT Traffic Engineering Manual, AASHTO - A Policy of Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (Green Book), ITE Trip Generation Manual, ODOT State Highway Access Management Manual, and the Transportation Research Board Access Management Manual shall be used in preparation of the Traffic Impact Study. Any deviation from those principles shall require supporting documentation.

(Ord. 01-2018. Passed 1-18-18.)