(Applies Also to the Urban Arterial and Collector Routes Described/Enumerated in the Warner Robins MPO Transportation Plan, current edition. Access is also subject to review by the Building and inspections Department's interpretation and application.)

In order to protect the safety, lives, and property of the general public who travel upon the state highways of Georgia, to maintain the capacity and operating efficiency of these state highways, and to provide reasonable access to these state highways from those contiguous properties or which access control is not vested in the City, the following guidelines and requirements on the permitting of driveway access are established. These guidelines and requirements shall not conflict with City interparcel access requirements.

Wherever potential for interparcel access and connectivity exists for commercial properties situated along state highways or arterial roads, including multi-family developments, interparcel access shall be established. The need for additional access points must be illustrated by the submittal of an access plan and justified by a traffic study signed and sealed by a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer registered in the State of Georgia; therefore, any additional proposed access points along a roadway in these instances shall be subject to review and approval through the submittal of said access plan and traffic study to the Engineering, Planning and Zoning Offices and, if applicable, Georgia Department of Transportation. The final decision regarding all inter parcel access and connectivity shall be determined by the mayor and city council.

Plans for proposed developments shall include an adequate point of two-way access and private access road for future adjoining commercial and residential developments.

Where interparcel access does not already exist and where reasonable interparcel access potential does exist on commercial lots, the lot shall be considered nonconforming. Site improvements proposed for nonconforming lots, in accordance to section 61, must include interparcel access improvements. Interparcel access improvements may include the removal of access to roadway as deemed necessary by the City. Removal shall consist of restoration of curbing and demolition of driveways to the Building and Inspections Department's satisfaction. If undue hardship is placed on the property owner by the City's request, the property owner may appeal in accordance with section 114.3 of Appendix C. Zoning Ordinance of city code, by submitting a traffic study signed and sealed by a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer registered in the State of Georgia to prove the need of maintaining existing access points on a property.

Interparcel access will conform to driveway spacing requirements as defined by the Georgia Department of Transportation's Regulations for Driveway and Encroachment Control, current edition.

I.

COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY DRIVEWAYS AND STREETS:

Where interparcel access cannot be achieved, and upon the City deeming such plans to access a development safe and otherwise appropriate for the site, the following regulations apply:

A.

Single business enterprise on a single interior lot:

1.

Movements confined primarily to on-site employees totaling no more than 40; one 2-way drive.

2.

Movements consisting primarily of in and out customer activities where no more than 50 parking spaces are on the site or sites with less than 300' of frontage; one 2-way drive or two 1-way drives.

3.

Fast food operations, bank with drive-through service, medical offices and other facilities with more than 50 on-site parking spaces and a minimum of 300' of frontage; two 2-way drives.

4.

Automobile Service stations and Gas Station Minimarts which include gas and oil sales and which have a minimum frontage of 150'; two 2-way drives.

B.

Single businesses on corner lot:

1.

One 2-way driveway on mainline and one 2-way driveway on the cross road, totaling two 2-way driveways. Driveways are to be located as far as practical from the intersection. Two 1-way driveways may be substituted for one 2-way drive.

C.

Multiple businesses on commercial tracts:

1.

Up to 300 linear feet of frontage; one 2-way drive or two 1 -way drives.

2.

Frontages between 300 and 1,000 linear feet; two 2-way drives.

3.

Frontages from 1,000 linear feet to 2,000 linear feet; three 2-way drives.

4.

Frontages from 2,000 linear feet to 3,000 linear feet; three 2-way driveways or two 1-way driveways and 1 multi-lane driveway.

5.

Frontages of over 3,000 linear feet; driveways as determined on a case-by-case basis.

D.

Acceleration/deceleration lane requirements: Commercial and Residential driveways/streets, except those permitted under Item A1, will normally include appropriate acceleration/deceleration lanes. Such lanes shall be constructed by the developer at no cost to the City or GDOT, as applicable. The right-of-way for such lanes shall be dedicated to the City or GDOT, as applicable, by the developer. The pavement sections for acceleration/deceleration lanes shall match that of the mainline. Acceleration/deceleration lanes may be required under Item Al if they are considered necessary.

E.

Left turn lanes at commercial and residential driveways/streets for mainline sections without a divided median: The Building and Inspections Department may require the construction of left turn lanes at commercial driveways for roadways of two-, four-, or six-lane sections and no divided median. This requirement will be based upon analyses of the capacity constraints imposed upon the roadway by left turns out of through traffic lanes giving consideration to current and 20-year projected traffic volumes.

F.

Access conveyance: Once the number and configuration of driveways has been established, the developer of commercial property will be requested to deed access control rights along his frontage to the City. For this purpose, commercial property includes residential subdivisions discussed under Item II.

G.

Right-of-way conveyance: Developers of commercial property and residential property, as discussed under Item II., will be requested to deed right-of-way for future widening of the mainline highway where such is included in the Georgia Department of Transportation's construction work program.

H.

Phased construction requirements: Developers of commercial property and residential property shall not be allowed to lease a dead end of a driveway/street with limited access to a future phase of the development. A dead end will be accompanied by a temporary cul-de-sac or other approved measure to allow proper ingress/egress for emergency services vehicles until the next phase of development is complete. Such temporary measure may be constructed of graded aggregate base in accordance with Georgia Department of Transportation standards.

II.

RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISIONS:

In no event will the state highway be used as a subdivision street with individual lot driveways. When possible, access to all residential lots shall be from interior subdivision streets or roads.

A.

For definition of subdivision and the provisions and requirements for review of subdivision plats by the department and the responsibilities of local Planning and Zoning commissions and individuals to submit subdivision plats to the department for review and comment, refer to Georgia Code Sections 32-6-150, 32-6-151, 32-6-152, 326-153 and 32-6-154.

B.

The District, with guidance from the state transportation traffic and safety engineer, shall review and comment upon the subdivision plat. Comments shall address access to the state highway. Possible solutions shall consider one, two, or three connections (depending upon frontage) to an interior road system upon which the residential lots front, a frontage road parallel and adjacent to the state highway upon which the lots will front which will also have connections to the state highway system, or in extreme cases a pairing of two lots per driveway. This latter circumstance is not desirable and should be a last resort settlement limited to frontage less than 1000 feet. Where a small number of large frontage lots are involved, individual driveways may be allowed.

C.

Subdivisions of property to accommodate the residential needs of family members of the owner of the tract shall be handled as private residences.

(Ord. No. 40-22, § 2, 10-17-22; Ord. No. 14-23, § 1, 5-1-23)