[Added by Ord. No. 2000-1]
This article is adopted under the authority
granted by §§ 60.10(2)(h) and 61.34 and Ch. 236 Wis.
Stats.
The purpose of this article is to promote the
safe and efficient ingress and egress to certain Town roads in the
interest of public safety, convenience and general public welfare;
to protect the public investment in roads by preventing premature
function obsolescence; to reduce accidents caused by frequent and
poorly designed points of access; promote the balanced use of land
for the mutual protection of landowners, motorists, and the Town of
Buchanan; to enhance the road appearance for making Town road travel
more pleasant.
These regulations shall apply to all Town roads
except all roads in approved subdivisions.
Any person, firm, corporation, municipality or other entity seeking access from lands abutting the listed roads under the § 456-11 shall comply with the requirements of this article and:
A.
Each existing parcel of land abutting a controlled-access
Town road at the time of enactment of this article shall be entitled
to private access when in compliance with the provisions of this article.
B.
After the designation of a controlled-access road,
no owners or occupants of the parcels of land created after enactment
of the article will have the right or easement of access by reason
of the fact that their property abuts the controlled-access Town road,
unless otherwise provided for herein.
A.
No entrance upon or departure from the Town's roads
designated as controlled-access roads in this article shall be permitted
except at places specially designated and provided for such purposes.
B.
No public street or highway shall be opened into or
connected with any controlled-access Town road under this article
or converted from a private access, an agricultural access or a trail
access to a public access without review by the Town of Buchanan Plan
Commission and the Town Board and approval by both. Such approval
shall be given only if the public interest shall be served thereby,
and it shall specify the terms and conditions on which such approval
is given.
C.
No private access point, agricultural access, or trail
access may be opened into or connected with a controlled-access Town
road under this article without review by the Town of Buchanan Plan
Commission and the Town Board and approval by both. Such approval
shall be given only if the public interest is served, and it shall
specify the terms and conditions on which such approval is given.
In the interest of public health, safety and general welfare, the
Town of Buchanan may at any time revoke this approval or require modification
in the access. The permit granted by this commission shall be for
private access, trail access, or agricultural access only, and this
permit cannot be transferred between those different uses. A new permit
must be approved if a use changes or if another use is added.
A controlled-access highway shall remain such
until the access control is revoked by the order of the Town of Buchanan
Town Board. The Town Board may revoke access control on a Town road
or part thereof, provided that, after a traffic engineering survey
investigation and access control study and a public hearing, the Town
of Buchanan Town Board finds that the revocation on such highway or
part thereof is in the public interest. The Town of Buchanan Town
Board shall record the formal notice of revocation of access control
on the Town road.
The Town of Buchanan Town Board may invoke access
control on additional Town roads or parts thereof, pursuant to § 61.34,
Wis. Stats. The Town of Buchanan Town Board shall record the formal
notice of access control on such Town roads.
All existing points of access may be continued
after the adoption of this article. However, if the Town Board believes
that the use of an access has been discontinued for a period of at
least one year, the Town Board shall notify the owner by certified
mail that it is considering vacating the access, and the Board shall
allow the owner the opportunity to reply. In the event the Board decides
that the access has been abandoned for one year, the Board may require
the access be vacated. If so determined, it is illegal to use this
access point thereafter.
Any point of access permitted under this article shall be subject to review by the Town of Buchanan Town Board. After such review, the Town Board may determine that there has been a change in use which will affect safe and efficient ingress and egress to a controlled Town road. This determination shall be based primarily on significant change in volume of traffic or the type of vehicle using that point of access. Upon such determination, the Town Board may require modifications to the access to meet the standards and specific provisions (in §§ 456-19 and 456-20) or it may revoke the access unless otherwise provided herein.
A.
One access may be permitted for each parcel of land
as defined under a previous section, but whenever possible, access
should be granted on minor roads instead of controlled-access Town
roads when there is a choice between the two types of roads.
B.
Access permits shall not be issued where the horizontal
distance between access points on a controlled-access road will be
less than 600 feet, unless there is no other way.
C.
A maximum of eight access points per mile per side
of highway shall be permitted, unless there is no other way to provide
access to an existing parcel.
The design of driveway or street intersections
for appropriate sight distance, return radius, angle, profile, width,
parking and internal circulation shall be based on minimum standards
of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials,
the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report No. 93, "Guidelines
for Medial and Marginal Access Control on Major Roadways," and §§ Trans
231.03 to 231.07, Wis. Adm. Code, and shall comply with the provisions
of the access permit issued by the Town of Buchanan Town Board. In
locating access points along the controlled-access roads, consideration
shall be given to the alignment of the proposed intersecting streets
directly across from each other in order to facilitate safe and efficient
flow of traffic across the road.
A.
In order for any new access point on a Town road designated
as controlled-access under this article to be reviewed or approved,
an application for a permit shall be made to the Town of Buchanan.
B.
The Town Zoning Administrator or Building Inspector
at the direction of the Town of Buchanan Town Board shall conduct
periodic inspections to determine compliance with the ordinance provisions
and shall maintain permanent records of date submitted and permits
issued.
C.
An access permit shall expire one year from the date
of issuance if evidence of use has not been established within that
time.
D.
Upon issuance of a permit, the point of access shall
be inspected during and after construction.
E.
When violations occur, the Town of Buchanan Town Board
shall revoke the access permits.
The Town of Buchanan Town Board may require
submission of a scale drawing showing the property lines, the topography,
streams, lakes and ponds, marshes and the location of the existing
and proposed buildings and structures, together with engineering data
as deemed necessary for the design of intersection.
[Amended 11-13-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-08]
A.
Any person aggrieved by an order, requirement or interpretation
made by the Town of Buchanan Plan Commission may appeal such decision
to the Town of Buchanan Board of Appeals. Where the Board of Appeals
finds that practical difficulty and unnecessary hardship may result
from strict compliance with this article, it may vary the regulations
so that substantial justice may be done, provided that the public
interest is secured and that such variance will not have the effect
of nullifying the intent and purpose of this article.
B.
In granting variances, the Town of Buchanan Board
of Appeals shall request the evidence of practical difficulty and
hardship and record the reasons in the minutes of which the variance
was granted.
