Town of Lancaster, MA Required Off-Street Parking

No curb cut or access for parking or loading facilities shall exceed 30 feet in width and no maneuvering to enter a parking or loading space shall take place within a public right-of-way. All loading operations shall be conducted from a side or rear yard.

In the case of a shopping center, such curb cuts will not exceed 60 feet in width and such curb cuts shall not be closer to one another than 250 feet. Further, in the case of a shopping center, the loading operations provisions shall be inapplicable, except that such loading facilities shall be screened.

Development of parking and loading areas. All required parking and loading areas shall be graded, surfaced and drained to the satisfaction of the Board of Public Works to the extent necessary to avoid nuisances such as dust, erosion or excessive water flow across public streets or onto adjacent properties. Any lighting of parking areas shall be shielded from public streets and from properties in any Residence District.

Large parking areas. Any parking area for 20 or more cars shall have each space clearly marked.

Shared driveways. A shared driveway shall not be considered adequate access if it is the sole means of access for parking spaces on more than two lots, except that the Planning Board may by special permit authorize service to a larger number of lots where it determines that doing so serves the interests of safety and does not circumvent the intent of Chapter 301, Subdivision of Land, of the Code of the Town of Lancaster.

Extended driveways. Parking whose sole means of access is a driveway more than 100 feet in length shall be credited towards meeting these requirements only if the drive meets the following standards:

Traveled way width of at least 10 feet, compacted gravel or other all-weather surface, with branches cleared to 12 feet width;

Maximum grade of 12%;

Center line radius of at least 80 feet;

(4)

Means of reversing direction for a vehicle of thirty-foot length, eight-foot width, and fifty-seven-foot outside turning radius;

(5)

If in excess of 300 feet length, passing turnouts spaced not more than 300 feet apart, the first being at the driveway connection with the street; and

(6)

If in excess of 1,000 feet length, a special permit to be acted on by the Planning Board, to be approved on determination of necessity and adequacy of provisions for safety and convenience.

§ 220-22.1 Curb cuts; driveways.

[Added 5-2-2011 ATM by Art. 17]

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 220-60A, these curb cut provisions shall be administered and enforced by the Board of Public Works.

Scope.

The creation of a new or altered connection of a street or driveway to a street in the Town of Lancaster requires the prior issuance of a permit for doing so by the Board of Public Works, with the exceptions of:

Driveways already in existence where the use remains unchanged;

Driveways subject to MGL c. 81, § 21 (Massachusetts curb cut permit);

(c)

Driveways reviewed by municipal boards under existing laws or regulations, including but not limited to scenic road regulations or subdivision regulations.

For long driveways (more than 100 feet), see also § 220-22H(6).

Procedure.

Application.

The applicant shall provide three copies of an application to the Board of Public Works, including a plan showing:

[1]

Any street or driveway that is to be created, altered, or closed and its relationship with the accessed way;

[2]

Design and construction details described under Subsection D.

The Board of Public Works shall consult with the Superintendent of Public Works, Building Inspector, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Planning Director and other interested Town officials to obtain their comments on the plan, and shall within 21 days of receipt of a complete application notify the applicant either that the proposal conforms with the Town's standards or that it does not, citing any necessary modifications, conditions, or restrictions.

Review. The Town will inspect the project during and after construction. If the Town's requirements are met, the Board shall upon written application for release issue a curb cut certificate of approval forthwith, and release any security being held. If the Board takes no action within 21 days of the date of complete application for release of security, the curb cut security is to be released forthwith and the Town Clerk may so certify.

Access. The Board has the authority to halt construction and/or to prohibit access to said street or driveway if construction is not consistent with the approved plan, until noncompliant conditions have been corrected.

Approval. The Board of Public Works shall sign off on the permit following satisfactory completion of construction.

Appeal. A decision of the Board of Public Works on an application for a curb cut permit may be appealed to the Board of Appeals in accordance with MGL c.40A, §§ 8 and 15.

Enforcement.

Security. Where apt, the Board of Public Works may require the posting of security to assure the completion of requirements within the way being accessed consistent with the approved application.

Revocation. Any violation of this permit or failure to comply with all requirements of the Superintendent of Public Works and the Board of Public Works shall result in revocation of the permit and denial of access to the way.

Forfeiture. Failure to satisfactorily complete required actions may result in the forfeiture of any security that has been posted.

Design and construction standards.

Geometry. Driveways shall be located to the best advantage with regard to alignment with the public way and to intersect with it at as close to a right angle as possible, and in no event at less than 60° or more than 120°. The curbline radius of the edge of the intersection with the traveled way shall be a minimum of five feet for a single-family residential driveway on a minor street, and not more than 30 feet on a collector or arterial street, as designated in the Lancaster Zoning Map.

The last 20 feet of the driveway before the traveled way shall be:

[1]

If serving a single-family residence, at least nine feet in width if no longer than 100 feet and at least 10 feet in width if longer;

[2]

At least 12 feet and not more than 24 feet in width for other uses.

Those final 20 feet of the driveway shall be offset by up to 20 feet from the property sideline depending upon the needs of the anticipated use and the location.

Sight distance. No wall or other obstruction shall be constructed, planted or maintained at the intersection being created which reduces sight distance to less than that needed for safe egress in light of the speed of traffic on the road. No new driveway shall be located where the minimum sight distance would be less than 450 feet in each direction on arterial streets, 275 feet on collector streets, and 175 feet on minor streets, as designated on the Lancaster Zoning Map.

Stormwater. Existing drainage swales parallel to the way shall not be obstructed by driveways or intersecting streets. Culverts of appropriate size and durable material shall be provided by the applicant to the satisfaction of the Public Works Superintendent. Culverts should be set back a minimum of four feet from the edge of the traveled way. Culvert length should exceed the width of the driveway at that point by a minimum of six feet in length.

(4)

Grading and drainage shall be configured such that no surface water drains onto any public way or onto any lot in separate ownership.

(5)

Gradient. The driveway gradient shall be:

Consistent within the intersected public way with that of the sidewalk if one exists;