[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of West Manchester 1-2-1996 by Ord. No. 96-01. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "West Manchester Township
Access Drive Ordinance."
The Board of Supervisors finds it necessary to provide access
drives for all lots in West Manchester Township. However, multiple
access drives can be counterproductive to traffic safety. It is the
purpose of this chapter to permit access to every property in West
Manchester Township and at the same time ensure the safety of the
traveling public, to protect existing neighborhoods from commercial
traffic, to protect certain zones from the detrimental impact of access-related
problems caused by more intensive uses of other zones, to protect
the Township streets from proliferation of access drives and generally
to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens and residents
of West Manchester Township.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present
tense include the future; words in the plural number include the singular
number and words in the singular number include the plural number;
any personal pronoun shall be construed so as to mean either the masculine,
feminine or neuter gender, as the context may require; and the word
"shall" is always mandatory and not merely precatory.
An improved cartway designed and constructed to provide for
vehicular movement between a public road and a tract of land containing
any use other than one single-family dwelling unit.
The Board of Supervisors of West Manchester Township, York
County, Pennsylvania.
A parcel of land considered as a unit for a principal use
and/or from the standpoint of ownership. It may be vacant, devoted
to a certain use, occupied by a structure or occupied by a group of
structures that are united by a common interest or use.
A person owning, leasing, occupying or having charge of any
premises within the Township.
Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
The Township of West Manchester, York County, Pennsylvania.
The areas of the Township designated in the West Manchester
Township Zoning Ordinance.[1]
Single-family residential dwelling units contained on single
lots are exempt from the standards of this chapter.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all uses, both
existing and proposed, including but not limited to commercial uses,
industrial uses, office uses, quarry uses and residential uses, shall
comply with the terms, provisions and standards of this chapter.
Each person proposing to construct or install an access drive
shall submit a plot plan of the lot to be served by the proposed access
drive, which plan shall show:
A.
Property lines of the lot.
B.
All public or private roadways adjacent to the lot.
C.
All existing access drives on the lot.
D.
All existing improvements on the lot.
E.
The existing use or proposed use of the lot.
F.
The location of and distance to all access drives within 500 feet
of the lot (on both sides of the street).
G.
The location of and distance to all intersecting public or private
streets within 500 feet of the lot (on both sides of the street).
H.
The type, weight and number of vehicles that will likely use the
proposed access drive, expressed in terms of both the peak hour and
the daily total.
J.
Other pertinent information as specifically requested by the Board
of Supervisors.
A.
Provided that all the required information has been submitted, each
person proposing a subdivision and land development plan that requests
an access drive will have his/her request for an access drive reviewed
by the Board of Supervisors concurrently with his/her subdivision/land
development plan.
B.
Each person requesting an access drive for an existing use that does
not require the submission of a subdivision or land development plan
must submit his/her request to the Township a minimum of 15 days before
the next Board of Supervisors meeting, where the request will be reviewed
and acted upon by the Board. The Board shall render a final decision
within 60 days of the date of the meeting of the Board of Supervisors
where the plan is first considered.
The Board of Supervisors shall apply the following general standards
when reviewing requests for access drives:
A.
Joint access drives shall be used whenever practical to alleviate
a proliferation of access drives and traffic congestion in order to
ensure traffic safety.
B.
Access drives shall be designed to avoid directing heavy commercial
and/or industrial traffic through local streets in residential neighborhoods.
C.
Access drives shall be designed to avoid directing heavy equipment
or overweight or oversized vehicles onto local streets not designed
and constructed to accommodate overweight or oversized vehicles.
D.
Access drives shall be designed and constructed to minimize excessive
dust, noise and similar inconveniences to adjoining properties and
to avoid depositing dust, mud or other foreign material on the public
roadway.
E.
Access drives shall be designed, where practical, to provide access
to streets located in the same or similar zoning classification as
the lot for which an access drive is proposed.
F.
The number of access drives intersecting with a street line may not
exceed one per lot. The Board of Supervisors may grant permission
for additional access points where required to meet exceptional circumstances
and where frontage of unusual length exists.
After the number and location of access drives on a lot have
been approved by the Board of Supervisors, the following specific
design requirements must be met:
B.
Access drives shall be located not less than 25 feet from side property
lines and not less than 25 feet from rear property lines; provided,
however, that this setback may be waived when a joint access drive
or joint parking compound is shared by adjoining uses.
[Amended 7-22-2004 by Ord. No. 04-10]
C.
If two access drives are permitted by the Board of Supervisors for
the same lot frontage, they shall be separated by a minimum of 150
feet, as measured from the nearest edges of the access drives in all
residential and local commercial zones, and 300 feet in all other
commercial and industrial zones.
D.
Proper sight distance shall be maintained at all street intersections.
Measured along the center line of the street, there shall be a clear-sight
triangle with sides as follows:
|
Type of Intersection
|
Clear-Sight Triangle Side
(feet)
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Access drive on collector on minor street
|
75 to 20
| |
|
Access drive on arterial street
|
150 to 20
|
E.
All access drives shall be paved with concrete or bituminous paving
material or with other material approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Access drives shall be paved at least 300 feet from the intersection
with any street.
G.
Unless specifically approved by the Board of Supervisors, no access
drives shall have a curb cut exceeding 35 feet in width as measured
at the property line.
H.
Every parking lot and loading space shall be connected to a street
by means of an access drive. The access drive shall be at least 24
feet wide, exclusive of curb returns and gutters.
J.
Access drive intersections shall conform to the specifications for minor streets as stated in § 121-23L of the West Manchester Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and the sight distance specifications stated in § 121-23M of the West Manchester Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.[3]
K.
Vehicular parking is prohibited along access drives.
The Board of Supervisors may, by resolution, establish fees
for the administration of this chapter. All fees shall be determined
by a schedule that is made available to the general public. The Board
of Supervisors may reevaluate the fee schedule and make necessary
alterations to it. Such alterations shall not be considered an amendment
to this chapter and may be adopted at any public meeting of the Board
of Supervisors.
[Amended 5-9-1996 by Ord. No. 96-14; 6-26-1997 by Ord. No. 97-15]
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter
shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding
commenced by West Manchester Township, pay a fine not exceeding $600
plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred
by West Manchester Township. West Manchester Township police officers,
the appropriate code enforcement officers of West Manchester Township
or other appropriate officer or officers of West Manchester Township
shall have the power to enforce the provisions of this chapter. The
amount of the fine imposed for the violation of this chapter shall
be established by the officer who determines that a violation has
occurred. Notice of the violation of this chapter and the amount of
the fine imposed shall be given by personal delivery or by certified
mail to the person violating this chapter. If the person violating
this chapter fails or refuses to pay the fine imposed within the period
specified in the notice of the violation of this chapter, the Township
shall file a civil enforcement proceeding with the District Magistrate
to enforce the fine imposed.
The decision of the Board of Supervisors with respect to the
approval or disapproval of any applications submitted pursuant to
this chapter may be appealed to the Court of Common Pleas of York
County pursuant to the provisions of the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 101 et seq.
A.
The provisions of this chapter are intended as a minimum standard
for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare. If the
literal compliance with any mandatory provision of this chapter is
shown by the applicant, to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors,
to be unreasonable or to cause undue hardship as it applies to a particular
property, or if the applicant shows that an alternative proposal will
allow for equal or better results, the Board of Supervisors may grant
a waiver from such mandatory provision so that substantial justice
may be done and the public interest secured while permitting the reasonable
utilization of the property. However, the granting of a waiver shall
not have the effect of making null and void the intent and purpose
of this chapter.
B.
In granting waivers, the Board of Supervisors may impose such conditions
as will, in its judgment, secure substantially the objectives of the
standards and requirements of this chapter.
