Note: Numerous additional requirements for parking and driveway design are contained in Article
5, Residential Zoning Districts, and in Article
6, Commercial Zoning Districts.
A. Permit. A written permit from the Public Works Department is required
prior to the construction or alteration of any driveway, curb cut,
or access point into or out of the City of Rochester road system.
B. Adequate surface. All parking areas and driveways shall have a smoothly
graded, stabilized dust-free gravel surface or a paved/hard surface
(asphalt, concrete, interlocking brick, etc.).
C. Adequate drainage. Drainage for parking areas and driveways shall
be designed to prevent stormwater from flowing onto adjacent property,
sidewalks and public roads (unless adequate structures are present
within the road right-of-way) as determined by Public Works.
D. Setbacks. All driveways and parking areas shall be set back from
side property lines at least five feet (the Site Plan Regulations
may contain greater requirements). This requirement shall not apply
to shared driveways and may be waived in situations where an abutting
property owner consents to a reduced setback, or for driveways on
lots in the R1, R2, NMU, or OC District where the setback would push
the driveway into a space directly in front of the building (as determined
by the Director of Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services, Zoning
Administrator, Public Works Department, or Planning Board, as appropriate).
Parking commercial vehicles outdoors overnight within residential
districts is permitted as follows:
A. No more than one commercial vehicle, a passenger automobile, pickup
truck or van, is allowed.
B. Other types of vehicles, such as truck tractors, box trucks or vehicles
with more than two axles, are permitted on private property only by
special exception subject to the property owner being able to provide
adequate visual buffering, exhaust odor control, and sound mitigation.
C. No commercial vehicle other than a passenger automobile, pickup truck
or van may be parked overnight on a public road in a residential district
(except when accommodating a residential relocation or by short-term
permit/approval from the Police Department).
Private roads are prohibited unless they are part of a plan
approved by the Planning Board and noted as a private road on said
plan. Building permits shall only be issued pursuant to the provisions
of RSA 674:41.
Shared driveways providing access to new, separately platted
lots are only permitted where those lots will have adequate frontage
on an approved public road.
Development on Class VI roads is regulated as follows:
A. General terms.
(1)
State law. This section is adopted pursuant to RSA 674:41. In
case of conflict between this section and RSA 674:41, RSA 674:41 shall
be determining.
(2)
Uses. Single-family use, farming, and forestry are the only
permitted uses on lots accessed from Class VI roads.
(3)
Accessory uses. Any uses customarily accessory to a single-family
residence may be established on the property. However, only home occupations-1
and -2 (for which there is only one employee other than household
members) are permitted.
(4)
Subdivision. Any new lots to be subdivided out of existing lots
on Class VI roads shall have a minimum frontage on the Class VI road
of 300 feet and a minimum lot size of three acres.
B. Approval process. Shall be subject to the provisions of RSA 674:41.
C. Other provisions.
(1)
The applicant is not specifically required to maintain the road
as part of any authorization for a building permit but he/she is urged
to do so, on his/her own or in coordination with other property owners.
(2)
It is recognized that any applicant who chooses to build on
a Class VI road does so at his/her own risk. If in the future abutting
landowners seek to upgrade a Class VI road to a Class V road then
the landowners, rather than the City of Rochester, shall be entirely
responsible for the costs of upgrading that road (i.e., to be paid
for by an individual developer, abutting landowners jointly through
a private agreement, or through a betterment tax on abutting landowners
if approved by City Council).
(3)
Any modifications to the road in the future must be approved
by the City of Rochester Public Works Department.
(4)
If any Class VI road is brought up to City standards the reclassification
to a Class V road must be approved by the Rochester City Council.
(5)
The Planning and Development Department shall maintain a record
of Class VI roads or portions of Class VI roads upon which the City
Council has authorized issuance of building permits.
(6)
See the Transportation Master Plan for a partial list of Class
VI roads in the City.