[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Fredonia as Title 6, Ch. 3, of the 1995 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 491.
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 500.
Zoning — See Ch. 575.
The location, design and construction of driveways shall be in accordance with the following:
A. 
Permit required. No person shall construct, repair or reconstruct any driveway without having first obtained a permit from the Village of Fredonia. Such permit shall be issued upon an application form provided by the Village and shall contain such information as the Director of Public Works or his designee shall deem necessary. Issuance shall be conditioned upon complete compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
Permit fee. The fee for a driveway permit is as stated in the fee schedule.
C. 
General design. Private driveway shall be of such width and so located that all of such driveways and their appurtenances are within the limits of the frontage abutting the street of the property served. Driveways shall not provide direct ingress or egress to or from any street intersection area and shall not encroach upon or occupy areas of the street right-of-way required for effective traffic control or for street signs or signals. A driveway shall be so located and constructed that vehicles approaching or using it shall have adequate sight distance along the street. Driveway approaches shall be at least six feet apart, at least three feet from the lot line, except by special permission from the Village Board, and driveways shall in all cases be placed wherever possible as not to interfere with utilities in place.
D. 
Number. The number of driveways to serve an individual property fronting on a street shall be one, except where deemed necessary and feasible by the Village Board for reasonable and adequate service to the property, considering the safety, convenience and utility of the street.
E. 
Island area. The island area in the street right-of-way between successive driveways or adjoining a driveway and between the highway shoulder and right-of-way shall constitute a restricted area and may be filled in and graded only as provided in Subsection H.
F. 
Drainage. The surface of the driveway connecting with rural type street cross sections shall slope downward and away from the highway shoulder a sufficient distance to preclude ordinary surface water drainage flowing onto the street roadbed.
G. 
Reconstruction of sidewalks and curb and gutter. When the construction of a driveway requires the removal of a curb or gutter the new connections shall be of equivalent acceptable material, and curb returns shall be provided or restored in a neat, workmanlike manner. Curb head removal by sawing shall be allowed if it conforms to the specifications and standards of the Village of Fredonia. The driveway surface shall be connected with the highway pavement and the sidewalk, if any, in a neat, workmanlike manner. The driveway construction shall include the replacement of such sidewalk area which is inadequate or which is or may be damaged by means of vehicle travel across the sidewalk.
H. 
Restricted areas. The restricted area between successive driveways may be filled in and graded only when the following requirements are complied with:
(1) 
The filling or draining shall be to grades approved by the Director of Public Works and, except where highway drainage is by means of curb and gutter, water drainage of the area shall be directed away from the street roadbed in a suitable manner.
(2) 
Culvert extensions under the restricted area shall be of the same size and of equivalent acceptable material as the culvert under the driveway. Intermediate manholes adequate for cleanout purposes may be required where the total culvert length is excessive.
(3) 
Where no street side ditch separates the restricted area from the street roadbed, permanent provision may be required to separate the area from the street roadbed to prevent its use for driveway or parking purposes by construction of a border, curb, rail or posts as may be required by the Director of Public Works.
I. 
Relocation of utilities. Any costs of relocating utilities shall be the responsibility of the property owner with approval of the Village Board necessary before any utility may be relocated and the driveway installed.
J. 
Construction across sidewalks. All driveway entrances and approaches which are constructed across sidewalks shall be of concrete constructed in accordance with the requirements for sidewalk construction in Chapter 491, Article II, of this Code insofar as such requirements are applicable, including thickness requirements.
K. 
Variances. Any of the above requirements may be varied by the Village Board in such instances where the peculiar nature of the property or the design of the street may make the rigid adherence to the above requirements impossible or impractical.
The following regulations are applicable to driveways serving commercial or industrial establishments.
A. 
Width of drive. No part of a private driveway located within the dedicated area of a public street shall, except as hereinafter provided, have a width greater than 30 feet measured at right angles to the center line of said driveway, except as increased by permissible radii. In instances where the nature of the commercial or industrial activity or the physical characteristics of the land would required a driveway of greater width than herein specified, the Village Board in its discretion may permit a driveway of additional width.
B. 
Angular placement of driveway. The angle between the center line of the driveway and the curbline shall not be less than 75°.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
C. 
Island areas. Where the public sidewalk is adjacent to the curb, an island of a minimum length of six feet measured along the curbline shall be placed between each entrance to a Village street. The curb shall be left intact for the length of this island. Where the public sidewalk is remote from the curb, an island of a minimum length of 10 feet measured along the right-of-way line shall be maintained along each entrance to the Village street. All flares shall be tangent to the curbline. A curb length of not less than three feet shall be left undisturbed adjacent to each property line to serve as an island area in the event an adjoining property owner applies for a driveway permit to serve his property.
The following regulations are applicable to driveways serving residential property.
A. 
Width of driveways. Openings for vehicular ingress and egress shall be at least 10 feet wide at the property line for residential properties, but shall not exceed three feet wider than the garage door opening or 24 feet (whichever is greater) at the property line, with a maximum additional six feet at the curb opening.
B. 
Angular placement. The center line of the drive shall be at right angles to the curbline unless authorized by the Village Board.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
A. 
No person, firm or corporation shall place, construct, locate in, or cause to be placed, constructed or located in, any obstruction or structure within the limits of any public road, highway or street in the Village of Fredonia except as permitted by this section. As used herein, the word "structure" includes private driveways, a portion of which extends into any public road, highway or street, and which is in nonconformance with this chapter.
B. 
No driveway shall be closer than 15 feet to the extended street line at an intersection. At street intersections, a driveway shall not provide direct ingress or egress to or from the street intersection area and shall not occupy areas of the roadway deemed necessary by the Village for effective traffic control or for highway signs or signals.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
C. 
The grade of that portion of any private driveway or pedestrian path located within the limits of any public road, highway or street shall be such as shall meet the grade of the existing public roadway at its edge and not cause an obstruction to the maintenance or clearing of such public roadway.
D. 
No driveway apron shall extend out into the street further than the facing of the curb and under no circumstances shall such driveway apron extend into any gutter area. All driveway entrances and approaches shall be constructed as not to interfere with the drainage of streets, side ditches or roadside areas, or with any existing structure on the right-of-way.
E. 
No portion of any curb, parapet or retaining wall, rising above the grade of the driveway, erected by the owner of the premises involved shall extend into the right-of-way without authorization of the Village Board.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
Driveways shall be surfaced with bituminous asphalt or concrete within 12 months of occupancy permit or temporary occupancy permit, whichever comes first.
A. 
Size. Culverts shall be installed prior to construction work being commenced on the property service. No pipe smaller than 12 inches in diameter (or equivalent elliptical or arch pipe) will be allowed. All culverts shall be constructed of galvanized steel reinforced concrete and shall be of new manufacture, unless specifically excepted by the Director of Public Works or Village Engineer. Plastic pipe may only be used following approval by the Director of Public Works.
B. 
Gauge.
(1) 
The minimum wall thickness for the galvanized steel pipe culverts shall be in accordance with the following:
Pipe Diameter
Gauge
15 to 24 inch
16
30 to 36 inch
14
42 to 54 inch
12
60 to 72 inch
10
78 to 84 inch
8
(2) 
The class of reinforced concrete pipe shall be in accordance with the following:
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
Height of Cover
(in feet)
Class of Pipe
0 to 2
IV
Over 2 to 3
III
Over 3 to 6
II
C. 
Drainage. The culverts shall be placed in the ditch line at elevations that will assure proper drainage.
D. 
Endwalls. Culverts shall be provided with a concrete or metal apron endwalls as directed by the Village Engineer.
E. 
Backfill material. Material used for backfill shall be of quantity acceptable to the Village Engineer or Director of Public Works and shall be free from frozen lumps, wood, or other extraneous or perishable materials. The minimum cover, measured from the top of the pipe to the top of the driveway surface, shall be 10 inches.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
F. 
Erosion control. Erosion control measures shall be implemented as necessary to control erosion or as directed by the Village Engineer or the Director of Public Works.
G. 
Distance. The distance between culverts under successive driveways shall not be less than 10 feet except as such restricted area is permitted to be filled pursuant to § 241-1H.
H. 
Cost. The property owner shall install the culvert and be responsible for the cost thereof. The property owner shall keep his culverts unobstructed and clean.
I. 
Appeal. Persons may request a variance from the culvert requirements of this section by filing a written appeals request with the Village Clerk, who shall place the matter as an agenda item for the Village Board's next meeting. The Village Board may only waive the requirement for a culvert upon a finding that unique physical characteristics of the location in question render a culvert unnecessary. The Village Engineer or Director of Public Works may be asked to render an opinion on the request.
[Amended 11-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-6]