For reasons of traffic and pedestrian safety, both on- and off-street, as well as to provide for possible future road widening or other improvements, all new driveways and sidewalk crossings entering onto any street shall comply with all requirements of these regulations and shall be subject to the approval of the Superintendent of Highways, except where such are part of a use subject to special permit or site development plan approval in accordance with Articles XI and X, in which case they shall be subject to review by the Planning Board and/or Zoning Board of Appeals.
A.
Grades.
(1)
The maximum grade for any new driveway accessory to a single-family
dwelling and connecting its off-street parking area to a street shall
be 12%, except where the approving authority has determined that,
because of practical difficulty or unreasonable hardship affecting
a particular property, the construction of a driveway with a grade
greater than 12% should be permitted. Any such increase shall be the
minimum required, and in no case shall such driveway grade be permitted
to exceed 15%.
(2)
The maximum grade for a new driveway accessory to uses other than single-family dwellings and connecting a required off-street parking area to the street shall not exceed 7%, except that the approving authority shall have the same power to permit increased grades here as in Subsection A(1) above. In no case shall the driveway grade for a use other than single-family dwellings exceed 10%.
(3)
Notwithstanding the maximum permitted grades specified in Subsection A(1) above, no driveway serving a single-family dwelling shall have a grade in excess of 4% within 35 feet of the center line of the traveled way of the street or within 10 feet of the right-of-way line of the street, whichever measurement results in the greater distance from the center line of the traveled way (the "platform").
(4)
Notwithstanding the maximum permitted grades specified in Subsection A(2) above, no driveway serving a use other than a single-family dwelling shall have a grade in excess of 3% within 50 feet of the center line of the traveled way of the street or within 25 feet of the property line of the street, whichever measurement results in the greater distance from the center line of the traveled way (the "platform"). The approving authority may require increased platform areas of this type in situations where, because of the nature of the proposed use, substantial traffic volumes are anticipated.
B.
Driveway length.
(1)
The maximum length for any new driveway accessory to a single-family
dwelling and connecting its off-street parking area to a street shall
be 1,000 feet, except where the approving authority has determined
that, because of practical difficulty or unreasonable hardship affecting
a particular property, the length of the constructed driveway should
be permitted to be increased beyond 1,000 feet. Any such increase
shall be the minimum required, and in no case shall the driveway length
exceed 2,000 feet. Minimum acceptable lengths shall be at the discretion
of the approving authority.
(2)
Any driveway which exceeds 250 feet in length shall be provided
with a pull-off area with a minimum width of 20 feet for a distance
of 25 feet. A pull-off area shall be provided for each additional
250 feet of driveway length or portion thereof.
(3)
For purposes of determining compliance with the provisions of
this article, driveway length shall be measured along the center line
of the proposed new driveway, beginning at the edge of pavement of
the street and continuing to the face of the garage, or, in the absence
of a garage, the face of the dwelling unit served by the driveway.
C.
Shared driveways.
(1)
Shared driveways shall be permitted to serve a maximum of three
individual single-family dwellings, provided that each lot has sufficient
physically accessible road frontage to allow for construction of a
fully compliant, separate driveway for each dwelling unit. This maximum
shall apply except where the approving authority has determined that,
because of a practical difficulty or unreasonable hardship affecting
a particular property, the number of individual single-family dwellings
to be served should be permitted to be increased. In no case shall
the number of dwellings served be greater than five. The approving
authority in its discretion may waive the requirement for physically
accessible road frontage in the event of a practical difficulty or
unreasonable hardship affecting a particular property.
(2)
Shared driveways shall be a minimum width of 18 feet up to the
point at which the driveway splits to serve individual single-family
dwellings.
(3)
Shared driveways will not be permitted unless the owners of
the individual parcels to be served by a shared driveway shall have
entered into a written agreement, satisfactory to the approving authority,
covering access, use and maintenance of the shared driveway. Such
agreement shall be a recordable covenant running with the land, acceptable
in form and content to the Planning Board Attorney, and binding on
all parties.
D.
Emergency vehicle access.
(1)
All new driveways accessory to a single-family dwelling shall
be a minimum width of 12 feet.
(2)
All new driveways accessory to a single-family dwelling shall
have and maintain a minimum overhead vertical clearance of 14 feet
six inches extending the full width of the driveway.
(3)
All new driveways accessory to a single-family dwelling shall
be constructed with a pavement structure and related appurtenances
(e.g., culverts, bridges, etc.) adequate to support a thirty-ton apparatus.
(4)
All new driveways accessory to a single-family dwelling shall
be constructed with a minimum horizontal center line radius adequate
to allow access for any responding emergency vehicle.
(5)
All new driveways accessory to a single-family dwelling longer
than 100 feet shall have an adequate and convenient turnaround area
accessible to, and for use by, responding emergency vehicles. The
turnaround area need not be fully paved, but there shall be an adequate
aggregate area of paved and unimproved cleared level surface to permit
such vehicles to turn around easily.
