[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Caln 4-25-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-2. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Caln Township Driveway Ordinance."
The following words and phrases when used in
this chapter shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section
except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
A minor right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access
to the side or rear of two or more properties.
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for a driveway permit or for subdivision or land
development approval, including his heirs, successors, administrators,
and assigns.
A form available at the Township office containing a checklist
of plan requirements and other general information used for administrative
purposes to aid in the review of the subdivision or land development
plan.
The Board of Commissioners of Caln Township.
The surface of a street or alley available for vehicular
traffic.
A line of unobstructed vision from a point 4 1/2 feet
above the center line of a street to the nearest point at the top
of an object 3.5 feet high on the same center line.
An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections defined
by lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersection
of street center lines.
Any landowner, agent of such landowner or tenant with the
permission of such landowner who makes or causes to be made a subdivision
of land or a land development.
A lot with any combination of front, side, and rear street
frontage.
Any ditch, gutter, pipe, culvert, storm sewer or other structure
designed, intended or constructed for the purpose of diverting surface
waters from or carrying surface waters off streets, public rights-of-way,
parks, recreational areas or any part of any subdivision, land development
or contiguous land areas.
Every entrance or exit used by vehicular traffic to or from
properties abutting a street or highway.
The narrowest width of a driveway measured perpendicular
to the center line of the driveway.
A right-of-way granted for limited use of land for public,
quasi-public or private purpose.
The width of a lot or property which abuts a street, being
the distance measured along the street right-of-way line from one
side lot line to the other.
A street, generally parallel and adjacent to a property line,
having a right-of-way width less than normally required for a satisfactory
improvement and use of the street.
Physical additions and/or changes to the land.
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous
lots, tracts or parcels of land for the purpose involving a group
of two or more principal buildings, or the division or allocation
of land or space between or among two or more existing or prospective
occupants by means of or for the purpose of streets, common areas,
leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features.
A subdivision of land.
A designated parcel of land intended for transfer of ownership,
use, improvement and/or dedication in accordance with the following:
Lots shall conform to the Township Zoning Ordinance.[1]
All lots shall abut a public street or shall
have access to an approved private street. In general, side lot lines
shall be at right angles or radial to street lines. If, after subdividing,
there exist remnants of land, they shall be included in the area of
proposed or existing lots.
Double frontage lots are prohibited.
Reverse frontage lots are encouraged.
The number of lots permitted in a particular
subdivision shall be determined by the following schedule:
A hard-wearing road surface such as blacktop/macadam or concrete,
or any combination thereof, but not including a dirt or gravel surface
or pavers.
The edge of the main traveled portion of any street or highway,
exclusive of shoulders.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
A permit issued by the Township Engineer for the penetration
and occupancy of the right-of-way area of a Township street by the
improvement or installation and construction of a driveway therein.
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution,
cooperative enterprise, municipality, federal government or agency,
state government or agency, or any other entity whatsoever which is
recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
A complete and exact subdivision or land development plan
prepared for official recording as required by statute to define property
rights, proposed streets and other public improvements.
A tentative subdivision or land development plan in lesser
detail than the final plan, indicating the approximate proposed layout
of the area to be subdivided and/or developed as a basis for consideration
prior to preparation of the final plan.
A strip of land granted for public or private use.
The portion of a street, contiguous to the main traveled
portion, for accommodation of stopped vehicles, for emergency use,
and for lateral support of base and surface courses and pavements.
A street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway, parkway,
lane, alley, viaduct and any other strip of land, including the entire
right-of-way used or intended to be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians,
whether public or private.
Those streets not offered for dedication.
Those streets dedicated, accepted, and maintained by Caln
Township as public streets, or streets within the jurisdiction of
the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
A division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land,
or a part thereof into two or more lots, tracts or parcels or other
divisions of land, including changes in existing lot lines, for the
purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court
for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership or building
or lot development; provided that the subdivision by lease of land
for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres, not
involving any new street or easement of access or any residential
dwelling, shall not be deemed a subdivision.
Improvements to a driveway shall be deemed to be substantial
if a previously unpaved driveway is to be paved; if a drainage pipe
is to be installed or replaced; if any grading or excavation is to
be done within 10 feet of a local street right-of-way; if the original
grade or design of a driveway is to be changed; or if any work done,
or to be done, is likely to create, increase, or otherwise affect
stormwater flow or discharge within the cartway or right-of-way area
of any local street. This condition is the sole interpretation of
the Township Engineer.
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, duly appointed as the engineer for Caln Township.
No driveway in Caln Township shall be laid out,
opened, installed, constructed, or substantially improved unless it
shall be in accordance with the following:
A.
Any driveway which requires the penetration or occupancy
of a state highway right-of-way area shall be laid out, opened, installed,
constructed, or substantially improved only in accordance with a permit
issued by PENNDOT pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 441 of Title
67 of the Pennsylvania Code and compliance with the provisions of
this chapter.
B.
Any driveway which requires the penetration or occupancy
of a Township street right-of-way area shall be laid out, opened,
installed, constructed, or substantially improved only in compliance
with the provisions of this chapter pursuant to a permit issued by
the Caln Township Engineer. Further, the applicant shall obtain a
Township road opening permit prior to the commencement of work.
C.
No driveway shall be constructed, reconstructed or
maintained in such a manner as to allow silt, stone, debris, or water
to be deposited in the right-of-way of any street. In the event the
Township Engineer determines any such condition to exist, he shall
require such condition to be abated and corrected by the property
owner within 10 days of his written notification to do so. A permit
is required as set forth above if the corrective work is a substantial
improvement. In those instances where the property owner is able to
demonstrate to the Township Engineer that the street has adequate
drainage facilities and that directing stormwater runoff to the street
right-of-way is a safe method of stormwater control and will not cause
erosion of the cartway or street shoulder or allow standing water
to freeze on the street cartway surface, the Township Engineer may
grant written permission for such stormwater discharge, subject to
the property owner's execution in favor of the Township of a written
indemnification of the Township from any future liability to any third
person arising from such allowance.
A.
Any person required to obtain a driveway permit under
the terms of this chapter shall make application for the same on a
form approved by the Board, and said application shall be accompanied
by a fee in an amount as established by resolution by the Board.
B.
No permit as herein provided for shall be required
for sealing or minor repair of an existing driveway in connection
with its normal and customary maintenance and repair. Otherwise, a
permit for any such work shall be required.
C.
In addition to submitting to the Township Engineer
the application and the application fee, each application for a new
driveway installation shall be accompanied by the following information:
(1)
A statement giving the location, purpose, and description
of all work to be done;
(2)
A driveway sketch and driveway profile plan, both
to an engineering scale, prepared in accordance with the sample attached
hereto, marked Exhibit A[1] and incorporated herein, showing the area to be affected,
existing improvements presently erected or constructed thereon, proposed
improvements and all property boundary lines within 100 feet of the
proposed driveway;
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit A is located at the
end of this chapter.
(3)
If the discharge or passage of surface water drainage
onto or within the right-of-way area of a local street will be affected,
stormwater runoff calculations indicating runoff prior to and after
the proposed work, unless calculations are deemed unnecessary by the
Township Engineer; and
(4)
Information pertaining to the treatment of storm drainage
and means of sediment and erosion control during and after the proposed
work, unless deemed unnecessary by the Township Engineer.
D.
The location, design, and mode of construction of
all driveways and drainage facilities is subject to the review and
approval of the Township Engineer for determination of compliance
with the provisions of this chapter. The Township Engineer shall require
that the plans filed with the application shall be revised to reflect
any changes or modifications which the Township Engineer deems necessary
to meet the requirements of this chapter.
E.
All work shall be in strict compliance with the plans
and specifications for which the Township Engineer issued a permit.
F.
The Township Engineer shall not issue a permit for any work to be performed under the terms and conditions of this chapter until such time as the Township Engineer shall receive from the applicant all required information and until such time as the Township Engineer has had an adequate opportunity to investigate and research said application. The Township Engineer shall either approve or reject in writing an application for a permit within 15 days of the date on which a complete permit application compliant with this § 74-4C is filed with the Township. Notice of approval or rejection of the permit is deemed given on the date of mailing.
A.
All driveways and related improvements shall be constructed
and located in such a manner as not to impair drainage or maintenance
within any street right-of-way area, the stability of a roadway subgrade,
materially change the drainage of any property that could be adversely
affected by reason of surface water drainage patterns, interfere with
or pose a hazard to the traveling public, present a hazard to the
free movement of normal street traffic, or create areas of undue traffic
congestion on public or private streets on with which the driveway
intersects. The increase in surface water runoff from the existing
condition to the proposed condition shall be retained on the applicant's
lot, and in no case shall the applicant channel surface water and
direct it or allow it to flow in force onto adjacent land.
B.
All work for which a permit is required under the
provisions of this chapter with respect to all driveways which access
onto a state street, the design criteria applicable shall be those
set forth in Title 67 of the Pennsylvania Code at Chapter 441 "Access
to and Occupancy of Highways by Driveways and Local Roads" and the
provisions of this chapter.
C.
Driveway entrances shall be so located as to provide
reasonable and safe sight distance to the operator of a vehicle departing
from a driveway onto a street. The location of all driveways is subject
to approval by the Township Engineer in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter. Clear sight triangles shall be provided at all intersections
of driveways with a street. The clear sight triangles shall be free
from any vegetative obstructions or man-made structures within such
triangles, and no vision-obstructing objects other than utility poles,
streetlights, street signs, or traffic signs shall be permitted that
obscure vision above the height of 30 inches and below 10 feet measured
from the center line of the intersecting driveway and the street.
D.
A clear sight triangle shall be established as an area which is formed by a triangle where two legs of the triangle extend to a distance of 75 feet from the center line intersection of the driveway and intersecting street, except that a clear sight triangle of 150 feet shall be provided for the intersection of a driveway and a collector or major street as defined in Chapter 137 of the Caln Township Code. The sight distance shall be determined in the field at the location of the proposed driveway from a distance into the driveway of 10 feet from the edge of the cartway. All visual obstructions shall be removed permanently from this sight area. The one-hundred-fifty-foot clear sight triangle may be increased due to site constraints when determined necessary following field inspection by the Township Engineer in the exercise of his reasonable discretion to insure safe and convenient access over the driveway to and from the intersecting street.
E.
Any repairs to a driveway shall be undertaken and completed in such a manner that the repairs shall not change either the grade of the driveway, the existing stormwater runoff characteristics or the original design and specifications for the driveway, unless the new design and specifications are first submitted to the Township Engineer for review and approval in accordance with § 74-4 of this chapter.
F.
Additional paving.
(1)
Every driveway which requires penetration or occupancy of a street shall be paved from the pavement/cartway edge for a distance of 15 feet or to the right-of-way line, whichever is greater; provided, however, that if the slope of the driveway at the right-of-way line is five percent or greater, the same shall be paved for a minimum distance of 50 feet from the pavement/cartway edge unless the Township Engineer determines that some lesser distance is adequate. Driveway paving shall consist of a minimum of two inches of bituminous wearing course, ID-2, on a minimum of four inches of compacted, crushed stone. Where PennDOT imposes other or additional regulations for access to a state highway, the regulations of this § 74-5 shall apply if more stringent than PennDOT regulations.
(2)
If paving of the driveway outside of the areas designated
above is required for the purpose of safe and adequate control of
stormwater drainage, erosion control, and/or traffic safety, the Township
Engineer shall have the authority to require such additional paving
be installed as is reasonably necessary based on site conditions at
the location of the proposed driveway.
G.
All driveways shall have a minimum and maintained
paved width of 10 feet, and the driveway entrance shall be rounded
at a minimum radius of six feet. The entire driveway entrance, including
the radii, shall be located within the frontage of the lot which is
served or to be served by the driveway. No driveway or part thereof,
including any turnaround areas, shall be closer than the following
distances from a lot boundary line:
[Amended 5-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-8a]
H.
All driveways shall be located at least 75 feet from
the point of intersection of the nearest intersecting street right-of-way
line. In the case of a corner lot, this seventy-five-foot requirement
may be lessened at the discretion of the Township Engineer if he reasonably
determines that the driveway will comply with the other provisions
of this chapter, and no traffic safety hazard is posed to the users
of the driveway or the general traveling public.
I.
No lot shall have more than one driveway with one access point. If the owner of a lot with at least 125 feet of street frontage demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer that an additional driveway is necessary or an additional access point for the driveway is necessary to adequately serve the use on the lot, a permit for a second driveway or access point to the driveway may be applied for and issued pursuant to the procedure specified in § 74-4 of this chapter and upon demonstration by the property owner that such additional driveway access will comply with the provisions of this chapter.
J.
All driveways shall provide a pavement area sufficient
to accommodate two parking spaces. Each parking space shall be a minimum
of 10 feet wide and a minimum 20 feet deep. These parking spaces can
be part of the actual driveway, but must be located outside the public
right-of-way.
K.
All driveways shall have a leveling area not to exceed
a grade of four percent within 20 feet of the intersection of the
driveway with the cartway of any street. For an additional distance
of at least 30 feet from said leveling area, the maximum grade of
the driveway shall not exceed 10%. At no location shall the maximum
grade exceed 15%.
L.
Drainage swales and pipes.
(1)
The intersection of all driveways within the pavement/cartway
edge shall be constructed by use of either a drainage swale or pipe,
as required by the Township Engineer. If a drainage swale is used,
said swale shall slope from the cartway at a grade of 6% for a minimum
of six feet from the pavement/cartway edge. If a drainage swale is
used, the gutter shall be at least six inches lower than the edge
of pavement and six feet from the edge of pavement.
(2)
If a pipe is used, the requirements of Caln Township Code § 137-44 shall be complied with. Further, the pipe shall be located at least six feet from the edge of the pavement unless, upon inspection by the Township Engineer, field conditions warrant the application of a more stringent requirement to meet the provisions of this chapter. The pipe length shall be of a length required by the topography of the proposed driveway location and the amount of pipe determined necessary by the Township Engineer to properly dissipate the anticipated stormwater flow generated by the driveway construction and installation. At the discretion of the Township Engineer, a smaller pipe size than that stated in § 137-44 of the Caln Township Code may be utilized if field conditions warrant such.
(3)
A sample driveway sketch depicting acceptable driveway
profiles with respect to swales and pipes is provided in Exhibit A
and incorporated by reference herein.
M.
Where driveways are placed in relation to curb areas,
the curb depression shall be two feet wider than the driveway. The
curb shall be depressed to 1 1/2 inches from the gutter line.
N.
All driveways shall have a cross section cross slope
of two percent incorporated as a crown or continuous slope from edge
to edge of pavement or such other cross slope as may be approved by
the Township Engineer upon satisfactory demonstration by the applicant
of the appropriateness thereof.
O.
The angle of a driveway at its intersection with a
street right-of-way shall be such that a vehicle entering the driveway
may do so in an orderly and safe manner with a minimum of interference
to the other street traffic and such that a vehicle leaving the driveway
may enter safely into the lane of traffic moving in the desired direction.
Driveways shall intersect rights-of-way as nearly as possible at right
angles, and in no case at an angle of less than 75º or no more
than an angle of 105º.
All driveways shall be maintained by the property
owner in such a manner as not to interfere with the design, maintenance,
and drainage of local streets, nor the safe and convenient passage
of traffic upon Township roads.
A.
No paving or installation of a driveway for which
a driveway permit is required or has been issued pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter shall be commenced until the Township Engineer shall
have inspected the site and approved the work performed up to the
date of the site inspection. The applicant shall give the Township
Engineer a minimum of 48 hours advance notice before paving or installation
of a driveway is commenced in order to afford him a reasonable opportunity
to perform the site inspection.
B.
Within 48 hours after completion of the work for which
a permit was issued, the party to whom the permit was issued shall
notify the Township Engineer in writing of the completion of the work
so that the Township Engineer may inspect the same. If the work was
not performed in accordance with the plans and specifications approved
by the Township Engineer, the holder of the permit shall be directed
by the Township Engineer in writing to take immediate steps at the
permit holder's own expense to conform to the installation to the
approved plans and specifications.
A.
Each preliminary and final subdivision and land development plan submitted for approval by the Board pursuant to Chapter 137 of the Caln Code of Ordinances shall be accompanied by a typical treatment of the construction of driveways and the handling of storm drainage and erosion and sediment control along driveways demonstrating compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Subdivisions and land developments shall be designed
to minimize the number of driveway intersections with existing or
proposed streets. Whenever deemed feasible by the Township and required
by the Township to minimize driveway intersections with existing or
proposed Township roads, thus lessening interruptions to traffic flow
and traffic hazards, and to minimize erosion, sedimentation and runoff
problems onto existing or proposed streets or Township roads, subdivisions
and land developments shall be provided with internal streets on which
proposed lots will front and to which the lots will have driveway
access.
A.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which,
being the owner or agent of the owner of any lot, tract or parcel
of land, violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of
this chapter or any of the terms and conditions of any permit issued
pursuant to this chapter, shall be subject to a fine of not less than
$200 and not more than $1,000, together with the court costs and the
Township's reasonable attorney's fees, which fine, costs and fees
shall be collected by suit brought in the name of the Township before
any District Justice, in like manner as debts of like amount may be
sued for by existing laws. If the defendant neither pays nor timely
appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant
to the applicable rules of civil procedure.
B.
The Township Code Enforcement Officer or any duly authorized agent of the Township may bring the enforcement action specified in this § 74-9A, and may in addition to other remedies revoke any permit issued to any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter.
C.
The imposition of penalties herein prescribed shall
not preclude the Township from instituting an appropriate action or
proceeding at law or in equity to prevent the performance of work
or acts declared to be unlawful under the provisions of this chapter,
or to restrain, correct, or abate a violation.
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the Township's
police power under the provisions of the First Class Township Code
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Any person aggrieved by the application,
enforcement or other adjudication (action) made pursuant to the terms
of this chapter may appeal within 30 days of said action for a hearing
before the Board in accordance with the applicable provisions of the
Pennsylvania Local Agency Law (2 Pa.C.S.A. § 551 et seq.).
