[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Herman
at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to promote the safety and general
welfare of the citizens of the Town of Herman through Town authorization
of driveway locations and minimum standards which allow proper drainage
of surface waters within Town ditches.
The following definitions shall be applicable in this chapter:
A private roadway which serves no more than one parcel of
land owned by the same individual(s).
All private routes of ingress and egress from any public
right-of-way which provide access to one residential dwelling unit
or residential property.
All private routes of ingress and egress from any public
right-of-way which provide access to two or more residential dwelling
units or residential properties.
No person, partnership, company or corporation shall locate,
establish or construct any new driveway or install any culvert without
having first obtained a driveway permit application from the Zoning
Administrator, who shall collect the fee as determined by the Town
Board. Application for such permit shall include a drawing which accurately
portrays the location, dimension and grade of the driveway on the
subject property, as well as a statement of the proposed materials
to be used.
All driveways installed, altered, changed, replaced or extended
shall require a permit and meet the following requirements:
A.Â
Width and location. The width and location of driveway openings for
vehicular ingress and egress along Town roads shall be approved by
the Zoning Administrator.
B.Â
New driveway length. Any new driveway to serve a principal structure
is recommended to be not longer than 500 feet depending on further
design and engineering standards.
C.Â
Driveway islands. Islands between driveway openings shall be provided
with a minimum of 10 feet between all driveways and five feet at all
lot lines, measured along a line 10 feet from and parallel to edge
of pavement.
D.Â
Driveways openings. Openings for vehicular ingress and egress shall
not exceed 35 feet nor be less than 20 feet, measured at right angles
to the center line of the driveway, except as increased by permissible
radii. Radii between the highway pavement and the driveway shall be
no greater than 40 feet for commercial and industrial buildings and
no greater than 30 feet for other uses.
E.Â
Field access driveways. An accessway whose primary purpose is field
access is not considered to be a driveway for purposes of this chapter.
F.Â
Other agency approvals. The property owner/developer shall obtain
permission from the State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation
for access to state and federal highways and from the Dodge County
Highway Department for access to any county highway.
G.Â
Culverts.
(1)Â
Each driveway shall have a culvert at least 18 inches in diameter
at the ditch line where the driveway meets the public road, unless
waived or modified on showing of hardship or difficulty by the Zoning
Administrator and, in the case of county or state highways, approved
by the County Highway Department or district engineer of the Wisconsin
Department of Transportation.
(2)Â
Used culverts are not permitted without authorization by the Zoning
Administrator.
(3)Â
The property owner shall install the culvert and shall keep such
culvert unobstructed and clean.
(4)Â
In no case shall the culvert diameter be less than 18 inches nor
shall the culvert length be less two feet greater than the width of
the driveway.
(5)Â
End walls need not be constructed unless so directed by the Zoning
Administrator.
(6)Â
Culverts shall be placed in the ditch line at elevations that will
assure proper drainage.
(7)Â
Material used for backfill shall be of a quality acceptable to the
Town and shall be free from frozen lumps, wood, stumps, or other extraneous
or perishable/biodegradeable materials.
(8)Â
The minimum cover, measured from the top of the culvert pipe to the
top of the subgrade, shall be six inches.
(9)Â
Erosion control measures shall be implemented as necessary to control
erosion when culvert and/or driveways are installed, as directed by
the Town.
(10)Â
The property owner shall install the culvert and be responsible
for the cost thereof. Illegal culverts shall be removed at the owner's
expense following notice and a prior opportunity to correct. Maintenance
of culverts and/or driveways and repair of defective culverts shall
be the responsibility of property owners, except that when the Town
does a reditching project and culverts are replaced, the Town will
replace the culvert and pay the cost thereof.
H.Â
Drainage; apron interference with pavement prohibited. The surface
of the driveway connecting with the highway cross sections shall slope
downward and away from the highway shoulder a sufficient distance
to preclude ordinary surface water drainage from flowing onto the
highway roadbed. Under no circumstances shall such driveway apron
extend above any highway pavement surface.
I.Â
Private drives, defined herein as private routes of ingress and egress
from any public right-of-way which provides access to one residential
unit or residential property, shall cut back all vegetation, trees,
and shrubbery so that a ten-foot clearance height is provided. All
branches and shrubbery shall also be cut to a distance of 10 feet
on either side of the centerline of the traveled surface portion of
the private drive.
[Added 11-11-2015 by Ord.
No. 15-06]
The final inspection and approval for driveways will be made
by the Town Chairperson or Zoning Administrator upon completion of
construction.
No person, firm or corporation shall place, construct, or locate,
or cause to be placed, constructed or located, any obstruction or
structure within the right-of-way limits of any highway in the Town
of Herman except as permitted by this chapter. As used herein, the
term "structure" includes a private driveway, a portion of which extends
into any highway, and which is in nonconformance with the requirements
of this chapter. Filling of ditches and/or culverts located within
a public right-of-way is prohibited without written approval from
the Town Board.
Temporary driveways installed during building construction shall
be removed prior to building occupancy, and restoration of the public
right-of-way shall be completed within six months of such abandonment.
Failure to restore the site to original condition may require the
Town to correct the restoration and bill the property owner as a special
charge.
Any person, partnership, company or corporation who or which violates any provision of this chapter shall pay, when a permit fee is required, double the required fee and shall remove, alter or correct the installation as ordered by the Town of Herman. If the owner or occupant does not correct the installation as ordered by the Town within the allotted time, the work of correcting the installation shall be done by the Town and the expenses thereof shall be charged against the property as a special charge pursuant to § 66.0627, Wis. Stats., after notice and hearing. In addition, a forfeiture penalty may also be applicable per § 1-4 of this Code, with each day of noncompliance being a separate violation.
