[Ord. 950, 12/15/2004, § 501]
The purpose of this Part is to regulate the location, construction,
maintenance, and drainage of driveways and other property within the
right-of-ways of or connecting to streets, for the purpose of security,
safety, and reasonable access, preservation of existing street operating
capacity and condition, preservation of surrounding land uses, provision
of adequate drainage, and economy of maintenance.
[Ord. 950, 12/15/2004, § 502]
For the purposes of this Part, these terms shall be defined
as follows:
The total volume of vehicle trips expected on a street or
access way during a specified period of time in whole days—more
than one day and less than one year—divided by the number of
whole days in that time period. One vehicle entering and exiting a
property constitutes two trips.
Forest Hills Borough.
A line formed by the face of the existing curb or in its
absence the outer edge of the shoulder, along which curbing is or
may be located.
A roadway or street hydraulic structure that performs the
function of conveying, diverting, or removing surface water from the
street right-of-way.
Every entrance or exit used by vehicular traffic to or from
properties abutting or connecting to a street. The term includes proposed
public and private streets, lanes, alleys, courts, and ways, including
acceleration and deceleration lanes and such drainage structures as
may be necessary for the proper construction and maintenance thereof.
The exit of vehicular traffic from abutting properties to
a highway.
The Engineer of Forest Hills Borough, or his or her designee.
The latest revision of highway construction specifications
issued by PennDOT.
The area within the street right-of-way which has been constructed
for roadway purposes, including roadbed, pavement, shoulders, slope,
sidewalks, drainage facilities, and any other appurtenances.
Entrance of vehicular traffic to abutting properties from
a highway.
A structural modification to an existing driveway not involving
a change in use, increase in average daily traffic to the street from
the driveway, change in the driveway width, or a change in traffic
direction.
The edge of the main traveled portion of any street, exclusive
of shoulder.
The maximum number of vehicle trips generated by a site development
that occurs within a consecutive 60 minute period during a.m. adjacent
street, p.m. adjacent street or development peak hour period. One
vehicle entering and exiting a property constitutes two trips.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
A street access permit issued by the Forest Hills Borough
pursuant to this Part.
Drawings which show the location, character, and dimensions
of the proposed occupancy and related highway features, including
layouts, profiles, cross sections, drainage, and other details.
That portion of a street improved, designed, or ordinarily
used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the sidewalk or shoulder.
The portion of the street, contiguous to the traffic lanes,
for accommodation of stopped vehicles, for emergency use, and for
lateral support of base and surface courses and pavements.
The intersection of the shoulder slope with the side slope
or ditch slope.
The distance required by a driver traveling at a given speed
to stop the vehicle after an object on the roadway becomes visible
to the driver as defined by PennDOT regulations.
The area, including the entire width between right-of-way
lines, over which the Borough, County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania or other political subdivision has assumed or has been
given jurisdiction for vehicular travel purposes.
A street owned, operated and maintained by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania or the County of Allegheny.
A street other than an arterial street.
Any sign, signal, marking, or device placed or erected for
the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding vehicular traffic or
pedestrians, or both.
Every device in or by which any person or property is or
may be transported or drawn upon a street.
[Ord. 950, 12/15/2004, § 503]
1.
No driveway, street or drainage facility or structure shall be constructed
or altered within a street or connect to the street; and, no property
located within 300 feet of a street having ingress or egress, directly
or indirectly, via the street shall change its use in a manner which
increases its average daily traffic to the street as determined under
the ITE Trip Generation Manual without first obtaining a permit from
the Borough. For purposes of this section "altered" shall not include
changes in driveway surface material.
2.
The applicant shall submit a permit application in writing to the Code Enforcement Officer in the form prescribed by Borough Council. The permit application shall be signed by the property owner and accompanied by proof of ownership. The street access permit application shall be filed contemporaneous with any application pursuant to Chapter 22 of the Forest Hills Borough Code of Ordinances, "Subdivision and Land Development." If no application is required pursuant to Chapter 22, the street access permit application shall be filed contemporaneously with the filing of an application for a building permit.
3.
Any permit application for a driveway servicing one dwelling unit shall be accompanied by those materials prescribed by resolution of Borough Council. Any permit application for a driveway servicing any other use shall include those materials required by § 21-504 of this Part.
4.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall review and in writing approve,
approve with modification or deny a permit application within 15 days
of submission of an administratively complete application for (A)
any driveway servicing one single family dwelling unit; or (B) a minor
modification to any existing driveway for any use. The applicant or
any other person aggrieved by said decision may appeal the Code Enforcement
Officer's action by filing an appeal to Borough Council in writing
within 30 days of the mailing of the Code Enforcement Officer's written
decision.
5.
The Borough Council shall review and in writing approve, approve
with modification or deny a permit application for a driveway servicing
any use other than one single family dwelling unit or a minor modification
to an existing driveway within 60 days of submission of an administratively
complete application. Any such application shall also be submitted
to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation. The Planning
Commission shall review and within 30 days of submission of an administratively
complete application recommend in writing its approval, approval with
modifications or denial of a permit application.
6.
Any appeal of a Borough Council decision made pursuant to this section
shall be to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County in accordance
with the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A. § 105.
[Ord. 950, 12/15/2004, § 504]
1.
A permit applicant for a driveway servicing more than one dwelling
unit shall submit at the time of application four sets of plans which
contain the following:
A.
The land use proposed for the property.
B.
A traffic control plan, if it is necessary to close a lane to vehicular
traffic in order to perform the permitted work.
C.
A drainage control plan if, as a result of action of applicant, there will be an increase in the flow of water onto the street or into a street drainage facility, as determined by the Borough Engineer. The plan must include: source of water, existing and proposed flow, existing and proposed drainage pattern, and hydraulic computations demonstrating adequate capacity in the drainage system to accept the additional flow. The plan also shall comply with the Borough's Stormwater Management Ordinance [§ 22-404].
D.
A driveway access plan showing:
(1)
Driveway width, radii, and other points of curvature, grades,
or profile view of drive, angle relative to the street, and surface
material.
(2)
Dimensions of any traffic islands/dividers to separate traffic
flow.
(3)
Distance from proposed driveway to: nearest intersecting street,
driveways on adjacent properties (both sides of street); adjacent
land uses; any traffic control devices.
(4)
Sight distance in each direction from the proposed driveway
or street.
(5)
The projected average daily traffic volume for the driveway,
as determined by the ITE Trip Generation Manual.
E.
The number of parking spaces which will be served by the proposed
driveway.
[Ord. 950, 12/15/2004, § 505]
1.
No driveway will be approved unless all of the following conditions
are met.
A.
General. The driveway must have safe sight distance, not impair normal
street movement, not result in excessive traffic flow or congestion
on streets and not create a safety hazard to the public.
B.
Location. The following standards shall apply:
(1)
A driveway shall not be located at highway interchanges or ramp
areas so as to interfere with proper functioning.
(2)
A driveway for a residential use not exceeding four dwelling
units per lot, as that lot existed as of the date of adoption of this
Part, may access either a local street or an arterial street. A driveway
for any other use may only access an arterial street, and shall not
be permitted to access a local street.
(3)
If the driveway is near a signalized intersection, the permittee
shall be required to pay the costs of any modifications to the signals
which are necessary to control traffic movements from the driveway.
This subsection shall not apply to a driveway serving only one single-family
dwelling.
(4)
If the property is a corner lot, the Borough may restrict access
to only one street.
(5)
The Borough may require a permittee to locate the driveway directly
across from a street or driveway in order to avoid any safety hazard.
C.
Approach. The location and angle of access of the driveway in relation
to street intersection shall be such that a vehicle entering or leaving
a driveway can do so in orderly and safe manner and with minimum interference
to street traffic.
D.
Design Guidelines. The applicable requirements for "minimum" and
"low volume" driveways found in PennDOT Regulations, 67 Pa. Code § 1.8,
shall apply unless otherwise specified by the provisions of this Part.
These requirements may be modified by the Borough to accommodate specific
site or street conditions in order to protect the safety and traffic
capacity of streets.
E.
New or Modified Streets. New or modified streets and intersections including, but not limited to, those requiring a traffic study pursuant to § 21-506, shall be designed for adequate traffic capacity defined as follows, unless otherwise approved by the Borough Engineer. All reference to levels of service (LOS) shall be as defined in the Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209, published by the Transportation Research Board.
(1)
Traffic capacity LOS shall be based upon a future design year
which coincides with completion of the development and PennDOT requirements;
(2)
New unsignalized intersections or driveways which intersect
streets shall be designed for LOS C or better for each traffic movement;
(3)
New or modified (additional approach created) signalized intersections
shall be designed for LOS D or better for each traffic movement. Existing
intersections impacted by development traffic shall maintain a minimum
LOS D or, if future base LOS is E or F then degradation in delays
shall be mitigated. A future design year analysis without development
shall be completed for comparison purposes.
(4)
Existing intersections impacted by development traffic shall
maintain a minimum LOS D for each traffic movement.
(5)
Streets shall be designed for a minimum LOS C for each traffic
movement;
(6)
Sight distance at driveways and new intersections shall meet
standards specified by PennDOT regulations.
2.
This section shall not apply to driveways serving only one single-family
dwelling.
[Ord. 950, 12/15/2004, § 506]
1.
In the event the use or uses for the proposed driveway or road connecting
with any street will generate average daily traffic volume in excess
of 75 trips based on the ITE Trip Generation Manual, the Borough shall
order a traffic study to be prepared by its Engineer, the expense
of which is to be borne by the applicant and paid before review of
the submitted plans. An application shall not be considered administratively
compete until the traffic study is completed. The Borough may require
a traffic study for developments or changes in uses generating a volume
of less than 75 average daily trips in cases where known traffic deficiencies
exist in the area of proposed development or change in use. The Borough
may waive the study requirement for an individual development or change
in use, where said development or change in use was incorporated as
part of a previous traffic impact study.
2.
The Borough will provide a scope of study specifying the study area,
intersections and any special requirements. Prior to initiation of
the study, a meeting shall be held to review the scope of work. PennDOT
may be invited to the meeting where appropriate. The study shall include
the following:
A.
Description of the proposed project in terms of land use and magnitude.
B.
An inventory and analysis of existing roadway and traffic conditions
in the site environs, including:
(1)
Roadway network and traffic control.
(2)
Existing traffic volumes in terms of peak hours and average
daily traffic, where specifically requested.
(3)
Planned roadway improvements by others.
(4)
Intersection levels of service.
(5)
Roadway levels of service (where requested).
(6)
Other measures of roadway adequacy; i.e., lane-widths, traffic
signal warrants and vehicle delay studies.
C.
Projected site-generated traffic volumes in terms of:
D.
An analysis of future traffic conditions, with and without the proposed
development, including:
(1)
Future design year, or years with phasing, combined traffic
volumes (site traffic plus future roadway traffic). If the study is
required for PennDOT review, the future design year shall be consistent
with PennDOT requirements.
(2)
Intersection levels of service.
(3)
Roadway levels of service (where appropriate).
(4)
A pavement analysis of roadways which are projected to experience
significant increases in average daily traffic volumes (where appropriate).
(5)
Other measures of roadway adequacy, i.e., lane-width; traffic
signal warrants and vehicle delay studies.
E.
A description of future levels of service and their compliance with
standards for traffic capacity of streets, intersections and driveways.
F.
A description and analysis of the proposed access plan and site plan.
[Ord. 950, 12/15/2004, § 507]
If an equal or better design is available to comply with the
requirements of this Part, the Borough Council may make such reasonable
modifications to such requirements of this Part to allow the better
design, upon recommendation of the Borough Engineer or Planning Commission,
provided that such modification shall not be contrary to the public
interest. Where appropriate, the Borough Engineer may require the
submission of a traffic engineering study in support of the modification
request. In approving any such modification, the Borough Council may
attach any reasonable conditions which may be necessary to assure
protection of the public safety.
[Ord. 950, 12/15/2004, § 508; as amended by Ord.
976, 1/16/2008]
1.
Any person, firm or corporation who violates a provision of this Part, or who fails to comply therewith, or with any of the requirements thereof, shall be, upon conviction thereof, sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $600 for each violation, plus court costs and costs of prosecution incurred by the Borough, and in default of payment of said fine and costs, to imprisonment to the extent permitted by law for the punishment of summary offenses. Procedures for collection of fines and penalties for default of payment shall be in accordance with Chapter 1 of this Code.
2.
A separate offense shall arise for each day or portion thereof in
which a violation is found to exist or for each section of this Part
found to have been violated. All fines and penalties for the violation
of this Part shall be paid to the Borough Treasurer.
3.
The Borough may also commence appropriate actions in equity or other
to prevent, restrain, correct, enjoin, or abate violations of this
Part.
