[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Oxford 4-16-1987 by Ord. No. 87-5 (Ch. 50 of the 1974 Township Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Land use procedures – See Ch. 51.
Vehicles and traffic – See Ch. 91.
Site plan review – See Ch. 265.
Streets and sidewalks – See Ch. 294.
Subdivision of land – See Ch. 298.
A. 
No person, individual, firm or corporation shall construct, reconstruct or enlarge a driveway onto a Township street without having first received a permit from the Township of Oxford.
B. 
Permits shall be one of three classes, defined as follows:
(1) 
Class I: single-family residential dwellings with drives not exceeding 6% maximum gradient and not requiring grading to achieve minimum sight distances required herein and having no restriction in the minimum required sight triangles.
(2) 
Class II: all other single-family residential dwellings.
(3) 
Class III: all other driveways.
A. 
The number of driveways permitted from a proposed lot or site directly to any Township road shall be limited as follows, except under conditions where the safety and/or convenience of the general motoring public is impaired. Such conditions shall be determined and specified by the Township body with authority to approve site plans upon receipt of the advice of the Township Engineer:
Length of Lot of Site Frontage on Each Street
(feet)
Permitted Number of Driveways on Each Street
150 or less
1
151 to 800
2
Each additional 800
1
B. 
Single-family dwellings on individual lots may have more than one driveway.
C. 
Service stations shall have at least two driveways.
A. 
All entrance and exit driveways to a Township road shall be located to afford maximum safety to traffic on the Township road.
B. 
Sight distances.
(1) 
Any exit driveway or driveway lane shall be so designed in profile and grading and shall be so located as to permit the following minimum sight distances, measured from a point a minimum of 15 feet behind the curbline or edge of the traveled way of the Township road. The sight triangle shall not contain any obstruction, which would obstruct the driver's view, of greater than one foot nor less than 10 feet above the curb level, except that trees whose branches are trimmed away to above the ten-foot height may be permitted.
Allowable Speed on Township Road
(mph)
Required Sight Distance
(feet)
25
240
30
275
35
315
40
350
45
420
50
475
(2) 
Roads which are not posted for speed limits shall be considered to be 50 miles per hour, unless horizontal geometric considerations dictate otherwise.
C. 
Where a site occupies a corner of two intersecting roads, no driveway entrance or exit shall be located within 40 feet of the point of tangency of the existing or proposed curb radius of that site.
D. 
No part of any driveway shall be located within a minimum of 10 feet of a side property line. However, upon application to the Township body with authority over site plan approval, and upon approval of design by the Township Engineer, that body may permit a driveway serving two or more adjacent sites to be located on or within 10 feet of a side property line between the adjacent sites.
E. 
Where two or more driveways connect a single site to any one Township road, a minimum clear distance of 150 feet, measured along the right-of-way line, shall separate the closest of any two such drives, except as permitted by § 50-2B above.
The geometric design of a driveway connection to a Township road should be governed by sound traffic engineering principles. Below are guidelines in preparing a geometric design, but deviation from them will be necessitated from time to time due to the many variables encountered in the course of preparing a design. The applicant should be aware, therefore, that although the driveway layout may conform to these guidelines, conditions may dictate deviations from them, and requirements of the Township Engineer shall be final.
A. 
Two-way operation. Driveways used for two-way operation shall intersect the Township road at an angle as near to 90° as site conditions will permit and in no case will be less than 75°.
B. 
One-way operation. Driveways used by vehicles in one direction of travel, right turn only, shall not form an angle smaller than 45° with a Township road.
C. 
The dimensions of driveways shall be designed to adequately accommodate the volume and character of vehicles anticipated to be attracted daily onto the land development for which a site plan is prepared. The required maximum and minimum dimensions for driveways connecting to a Township road at 90° are indicated below. Driveways serving large volumes of daily traffic or traffic over 25% of which is truck traffic shall be required to utilize high-to-maximum dimensions. Driveways serving low daily traffic volumes or traffic less than 25% of which is truck traffic shall be permitted to use low-to-minimum dimensions.
Type
Driveway Width
(feet)
Depressed Curb
(feet)
Return Radius
(feet)
Residential
8-16
12-20
10 maximum
Commercial
1-way
20-34
24-38
25 minimum
2-way
24-46
24-50
40 maximum
Note: Driveways connecting to a Township road at an angle shall have the same widths as shown in the tables above. The width of depressed curb and the radius of curb returns shall provide for the sharpest turning radii of vehicles using the driveway, keeping said vehicles within their prescribed lanes.
D. 
Vertical curves and alignment.
(1) 
Any vertical curve on a driveway shall be flat enough to prevent the dragging of any vehicle undercarriage. The maximum permitted gradients for driveways are shown in the following subsection. The profile dimensions given beyond the sidewalk are maximum for grades and minimum for grades and minimum for grade lengths.
(2) 
Vertical alignment.
(a) 
Residential:
[1] 
With sidewalk:
[a] 
First five feet: plus 12%.
[b] 
Second five feet: plus 2%.
[c] 
Then as a maximum: plus or minus 15%.
[2] 
Without sidewalk:
[a] 
First 25 feet: plus or minus 6%.
[b] 
Then as a maximum: plus or minus 15%.
(b) 
Commercial and multifamily residential: not greater than 4% within 100 feet of the curbline, with a maximum of 6% at any other location.
E. 
Should the sidewalk be so close to the curb at a depressed curb driveway as to cause the ramp to be too steep and is likely to cause undercarriage drag, the sidewalk shall be approximately lowered to provide a suitable ramp gradient.
The surface of any driveway shall be constructed with a permanent pavement of a type specified below:
Driveway Surface
Outside Right-of-Way
Class
Within Township Right-of-Way
Maximum Grade Less than 6%
Maximum Grade More than 6%
Within Major Subdivision
Residential, Classes I and II
1.
Pavement Type FABC-1, 2 inches, and requirements
X
X
X
2.
Bituminous and stabilized base course, 3 inches
X
X
X
2a.
Subbase Type 5, Class A, or Type 2, Class B, 6 inches
X
X
X
Commercial, Industrial and Multifamily, Class III
1.
Pavement Type FABC-1, 2 inches
X
X
Not permitted
Not applicable
2.
Bituminous stabilized base course, 4 inches
X
X
Not permitted
A. 
Driveway design shall include provisions for storm drainage within the driveway and where it crosses existing roadside ditches or drainage structures.
B. 
Storm drainage provisions shall be designed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 298, Subdivision of Land.
No driveway shall be permitted to be constructed over or across the normal drainage gutter line of an existing street, except on approval of the Township Engineer. The Township Engineer shall be guided by the design standards set forth in the Chapter 265, Site Plan Review, and Chapter 298, Subdivision of Land.
A. 
Application forms shall be obtained from the Township Clerk. Applications shall be accompanied by a legible plot plan or sketch of the property, setting forth the following information:
(1) 
Property lines.
(2) 
Setback and location of structures.
(3) 
Curb, if any.
(4) 
Sidewalk, if any.
(5) 
Utility installments affecting the driveway.
(6) 
Trees and other obstructions within proposed sight triangles.
(7) 
Advisory, directional, regulatory and advertising signs within sight triangles.
(8) 
Location of existing driveways on the lot in question and adjoining lots.
(9) 
Driveway width.
(10) 
Driveway angle.
(11) 
Curbline opening.
(12) 
Profile of driveway.
(13) 
Profile of roadway in front of parcel to the limits of the required site triangle.
(14) 
Contour lines for existing and proposed grading within the area of driveway construction and site triangle construction.
(15) 
Radius of curvature, where applicable.
(16) 
Parking facilities, where applicable.
(17) 
For other than single-family residential, the estimated number of cars and trucks using the driveway each day.
B. 
All plans shall be prepared by a professional engineer licensed to practice in New Jersey; provided, however, that an individual may prepare plans as required herein on property owned by that individual within the parameters established by N.J.S.A. 45:8-27.
A. 
Class I. The application and accompanying data shall be submitted in triplicate to the Zoning Officer, who shall review the plan and shall do one of the following:
(1) 
Approve the plan if all requirements of this chapter have been met.
(2) 
Return the application to the applicant for additional data with a clear statement of the additional data required.
(3) 
Disapprove the application, clearly stating the reasons for disapproval.
B. 
Classes II and III. The application and accompanying data shall be submitted in triplicate at the time of final subdivision or site plan application, or at the time of building permit application if a subdivision or site plan is required, to the Township Engineer, who shall review the plan and shall do one of the following:
(1) 
Approve the plan if all requirements of this chapter have been met.
(2) 
Return the application to the applicant for additional data with a clear statement of the additional data required.
(3) 
Disapprove the application, clearly stating the reasons for disapproval.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued unless all driveways on the lot or site have been completed in accordance with the approved plan. Inspection to assure compliance will be done by the Township Engineer, except that Class I driveways shall be inspected by the Zoning Officer.
[Amended 8-18-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-12]
A. 
Applications. All applications for a driveway permit shall be accompanied by payment of an application fee of $50, which shall be nonrefundable.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
Review, inspection and administration. All applicants for a driveway permit shall pay the cost of the review, inspection and administration of the driveway permit by the Township Engineer. All applications for a driveway permit for a single-family dwelling shall be accompanied by payment of an escrow deposit of $250 for review, inspection and administration. In the event that the driveway is in excess of 12% slope, an additional escrow deposit of $300 shall be paid at the time of application.
C. 
Additional escrow. Whenever the review, inspection and administration costs exceed the initial escrow deposit, the applicant shall pay any additional cost incurred prior to the issuance of a certificate of approval by the Township.
A. 
Any person or persons, firm or corporation violating any provision of this chapter which results in damages to or obstruction of any Township road, gutter, storm drain, catch basin, inlet or culvert shall be responsible for all expenses incurred by the Township of Oxford in repairing said damage or removing said obstruction in addition to the penalties herein provided.
B. 
Any person or persons, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of up to $2,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof, in the discretion of the Judge imposing the same. Each and every day that said violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).