[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners (now Town Council) of the Town of Phillipsburg 3-30-1964 by Ord. No. 916 (Ch. 20 of the 1969 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 545.
Zoning — See Ch. 625.
The following words and phrases in this chapter are defined for the purpose thereof as follows:
APRON
That portion of the passageway that lies between the street side of the sidewalk and the curbline or edge of roadway surface.
DRIVEWAY
A passageway for vehicle ingress and egress to private property.
JOINT DRIVEWAY
A passageway for vehicle ingress or egress to two or more parcels of property.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEER
Municipal Engineer of the Town of Phillipsburg.
SIDEWALK
That portion of the street right-of-way between the curblines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway and the adjacent property lines, intended for the use of pedestrians and generally separated from the curb or roadway surface by a planting strip.
A. 
Any person, firm or corporation desiring to depress the curb or change the grade of any public sidewalk for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing or altering a driveway or driveways to provide ingress to and egress from property owned by them or under their control shall, before such work is undertaken, apply for and receive a permit from the Municipal Engineer.
B. 
When application for a permit is made to the Municipal Engineer to construct, reconstruct or alter a driveway to provide ingress and egress from private property, it shall be the duty of the Municipal Engineer before issuing such permit to first determine the type of driveway proposed, its width and location, and if, in his opinion, it will not create a hazardous condition to grant said permit.
C. 
A fee of $25 shall accompany the application.
[Amended 1-7-1986 by Ord. No. O:85-28]
A. 
The driveway must extend to a garage, carport or parking area.
B. 
The driveway must extend a sufficient distance beyond the front setback line, as required in Chapter 625, Zoning, for all required parking spaces to completely clear said front setback line. Single-family residential property owners may utilize the driveway within the front yard setback line for one required off-street parking space.
[Amended 8-5-1986 by Ord. No. O:86-29]
C. 
In the event of a corner lot, where the passageway leads from the street side lot line, said passageway must extend a sufficient distance beyond the street setback line, as required in Chapter 625, Zoning, for a parked vehicle to completely clear said street side setback line.
D. 
Where the property is located at an intersection of two streets, no driveway or any part thereof which is intended to serve said property shall be closer than 25 feet from the intersection of the projection of the curbline or edge of the pavement surface.
E. 
There shall be no more than two driveways for a lot with a frontage of 150 feet or less. Where the lot frontage exceeds 150 feet, an additional driveway may be constructed thereon. The distance between driveways at the curbline shall be not less than 40 feet.
F. 
The curb for the driveway shall not be cut except in front of the property for which the driveway is to be used.
G. 
The apron and sidewalk portion of the driveway shall be constructed of four inches of three-fourths-inch clean crushed stone and six inches of 3,500 pounds per square inch concrete.
[Amended 8-5-1986 by Ord. No. O:86-29]
H. 
Bituminous concrete parking areas and driveways for single-, two- or three-family residential properties shall be constructed of six inches of three-fourths-inch quarry process stone subbase and two inches of bituminous concrete surface course (FABC) as a minimum. Parking areas and driveways for other uses, except industrial, shall be constructed of four inches of three-fourths-inch quarry process stone subbase, four inches of bituminous stabilized base course (BSBC) and 1 1/2 inches on bituminous concrete surface course (FABC) as a minimum. Parking areas and driveways for industrial uses shall be as approved by the Municipal Engineer.
[Amended 8-5-1986 by Ord. No. O:86-29]
[Amended 6-19-1969 by Ord. No. 998]
Driveway width measured at any point on the sidewalk shall not exceed 12 feet for a single driveway or 20 feet for a double driveway and/or joint driveway; and the width of the driveway apron at the curbline shall not exceed 18 feet for a single driveway or 26 feet for a double and/or joint driveway. In the event the sidewalk is not separated from the curb by a planting strip at any point along the frontage of the property, then the point at which the driveway width shall be measured will be determined by the Municipal Engineer, in accordance with good engineering practices.
A. 
There shall be submitted with the application for the permit a plat and plan of the area to be improved. Such plat shall be drawn to a scale of not less than 1/8 inch to one foot with all principal dimensions shown. Such plan shall show the location of all existing walks, curbs, and the relative elevation of the gutters, the top of the curb and the sidewalk, traffic signs, storm sewer inlets, and any other structure existing on or in the street adjacent to the property; and shall also show the proposed locations of tanks, buildings, air hoses, wash racks, oil pits, pump islands and all other equipment which the applicant proposes to install on said property, together with the distance from such equipment to the street property line.
B. 
The driveway width shall not exceed 30 feet at the property line and 40 feet at the curbline.
C. 
To prevent any part of any vehicle using the driveway from projecting over or crossing the public sidewalk, except at the point designated, there shall be installed a suitable barrier, approved by the Municipal Engineer, from the curbline to a point six inches inside the property line.
D. 
Upon the recommendation of the Municipal Engineer that a surface normally requiring bituminous concrete parking areas and driveways, in accordance with standard Town specifications, requires an alternate surface material due to objective engineering standards, the Town Council may approve a waiver of this section (§ 257-5) upon application. The applicant shall bear all expenses associated with the engineering inspections and submit an application fee in the amount of $100.
[Added 6-21-1988 by Ord. No. O:88-19]
A. 
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any property to use or permit to be used any part of any public sidewalk abutting his property for vehicle ingress or egress to the same, except over an approved driveway.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant of any property to erect or permit to be erected any wooden or metal ramp from the gutter line to the top of the curb.
C. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to place dirt, ashes, bituminous concrete, concrete, drainpipes or other material in the gutter for the purpose of building up an approach for a driveway.
D. 
It shall be unlawful, in the case of nonresidential driveways, to permit surface or roof-drainage water to flow over that portion of the driveway that is on the public right-of-way.
Whenever a driveway has been abandoned, either by closing the entrance to the property or by changing the use of the property, in such a way as to no longer make the driveway necessary, it shall be the duty of the property owner to have the driveway removed and the sidewalk and curb restored to the line and grade of the adjoining sidewalk and curb. The Municipal Engineer is hereby authorized to order the removal of such driveway, and the property owner shall comply with said order within 10 days after receipt of same.
Whenever there are encountered within the right-of-way cables, poles, guys, water main or other utilities that interfere with the proposed driveway location, the applicant shall obtain the consent of the utility company involved, and the reasonable expense and cost of such changes shall be a matter between the parties.
A. 
Applicants for driveway permits shall, during construction, reconstruction or alteration, maintain the premises in a safe manner and shall provide adequate barricades and lights at his own expense to protect the safety of the public using the adjacent streets and sidewalks and shall hold the Town free from any damages incurred by his operations.
B. 
All debris and surplus material shall be removed immediately.
[Amended 6-5-1984 by Ord. No. O:84-18]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provisions of this chapter shall, for each and every violation, be punished as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, General Penalty; and each day during which any violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.