Subdivision, consolidations and land developments
shall conform to the standards set forth in this article. The standards
specified in this article are minimum design requirements.
In reviewing any application, the Planning Commission
and Borough Council shall refer the application for development to
the Borough Engineer for a recommendation concerning technical compliance
with these design standards and the construction standards referred
to in this article.
A.
Slope of land. No land shall be graded, cut or filled
so as to create a slope exceeding a vertical rise of one foot for
each two feet of horizontal distance between adjoining lots, without
proper erosion control approved by the Borough Engineer. Slopes greater
than two to one must be approved by the Borough Engineer.
B.
Stripping of topsoil. No person shall strip, excavate
or otherwise remove topsoil, dirt or slag for sale, or for use other
than on the lot from which it is taken, except in connection with
the construction or alteration of a building on that lot and the excavation
or grading incidental to that construction.
C.
Major excavation, grading and filling. Any major cuts,
excavation, grading, and filling which materially changes the drainage
characteristics of the site and the site's relationship with surrounding
properties shall not be permitted unless first approved by the Borough
Engineer. As a condition for such approval, a plot plan of the entire
tract of land on which such excavation, grading and filling are to
be conducted shall be submitted by the developer to the Borough Engineer
for approval. Such plot plan shall show, in addition to any other
information required by the Borough Engineer to demonstrate compliance
with the provisions of this section, the following information:
(1)
The existing contours of the site.
(2)
Proposed contours of the site after completion of
the excavation, cuts, grading and filling. The plot plan shall be
at a scale of 50 feet to one inch or larger and have a contour interval
of not more than five feet where the slope will be greater than 10%
and not more than two-foot intervals where the slope will be less
than 10%. The Borough Engineer shall not approve any plan in which
any such excavation, grading and filling will result in a slope exceeding
a vertical rise of one foot for each two feet of horizontal distance
between adjoining lots or tracts of land, except where adequate provision
is made to prevent slides and erosion, as approved by the Borough
Engineer.
D.
Planting and cutting of trees; removal of debris.
Major shade trees should be adequately protected from injury and preserved
to the extent practical. All lot areas which slope towards streets
or adjacent lots may be required to be seeded with grass or planted
with ground cover so as to prevent washing and erosion. During construction,
the developer shall remove and dispose of all uprooted trees, stumps,
brush, rubbish, unused building materials and debris promptly in the
interest of public safety.
E.
Flood-prone areas. Land which is naturally poorly drained or subject to periodic flooding shall not be used for residential development or for any uses which may involve danger to health, safety and general welfare of the community. Land identified as flood-prone on maps issued by the Federal Insurance Administration shall be subject to the regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program and the Flood Protection Ordinance (Chapter 120).
A.
Layout. Streets shall be planned to conform with the
layout of existing and planned streets and so located as to allow
proper development of surrounding properties. Local streets shall
be laid out so as to discourage through traffic. Collector streets
should be designed to provide adequate flow of traffic from local
streets to major community facilities and to arterial streets.
B.
Topography. Proposed streets shall be planned to conform
to the contour of the land, to provide buildable lots, to have a suitable
alignment and grade and to allow proper drainage.
C.
Grading. The shoulders shall be graded to the full
width of the right-of-way and provisions shall be made for protection
of slopes beyond the right-of-way.
D.
Street grades. Minimum and maximum grades shall be provided on all streets in accordance with the design standards specified in Article IX of this chapter. Grades shall be measured along the center of the street. Vertical curves shall be used in changes of grade exceeding 1% and should be designed in accordance with the design standards specified in Article IX of this chapter. Intersections shall be approached on all sides by leveling grades for a distance of 50 feet within which no grades shall exceed the design standards specified in Article IX of this chapter. The grade of actual intersections shall not exceed 1% in any direction.
F.
Additional right-of-way and paving widths. Additional
widths and paved cartway widths may be required by the Borough where
necessary for public safety and convenience, for parking in commercial
and residential areas and where additional width is necessary on existing
roads which do not comply with current standards.
G.
Cul-de-sacs. A cul-de-sac will not be approved when a through street is practical and shall not be more than 800 feet in length, unless a modification or exception to this requirement is granted under Article VII of this chapter. A cul-de-sac shall have a minimum right-of-way radius and an outer minimum paving radius as specified in the design standards in Article IX of this chapter.
H.
Temporary turnarounds. A temporary turnaround may
be required where a road is constructed to an adjoining property line.
The right-of-way width required for a temporary turnaround shall be
a minimum of 50 feet and the outer paving radius of the temporary
turnaround shall be 20 feet.
I.
Visibility. No fence, hedges, shrubbery, walls, planting
(other than trees and grass) or similar obstructions shall be located
within the right-of-way and no such obstruction shall obscure visibility
at any intersection. A clear sight triangle shall be maintained free
of any obstructions at intersections so that there shall be a minimum
clear sight triangle of 75 feet measured along the center line from
the points of intersection.
J.
Street names. All new street names shall be approved by the Borough. Names of new streets shall be sufficiently different in sound and spelling from existing names of streets in the Borough so as not to cause confusion. A street which is planned as a continuation of an existing street shall bear the same name. Street signs shall be provided in accordance with § 197-33 of this chapter.
K.
Sidewalks. The width of sidewalks shall conform to the standards specified in Article IX of this chapter. Sidewalks shall be located in line with existing sidewalks on adjacent lots or, where none exists, shall be located adjacent to the curb or, where no curb exists, within one foot of the edge of paving. Sidewalks shall be constructed in accordance with Borough Construction Standards (Article IX).
L.
Street construction. All streets and alleys in the
Borough shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation standards and specifications for local
streets as contained in the Department's Guidelines for Design of
Local Roads and Streets (most recent edition), unless required otherwise
by Borough specifications or the Borough Engineer. Design and construction
plans shall be approved by the Borough Engineer. Stone underdrains
may be required where applicable.
Service streets, as defined by this chapter, may be provided in residential, commercial and industrial developments where needed for loading, unloading or secondary access. Service streets shall meet the minimum design standards specified in Article IX of this chapter.
Sewer and other utility easements shall be required
to have a minimum width of 15 feet. Where a subdivision, consolidation
or land development is, or will be, traversed by a watercourse, there
shall be provided a stormwater easement or drainage right-of-way of
a width sufficient for the purpose, but no less than 20 feet.
The following standards shall apply to all lots
proposed to be subdivided or developed in accordance with this chapter:
A.
Area. Minimum lot areas shall conform to the requirements of the Borough Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 225).
C.
Double frontage. Double frontage lots, other than
corner lots, shall be avoided; however, where a double frontage lot
is the only practical alternative, vehicular access shall be limited
to only one street and that street shall be the street with the lower
volume of traffic, if physically feasible. The final plan shall contain
a notation restricting vehicular access to one frontage.
D.
Side lines. Whenever practicable, the side lines of
a lot shall be at right angles or radial to the right-of-way lines
of streets.
E.
Building lines. Building lines of lots shall conform to the minimum requirements of the Borough Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 225) and shall be shown on the final plat.
F.
Grading. Lots shall be graded to provide drainage
away from buildings and, where practical, water shall be drained to
the street rather than to adjoining property. The developer shall
be required to provide drains or other drainage facilities, as approved
by the Borough Engineer, to drain off surface water within the development.
G.
Driveways. All driveways shall be paved in accordance with the Borough Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 225), Borough Construction Standards (Article IX) and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Design Manual, Part 2, Chapter 18. In the event of a conflict between any of the above provisions, the more stringent requirement shall apply. No driveway shall have a slope of more than 15%. Driveways may extend from the right-of-way line of the street to the cartway of the street but shall not change the grade or contour of the street right-of-way, nor shall any person cut into, fill, or in any way alter any gutter, curbing, drainage ditch or storm sewer within the right-of-way of a street or easement for the purpose of extending a driveway or for any other purpose without first obtaining a permit therefor from the Borough Building Inspector.
H.
Accessibility. Every lot shall be accessible to emergency
and public safety vehicles.
I.
House numbers. House numbers shall be assigned by
the Borough Secretary or the local post office, and must be posted
at each house so as to be easily visible and readable from the street.
[Amended 1-14-2019 by Ord. No. 1653]
Stormwater management facilities shall conform to the requirements of Chapter 190 of the Crafton Borough Code of Ordinances, Stormwater Management.
A.
Size and grade. Storm drains shall be adequate for
the anticipated runoff when the area is fully developed. The minimum
diameter of storm sewers shall be 15 inches and the minimum grade
shall be 1%, unless approved by the Borough Engineer.
B.
Manholes. For pipe sizes of 24 inches or less, manholes
shall be spaced at a maximum of 400 feet, and for larger pipe sizes,
the maximum distances between manholes shall be 600 feet. In addition,
manholes shall be installed at all points of abrupt changes in alignment
and grade. Inlets may be substituted for manholes where practical.
C.
Inlets. Inlets of the type shown in the Borough Construction Standards (Article IX) shall be installed. Inlets at street intersections shall be placed on the tangent and not on the curved portions.
D.
Castings. Manholes and inlet castings shall be as indicated in the Borough Construction Standards (Article IX).
E.
Stormwater roof drains. Stormwater roof drains and pipes shall not
discharge water over a sidewalk but shall extend under the sidewalk
to the gutter. Where accessible, the roof drain shall be connected
with the storm sewer. When required by the Borough Engineer, roof
drains shall discharge to infiltration or vegetative BMPs.
[Amended 1-14-2019 by Ord. No. 1653]
F.
Unnatural drainage. Whenever construction stops or
concentrates the natural flow of storm drainage in such a way as to
affect adjoining properties, approval of the owners shall be obtained
in writing. Approval of plans by the Borough does not authorize or
sanction drainage affecting adjoining properties.
G.
Watercourses. Open watercourses will not be permitted
within the rights-of-way of streets. The stopping, filling up, confining
or other interference with, or changing the course of, drains, ditches,
streams and watercourses in the Borough will not be permitted unless
approval in writing is obtained from the Borough Council. A permit
must be obtained from the applicable agency of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania for construction or changes in a watercourse which drains
an area of more than 1/2 square mile.
H.
Bridges and culverts. All bridges and culverts shall
be designed to support expected loads and to carry expected flows
and shall be constructed to the full width of the right-of-way. They
shall be designed to meet current standards of the Pennsylvania Department
of Transportation.
A.
Installation. Installation of sanitary sewers shall be in accordance with the Borough Construction Standards (Article IX). All installations, including house connections, shall be made prior to the paving of the street and shall be thoroughly tamped.
B.
Minimum size and grade. The minimum diameter of sanitary
sewers shall be eight inches and the minimum grade shall be 0.5%.
C.
Laterals. Lateral connections, where required, shall
be installed to the right-of-way line of the street prior to road
paving. Each building shall have a separate connection to Borough
sewer lines, except that garages accessory to dwellings may be connected
to the dwelling line.
A.
Water mains. All water mains shall have a minimum
diameter of six inches. All water mains shall be extended and connected
to existing water mains to provide a circulatory system where required
by the Borough Engineer and approved by Borough Council.
B.
Installation. All installations shall be made in accordance with the Borough Construction Standards (Article IX). All water mains and house connections shall be made prior to the paving of the street and shall be thoroughly tamped.
C.
Hydrants, gate valves and meters. Fire hydrants, gate
valves and meters shall be of the type and design required by the
Borough. Fire hydrants shall be located at accessible points and located
to give adequate fire protection as directed by the Borough Engineer.
Gate valves shall be located as directed by the Borough Engineer.
All construction materials used in sewers, streets,
sidewalks and other required improvements shall be tested by a qualified
testing laboratory, if required by the Borough Engineer. The cost
for such tests shall be borne by the developer.
