All buildings, structures and properties shall be provided with
unobstructed access for fire-fighting and emergency service(s) personnel,
apparatus and equipment with appropriately sized access roads, driveways
or fire lanes so that all buildings on the premises are accessible
to the Fire Department and/or all other emergency service(s) apparatus
and/or personnel.
A. Access roads, driveways and fire lanes shall be adequately maintained
and kept free and clear of any and all obstructions such as snow,
ice, trees, or anything else that might interfere with clear and continuous
access being maintained.
B. The designation, dimensions and maintenance of access roads, driveways
and fire lanes on private properties shall be established by this
chapter and Chapter 5 of the 2010 Fire Code of New York State, whichever
is more strict.
[Amended 4-12-2011 by L.L. No. 5-2011]
C. It shall be a violation of this section to park or allow to be parked
and/or stored temporarily or permanently any type of motor vehicle
or other vehicle on or in any access road, driveway or fire lane that
would prohibit access of emergency apparatus and equipment within
150 feet of any building or structure.
D. Driveways for detached one- and two-family dwellings shall meet or
exceed the following standards:
[Added 4-12-2011 by L.L. No. 5-2011]
(1) The minimum vertical clearance above the surface of the driveway
to overhanging branches, wires and other obstruction is 13 feet six
inches over the entire horizontal clearance width.
(2) Table of minimum horizontal clearances for driveways:
|
Radius of Driveway Curve at Center Line
(feet)
|
Horizontal Clearance from Center Line
(feet)
|
---|
|
Straight
|
7
|
|
100+
|
8
|
|
75+
|
9
|
|
50+
|
10
|
|
25+
|
11
|
|
25-
|
12
|
(3) The minimum required horizontal clearance from the shorter radius
curve shall be tapered for 20 feet from the beginning or end of the
shorter radius curve, along with the longer radius curve to meet its
minimum required horizontal clearance.
(4) The minimum required horizontal clearance area shall be kept free
of obstructions, including trees, tree branches, posts, poles, rocks,
boulders, fences, nontraversable ditches and any other objects that
would be an obstruction to an emergency vehicle.
(5) The minimum base and surface material width of the driveway shall
be 12 feet.
(6) The maximum driveway grade is 10%, unless it is proven that the driveway
can not be built with a maximum grade of 10%, in which case, a maximum
grade of 15% may be approved prior to construction.
(7) Any culvert or bridge over a stream or brook shall be designed by
an engineer to H20 of HS20 loading requirements and inspected by an
engineer no less frequently than 10 years after construction and every
five years thereafter, and maintained and/or repaired according to
the engineer's recommendations, with a copy of the engineer's reccommendations
sent to the Code Enforcement Officer for filing.
(8) When driveways are in excess of 500 feet in length, and do not exit
to another emergency service access road or public road, a turnaround
shall be provided suitable for fire apparatus. (See 2010 Fire Code
of New York State, Appendix D).
(9) Driveways in excess of 500 feet in length and width, with a base
and surface width less than 20 feet, shall be provided with turnouts
along the driveway that are a minimum of 20 feet in width for a length
of 50 feet. The turnouts shall be placed at intervals not to exceed
500 feet along the driveway.
(10)
Driveways shall be constructed to support fire apparatus in
all weather conditions.
(11)
The design of driveways, including turning radius and grade
shall facilitate passage of fire apparatus and be approved by the
Code Enforcement Officer prior to construction.
(12)
Driveways and portions thereof that serve more than four buildings
shall meet the design requirements of § 503 of Chapter 5
of the 2010 Fire Code of New York State (Fire Apparatus Access Roads).
E. All subdivision roads and all private roads with official 911 names
shall be emergency service and fire apparatus access roads and shall
be built and maintained in accordance with the Town Code and Chapter
5 of the 2010 Fire Code of New York State.
[Added 4-12-2011 by L.L. No. 5-2011]
F. Fire lanes serving large or commercial buildings, where the fire
lane is not normally used by vehicles other than emergency vehicles,
shall be built and maintained to the same standard as emergency service
and fire apparatus access roads.
[Added 4-12-2011 by L.L. No. 5-2011]
G. No certificate of occupancy or certificate of compliance shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer until he or she is satisfied that the requirements of this Article
III have been met. If necessary, the Town Engineer shall be called to determine if the requirements have been met, with the fee for his or her services billed to the land owner, and paid prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or compliance.
[Added 4-12-2011 by L.L. No. 5-2011]
H. No certificate of occupancy or compliance shall be issued unless the reflective identification number sign is properly installed at the driveway entrance (see Chapter
36) and, in the case of a driveway off a private road, the required private road sign is also in place (see Chapter 38).
[Added 4-12-2011 by L.L. No. 5-2011]
No emergency service providers or other authorized individuals
or agencies shall be held liable for obstructed access of any form
in responding to emergency calls, and they shall be held harmless
by the subdivider, developer, homeowners' association and/or individual
private homeowner.
The Code Enforcement Officer, constables and any police agency
are hereby empowered and authorized to exercise such powers as may
be necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes
and provisions in this article.