All driveways providing access to a residential dwelling or other habitable structure shall connect directly to either an existing improved public or private roadway or a proposed public or private roadway and shall further conform in design and construction and be maintained for the life of the dwelling or other habitable structure with the overall design criteria depicted on annexed Figure 1, Driveway Entrance and Cartway Design,[1] and with the below standards and requirements:
A.
Driveway access to any dwelling or habitable structure shall be provided over an improved cartway not less than 10 feet in width, crowned or with appropriate cross-slope and centered within a graded and stabilized area not less than 20 feet in width, such cartway and stabilized area to at a minimum include throughout a suitably prepared and graded horizontal cross-section and constructed as detailed on above-cited Figure 1. The stabilized area shall be maintained throughout the entire length of the driveway free of obstructions such as trees, accessory buildings, light standards, fences or walls.
B.
Except in the case of a common driveway which by design must be located at least in part within 12 feet of a property line, driveway access to any dwelling or other habitable structure and its associated parking area shall, as set forth in Town Code Chapter 210, Article IV, § 210-11, District Schedule of Area and Bulk Regulations, be separated by a distance of not less than 12 feet from any property line.
C.
All driveways shall be designed and constructed with a minimum grade of 1.5% and a maximum grade of 4% within 50 feet of the intersecting street or roadway pavement to avoid conditions where either inadequate landing area is present and/or visibility is limited when exiting a driveway downgrade of the intersected street or roadway.
D.
All driveways shall be designed and constructed to include landing area of not less than 1.5% or greater than 4% grade adjacent to, or reasonably near, the dwelling or other habitable structure where a delivery or emergency vehicle might park or turn around.
E.
The minimum allowable driveway radius shall be 40 feet as measured along the center line. Driveway grade shall not exceed 6% within 25 feet of any radius less than 50 feet as measured along the center line.
F.
Driveway grade between the street or roadway providing access to any dwelling or other habitable structure and such dwelling or habitable structure both shall be the minimum grade practicable and shall not exceed 15% at any location throughout the entire length of the driveway. In the event any location throughout the entire length of the driveway exceeds 12% site plan review and approval by the Planning Board shall be required in accordance with the submission requirements and review procedures set forth within Article VII, Site Plan Review and Approval Procedure, Town Code Chapter 210, Zoning.
G.
All driveways shall be designed, constructed and maintained in a manner that no stormwater runoff from the driveway is discharged onto an intersected public street or roadway unless there is a system specifically designed, installed and maintained to capture this runoff along a curb or gutter line; in no instance shall runoff be permitted to discharge into the travel lane or to otherwise create a condition that would likely result in icing on the intersected public street or roadway.
H.
All driveways shall comply with the below minimum sight distance standards as measured 10 feet from the edge of the cartway of the intersected public street or roadway and in consideration of the posted speed limit on such street or roadway except as lesser sight distance may be approved on a case-by-case basis by the agency of jurisdiction, the Town Highway Superintendent, the Dutchess County Department of Public Works or the NYSDOT:
I.
Any driveway exceeding 500 feet in length shall include suitable improved turnouts or pass-by areas at intervals and locations recommended on a site-specific basis by the Town Engineer upon referral of the engineering plans and other documentation by the Town Planning Board or Code Enforcement Officer, as pertinent to the specific circumstance. See annexed Figure 2, Driveway Turnout.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: The Driveway Figures are included at the end of this chapter.
J.
Any driveway, any portion of which is in excess of 8% in grade, shall be constructed with an area suitable for the parking of two cars during inclement weather, such area to be located prior to the start of such grade and within neither the required cartway or associated stabilized area nor a public street or roadway right-of-way.
K.
Any driveway, any portion of which is in excess of 10% in grade, shall include suitable improved turnouts or pass-by areas at locations recommended on a site-specific basis by the Town Engineer upon referral of the design plans and/or other documentation whether by the Town Planning Board as part of a subdivision plat review and approval process or at the time of application for driveway construction permit by the Code Enforcement Officer, as pertinent to the specific circumstance.
L.
All driveways shall include a paved apron extending for a distance of not less than 25 feet from an intersecting public street or roadway.
M.
Any driveway that exceeds 8% in grade at any point along its entire length shall be paved the entire distance from the intersecting public or private street or roadway to the dwelling, including the landing areas at the street and at the dwelling.
N.
Design plans prepared by a licensed professional engineer and deemed satisfactory by the Town Engineer shall be required for any driveway any portion of which is in excess of eight-percent grade, including therewith a stormwater management plan and consideration of culverts, guide rails or other improvements that may be initially proposed or required upon review of the design plans by the Town Engineer.
O.
Design plans deemed satisfactory by the Town Engineer shall be required for that portion of any driveway crossing a designated wetland, a designated one-hundred-year floodplain or a stream or other watercourse, including consideration of any bridge or similar structure, e.g., a box or arch culvert, proposed for installation as part of the driveway construction. In particular, any bridge or culvert crossing shall have an unobstructed width of not less than 12 feet and be designed to support a minimum load of 65,000 pounds.
P.
To the extent such may be more stringent than the above design criteria, the driveway design shall further incorporate any requirements or conditions imposed by either the New York State Department of Transportation, the Dutchess County Department of Public Works, or the Town of Union Vale Highway Superintendent, in review and approval of the pertinent agency of jurisdiction highway work permit application, including but not limited to the sufficiency of stormwater and the suitability of sight distance.
Q.
Walls, fences, driveway entrance gates and pillars, signs and similar appurtenant features shall be set back adequate distance from both the public or private right-of-way and the residential or other driveway to permit turning movements for ingress and egress by fire protective and other emergency vehicles. No such appurtenances shall be constructed and maintained within any area proposed for public highways or within any drainage, snow storage or other utility easement area.
R.
To the extent practicable, an individual parcel shall be served by only one driveway intersecting at a single location either the adjoining public street or roadway or an adjoining private street or roadway set forth on an approved subdivision plat. In the event however two intersections of an individual driveway or more than one driveway are authorized by the Planning Board during either the subdivision plat or site plan review approval process and approved by the agency of jurisdiction, i.e. NYSDOT, Dutchess County DPW or Town of Union Vale Highway Superintendent in the case of a public street or roadway, each of the intersections and each of the driveways shall comply fully with the design and construction criteria set forth in above Subsections A through Q.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Driveway Figures are included at the end of this chapter.