[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 1]
This Part shall be known hereafter as the "Plainfield Township
Driveway Ordinance."
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 2]
For the purposes of this Part, the following terms shall have
the meanings described thereto as follows:
The Board of Supervisors of Plainfield Township, Northampton
County, Pennsylvania.
Any area of land designated or to be used as a means of ingress
or egress for either vehicles and/or pedestrian traffic from a public
road to a parcel or tract of land; does not include a "farm access."
The person designated by the Board to administer this Part.
An area of land designated to be used as a means of ingress
or regress for agricultural equipment to a field, pasture, barn, silo,
etc., provided that this access is used for agricultural related uses
only.
The owner of the land upon which the driveway is located.
A permit issued by the driveway administrator to signify
approval of the driveway connection.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, society,
corporation or other group or entity which installs a driveway, including
all agents, officers or employees of said party, person, firm, partnership
and/or corporation.
Any road, street, alley or public thoroughfare actually maintained
by Plainfield Township as part of its road system or shown on a subdivision
or land development plan, which is intended to be offered or dedicated
to Plainfield Township in the future as part of its road system.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 3]
No person, owner and/or contractor shall hereafter install,
or allow the installation or initiation of any work towards the installation
of a driveway without first obtaining a permit therefore from the
driveway administrator.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 4]
No person, individual, firm or corporation shall construct,
or enlarge a driveway onto a Township street without having first
received a permit from the Township of Plainfield. Permits shall be
one of three classes defined as follows:
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Class I
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Single-family residential detached dwelling/agricultural uses.
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Class II
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Residential (other than Class I).
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Class III
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All other driveways.
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NOTES:
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|---|---|
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1.
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A state highway occupancy permits is required for all entrances
of an access drive or driveways onto a state road.
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2.
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Farm access does not require a permit, provided it is not crossing
an existing drainage ditch. If a drainage ditch is involved, then
an application must be made for the access.
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[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 5]
The number of driveways permitted from a proposed lot or site
directly to any Township road shall be limited as follows:
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Length of Lot of Site Frontage of Each Street
(feet)
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Permitted Number of Driveways on Each Street
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|---|---|
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100 or less
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1
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101 to 600
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2
|
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Each additional 600
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1
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Service stations shall have at least two driveways.
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[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 6; as amended by Ord. 257,
4/12/1995, § 1]
1.
All entrance and exit driveways to a Township road shall be located
to afford maximum safety to traffic on the Township road.
2.
Any entrance or exit driveway shall be so designed and constructed
as to permit the minimum sight distances as listed in the "Formula
Sight Distance Table," Figure 21-2-1.[1] The method of measurement shall conform to the "Formula
Sight Distance Measurements" worksheet, Figure 21-2-2 which should
be completed and submitted along with the Plainfield Township driveway
application to the driveway administrator. Sight triangles formed
by street and driveway center lines and the line of sight shall be
kept free of obstructions which would impair the view of the driver.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said figure is included as an attachment to
this Chapter.
3.
Roads which are not posted for speed limits shall be considered to
be 55 mph, unless horizontal geometric considerations dictate otherwise.
4.
Where a site occupies a corner of two intersecting roads, the minimum
distance between an access drive or driveway to a street intersection
shall be as follows:
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Type of Subdivision or Land Development
|
Distance between Center Lines of Access Drive or Driveway
and Nearest Intersection Street by Type of Intersection Street
(feet)
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Arterial
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Collector
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Local
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Residential
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150
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100
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75
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Residential/other than single-family detached dwelling or garden
apartments
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150
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75
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50
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Nonresidential or Mixed
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300
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200
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150
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5.
Where two or more driveways connect a single site to any one Township
road, a minimum driveway center line-to-center line distance of 60
feet, measured along the right-of-way line, shall separate the drives.
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Note: Driveways must be at least 10 feet from side and rear
property line.
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[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 7]
1.
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.
2.
Driveways 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°.
3.
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.
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Class
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Driveway Width
(feet)
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Depressed Curb
(feet)
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Return Radius
(feet)
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Class I
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10 to 20
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20 (max)
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5 (curbed)
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Class II
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20 to 30
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40 (max)
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10 (curbed); 20 (non-curbed)
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Class III
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20 to 30
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60 (max)
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15 (curbed); 25 to 35 (non-curbed)
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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.
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A.
Vertical Curves. 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.
4.
If the sidewalk is so close to the curb at a depressed curb driveway
as to cause the ramp to be too steep and the undercarriage is likely
to drag, the sidewalk shall be appropriately lowered to provide a
suitable ramp gradient.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 8]
1.
The surface of any driveway shall be constructed with a permanent
pavement of a type specified below (within public right-of-way). Remaining
portions of the driveway shall be constructed and maintained in materials
that will provide for a mud free condition.
A.
Class I and Class II.
(1)
One-and-one-half-inch ID-2A, two inches BCBC on six inches crushed
stone.
(2)
Six-inch concrete with six-inch-by-six-inch, nine-gauge welded-wire
fabric on four-inch crushed stone.
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NOTE: Driveway aprons in areas where sidewalks are required
shall be concrete, six inches thick, with six-inch-by-six-inch, nine-gauge
welded wire fabric on four-inch crushed stone.
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[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 9]
1.
Driveway design shall include provisions for storm drainage within
the driveway and where it connects to the street.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 10; as amended by Ord.
251, 9/14/1994, § 1]
No driveway shall be permitted to be constructed over or across the drainage gutter line of an existing street, except upon written review and approval of the driveway by the Township Engineer. The Township Engineer shall review a culvert design to be prepared by the applicant's representative and shall in such review be guided by the design standards set forth in § 22-1013 of the Plainfield Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (relating to access drive and driveways) [Chapter 22]. The culvert must be designed in such a way as to adequately carry and convey stormwater for a storm of a fifteen-year frequency. The minimum pipe size to be used shall be 18 inches and pipes shall be placed a minimum of 15 feet from the center line of the roadway.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 11]
Application forms shall be obtained from the Township driveway
administrator. See sample application form attached as Appendix 21-2-1.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said appendix is included as an attachment
to this Chapter.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 12; as amended by Ord.
251, 9/14/1994, § 2]
1.
All applications and accompanying data shall be submitted to the Township driveway administrator. The driveway administrator shall review the application to ensure that the proposed driveway conforms with the provisions of this Part and § 22-1013 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance [Chapter 22]. Based on the review, the Township driveway administrator shall do one of the following:
A.
Approve the application provided all of the requirements have been
met.
B.
Return the application to the applicant for additional data with
a clear statement of the additional data required.
C.
Disapprove the application, clearly stating the reasons for disapproval.
D.
Application Review.
(1)
Forward the application to the Township Engineer for his/her
review.
(2)
Applications where the proposed driveway crosses a drainage
gutter line of an existing street. The Township Engineer shall review
the culvert prepared by the applicant's representative and shall
present his findings to the Township driveway administrator. Cost
of the Township Engineer's review shall be paid by the applicant
to the Township.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 13]
1.
Applicants dissatisfied with the decision of the driveway administrator
and/or Township Engineer or fees with respect to the review may make
an appeal within 30 days of said decision to the Plainfield Township
Planning Commission. The applicant may allege either that the decision
of the Engineer and/or driveway administrator is inconsistent with
the provisions of this Part, or that because of special factors, applicant
would suffer a hardship if applicant was required to adhere strictly
to the requirements of the this Part.
2.
The Planning Commission shall review the application and either uphold
or modify the decision of the driveway administrator or Township Engineer.
The Planning Commission may permit a modification or waiver to certain
provisions of this Part if the Planning Commission finds that special
circumstances would create a hardship in requiring the applicant to
adhere to the strict requirements of this Part.
3.
The decision of the Planning Commission shall be final.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 14]
The application and plan shall be accompanied by such fee or
fees as the Board may prescribe from time to time by resolution, with
such fee not to exceed the approximate reasonable costs of processing
or reviewing the application and making any necessary inspections.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 15]
All construction shall be performed in strict conformance with
the approved plan.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 16]
Each driveway whether serving the same premises or not shall
require an individual permit.
[Ord. 229, 8/14/1991, § 17; as amended by A.O.]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this Part, upon conviction thereof in an action brought before
a district justice in the manner provided for the enforcement of summary
offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall
be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs and,
in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment
not to exceed 90 days. Each day that a violation of this Part continues
or each section of this Part which shall be found to have been violated
shall constitute a separate offense.
