[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 1]
This Part shall be known as the "Hemlock Township Driveway Ordinance."
[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 2]
The purpose of this Part is to regulate driveway location and construction so as to provide safe access to all public Township roads as well as subdivision and other private roads, to eliminate or reduce problems of stormwater runoff, and to assure sufficient ease of access to off-street parking.
[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 3]
This Part shall apply to all driveways to be constructed or altered in Hemlock Township, and which connect to a road.
[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 4]
As used in this Part, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the meanings indicated hereafter:
Any driveway used primarily for agricultural purposes and which does not serve as a means of vehicular access to an occupied structure.
The planting, cultivating, fertilizing and harvesting of field crops or timber.
To do or perform, or cause to be done or performed, an alteration.
Any change in grade or profile, width, location, course, type of surface material, or drainage facilities of any driveway connected to a road.
Any are of land designated or to be used as a means of vehicular access from any road or street to a parcel of land. The driveway shall be measured at its beginning from the center line of the intersected road or street.
A natural person or persons, partnership, corporation, association, or any other entity.
Any road, street, or highway used for vehicular travel within Hemlock Township. The term shall include all public Township roads within the geographical boundaries of Hemlock Township, as private roads which provide vehicular access to lots in a subdivision or to two or more parcels of land.
[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 5]
No person shall hereafter install, construct, reconstruct, replace, or alter any driveway, or perform any work or allow to be performed any work toward same, without obtaining a permit therefor from Hemlock Township. Application for such a permit shall be made to the Hemlock Township Building Permit Officer or other designated official of the Township, by submission of an application to be provided for such purpose, completed, including plans (as set forth below), and a permit fee. The fee shall be such as is set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors of Hemlock Township, and shall be payable at the time the permit application and plans are submitted.
[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 6]
1.
A plan shall be submitted with each application for a driveway permit and shall set forth the following information:
A.
Site plan of the driveway or proposed driveway and the intersecting road and adjacent land areas within a linear distance of 25 feet to each side of the center line of the driveway at the point of intersection.
B.
Adjacent driveways, roads, or streets within 100 feet of the center of the point of intersection of the driveway or proposed driveway with the intersecting road.
C.
Profile of the driveway or proposed driveway with existing and proposed grading within the area of the site plan and the fifty-foot stretch of road as set forth in paragraph .A, above.
D.
Any and all additional information which may be requested on the permit application form or by the Township Engineer, Roadmaster, or other official who reviews the application.
[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 7]
1.
Once a permit application, together with the prescribed fee and all required accompanying plans, is submitted to the Township, the application and plans shall be reviewed by the Engineer, Roadmaster, or other designated official of the Township, who shall then determine whether the proposed connection, method of construction, alteration, or other work to be done on the driveway or proposed driveway is such that it will:
2.
If the plans meet all such criteria, then the Engineer or Roadmaster or other reviewing officials, as the case may be, shall so advise the Board of Supervisors of Hemlock Township whereupon the Board shall issue, or cause to be issued, the permit.
3.
If the plans are found to be deficient, or, if in the opinion of the Engineer, Roadmaster, or other reviewing official, the plan could be improved to better satisfy the standards set forth in § 21-208, below, and other criteria set forth in this Part, then the Engineer, Roadmaster, or other reviewing official shall notify the permit applicant, in writing, of the change to be made, whereupon the applicant shall make such changes and return the revised plans to the Engineer, Roadmaster, or other reviewing official. In such cases the applicant shall be responsible for the engineering fees incurred by the Township and shall reimburse the Township for said engineering fees, in addition to paying the established permit fee, prior to being issued a permit. When the plans are found to be acceptable, the Engineer, Roadmaster, or other reviewing official shall so notify the applicant and the Board of Supervisors of Hemlock Township, whereupon the latter shall issue, or cause to be issued, a permit in accordance with the acceptable plans, upon payment by the applicant of the established permit fee and any engineering fees required to be paid by the applicant in accordance herewith.
[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 8]
1.
All driveways shall contain a straight length of at least 20 feet, measured from the edge of the intersecting road and extending into the lot being served.
2.
The first 20 feet (closest to the intersecting road) of any driveway shall have a grade of 10% or less above the intersecting road. At all other points on a driveway, the maximum permissible grade shall be as follows: 20% for driveways (or portions thereof) serving not more than one single-family residence, and 15% for all other driveways (or portions thereof).
3.
Driveways to single-family residences shall intersect roads at angles of not less than 60°. All other driveways shall intersect roads at right angles, where practical, and in no case less than 75°.
4.
The width of a driveway serving a single-family residence within the legal right-of-way of the intersecting road, and at any point at which it is carried by a bridge or pipe, shall be a minimum of 12 feet.
5.
The minimum width of any such pipe shall be 15 feet. The minimum width of such a driveway shall be 10 feet at all other points within the parcel of land being served. Where the Township determines it feasible, a shared road access for a driveway serving more than one parcel will be permissible. A shared driveway must continue as a shared driveway for a linear distance of at least 25 feet measured from the nearest edge of the intersecting road cartway. Additional length of a shared driveway may be required and approved by the Township. Such additional length shall not be permitted, however, without the express approval of the Township.
6.
Driveway entrances into all nonresidential single-use properties shall not be less than 20 feet in width, and shall not exceed 36 feet in width at the point of intersection with the road.
7.
The edge of any driveway shall be at least 40 feet distant from the nearest edge of the paved radius of any intersection of two roads.
8.
The curbs of nonresidential driveway entrances shall be rounded with a minimum radius of 20 feet where they intersect the road cartway.
9.
Clear sight triangles shall be provided all driveway entrances and shall be shown on the plans. Within such triangles, no object greater than 2 1/2 feet in height, nor any tree limbs lower than eight feet, nor any other object which will obscure the vision of the motorist, shall be permitted. Clear sight triangles shall conform to the sight distance diagram and chart which are appended hereto, incorporated herein, and made a part of this Part. Provided that greater distances may be required in circumstances as determined by the Engineer, Roadmaster, or other Township official reviewing the plans, and in driveways intersecting roads classified as collector or arterial by the Township. Whenever a portion of the line of such a clear sight triangle occurs within any proposed building setback line, such portion shall be shown on the final plan of the subdivision or land development plan and shall be considered a building setback line.
10.
Sight distances for nonresidential driveways, other than agricultural access driveways, shall adhere to the PennDOT standards for nonresidential driveway access to streets.
11.
The gutter line, where possible, shall be maintained as a paved gutter. It shall have a maximum depth of four inches and a minimum width of 24 inches. A pipe may be placed under the driveway entrances only when approved by the reviewing Township official or Board of Supervisors. Approval of use of a pipe will be determined by the gutter depth on each side of the driveway entrance. Where permitted, the minimum pipe size shall be determined by the Township Roadmaster or Board of Supervisors. This provision shall not apply to agricultural access driveways.
12.
Driveways, other than agricultural access driveways, shall be graded so as to assure that surface water drainage will be discharged to the owner's property. In cases where such is not feasible, sized pipes, inlets, and/or headwalls shall be installed and gutter improvements shall be made to direct surface water drainage into the road drainage system, and not onto the cartway of the intersecting road. Any and all expenses related to making a driveway conform to this section shall be at the expense of the property owner, including the cost to purchase and install driveway pipe.
[Amended by Ord. No. 03-09-2021, 3/9/2021]
13.
Any driveway having a length of 150 feet or more shall be designated and constructed so that it shall safely carry a gross vehicle weight of at least 60,000 pounds.
[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 9]
Where, due to the unusual topography, grade size, width, or other dimensions of a lot or the placement of structures thereon, literal compliance with the terms of this Part would render it physically impossible, or where such compliance would, by reason of excess cuts or fills, otherwise render this lot unusable, the Board of Supervisors of Hemlock Township shall be authorized, upon application of the permit applicant in accordance with the Township procedures, to grant reasonable variances from the literal requirements of this Part. Such variances shall not be contrary to the public health, safety, or welfare and shall not be contrary to the spirit and purpose of this Part, nor shall such variance be greater than the minimum necessary to remove or mitigate the hardship imposed. No variance shall be granted where the hardship was created by the developer or property owner by reason of the layout of any subdivision, installation, and design of any road or other cause within the control of the developer or landowner.
[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 10]
1.
Any driveway installation, construction, reconstruction, replacement or alteration done in violation of any of the provisions of this Part, or in violation of any approved plans for which a permit has been issued, or done without a valid permit, shall be and hereby is declared to be a public nuisance, and may be removed or corrected by the Township at the expense of the owner or developer of the property.
2.
Any person, partnership, corporation, or other property owner or developer who paves an existing driveway and fails to maintain a proper gutter swale, in accordance with the standards set forth herein, or otherwise creates a blockage to the flow of stormwater within a road drainage system, thereby causing the stormwater to be directed onto the traveled portion of the road, shall be in violation of this Part.
3.
Any such blockage of the proper flow of stormwater within a road drainage system which is caused by the act of any person, partnership, corporation, or any property owner or developer is hereby declared a public nuisance, and may be corrected by the Township at the expense of said property owner or developer.
4.
The installation, construction, reconstruction, replacement or alteration of any driveway, and the connection of any driveway to any road within Hemlock Township, shall conform to the plans as approved for which a permit has been issued. Any work done which is not in accordance with the specifications and conditions of the approved plans for which a permit has been issued shall constitute a violation of this Part.
[Ord. No. 5-95, 5/9/1995, § 11; as amended by Ord. No. 11-11-2014, 11/11/2014]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision of this Part, upon conviction thereof in an action brought before a magisterial district judge 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.