[Added 1-22-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-02]
No land may be subdivided or developed without providing motor
vehicle access meeting the standards of this article.
[Amended 2-24-2015 by Ord. No. 15-05; 1-22-2019 by Ord. No. 19-02]
A. Street network.
(1)
Every street within a subdivision or development shall be designed
to provide access to adjacent acreage.
(2)
Streets shall be designed to ensure proper integration and coordination
with other existing, recorded or planned streets within and contiguous
to the subdivision or development.
(3)
The arrangement of streets shall provide for the planned continuation
of existing streets in adjacent areas, and must not be such as to
cause unnecessary hardship to owners of adjacent property susceptible
to future subdivision.
(a)
Where provision has been made for the future extension of a
street or access to an adjacent parcel through extension of existing
right-of-way, either public or private, street extension notification
signs shall be installed prior to final plat recordation for the subdivision
or section thereof. The location of such street extension notification
signs shall be shown, with details, on construction plans.
(b)
In those subdivisions where a homeowners' association has been
established, provision shall be made in the documents establishing
the homeowners' association for the maintenance and repair of the
street extension notification signs until such time as the street
is extended.
B. Street design.
(1)
All street and highway construction standards, geometric design standards, and traffic control devices shall be in accord with those specified in the VDOT Road Design Manual, VDOT Road and Bridge Standards, and VDOT Road and Bridge Specifications, and the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, (individually and collectively, VDOT Requirements), except (i) as otherwise specifically provided herein, and (ii) as modified by the Director of Public Works as provided in §
72-52.5, below.
(2)
Street and pavement sections. Streets shall include the elements
shown in Figure 72-52.1(B).
(a)
The minimum paving shall be in accordance with Figure 72-52.1(B).
(b)
All one- or two-lane streets shall have parallel curb side parking
on at least one side of the street.
(3)
Additional access requirements.
(a)
All subdivisions shall have direct access to a public street.
(b)
Every subdivision and development shall be designed so that
no lot will have direct access to any arterial road.
(c)
Limited access to collector streets. Direct driveway access
to collector streets shall be limited to lots containing multifamily
dwellings, commercial, or industrial and related uses, with the following
exceptions:
[1]
No alternative means of access exists, such as alleys or parallel
access streets; or
[2]
Due to topography or unusual circumstances it would be unreasonable
or impractical to establish an alternative means of access.
(d)
Where traffic generated from a subdivision exceeds 1,000 vehicles
per day, such subdivision shall provide connectors to any existing
public road at two locations. Where only one connection is physically
achievable, the connecting portion of the entrance roadway must be
a four-lane divided standard highway extending into the development
for a length of not less than 250 feet. No internal vehicular connection
shall be permitted to this entrance section.
(e)
There shall be no buffer or reserve strips (also known as spite
strips) limiting present or planned access to streets. An exception
may be granted subject to such limitations and conditions in written
form as deemed necessary to secure the removal of the buffer or reserve
strip whenever it is in the public interest that such strip be converted
into a public street as an access to adjacent lands.
(f)
Half street sections along the property line of land proposed
for subdivision shall not be permitted.
(4)
Curb cuts. The following curb cut standards shall apply to all
"entrances" (as defined in the VDOT Road Design Manual Appendix F,
§ F-1) in addition to the general entrance standards required
by the VDOT Requirements. If the two standards conflict, the more
stringent shall apply.
(a)
No freestanding use shall have more than two curb cuts on any
single right-of-way, and such curb cuts shall maintain a minimum separation
of 60 feet.
(b)
Curb cuts on adjacent lots shall maintain a minimum separation
of 60 feet from one another.
(c)
No curb cut shall be located closer than 30 feet to a side or
rear site line, unless a common curb cut serves adjacent uses.
(d)
No curb cut on a corner lot shall be located closer than 75
feet from the radius at the corner.
(5)
Culs-de-sac.
(a)
Culs-de-sac shall not be longer than 600 feet.
(b)
When a street that ended temporarily in a cul-de-sac is extended,
the area of the temporary turnaround shall be reconstructed by the
developer to provide a typical street section meeting current standards.
As part of the construction work to extend the street, areas of the
temporary cul-de-sac bulb, outside of the permanent right-of-way,
shall be restored to a natural state.
(6)
Curb and gutter. Curb and gutter shall be required on all streets,
in accordance with VDOT Requirements. Construction of curb and gutter
is required around all medians that separate travel lanes from existing
streets, and which separate off-street parking areas from streets,
and travel lanes; however, the Director of Public Works may waive
the construction of an inside curb and gutter on a travel lane, upon
a determination that this would be in keeping with the existing or
proposed design of the travel lane or parking aisle on adjacent properties
so that adequate and safe traffic circulation between sites can be
obtained without such curb and gutter.
(7)
Streetlighting.
(a)
For residential and commercial development, streetlighting shall
be installed which provides a minimum average of 0.3 footcandle at
road grade.
(b)
The location of required streetlighting and related information
shall be shown on subdivision plats, site plans, and construction
plans.
(c)
On streets to be adopted into the City's public street system,
the streetlights and related facilities shall be located within public
rights-of-way, or within dedicated public utility easements.
(d)
Each developer must coordinate with the utility company providing
electric power for the location and installation of lights.
(e)
Lighting shall be a standard fixture offered for installation
by the power company and approved by the Department of Public Works,
or may be a nonstandard ornamental type light in accordance with the
power company regulations and approved by the Department of Public
Works.
(f)
Lighting plans for public streets shall be approved by the City's
Department of Public Works.
(g)
On private streets, lighting may consist of streetlights or
individual lights at the front of each lot.
(h)
No occupancy permit shall be issued by the Building Official
for a development, or a phase within a development, until all required
streetlights are installed according to approved plans and are functioning
in proper working condition.
(i)
The cost of installation of the streetlighting shall be borne
by the developer. Following installation, the costs of operation of
public streetlighting shall be borne by the City of Fredericksburg.
[Amended 1-22-2019 by Ord. No. 19-02]
Any required vehicular use area shall have direct access to
a public or private street via a driveway configured in accordance
with the following standards:
A. Location. All driveways shall be located so that:
(1)
Vehicles can enter and exit from a lot without posing any substantial
danger to themselves, pedestrians, or vehicles traveling on abutting
streets; and
(2)
Interference with the free and convenient flow of traffic on
abutting or surrounding streets is minimized.
B. Driveway aprons, constructed of 3,000 psi concrete a minimum of seven
inches thick, shall be provided between the curbline and the front
lot line, in accordance with VDOT specifications.
C. Nonresidential driveways.
(1)
Driveways for nonresidential uses shall not exceed 50 feet in
width at the curbline or more than 35 feet at the front lot line.
(2)
One-way driveways shall have a minimum width of 15 feet, and
two-way driveways shall be at least 24 feet wide, unless the Virginia
Statewide Fire Prevention Code requires wider access. In the Creative
Maker District, two-way nonresidential driveways on lots less than
75 feet wide shall be at least 12 feet wide and shall have a maximum
width of 24 feet.
[Amended 9-8-2020 by Ord. No. 20-17]
(3)
Commercial driveway pavement shall conform to Figure 72-52.1(B).
[Amended 1-22-2019 by Ord. No. 19-02]
A. If an alley is the sole means of motor vehicle access to a lot, it:
(1)
Shall have curb and gutter.
(2)
Shall have a minimum width of 24 feet unless the Virginia Statewide
Fire Prevention Code requires wider access;
(3)
Shall be constructed to the same standards as streets.
B. If an alley serves lots that front on a street, it:
(1)
Shall be a minimum width of 20 feet unless the Virginia Statewide
Fire Prevention Code requires wider access;
(2)
Shall incorporate roll curbs;
(3)
May be paved with alternative materials as provided in §
72-53.3G.
C. Alleys without through access shall include turnaround facilities consistent with cul-de-sac requirements specified for public streets, §
72-52.1 of this chapter.
[Amended 1-22-2019 by Ord. No. 19-02]
A. The recorded instrument creating any private street, commercial driveway
(ingress/egress easement), or alley, shall state that persons performing
maintenance on public facilities, and persons engaged in emergency
response or public services on behalf of the City, shall have a perpetual
easement for ingress and egress, to reach property to which the street,
driveway, or alley serves as access.
B. Private streets, commercial driveways, and alleys shall be perpetually
owned, managed and maintained by the property owner(s) in accordance
with a document, suitable for recordation among the public land records
of the City, approved and certified by the City Manager and the City
Attorney, prior to final subdivision plat or site plan approval. As
a condition of subdivision plat or site plan approval, the maintenance
agreement shall be recorded among the City's land records.
C. Whenever a subdivision street, commercial driveway, or alley is private,
the plat and all approved deeds of subdivision shall contain a statement
advising that the streets, commercial driveways, and alleys in the
subdivision will not be maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation
or the City.
D. The developer of any private streets, commercial driveways, or alleys
shall be required to provide a performance guarantee to ensure completion
in accordance with the requirements of this section.
[Added 1-22-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-02]
A. The Director of Public Works may grant modifications and exceptions
to the standards of this section on the basis of engineering studies
or engineering judgment, for any application subject to administrative
approval.
B. The Development Administrator may grant modifications and exceptions to the standards of §
72-52.1A, Street network, and § 72-52, Access, for site plans and subdivision plats for which he or she has approval authority.
C. City Council may grant modifications and exceptions to the standards
of this section on the basis of engineering studies or a recommendation
based on engineering judgment for any application subject to legislative
approval.
D. Unusual physiographic features, the existing pattern of development,
or lot size, shape, or configuration may justify a modification or
exception. Public safety shall be the paramount consideration.