No driveway entrance or exit into a highway of the Town of Henrietta
shall be cut, constructed, enlarged, altered, or placed without having
first received a permit to do so from the Henrietta Town Superintendent
of Highways. For driveways proposed to be cut, constructed, enlarged,
altered, or placed onto county or state highways (as opposed to Town
highways), permit shall be obtained from the Superintendent of Highways,
or similar authority, for the county or state, as applicable.
The Superintendent may place requirements upon the driveway
permit in addition to those found in this article, for purposes including,
but not limited to, safety, future planning, efficient traffic flow,
utility placement and access, etc. In addition to such permit requirements,
the driveway shall also be compliant with this article.
Driveway construction, entrance and exit requirements, shall
be as follows:
A. The applicant shall furnish all materials and bear all costs of construction
within the Town highway right-of-way and pay the cost of all work
done and materials furnished as required to comply with this article
and meet the conditions of any permit issued by the Town Superintendent
of Highways.
B. No alteration or addition shall be made to any driveway nor shall
any such driveway be relocated without first securing a permit from
the Town Superintendent of Highways.
C. All driveway entrances/exits (defined as the portion of the driveway
which lies within or directly intersects with a public right-of-way)
shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Commercial and/or industrial properties are limited to two driveway
entrances/exits from a single street frontage, and a maximum of three
entrances/exits total, if there are multiple street frontages. All
other properties, including residential properties, are limited to
two driveway entrances/exits.
(2) The maximum width for a single driveway entrance/exit shall be 50
feet for commercial and/or industrial properties and 24 feet all other
properties, including residential properties.
(3) If there are multiple driveway entrance/exits for a property, the
maximum width for each entrance/exit shall be 35 feet for commercial
and/or industrial properties, and an aggregate width of 30 feet for
all other properties, including residential properties.
(4) Private roads through plaza parking lots or other such developments
which intersect with public rights of way are not driveway entrances/exits,
and require Planning Board approval and shall be sized according to
requirements from any applicable traffic studies, from the Planning
Board, and from the jurisdiction that holds the right-of-way through
which the private road enters, and not in accordance with this article.
D. The driveway entrance/exit shall intersect the road pavement at an
intersecting angle of at least 75° or greater.
E. No driveway shall be permitted within 50 feet of any public highway
intersection.
F. No driveway onto a Town right-of-way will be permitted where sight
distance is less than 350 feet in each direction. Sight distance requirements
on county and state roads must also comply with the corresponding
Highway Authority's regulations/permit regarding driveway entrances.
G. A fully dimensioned plan of the proposed driveway shall be attached
to each application for a permit required hereunder.
H. Any culvert pipe required to be installed at such driveway entrance
or exit shall be of smooth-interior corrugated plastic pipe, reinforced
concrete pipe or corrugated metal pipe no smaller than 12 inches in
diameter and no shorter than 26 feet in length.
I. All driveways shall be improved and paved with asphalt or concrete.
However, houses carrying a historic designation, or those houses located
on a zoning-compliant parcel within a Rural Residential Zoning District
may instead be paved with stone, but only on those portions not within
the right-of-way - the area within the right-of-way must still be
paved with asphalt or concrete.
J. All driveways shall be constructed in accordance with the New York
State requirements.
K. On that portion of the driveway not within the public right-of-way (i.e., not the driveway entrance/exit), the maximum width of the driveway shall be up to the greater of either 24 feet, or a width equal to the width of the garage on the side of the garage where vehicles enter. Within the right-of-way (i.e., at the driveway entrance/exit), Subsection
C above shall apply.
L. All driveways, including driveway extensions and turnarounds, shall
be located at least five feet from any property line.
M. Driveway extensions carry the driveway past the side of the garage
where vehicles enter and exit, and/or outside of the area of the driveway
intended for parking for the primary residence and instead intended
for use as either access to accessory structures, and/or storage of
trailers, boats, recreational vehicles or the like. Driveway extensions
shall meet the following criteria:
(1) Driveway extensions must be paved with asphalt, concrete, or crushed
stone to a minimum depth of six inches.
(2) Driveway extensions shall be no wider than 12 feet in width.
(3) A driveway extension shall be laid out according to one of the following:
(a)
The driveway extension shall run parallel to the side of the
garage with the far side of the driveway extension no more than 12
feet from the side of the garage. The driveway extension may not extend
any further than the back wall (opposite the entrance) of the garage.
(b)
The driveway extension shall run from the driveway to an accessory
structure and cannot extend beyond the front wall, which contains
the accessory structure's entrance, of the accessory structure.
(4) A driveway extension may only be utilized for the purposes set forth above, shall not act as a primary parking area, and may only be used in accord with Henrietta Town Code, including §
207-12.
N. Driveway turnarounds are intended to allow a driver to turnaround
on a driveway when backing in or out of the driveway might present
a dangerous condition. Driveway turnarounds must meet the following
criteria.
(1) Driveway turnarounds are permitted on driveways that enter/exit onto
county or state roads.
(2) Driveway turnarounds are not included in driveway width calculations
- all driveway width calculations are made as if the driveway turnaround
were not present.
(3) Driveway turnarounds may be no more than 20 feet deep, as measured
from the side of the driveway to the back of the turnaround.
(4) Driveway turnarounds may be no more than 12 feet long, as measured
from front to back along a path parallel to the driveway.
(5) Driveway turnarounds must be situated roughly perpendicular to the
driveway with an intersecting angle of no less than 75°.
(6) Driveway turnarounds must be located no closer than 20 feet from any structure and 10 feet from the right-of-way, and shall meet side setbacks at Subsection
L herein.
(7) Driveway turnarounds may not result in more than 50% of the front
lawn being used as driveway, driveway turnaround, and/or driveway
extension.
(8) Driveway turnarounds must be paved in the same manner as the driveway
itself.
(9) A driveway turnaround may only be used for the purposes set forth
above, and shall not act as a primary parking area.
O. Preexisting, nonconforming uses.
(1) All driveway extensions legally existing at the time of the enactment of Subsection
M above (Month DD, 2021), shall be permitted, nonconforming extensions but shall not be dimensionally altered other than in conformance with the requirements of this article.
(2) All driveway turnarounds legally existing at the time of the enactment of Subsection
N above (Month DD, 2021), shall be permitted, nonconforming turnarounds but shall not be dimensionally altered other than in conformance with the requirements of this article. Furthermore, any driveway width variances granted for purposes of installing said preexisting nonconforming turnarounds shall only apply to the allowable depth of the turnaround and shall not allow an increase the overall width of their driveway beyond the specifications contained herein.
Applications for driveway permits shall be on forms furnished
by the Town Superintendent of Highways and shall be filed in the Department
of Public Works or the Department of Building and Fire Prevention.
[Amended 9-27-2023 by L.L. No. 9-2023]
A. Failure
to comply with this article shall constitute a violation, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine in the minimum amount
of $100, up to a maximum amount of $250. Each week's continued violation,
after notice of violation from the Town of Henrietta, shall constitute
a separate and additional violation.
B. Remedies
not exclusive. No remedy or penalty set forth herein shall be the
exclusive remedy available, and each remedy or penalty set forth herein
shall be in addition to other remedies which may be available to the
Town, including but not limited to an action or proceeding in the
name of the Town in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance
with or to restrain by injunction any violation of this article.