The purpose of this section is to ensure that developments provide safe and efficient access and circulation for pedestrians and vehicles.
(Ord. 389 § 1(Exh. A), 2009)
This section applies to all streets within the City and to all properties that abut these streets. The standards apply when lots are created, consolidated, or modified through a land division, lot line adjustment, lot consolidation, or street vacation; and when properties are subject to site design review.
(Ord. 389 § 1(Exh. A), 2009; Ord. 468 § 1, 2014)
A. 
Access to Arterial and Collector Streets.
1. 
Location and design of all accesses to and/or from arterials and collectors (as designated in the transportation system plan) are subject to review and approval by the City Engineer. Where practical, access from a lower functional order street shall be required.
2. 
Accesses to arterials or collectors shall be in accordance with the City's Transportation System Plan. Exceptions may be granted by the City Engineer. Evaluations of exceptions shall consider posted speed of the street on which access is proposed, constraints due to lot patterns, and effects on safety and capacity of the adjacent public street, bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
3. 
No development site that abuts an arterial or collector street shall be allowed more than one access point to that street (as designated in the transportation system plan) except as approved by the City Engineer. Evaluations of exceptions shall consider posted speed of street on which access is proposed, constraints due to lot patterns, and effects on safety and capacity of the adjacent public street, bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
4. 
When developed property is to be expanded or altered in a manner that significantly affects on-site parking or circulation, both existing and proposed accesses shall be reviewed under the standards in subsections (B)(1) and (B)(2) of this section. As a part of an expansion or alteration approval, the City may require relocation and/or reconstruction of existing accesses not meeting those standards.
5. 
When a partition, subdivision or a planned unit development abuts or contains an existing or proposed arterial street as defined within the Comprehensive Plan, the review body shall require reverse frontage lots, thereby precluding access to the parkway streets.
B. 
Driveways.
1. 
A driveway to an off-street parking area shall be improved from the public roadway to the parking area a minimum width of 20 feet for a two-way drive or 12 feet for a one-way drive but in either case not less than the full width of the standard approach for the first 20 feet of the driveway.
2. 
Access to and from off-street parking areas shall not permit backing onto a public street, except for single-family dwellings.
3. 
A driveway for a single-family dwelling or an accessory structure serving as a garage or home occupation shall have a minimum width of 12 feet. Driveway approaches and vehicular maneuvering areas must be constructed in accordance with applicable City standards and the entire drive must be paved with asphalt or concrete or an approved permeable or semi-permeable surface.
4. 
A driveway for a two-family dwelling shall have a minimum width of 20 feet. A driveway approach must be constructed in accordance with applicable City standards and the entire driveway must be paved with asphalt or concrete or an approved permeable or semi-permeable surface.
5. 
Driveways, aisles, turnaround areas and ramps shall have a minimum vertical clearance of 12 feet for their entire length and width but such clearance may be reduced in parking structures.
6. 
No driveway shall traverse a slope of 12 percent or greater without approval from Clackamas Fire District #1. In no case shall the driveway slope be greater than 15 percent without a design exception approved by the city engineer.
7. 
The location and design of the driveway within the lot frontage shall provide for unobstructed sight pursuant to the vision clearance requirements. Requests for exceptions to these requirements will be evaluated by the public works director considering the physical limitations of the lot and safety impacts to vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic.
8. 
The number of driveway and private street intersections with public streets should be minimized by the use of shared driveways for adjoining lots where feasible. When necessary for traffic safety and access management purposes, or to access flag lots, the City Engineer may require joint access and/or shared driveways.
9. 
A driveway must line up with surrounding streets and meet the connectivity standards for full street connections in Section 16.50.030(B)(9)(a) if it meets one or more of the following:
a. 
Intersects with a public street that is controlled, or is to be controlled in the planning period, by a traffic signal;
b. 
Intersects with an existing or planned arterial or collector street; or
c. 
Would be an extension of an existing or planned local street, or of another major driveway.
(Ord. 389 § 1(Exh. A), 2009; Ord. 422 § 1, 2012; Ord. 501 § 1, 2016; Ord. 507 § 1, 2016; Ord. 545 § 1, 2019; Ord. 582, 3/19/2024)
To ensure safe, direct and convenient pedestrian circulation, all developments, shall provide a continuous pedestrian and/or multi-use pathway system consistent with the City's TSP and Happy Valley Parks Master Plan. (Pathways only provide for pedestrian circulation; multi-use pathways accommodate pedestrians and bicycles.) The system of pathways shall be designed based on the standards in subsections A through E of this section.
A. 
Continuous Pathways. The pathway system shall extend throughout the development site, and connect to all future phases of development, adjacent trails, public parks and open space areas whenever possible. The developer may also be required to connect or stub pathway(s) to adjacent streets and private property.
B. 
Safe, Direct and Convenient Pathways. Pathways within all developments, except single-family detached housing (i.e., on individual lots), single-family attached housing, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and cottage cluster housing, shall provide safe, reasonably direct and convenient connections between primary building entrances and all adjacent streets. For purposes of this Code section, the "primary entrance" of commercial, industrial, mixed use, public and institutional buildings is the main public entrance to the building. In the case where no public entrance exists, street connections shall be provided to the main employee entrance. For residential buildings, the "primary entrance" is the front door (i.e., facing the street). For multifamily buildings in which each unit does not have its own exterior entrance, the "primary entrance" may be a lobby, courtyard or breezeway that serves as a common entrance for more than one dwelling. A determination of whether or not a bicycle or pedestrian route is safe, direct, and convenient will be based on the following criteria:
1. 
Planned bicycle and pedestrian routes do not deviate unnecessarily from a straight line and will not involve a significant amount of out-of-direction travel for likely users.
2. 
Bicycle and pedestrian routes are reasonably free from hazards and provide safe access to destinations.
C. 
Connection within Development. For all developments subject to site design review, pathways shall connect to all building entrances to one another. In addition, pathways shall connect all parking areas, storage areas, recreational facilities and common areas (as applicable), and adjacent developments to the site, as applicable.
D. 
Connections to Transit.
1. 
New multi-family, retail, office and institutional buildings at or near major transit stops shall provide for convenient pedestrian access to transit through the use of the continuous pathway system outlined in subsections A and B above. "At a major transit stop" means a parcel or ownership that is adjacent to or includes a major transit stop, generally including portions of such parcels or ownerships that are within 200 feet of a major transit stop. "Near a major transit stop" means a parcel or ownership that is within 300 feet of a major transit stop.
2. 
In addition to other requirements in this section, sites that are located at a major transit stop shall provide the following:
a. 
Either locate buildings within 20 feet of the transit stop, a transit street or an intersection street, or provide a pedestrian plaza at the transit stop or a street intersection;
b. 
A reasonably direct pedestrian connection between the transit stop and building entrances on the site;
c. 
A transit passenger landing pad accessible to disabled persons;
d. 
Lighting at the transit stop;
e. 
An easement or dedication for a passenger shelter and an underground utility connection to a major transit stop if requested by the public transit provider; and
f. 
Intersection and mid-block traffic management improvements as needed and practicable to enable marked crossings at major transit stops.
E. 
Design and Construction. Pathways shall be a minimum of five feet in width, hard surfaced (unless in the Natural Resources Overlay Zone), and designed and built in accordance with City public works standards. The City Engineer may approve an alternative design based on site constraints.
(Ord. 389 § 1(Exh. A), 2009; Ord. 507 § 1, 2016; Ord. 534 § 1, 2017; Ord. 561 § 1, 2022; Ord. 592, 6/3/2025)