The purpose of this Article is to manage access to land development while preserving the flow of traffic in terms of safety, capacity, functional classification, and level of service. The number and placement of driveways is established to reduce traffic conflicts by limiting and clearly defining the function of openings onto streets. This Article balances the right of reasonable access to private property with the rights of the citizens of the City to safe and efficient pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle travel. This Article is adopted to implement the access management policies of the City as set forth in the Transportation System Plan and State Highway Access Management policies.
The provisions in this Article shall apply to all arterials, collectors, and local streets within the City of The Dalles and The Dalles urban growth boundary, and to all properties which abut these roadways. The access classification system and standards of the Oregon Department of Transportation shall apply to all roadways on the State Highway System. The provisions of this Article shall not be construed to deny access to legal lots of record existing prior to the adoption date of this Title.
A.
Unified Access and Circulation. In the interest of promoting unified access and circulation systems, development sites under the same ownership or consolidated for the purposes of development and comprised of more than one building site shall not be considered separate properties in relation to the access standards of this Title. The number of connections permitted shall be the minimum number necessary to provide reasonable access to these properties, not the maximum available for that frontage. All necessary easements, agreements, and stipulations required by this Article shall be met. The owner and all lessees within the affected area are responsible for compliance with the requirements of this Title and both shall be cited for any violation.
B.
Connectivity. The street system of any proposed development shall be designed to coordinate with existing, proposed, and planned streets outside of the development. Where required by the approving authority, public street improvements may be required through a development site to provide for the logical extension of an existing street network or to connect a site with a nearby neighborhood activity center, such as a school or park. Where this creates a land division incidental to the development, a land partition shall be completed, per the provisions of Article 9.030: Partitions, Minor Replats, and Lot Line Adjustments, concurrent with the development.
C.
Corner Clearance.
1.
No new connections to public streets shall be permitted within the functional area of an intersection or interchange as defined by the spacing standards in Section 10.6.050.040 of this Article, unless no other reasonable access to the property is available.
2.
Where no other alternatives exist, the approving authority may allow construction of an access connection along the property line farthest from the intersection. In such cases, directional connections (for example: right in/out, right in only, right out only, medians) may be required.
D.
Joint and Cross Access. Adjacent commercial/office properties which are open to the public shall provide a cross access drive and pedestrian access to allow circulation between sites, and shall be subject to the following:
1.
A system of joint use driveways and cross access easements shall be established wherever feasible and shall incorporate the following:
a.
A continuous service drive or cross access corridor extending the entire length of each block served to provide for driveway separation consistent with the access management classification system and standards.
b.
A design speed of 10 mph and a maximum width of 22 feet to accommodate two-way travel aisles designated to accommodate automobiles, service, emergency, and loading vehicles.
c.
Stub-outs and other design features to make it visually obvious that the abutting properties may be tied in to provide cross-access.
d.
A unified access and circulation system plan for coordinated or shared parking areas.
2.
Shared parking areas shall be permitted a reduction in required parking spaces per the provisions of Section 10.7.020.060: Shared Parking or Section 10.7.020.070: Parking in Mixed Use Development.
3.
Where joint and cross access is provided, property owners shall:
a.
Record an easement with the deed allowing cross access to and from other properties served by the joint use driveways and cross access and/or service drive.
b.
Record an agreement with the deed that remaining access rights along the roadway will be dedicated to the City and pre-existing driveways will be eliminated after construction of the joint use driveway.
c.
Record a joint maintenance agreement with the deed defining the maintenance responsibilities of the property owners.
4.
The approving authority may modify or waive the requirements of this Article where the characteristics or layout of abutting properties would make development of a unified or shared access and circulation system impractical.
E.
Emergency Access. All development shall be arranged on site so as to provide safe and convenient access for emergency vehicles.
F.
Nonconforming Access. Permitted access connections which are in place as of the date of adoption of this Title that do not conform to the standards in this Article shall be designated nonconforming, and shall be brought into compliance with the applicable standards when any of the following occur:
1.
A new access connection permit(s) is approved.
2.
Structures or parking areas are enlarged by more than 20% of their respective total area.
3.
A change of use occurs on a specific site(s) which requires review, per the provisions of Article 6.150: Changes to Uses and Structures.
4.
A 20% increase in trip generation occurs.
5.
As roadway improvements allow.
G.
Phased Development Requirements. Each phase of a phased development, including the final development, shall be planned to conform to the provisions of this Article.
H.
Double Frontage Lots. When a residential subdivision is proposed that would abut on an arterial, through lots along the arterial shall be provided with access from a frontage road or interior local street. The access rights of these lots to the arterial shall be dedicated to the City and recorded with the deeds. A berm or buffer yard may be required at the rear of the through lots to buffer residences from traffic on the arterial. The berm or buffer yard shall not be located within the public right-of-way.
I.
In addition to the spacing standards in Section 10.6.050.040, access shall be taken from lower classification streets whenever possible.
A.
Separation Standards. Separation between access points shall conform to the access spacing standards as specified below in Table 1; however, access separation may be reduced to accommodate characteristics specific to a proposed site and/or use. In cases where separation is reduced below the preferred spacing standard, the reduction shall not be less than the appropriate stopping sight distance standard listed in Table 2 for arterial and collector streets, unless the approving authority finds that all of the provisions of Section 10.6.050.050 of this Article have been met. In no case shall the residential spacing standards for local residential streets listed in Table 3 be reduced.
B.
Vertical and Horizontal Curves. Plans should be checked in both the vertical and horizontal plan for site distance obstructions. If vertical or horizontal curves are located within the City's preferred access separation distance, a licensed professional engineer specializing in traffic shall recommend the spacing standard.
C.
Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Jurisdiction. ODOT access classification systems and standards shall apply to all roadways on the ODOT State Highway System.
Table 1: Access Spacing Standards for City Roadways. | ||
|---|---|---|
Functional Classification | Minimum Speed Posted | Minimum Spacing between Driveways and/or Streets |
Arterial Street (2-Way) | 25 - 40 mph | 300 - 400 feet |
Arterial Street (1-Way) | 25 - 35 mph | 150 - 300 feet |
Major Collector Street | 25 - 35 mph | 150 - 300 feet |
Minor Collector Street | 25 - 35 mph | 75 - 150 feet |
Major/Minor Collector Street in Industrial Area | 25 - 35 mph | 150 - 300 feet |
Table 2: Stopping Sight Distances, Arterials and Collectors (Spacing standards based on straight sight lines) | |
|---|---|
Posted Speed (MPH) | Stopping Sight Distance (feet) |
20 | 125 |
25 | 150 |
30 | 200 |
35 | 250 |
40 | 300 |
Table 3: Residential Minimum Spacing Standards | |
|---|---|
Local Residential Streets | Spacing |
20 - 25 MPH | • Interior Lots: 10 feet (shared driveways allowed) |
• Corner Lots: minimum 5 feet and maximum 10 feet from the interior property line | |
* | NOTE: Access to lots of record existing at the time of adoption of this Title shall not be denied. Table 1 identifies the City's access spacing standards as they relate to new development and redevelopment. Separation requirements between street intersections are listed in Section 10.9.020.020(B)(2): Size. |
The City may allow a reduction in the required minimum separation distance between access points on arterial and collector streets where such separation is impractical, due to existing street frontage, topography, natural resources, or physical barriers; provided a minimum separation based on safety is maintained and all of the following requirements are met:
A.
The City may allow a reduction in the required minimum separation distance between access points on arterial and collector streets where such separation is impractical due to existing street frontage, topography, natural resources, or physical barriers; provided a minimum separation based on safety is maintained and all of the following requirements are met:
1.
Public Safety. A licensed professional engineer specializing in traffic submits proof that a reasonable standard of public safety applies.
2.
Elimination of Replaced Access Points. The property owner enters into an agreement with the City to close and eliminate pre-existing connections on site which are being replaced by the new access point.
3.
Legal Lots of Record. The lot is a legal lot of record.
B.
The City may require one or more of the following as a condition of approval of an exception to the minimum access spacing standards:
1.
The nonconforming access be closed at such time that reasonable access becomes available to a local public street.
2.
The proposal includes agreement(s) with adjacent land owners to provide either joint access points, front and rear cross-over easements, or a rear access upon future redevelopment.