A. 
Location and alignment.
(1) 
All streets in the subdivision shall be designed so that, in the opinion of the Board, they will provide safe vehicular travel and discourage nonterminal traffic and excessive speed. Due consideration shall also be given by the subdivider to the attractiveness of the street layout in order to obtain the maximum livability and amenity of the subdivision.
(2) 
The proposed streets shall conform to the master or study plan when adopted in whole or in part by the Board.
(3) 
Provision satisfactory to the Board shall be made for the proper projection of streets, or for access to adjoining property which is not yet subdivided.
(4) 
Reserve strips prohibiting access to streets or adjoining property shall not be permitted.
(5) 
Streets shall be laid out so as to intersect as nearly as possible at right angles. No street shall intersect any other street at less than 60°.
(6) 
The minimum distance between adjacent parallel streets is 300 feet at intersections. This provision shall include streets on both sides of the street intersected. There shall be no offsets at intersections with four or more legs.
[Amended 3-21-1991]
(7) 
No new streets shall be designed so as to create zoning violations.
[Added 4-5-1990]
B. 
Type of streets.
(1) 
Any proposed street shall be indicated on the plans as being one of the following classes:
(a) 
Place: These streets shall be not over 500 feet in length, unless otherwise allowed by the Board, with no allowance for future extension. A maximum average daily traffic (ADT) of 100 vehicles per day will be allowed for a street to be classified as a place.
(b) 
Lane: The major purpose of these streets shall be to provide access to lots. They would be streets not subject to nonterminal traffic. The ADT for this type of street would be between 100 and 400 vehicles per day.
(c) 
Subcollector: The ADT for this type of street would be between 400 and 1,000 vehicles per day. For the most part this type of street will serve several places or lanes.
(d) 
Collector: The ADT for this type of street would be between 1,000 and 3,000 vehicles per day.
(e) 
Arterial: The ADT for this type of street would be over 3,000 vehicles per day.
(2) 
The ADT of a street shall be determined by applying a factor of 10 vehicles per day per lot served either directly or indirectly by the street plus an allowance for through traffic where applicable. The classification of each street in a subdivision and an estimate of its ADT should be included in or with the plans. The Planning Board reserves the right to make the final decision regarding the classification of a street and its estimated ADT. Consideration must be given to future traffic from undeveloped land which would be served by the proposed street system.
C. 
Design requirements. See Table 4.1.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 4.1 is included at the end of this chapter.
D. 
Intersections. The intersection of places and lanes with other streets shall have a property line radius of 15 feet and a curbline radius of 25 feet. The intersections of all other streets shall have a property line radius of 25 feet and a curb radius of 35 feet. The Planning Board reserves the right to increase these radii wherever it may deem necessary for public safety. Maximum grade allowed within 100 feet of an intersection, measured from the outer gutter line, is 2.5%.
[Amended 3-21-1991]
E. 
Dead-end streets.
[Amended 3-15-2001]
(1) 
“Dead-end streets” for the purpose of these regulations is a street meeting the design criteria for either a place, lane, subcollector, collector, or arterial which has only one means of access/egress.
(2) 
Dead-end streets shall not be longer than 500 feet measured from the nearest intersecting through street unless, in the opinion of the Board, a greater length is necessitated by topography or other local conditions.
(3) 
In order for a street not to be considered a dead-end street, there shall be at least two means of egress on to through streets. The two means of access/egress shall be separated by the distance of at least 300 feet.
(4) 
Dead-end streets shall be provided at the closed end with a turnaround having an outside roadway diameter of at least 100 feet and a property line diameter of at least 120 feet.
(5) 
Minimum gutter grades on culs-de-sac will be 1.00%.
A. 
Easements for proposed or future utilities across lots or centered on rear or side lot lines shall be provided and shall be at least 20 feet wide with provisions made for access thereto.
B. 
Where a subdivision is traversed by a watercourse, drainageway, channel or stream, a stormwater easement or drainage right-of-way 30 feet in width shall be provided. In addition to providing for construction, maintenance and access, said easements shall contain flowage rights. In the event that a stream is of a seasonal nature or the exact course cannot be determined, then total flowage rights across the land in question shall be provided.
C. 
When, in the opinion of the Planning Board, pedestrianways or bicycle paths should be provided to connect with adjacent land, an easement (or deed) shall be granted to the Town for such purpose. To the greatest extent possible, pedestrianway easements shall coincide with those of underground utilities.
A. 
Wherever possible, sanitary sewers shall be installed to serve a proposed subdivision. The sewers shall be designed so that the velocity of the flow will be at least two feet per second during periods of peak flow. The sizing of sanitary sewers shall be as specified in the Sanitary Sewer Study for the Town of Agawam, 1972, by Tighe & Bond and/or as approved by the Town Engineer. The total design of the system shall also meet with the approval of the Town Engineer.
B. 
In areas where sanitary sewers are not presently available but where provisions are made for their future construction in the Sanitary Sewer Study and the Town's capital budget program, then a capped sanitary system, including laterals, shall be installed.
C. 
Sewage pumping stations or lift stations, where necessary and allowed, shall meet with the approval of the Town Engineer. In general these stations will only be allowed where called for in the Sanitary Sewer Study. In some cases stations other than those shown in the study will be allowed if it can be demonstrated that the station will be able to be eliminated by trunk sewer construction in the foreseeable future. The costs of operating and maintaining a station shall not be assumed by the Town until one year from the date of completion of the last house in the last section of the subdivision.
D. 
The sewer lateral to each lot shall be shown on the plans. During the time the applicant is responsible for the station he shall enter into an agreement with the Town of Agawam relative to its maintenance and operation.
A. 
A system of drains shall be installed to collect stormwater from the proposed streets and lots and to transmit the water to a point where it may be discharged in a natural watercourse or stream. The drains shall be designed to have a minimum velocity at design flow of three feet per second and a maximum velocity of 10 feet per second. The sizing of storm drains and culverts shall be as specified in the Report on Storm Drainage for the Town of Agawam by Tighe & Bond, 1972, and/or as approved by the Town Engineer.
B. 
In general, surface water from the lots shall not be deposited directly into the ways. The area within the setback line may be graded to drain toward the street line. All other surface water from individual lots shall be handled insofar as possible within the lots themselves. Developers shall provide for lot surface drainage by a system separate from drainage of the street, by the use of swales, culverts, retention ponds, yard drains and piping, riprapped outlets at the water body, etc., in a manner which shall protect the natural water table unless the lowering of the water table is necessary for the health of the occupants. Strict attention shall be paid to the relationship of leaching fields to surrounding grading. Surface water systems shall not connect into the road drainage system except by permission of the Board, in which case such condition shall be noted on the approved plan. The total design of the system shall also meet with the approval of the Town Engineer.
C. 
Where, in the opinion of the Town Engineer and/or Planning Board, the discharge of stormwater from a subdivision will alter the character of a watercourse to overflow its banks (confines), then the applicant will be required to submit drainage and flowage easements along said watercourse to a point where it is determined by the Town Engineer and/or Planning Board that the effect of the stormwater drainage discharge will have a negligible effect on the watercourse. The easements and flowage rights shall be of such width to cover the extent of the suspected flooding. These easements and flowage rights will be required both within and outside of the boundaries of the proposed subdivision. The total design of the system shall also meet with the approval of the Town Engineer.
D. 
All subdivisions shall be constructed in conformance with the Town Storm Drainage Ordinance.[1] Detention ponds will be utilized as required, and each detention pond will be fenced except as otherwise required by the Department of Public Works. Construction standards shall comply with Department of Public Works Standards. No dry wells or leaching fields for the underground disposal of stormwater will be allowed. No stormwater holding ponds without positive surface outlets shall be allowed.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Art. VII of Ch. 175, Water and Sewers.
E. 
Lot grading plan procedures. The Town of Agawam requires the following procedure to be followed for lot grading plans for all subdivisions approved after January 1, 2004.
[Added 3-4-2004; amended 1-19-2006]
(1) 
Review scope. This review/approval process will address drainage and runoff concerns for the lot in question, adjacent lots, and the subdivision as a whole only. The elevation of the foundation is reviewed for comparison to adjacent grades, and generally for comparison to adjacent homes. This review does not address the constructability of the foundation.
(2) 
Procedure overview.
(a) 
Step 1: Lot grading plan approval. The owner's engineer/surveyor submits information for review and approval to Agawam DPW Engineering. It is hoped that the owner is part of this process in order to expedite Step 2.
(b) 
Step 2: Builder/owner sign-off. The owner and builder send a letter to DPW indicating that the approved lot grading plan will be complied with during construction. The owner/builder sign-off, including all information shown in the sample letter, must be forwarded to DPW within one week after Step 1 is complete. The white form will be forwarded from DPW to the Building Department for the building permit after this step is complete.
(c) 
Step 3: Construction field check. The builder/owner will contact DPW Engineering to schedule a field check on the top of foundation wall to ensure compliance with the approved lot grading plan. The fee for this inspection is $70. The builder/owner must allow a forty-eight-hour window for DPW to perform the field check. DPW is available Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except holidays. The builder will be contacted by Agawam DPW with the results of the field check. Failure by the builder to comply with the approved lot grading plan will result in DPW notifying the Planning Board. The Planning Board will then request the Building Department to issue a stop-work order for the lot until a resolution can be agreed upon.
(d) 
Step 4: Upon completion of construction and prior to a certificate of occupancy being issued by the Inspector of Buildings, the builder/owner will submit an as-built plan to the Inspection Services Department. The as-built plan shall be prepared by a registered land surveyor. Failure to submit the as-built plan shall result in a hold on the issuing of the certificate of occupancy. If the as-built plan shows deviation from the lot grading plan, the builder/owner will be required to receive approval for the new plan from the Planning Board prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
A. 
Water mains and appurtenances such as hydrants, valves, blowoffs and air release valves shall be installed to serve all lots on each street in the subdivision. The sizing of water mains shall be as specified in the Water Distribution Study when completed and/or as required by the Town Engineer. In general the minimum size water main that will be allowed is an eight-inch-diameter line.
B. 
Hydrants shall be installed to provide fire protection to the subdivision. The maximum distance allowed between hydrants is 500 feet. Wherever possible, hydrants should be located at lot lines.
C. 
All intersections of water mains shall be fully valved. Also, main line valves shall be installed every 1,000 feet along a water main.
D. 
The water service connection to each lot shall be indicated on the plans. The total design of the system shall also meet with the approval of the Town Engineer.
Underground electric and telephone lines and gas mains, including service connections, shall be shown on the plans. The location of streetlighting standards shall be indicated on the plans and the lighting shall be of a type adopted for use in the Town of Agawam. The location and design of streetlighting systems shall meet the requirements of the Department of Public Works. Letters from respective utility companies shall be submitted to the Board indicating their approval of the utility design.
Before approval of a plan, the Board may also in proper cases require the plan to show a park or parks suitably located for playground or recreation purposes or for providing light and air. The park or parks shall not be unreasonable in area in relation to the land being subdivided and to the prospective uses of such land. The Board may, by appropriate endorsement on the plan, require that no building be erected upon such park or parks without its approval.
Strict regard shall be shown for all natural features, such as large trees, watercourses, scenic points, historic spots and similar community assets which, if preserved, will add attractiveness and value to the subdivision.
Provisions for pedestrian and bicycle access shall be made in all subdivisions connecting public open space or commercial areas. When roads do not connect with the adjacent subdivisions or open land, such nonvehicular access shall be provided. The pedestrian/bike path shall be eight feet in paved width with a minimum easement or deeded width of 16 feet. All ways shall be clearly marked and landscaped to protect adjoining lot owners. Such ways shall be secured by easement or deeded to the Town.