The driveway of a common drive development shall be constructed to minimum standards as described in this article. The following regulations shall apply to a common drive development:
A. The common drive:
[Amended 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 16]
(1) Shall not be extended and shall not be an extension of an existing common drive;
(2) Shall not be connected to any other way except the way from which it originates;
(3) Shall serve no more than three lots;
(4) A common drive shall be no longer than 400 feet. For purposes of this subsection, the length of the common drive shall be measured from its intersection with the public way from which it originates to the most distant point serving more than one lot; and
(5) Shall enter from the same public way which serves as frontage for the lots in the common drive development, unless unique circumstances are such that the Planning Board may permit access from a public way not fronting every lot in the common drive development.
B. A lot may be served by the common drive only if the ownership of that lot provides mandatory membership in an owners' association responsible for annual and long-term maintenance, including, but not limited to, removal of ice and snow from the common drive. See §
145-45D(13).
[Amended 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 16]
C. A common drive development shall only be allowed for single-dwelling or duplex residential use.
D. Each lot shall abut a public way meeting the requirements of the zoning bylaw in effect with regard to the district in which the lot is located at the time of the application. All other dimensional requirements, as defined in §
145-16 of the Zoning Bylaw, for lots served by a common driveway, including but not limited to lot area, coverage, width, and setback of front, side and rear yards, as measured in relation to the street serving as the legal frontage for the lots, shall be the same as would be required for those lots had they not shared a common driveway. A lot in more than one zone shall be governed by the requirements for the zone in which the majority (more than 50%) of the lot is located.
[Amended 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 16]
E. Each lot shall front on the common drive right-of-way for a minimum distance of twenty feet or for such distance as the Planning Board deems necessary to provide adequate access to the interior of the lot from said right-of-way.
F. In accordance with §
145-69A(1) and §
145-42B, the Planning Board may issue a special permit for a common drive development if the applicant demonstrates to the Planning Board that the construction of the common drive will:
(1) Cause less environmental damage to the lots, specifically to wetland resource areas and slopes, than either separate driveways or a subdivision, while allowing vehicular access to each lot; and
(2) Preserve or enhance the prevalent character of the area by reducing curb cuts that would be otherwise allowed and by maintaining extant vegetation and topography.
A common drive
designed and constructed in accordance with these requirements is not a street which may be accepted as a public way. In granting a special permit for a common drive, the Planning Board shall impose a condition prohibiting the lot owners from petitioning for acceptance of the common drive as a public way, unless the mandatory owners' association presents a petition to the Town demonstrating that the common drive conforms to Chapter
270, Subdivision of Land, of the Code of the Town of
Belchertown, for the construction and laying of ways, including requirements pertaining to cul-de-sac or dead-end streets, and demonstrating that the lots served by the common drive, with structures as built, conform with dimensional regulations (§
145-16) applicable to the zoning district with respect to lot area, frontage, coverage, setbacks and lot width. A lot divided by the common drive right-of-way shall be considered as two separate lots for purposes of this demonstration, with new lot lines as created by the proposed new public way.
A special permit granted under this article shall lapse after 24 months if substantial construction has not begun by such date, except for good cause shown and approved by the Planning Board.