[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Southeast as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Numbering of buildings — See Ch. 54A.
Excavations and grading — See Ch. 69.
Stormwater management and erosion control — See Ch. 119.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 121.
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 123.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 131.
Zoning — See Ch. 138.
Parking lot rules and regulations — See Ch. A142.
Road and drainage specifications — See Ch. A143.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 - Driveway Permit
[Adopted 3-26-1977 by L.L. No. 1-1977]
A. 
It is declared to be the purpose of this article to prevent and deter the continuing erosion, destruction and costs of repairing Town highways in the Town of Southeast, which destruction has arisen as a result of the lack of conformity in driveways and drainage standards of both residential and commercial construction within said Town.
B. 
In order to alleviate the traffic hazards and to eliminate the impaired condition of the Town highway system and to eliminate the additional repair and maintenance costs caused or aggravated by drain problems, this article is hereby adopted.
No person, association, corporation or firm shall excavate in, upon, under or immediately adjoining any Town highway located in the Town of Southeast or street in a subdivision approved by the Southeast Planning Board without having first obtained a written permit for said excavation, which permit shall be issued in accordance with the provisions of this article.
No person, association, corporation or firm shall lay, construct, open or maintain any drain or conductor pipe in such a manner that the water from said drain or conductor pipe shall be discharged upon any Town highway in the Town of Southeast or street in a subdivision approved by the Southeast Planning Board without having first obtained a permit in accordance with the provisions of this article.
No person, association, corporation or firm shall establish, build, construct, reconstruct or pave a driveway or private driveway for vehicular traffic which abuts upon or adjoins a Town highway or street in a subdivision approved by the Southeast Planning Board without having first obtained a written permit in accordance with the provisions of this article.
The Town Board of the Town of Southeast shall adopt and may by resolution amend, as required, the specifications concerning the construction of driveways abutting a Town highway or a street in a subdivision approved by the Southeast Planning Board. In adopting or amending such specifications, it shall consider the location of said driveway, its effect upon the highway drainage system, its effect upon the safety of said highway to the users thereof, the width and character of the affected highway, the density of the traffic upon said highway and the character and nature of said traffic. No such permits shall be issued except and unless the driveway, construction or excavation shall conform to the specifications as adopted by the Town Board.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Article II of this chapter.
A. 
The Town Board of the Town of Southeast may require the posting of a performance bond or other security, in an amount to be determined by that Board upon recommendation from the Highway Superintendent of the Town of Southeast, to insure completion of the proposed driveway construction or excavation in accordance with the permit application prior to the issuance of any permit in accordance with the provisions of this article.
B. 
The requirements of a performance bond may be set forth by the Town Board in the specifications adopted pursuant to § 64-5 of this article.
A. 
No building permit shall be issued for any structure which requires a new or improved driveway or access road until the Superintendent or his authorized representative has issued a driveway permit in accordance with this article and general specifications governing construction of driveways in the Town.
B. 
No certificate of occupancy shall be approved until the Superintendent or his authorized representative approves the driveway or extends the driveway permit.
C. 
An application for a driveway permit pursuant to this article shall be made upon a form approved by the Town Board and shall be delivered when completed to the Town Highway Superintendent, who shall process the same in accordance with this article and the specifications adopted by the Town Board.
D. 
If a proposed driveway is not constructed within one year of the date of an issuance of a permit by the Superintendent, said permit shall be null and void.
[Amended 6-16-1988 by L.L. No. 5-1988]
The application for a driveway permit shall be accompanied by a fee as set forth from time to time by resolution of the Town Board, made payable to the Town of Southeast.
[Amended 6-16-1988 by L.L. No. 5-1988]
Any violation of this article is hereby declared to be a violation, punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 or imprisonment for a period of up to 15 days, or both. Each week of continued violation shall constitute a separate and additional violation. The Town Board may also provide for additional penalties in the specifications adopted pursuant to § 64-5 of this article.
[Adopted 6-21-1990 by L.L. No. 3-1990]
As used herein, the words listed below shall have the following meanings:
HIGHWAY
A Town highway, Town street or Town road.
STREET
A street in a subdivision approved by the Southeast Planning Board but not accepted by the Town of Southeast.
SUPERINTENDENT
The Highway Superintendent of the Town of Southeast.
TOWN
The Town of Southeast.
TOWN BOARD
The Town Board of the Town of Southeast.
TOWN COUNSEL
The attorney acting for and on behalf of the Town of Southeast as authorized by the Town Board.
These specifications shall apply to the construction of new driveways and shall also apply to the reconstruction and/or paving of existing driveways, except that in the latter case the Superintendent may waive certain requirements contained herein if he finds that extraordinary and unnecessary hardships may result from strict compliance with these specifications.
A driveway or access road serving private property and intersecting with a highway or street shall be constructed in such a manner that it does not interfere with the existing drainage, the movement of traffic or the removal of snow from the abutting highway or street.
The driveway shall be constructed in such a manner that it does not permit the runoff of water from the abutting highway or street to enter into the property of the owner or adjacent properties, thereby creating a nuisance to the Town and a property owner, unless an easement, in form satisfactory to the Town Counsel and approved by the Town Board, is granted by such owner to the Town for such runoff.
Driveways shall be graded for a distance of at least 25 feet in from the right-of-way line of an abutting highway or street so as to prevent erosion of earth materials onto Town property or the street right-of-way and shall be designed in a manner so as to confine the surface water to the gutter areas and permit free flowage of the water in the waterways of the highway or street. Driveway grades for that portion of the driveway within the right-of-way of a highway or street shall conform to the profile for curb cut and driveway shown on the typical road sections contained in the Road and Drainage Specifications of the Town of Southeast.[1] Where a driveway will abut an existing highway or street that does not conform to the required pavement width of said typical road sections, that portion of the driveway lying within the standard pavement dimension from center line to curbline shall continue the required pavement cross-slope from the existing edge of the pavement to the required curbline, as shown on said typical road sections. Changes in driveway grades beyond the highway or street right-of-way shall not exceed 8% per 10 feet, and the maximum grade shall not exceed 15%.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. A143, Road and Drainage Specifications.
Driveways shall be paved and surfaced as follows:
A. 
Driveways that have a descending grade from the highway or street shall be paved with a minimum of two inches of compacted dense-graded bituminous concrete placed over a minimum of eight inches of well-graded run-of-bank gravel, and said pavement shall extend from the intersection of the driveway with the highway or street edge of the pavement to the right-of-way line of the highway or street or to a distance of 25 feet from said edge of pavement, whichever is greater. The remainder of the driveway shall have a surface course of at least eight inches of compacted well-graded run-of-bank gravel.
B. 
Driveways that have an ascending grade from the highway or street shall be paved as specified hereinabove for driveways with a descending grade, except that the bituminous concrete pavement shall extend the full length of the driveway.
C. 
The minimum width of driveway pavement shall be 10 feet, and the minimum corner radius at the intersection of a highway or street and sides of the driveway pavement shall be five feet. The maximum width of driveway and the maximum corner radii shall be as approved by the Superintendent.
Where culverts under driveways are required by the Superintendent within the highway or street right-of-way, such culverts shall be constructed of asphalt-coated corrugated metal pipe or reinforced concrete pipe and shall be of such size, not less than 15 inches in diameter, as to adequately convey under the driveway all surface runoff which may be reasonably expected to reach the culvert inlet. Inlet and outlet ends of culverts shall have rubble stone or concrete endwalls or metal end sections.
Where the topography of lands contiguous to an ascending driveway is such that stormwater runoff from these lands would discharge onto said driveway, special provisions shall be made to prevent this runoff from flowing from the driveway onto the abutting highway or street. Such special provisions shall be as approved by the Superintendent.
The Superintendent may require the removal of sight obstructions or adjustments of cut slopes adjacent to intersections of a private driveway with a highway or street in order to assure an adequate sight distance at the intersection.
All earth slopes within the highway or street right-of-way shall not be steeper than one unit vertical to 1 1/2 units horizontal, shall be covered with a minimum of four inches of topsoil and shall be suitably seeded or planted with a permanent grass-type seed mixture to prevent erosion.
The owner and owner's contractor shall hold the Town, the Superintendent and their agents and employees harmless against any action for personal injury or property damage sustained by reason of the exercise of this permit.
The Superintendent or his authorized representative must inspect the site of the proposed driveway before any permit for construction of the driveway is issued. The Superintendent or his authorized representative shall be notified at least 48 hours in advance of beginning any driveway construction operations.
All construction work covered by a driveway permit shall be subject to the inspection and approval of the Superintendent or his authorized representative and completed within 90 days after commencing construction, unless an extension of time is granted by the Superintendent upon written application by the owner for such extension and for good cause shown. Said extension of time by the Superintendent shall not exceed 150 days and shall not be issued by the Superintendent until a minimum of eight inches of compacted well-graded run-of-bank gravel has been placed on the driveway subgrade in such manner as to permit safe and convenient usage of the driveway. Such extension of time shall be conditioned upon the receipt of a permit bond. The owner of said driveway shall provide the Town Council with a permit bond form, with surety and conditions satisfactory to the Town Council, in the sum of $2,000.
In the event that a driveway is not completed in accordance with these specifications within 90 days after commencing construction or in the event that an extension of time has been given by the Superintendent, within 150 days from the date of issuance of said extension, the owner of said driveway shall be liable to a penalty of $5 per day for each day beyond the permitted completion date that the driveway remains uncompleted, up to a maximum of $500.
In the event that the Superintendent is required to make more than one inspection, the applicant will be required to pay the sum of $300 in advance of such inspection for each additional inspection.
In the event that Chapter 138, Zoning, or Chapter 123, Subdivision of Land, shall provide different specifications than the specifications herein provided for, these specifications shall supersede all such other specifications of Chapter 138, Zoning, or Chapter 123, Subdivision of Land.
All applications for a driveway permit must be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of $25. No action will be taken upon such application until the fee is paid. Such application shall be in the form prescribed by the Highway Superintendent and shall be in a manner similar to that annexed hereto.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The driveway permit application form is included at the end of this chapter.
The issuance of a driveway permit does not supersede or modify in any respect any provisions of the Town Building Code or any other conflicting provisions within the Town Code. In the event of such conflict, those other provisions shall control.
The payment of the application fee shall be made to the Receiver of Taxes during normal business hours. Upon payment of such fee, the Receiver of Taxes will indicate that payment has been made.