Ordinance #20170510-1, Road, Driveway and Right-of-Way
Town of Clover
Ordinance #20170510-1, Road, Driveway and Right-of-Way Ordinance (replaces Ordinance #090909)
Whereas, the Town Board finds that it is necessary and in the Public interest to regulate the design, location and construction of private vehicular access points onto public highways in order to ensure that proposed and constructed improvements and consistent with the public safety and welfare and will not cause undue expense to the Town in connection with future maintenance of the adjacent highways and right-of-way, and
Whereas, the Town Board finds that it is reasonable, appropriate and in the public interest to require that property owners constructing new or replacement driveways reimburse the Town for all of the costs that it incurs in reviewing plans, inspecting construction and in otherwise regulating the driveway construction; and
Whereas, the Town Board finds that previously enacted Ordinances include burdensome requirements not reflective of the needs of the Town in terms of either potential costs to the Town of road repair, or the public safety and welfare needs of this small Town;
Now, therefore be it resolved that the Board of Supervisors of the Town of Clover, Bayfield County, Wisconsin, does hereby rescind all previously enacted ordinances relating to the construction and/or maintenance of driveways and roads that connect onto public highways and roads and does ordain that Ordinance #20170208 shall be enacted this date as follow:
SECTION 1. AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE.
This Ordinance is adopted under the general authority granted pursuant to §60.22, §66.0425, and §86.07 of the Wisconsin Statutes; to promote the public safety, health and general welfare of the community, to further the safe and orderly layout of driveways that enter onto roads within the Town.
SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Ordinance, the following words and phrases have the designated meaning unless a different meaning is expressly provided or the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
A. Driveway. A private driveway, road, field road or other avenue of vehicular travel that runs through any part of a private parcel of land and that connects or will connect to a public roadway or highway.
B. Field Road. An avenue of travel used for agricultural or forestry purposes or to access agricultural or forest land. Field road entrances may not be used to access land for residential purposes.
C. Agricultural Driveway. A driveway that provides primary access to agricultural properties for business or private purposes.
D. Residential Driveway. A driveway providing access used for single or multi-family purposes only.
E. Commercial or Industrial Driveway. A driveway providing access for commercial or industrial use of a property.
F. Temporary Driveway/Culvert. A driveway/culvert of no more than one (1) year duration, generally not requiring a permit, but, if necessary, subject to Town review (see Ordinance related to Use of Temporary Culverts and Maintenance of Ditches).
G. Relocate. To change the location of an access point of a driveway onto a town road or highway, or to change the general design, length or drainage of a driveway.
H. Improvement. Any upgrade to, or reconstruction of an existing driveway, including but not limited to the addition or replacement of a permanent surface, i.e. concrete or asphalt, changes in the grade of drainage of an existing driveway, or the addition, removal, relocation or replacement of a culvert.
I. Town. The Town of Clover, its Town Board (as a whole), the Chair Person or designated Supervisor(s), Employee(s) or other authorized designees.
J. Town Chair. The Chair Person of the Town Board or designee(s)
K. Road, Roadway, Highway, Street. The aforementioned terms shall have the same meaning and reference within this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES
A. Permit Required. No person or entity shall establish, construct, improve modify, relocate or rework a driveway from a private property line to a public roadway or within a public right of way without first obtaining a driveway permit from the Town. For purposes of this Section, any change in use of any driveway which results in that driveway meeting a new definition in SECTION 2 hereof, shall be considered a modification of the driveway. Obtaining a Driveway or Access Permit from the Town does not release the property owner from complying with any current or future Bayfield County Zoning and Land Use provisions.
B. Application Form. Applications for driveway permits shall be made on a form approved by the Town Board and available from the Town Clerk. A completed Driveway or Access Road Permit form shall be filed with the Town Clerk. An application shall be deemed complete only if it is accompanied by the application fee and a scale drawing as described in SECTION 3. C. herein.
C. Application Review. The Town Clerk shall forward the completed application to the Town Crew for their review and recommendation. Upon completion of their review and recommendation the Town Chair shall either sign off on the permit or make a recommendation to the Town Board for approval or denial, stating all the reasons for recommending the same.
D. Permit Period. A Driveway or Access Road Permit is effective for twelve (12) months from the date of approval. If the driveway has not been completed within that period, the permit is deemed expired and a new application must be submitted and approved. Within 60 days after the expiration of a permit without completion of construction, the applicant shall cause the property to be restored to the condition it was in immediately prior to commencement of the work authorized by the expired permit, unless a new permit is obtained during the 60 day period.
E. Driveway Inspection. The applicant shall notify the Town Clerk within (5) working days after completion of construction or improvement of the driveway. The Town shall conduct an inspection of the driveway to ensure full compliance with all provisions of this Ordinance and any permit issued hereunder, and shall require the applicant to make such modifications as are necessary for full compliance. A date for completion of modifications shall be specified.
F. Fee Requirements. The fees required in connection with each Driveway or Access Road Permit application shall be determined as follows:
- Application Fee. The standard fee for Driveway or Access Road Permit applications shall be set by the Town Board and may be amended from time to time by resolution. The Town Board may, at its discretion, set an individual application fee higher than the standard fee amount if extraordinary circumstances so dictate. Fee shall be non-refundable unless the application is withdrawn prior to the commencement of processing of the application.
- Legal Fees. The applicant shall pay a fee equal to the cost to the Town of any legal work that may be determined necessary by the Town in connection with the application including any enforcement of this Ordinance or any permit issued pursuant hereto.
G. Town Authority Preserved. The Town of Clover, notwithstanding the issuance of any permit under this Ordinance or construction of any driveway pursuant to such permit, reserves all of its rights and authority to make or cause any changes, additions, repairs, reconstruction or relocation of any part of a driveway located within dedicated right-of-way at any time, including but not limited to , modifications that maybe necessary or convenient in connection with the relocation, reconstruction, widening and/or maintaining the road or right-of-way, without compensating the owner of such private driveway for damage to, or the destruction of, such private roadway.
SECTION 4. DRIVEWAY AND CULVERT LOCATION, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS.
A. General Requirements. The location, design and construction of driveways shall be in accordance with the following standards:
- General Design. No Driveway shall provide direct ingress or egress to or from any road intersection, nor encroach upon or occupy areas of the street right-of-way for effective traffic control or movements. A driveway shall be located a minimum of either 150 feet from the intersecting centerlines of roadways, or a maximum distance from the intersecting centerlines of intersection roadways to the driveway that can be practicably achieved to provide access to an existing lot. A driveway shall be so located and constructed that vehicles approaching or using it shall have adequate sight distance along the road. Driveways shall, whenever possible, be located and constructed so as not to interfere with utilities in place.
- Length. If the driveway length, from the Town road to any principal structure or any residential structure on the parcel is more than 100 feet, the Driveway or Access Road Permit application shall be reviewed by an appropriate member of the Town of Clover Emergency Services for an assessment of proper ingress and egress to the structure(s) prior to review by the Town chair. The Town may deny any application for a driveway which Emergency Services determines will not provide adequate access for fire and other emergency services.
- Drainage. The surface of the driveway connecting with the road cross sections shall be sloped to preclude ordinary surface water drainage from flowing onto the roadbed. No driveway apron shall extend into the road further than the roadway or pavement edge. All driveway entrances and approaches shall be so constructed that they shall not interfere with the drainage of the road, side ditches or roadside areas or with any existing structure in the right-of-way. All driveways and parking areas shall be graded in such a manner so that no storm water is discharged onto the roadway.
- Relocation of Utilities. Any costs of relocating utility structures or facilities shall be the responsibility of the property owner. Approval of the Town shall be required prior to the relocation or alteration of any utility structure or structure located within the right-of-way.
- Variances. The Town Board may vary any of the above requirements where the peculiar nature of the property or the design of the road makes the rigid adherence to the above standards impossible or impractical.
B. Special Requirements for:
1. Field Roads, Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Driveways.
a. Angular Placement. The angle between the centerline of any field road, agricultural, commercial or industrial driveway and the edge of the surface of the public roadway shall not be less than 70 degrees.
b. Industrial driveways (if not paved with asphalt or concrete) shall be surfaced with four (4) to six (6) inches of gravel over a suitable sub-surface of two (2) inch blast rock or matting. If paved the minimum thickness of asphalt driveways shall be three and a half (3.5) inches over a nine (9) inch crushed aggregate base course. Concrete paved driveways shall consist of a minimum of six (6) inches of concrete over a four (4) inch base course of crushed aggregate.
2. Residential Driveways.
a. Width of Driveway. A residential driveway shall be no less than twenty-four (24) feet wide at the edge of the roadway surface and angled back to not less than fourteen (14) feet. The minimum width of the driving surface of the driveway shall be no less than fourteen (14) feet.
b. Accessibility and Availability of Services. A residential driveway shall have a minimum height clearance of fourteen (14) feet and an unobstructed turnaround capability sufficient to accommodate emergency services vehicles and emergency snowplowing by Town vehicles (Dump truck or Grader). Establishment and maintenance of minimum standards as set forth in this Ordinance and the specifications of any issued permit shall be the responsibility of the property owner. The Town of Clover maintains the right of refusal of services where substandard entries or driveways exist.
c. Angular Placement. The angle between the centerline of residential driveway and the edge of the surface of the public roadway shall not be less than 70 degrees.
3. Culvert Construction Standards.
a. General. Culverts shall be installed prior to commencement of construction on the property. All culverts shall be galvanized steel or high density polyethylene (HDPE) dual wall (“plastic”), and shall be of sufficient gauge to provide adequate bearing capacity for all vehicles expected to use the driveway.
b. Minimum Size. Culverts shall be a minimum of twenty-four (24) feet in length and twelve (12) inches in diameter. Specification for each Driveway or Access Road Permit application shall be determined by the Town Crew and Town Chairperson. If disputed the Town Board shall determine the final specifications.
c. Placement. Culverts shall be in the ditch line at elevations approved by the Town so as to adequately convey water and assure proper drainage. The exact location of the culvert shall be determined according to best practices as determined and marked by the Town prior to commencement of driveway construction.
d. End Walls. If end walls or abutments are installed, construction using timber, rock or similar material is prohibited.
e. Backfill and Cover Material. Culverts shall be covered with granular material compacted in place, or other material approved by the Town. The minimum cover, measured from the top of the culvert to the top of the sub grade material shall be a minimum of six (6) inches.
4. Maintenance Responsibility. The property owner is responsible for maintaining the driveway approaches, culvert and ditch in such a manner necessary to permit free and unobstructed flow of water. The Town does not (but may at its discretion) assume responsibility for removal or clearance of snow or ice or the opening of windrows of such material upon any portion of the driveway within the right-of-way. The Town shall not be responsible for repair or replacement of concrete or decorative pavement or decorative end walls/head walls located within the right-of-way of new or existing driveways.
5. Existing Driveways. When washing or other conditions created by an existing driveway that does not meet the specification established by this Ordinance, obstruct or become a potential hazard to a public road, the Town shall notify the property owner of the conditions. Any property owner failing to correct such conditions within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice from the Town shall be subject to the penalties provided herein.
SECTION 5. ENFORCEMENT
The Town may post a Stop-work order if a driveway, culvert or other permitted construction, or any part thereof, is being installed contrary to the terms of this Ordinance or without a permit. Every property owner shall comply with the terms of any stop work order so issued.
SECTION 6. PENALTIES
This section purposely left blank pending the possible passage of a Town of clover Citation Ordinance.
SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE
THIS Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage and posting as provided by law. The Town Clerk shall properly post or publish this Ordinance as required under §60.80, Wis. Stats., within 30 days of the below noted adoption date.
Adopted this ___________ of ___________, 2017.
Beverly M. Steele, Chairperson Date
Sheryl Isaksson, Supervisor Date
Barb Rebak, Supervisor Date
Jack Smith, Supervisor Date
Patti Stemwedel, Supervisor Date
Attest: Tracy Gillespey, Clerk Date
TC Ordinance #20170412-1 Road, Driveway and Right-of-Way
Created: 01/26/17;Revised 2/13/17 per TPC Recommendations;4/10/17 per Attorney; 5/9/17 correct Tracy last name & fix adoption date