Chapter 12.28
VEHICULAR ACCESS AND CIRCULATION
Sections:
12.28.200 Vehicular access and circulation.
12.28.100 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that developments adjacent to Highway 101 provide safe and efficient access and circulation for pedestrians and vehicles. LCMC 12.28.200 provides standards for vehicular access and circulation. (Ord. 2016-21 § 4, 2017; Ord. 2008-20 § 2)
12.28.200 Vehicular access and circulation.
A. Intent and Purpose. The intent of this section is to manage access to land uses and on-site circulation, and to preserve the transportation system in terms of safety, capacity, and function while providing reasonable access for residents and businesses.
B. Applicability. The standards of this section apply to lots adjacent to Highway 101 created, consolidated, or modified through a land division, partition, property line adjustment, lot consolidation, or street vacation, and to properties subject to land use approval or development review. The requirements in this chapter are in addition to requirements relating to properties abutting Highway 101 imposed by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) through the provisions of Oregon Administrative Rule 734-051. Where ODOT requires more restrictive provisions than city requirements, ODOT standards shall prevail.
C. Access Permit Required. Access to Highway 101 (e.g., a new curb cut or driveway approach) requires an access permit from Lincoln City and a valid approach road permit from the Oregon Department of Transportation. Access to the intersecting streets from properties adjacent to the highway also requires an access permit from the city. An access permit may be in the form of a letter to the applicant, or it may be attached to a land use decision notice as a condition of approval.
D. Notice to ODOT. Written notice of the following actions shall be provided to ODOT by Lincoln City. Said notice shall be provided when Lincoln City provides notice to other public agencies and city departments. When notice to other public agencies and city departments is not provided, Lincoln City shall provide written notice to ODOT at the same time and manner as public notice is provided to the general public.
1. Land use applications that require public hearings;
2. Subdivision and partition applications;
3. Other applications that affect private access to Highway 101 or the intersecting streets identified in subsection (B) of this section.
E. Traffic Study Requirements. The city may require a traffic impact study prepared by a qualified professional. ODOT may require such a study for properties abutting Highway 101. The city and ODOT will use the traffic impact study to make decisions about access, circulation, and other transportation requirements. It is the intent of the city to coordinate its traffic impact study requirements with ODOT so that an applicant need complete only one such study to comply with the requirements of both agencies.
F. Conditions of Approval. The city may require the closing or consolidation of existing curb cuts or other vehicle access points, recording of reciprocal access easements (e.g., for shared driveways), turn restrictions, development of a frontage street, installation of traffic control devices, and/or other mitigation as a condition of granting an access permit, to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the street and highway system. Installation of traffic control devices on Highway 101 must be approved by ODOT.
G. Corner and Intersection Separation – Backing onto Public Streets. New and modified accesses shall conform to the following standards:
1. Property access to Highway 101 is under the concurrent jurisdiction of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Access to streets intersecting with the highway shall not be permitted within 100 feet of the intersection unless no other reasonable access to the property is available. Where no other alternatives exist, the city may allow construction of an access connection at a point less than 100 feet from such an intersection, provided the access is as far away from the intersection as possible. In such cases, the city may impose turning restrictions (i.e., right in/out, right in only, or right out only). Access to properties with frontage on Highway 101 and other public roads shall be provided only from the roads other than the highway whenever reasonable access can be provided.
2. Access to and from off-street parking areas shall not permit backing onto a public street, except for single-family dwellings.
3. The city may reduce required separation distance of access points to city streets where they prove impractical due to lot dimensions, existing development, other physical features, or conflicting code requirements, provided all of the following requirements are met. Where the statewide highway access point spacing requirements in OAR 734-051 cannot be met, all the following requirements must be met before the city can complete the “Land Use Compatibility Statement for a State Highway Approach” required for a highway approach road application.
a. Joint-use driveways and cross-access easements are provided in accordance with subsection (I) of this section;
b. The site plan incorporates a unified access and circulation system in accordance with this section; and
c. The property owner(s) enter in a written agreement with the city, recorded with the deed, that pre-existing connections on the site will be closed and eliminated after construction of each side of the joint-use driveway.
H. Site Circulation. New developments shall be required to provide a circulation system that accommodates expected traffic on the site. Pedestrian connections on the site, including connections through large sites, and connections between sites (as applicable) and adjacent sidewalks, must be sufficient to safely accommodate expected pedestrian traffic to, from, within, and across the site.
I. Joint- and Cross-Access – Requirement. The number of driveway and private street intersections with public streets should be minimized by the use of shared driveways for adjoining lots where feasible. When necessary for traffic safety and access management purposes, or to access flag lots, the city and/or ODOT (for access to Highway 101) may require joint access and/or shared driveways in the following situations:
1. For shared parking areas;
2. For adjacent developments, where access onto an arterial or collector is proposed;
3. For multitenant developments, and developments on multiple lots or parcels. For such joint accesses and shared driveways the city may require the applicant to incorporate any of the following, among other requirements:
a. A continuous service drive or cross-access corridor that provides for driveway separation consistent with the applicable transportation authority’s access management classification system and standards;
b. A design speed of 10 miles per hour and a maximum width of 24 feet, in addition to any parking alongside the driveway; additional driveway width or fire lanes may be approved when necessary to accommodate specific types of service vehicles, loading vehicles, or emergency service provider vehicles;
c. Driveway stubs to property lines (for future extension) and other design features to make it easy to see that the abutting properties may be required with future development to connect to the cross-access driveway;
J. Joint- and Cross-Access – Reduction in Required Parking Allowed. When a shared driveway is provided or required as a condition of approval, the land uses adjacent to the shared driveway may have their minimum parking standards reduced in accordance with the shared parking provisions of LCMC 17.56.040.
K. Joint- and Cross-Access – Easement and Use and Maintenance Agreement. Pursuant to this section, property owners shall:
1. Record an easement with the deed allowing cross-access to and from other properties served by the joint-use driveways and cross-access or service drive;
2. Record an agreement with the deed that remaining access rights along the roadway for the subject property shall be dedicated to the city and pre-existing driveways will be closed and eliminated after construction of the joint-use driveway;
3. Record a joint maintenance agreement with the deed defining maintenance responsibilities of property owners.
L. Access Connections and Driveway Design. All driveway connections to a public right-of-way (access) and driveways shall conform to all of the following design standards:
1. Driveways to city streets shall meet the following standards:
a. One-way driveways (one-way in or out) shall have a minimum driveway width of 10 feet, and a maximum width of 12 feet, and shall have appropriate signage designating the driveway as a one-way connection.
b. For two-way access, each lane shall have a minimum width of 10 feet and a maximum width of 12 feet.
Driveways to Highway 101 shall meet ODOT requirements for design and construction.
2. Driveways shall be designed and located to provide exiting vehicles with an unobstructed view of other vehicles and pedestrians, and to prevent vehicles from backing into the flow of traffic on the public street or causing conflicts with on-site circulation. Construction of driveway accesses along acceleration or deceleration lanes or tapers should be avoided due to the potential for vehicular conflicts. Driveways should be located to allow for safe maneuvering in and around loading areas.
3. Driveway aprons (when required) shall be constructed of concrete and shall be installed between the street right-of-way and the private drive, as shown in Figure 12.28.200A. Driveway aprons shall conform to ADA requirements for sidewalks and walkways, which generally require a continuous unobstructed route of travel that is not less than three feet in width, with a cross slope not exceeding two percent, and providing for landing areas and ramps at intersections.
Figure 12.28.200A Examples of Acceptable Driveway Openings Next to Sidewalks/Walkways
M. Fire Access and Turnarounds. When required under the Uniform Fire Code, fire access lanes with turnarounds shall be provided. Except as waived in writing by the fire marshal, a fire equipment access drive shall be provided for any portion of an exterior wall of the first story of a building that is located more than 150 feet from an existing public street or approved fire equipment access drive. The drive shall contain unobstructed adequate aisle width (14 to 20 feet) and turn-around area for emergency vehicles. The fire marshal may require that fire lanes be marked as “No Stopping/No Parking.”
N. Vertical Clearances. Driveways, private streets, aisles, turn-around areas and ramps shall have a minimum vertical clearance of 13 feet and six inches for their entire length and width.
O. Clear Vision Areas. No visual obstruction (e.g., sign, structure, solid fence, or shrub vegetation) may be placed in a clear vision area except in accordance with LCMC 17.52.060. The minimum clear vision area may be modified by the city engineer with the concurrence of the planning director upon finding that more or less sight distance is required (i.e., due to traffic speeds, roadway alignment, etc.). ODOT shall establish clear vision requirements for Highway 101, but if the city’s clear vision requirements are more restrictive, the city’s requirements shall prevail.
P. Construction. The following development and maintenance standards shall apply to all driveways and private streets, except that the standards do not apply to driveways serving one single-family detached dwelling. For properties abutting Highway 101, development and maintenance requirements established as a part of an ODOT approach road permit also shall apply.
1. Surface Options. Driveways, parking areas, aisles, and turnarounds may be paved with asphalt, concrete, or comparable surfacing, or a durable nonpaving or porous paving material may be used to reduce surface water runoff and protect water quality. Driveway and street materials shall be subject to review and approval by the city engineer.
2. Surface Water Management. When nonporous paving is used, all driveways, parking areas, aisles, and turnarounds shall have on-site collection of surface waters to eliminate sheet flow of such waters onto public rights-of-way and abutting property. Surface water facilities shall be constructed in conformance with applicable engineering standards.
3. Driveway Aprons. When driveway approaches or “aprons” are required to connect driveways to the public right-of-way, they shall be paved with concrete surfacing and conform to the city’s engineering design criteria and standard specifications. (See general illustrations in Figure 12.28.200A.) (Ord. 2022-17 § 5; Ord. 2016-21 § 5; Ord. 2014-05 § 3; Ord. 2008-20 § 2)