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(1) Driveway Throat Width Standards. Driveways that connect to a public right-of-way shall be constructed according to the standards in Tables 10.550-1 and 10.550-2. See Figure 10.550-1 for driveway throat, flare and radius definitions.

For the purposes of this section, Minimum Access Easements and Alleys shall be considered driveways.

Table 10.550-1. Driveway Throat Widths

Street Classification

Land Use on Parcel to be Served by the Driveway*

Local (All streets other than collectors or arterials.)

SFR and Middle Housing

MFR

Commercial

Industrial

Less than 500 ADT***

10 to 18 ft.****

18 to 24 ft.

24 to 30 ft.

24 to 30 ft.

500 to 1,000 ADT***

24 to 30* ft.

24 to 36 ft.

Greater than 1,000 ADT***

24 to 36* ft.

24 to 36 ft.

Collector

SFR and Middle Housing

MFR

Commercial

Industrial

Less than 500 ADT***

12 to 24 ft.

(Shared Approach Only)

18 to 36 ft.

18 to 24 ft.

24 to 36 ft.**

500 to 1,000 ADT***

18 to 36 ft.**

24 to 36 ft.**

Greater than 1,000 ADT***

18 to 36 ft.**

24 to 36 ft.**

Arterial

SFR and Middle Housing

MFR

Commercial

Industrial

Less than 500 ADT***

No direct access unless no alternative exists, then 12 to 20 ft.

(Shared Approach Only)

No direct access unless no alternative exists, then 18 to 36 ft.

18 to 24 ft.

24 to 30 ft.

500 to 1,000 ADT***

18 to 30 ft.

24 to 36 ft.

Greater than 1,000 ADT***

18 to 36 ft.

24 to 36 ft.

*Institutional uses shall be considered commercial uses for the purposes of this subsection.

**Driveway throat widths greater than 24 feet shall be granted only for full movement approaches that warrant a left turn lane.

***ADT = Average Daily Trips using the proposed driveway, determined from the latest version of the Institute of Transportation Engineering handbook based on the expected ultimate use of the site.

****May be up to 24’ with approval of Public Works Director or Designee.

(2) Driveway Radius Standards.

Table 10.550-2. Driveway Radius Standards

Street Classification

Land Use on Parcel to be Served by the Driveway*

SFR

MFR

COMMERCIAL

INDUSTRIAL

Local

Curb Cut

<6 units: curb cut

>6 units: 15 ft. radius

Curb cut

or

20 ft. radius

Curb cut

or

20 ft. radius

Collector

Shared Access Curb cut

20 ft. radius

20 ft. radius

25 ft. radius

Arterial

No direct access unless no alternative exists, then 15 ft. radius.

25 ft. radius

25 ft. radius

25 ft. radius

*Institutional uses shall be considered commercial uses for the purposes of this subsection.

Curb Cut = Dropped Curb with Portland Concrete Cement driveway apron per current City of Medford Standard Drawings

Radius = At–grade driveway approach with 6–inch curbs per current City of Medford Standard Drawings

Figure 10.550-1. Driveway Throat, Flare and Radius Definitions

(3) Driveway Spacing and Locational Standards.

(a) Arterial and Collector Streets.

(i) Driveway Spacing and Location. No driveway access to an Arterial or Collector Street shall be allowed for any parcel that abuts the right–of–way of a lower order street or has legal right of access to any street via any abutting parcel(s). No driveway access shall be allowed to an Arterial Street within 150 feet of the nearest right-of-way line of an intersecting street. Driveways shall be placed adjacent to the property line of a contiguous parcel if possible to do so and meet driveway spacing requirements of this section. No driveway access to an Arterial or Collector Street shall be located closer than allowed by the standards in Table 10.550-3, measured from the center of driveway to center of driveway.

Table 10.550-3. Minimum Driveway Spacing Standards (Center–to–Center) Arterial and Collector Streets

SPEED LIMIT (MPH)

25

30

35

40

45

DRIVEWAY SPACING

145 ft.

195 ft.

250 ft.

315 ft.

385 ft.

(ii) Number of Driveways for each Separately Owned Tract. Within the requirements set forth in (a)(i) above, driveway access to an Arterial Street shall be limited to one driveway for each tract of property owned. For purposes of this section, parcels that are contiguous under the same ownership or part of the same application for development shall be considered to be one tract of property.

(iii) Cross-Access Easement Required. Any parcel or tract granted driveway access to an Arterial or Collector Street shall grant cross-access easements to all contiguous parcels or tracts that do not abut a street of a lower order than an Arterial or Collector Street. Site design must accommodate future use of such accesses. Use of shared driveways on multiple parcels or tracts and cross-access easements shall be required when site and traffic conditions, including projections of future traffic volumes and movements, indicate that such requirements will preserve the capacity and safety of the transportation system.

(iv) Management of the Transportation System. Granting of driveway access to a public right-of-way is not a guarantee that future improvements designed to improve safety and capacity will not be constructed in the public right–of–way. Medians, turning movement restrictions, signs, signals, and striping may be installed by the City or others with the approval of the Public Works Director or Designee, to preserve and enhance the function of the transportation system.

(b) Local Streets. A minimum distance of three (3) feet shall be maintained between the closest portions of adjacent driveway flares as measured along the curb on local streets, except where existing conditions dictate otherwise. Cul-de-sacs are exempt from these standards.

The closest edge of a driveway shall be a minimum of 35 feet from any intersecting local streets measured along the curb to the nearest right–of–way line of the intersecting street. If the parcel does not have sufficient width to meet this requirement, the driveway shall be located adjacent to the property line farthest from the intersecting street, and no authorization for larger driveway width shall be granted.

(c) Alternative Access Spacing and Location. The standards set forth in Sections 10.550(3)(a) and (b) above are the City’s basic access standards. The City also recognizes that unique situations and/or complex projects may warrant alternative driveway spacing and locations.

(i) Approval of Alternative Access Locations: When part of a Type III land use review, the Public Works Director or designee shall forward a recommendation on alternative access spacing and locations to the approving authority. When not part of a Type III land use review, the Public Works Director or designee may authorize an administrative adjustment to the access spacing and locational standards in 10.550(3)(a) and/or (b) above under one or both of the following circumstances:

(A) The adjustment will align the requested driveway with a driveway across the street and the Public Works Director’s (or designee’s) professional opinion is that this configuration will improve safety and/or operations.

(B) Where no proposed access location can satisfy all the standards in Section 10.550(3)(a) and/or (b), the driveway may be located in the location that best meets the City’s access management standards in the professional opinion of Public Works Director (or designee).

(ii) Redevelopment: Redevelopment as used in this section means that a parcel(s) has existing legal access and physical improvements and the property owner is seeking Type III use review for new development permits. In the case of redevelopment, the approving authority may require the provision of cross-access easements and geometric/physical improvements to any and all accesses in accordance with current standards. Redevelopment applications shall propose changes to the number and/or centerline location(s) of existing driveway(s), and shall demonstrate that the proposed changes will bring the parcel into, or at a minimum, closer to compliance with existing standards.

(iii) Area Plans: Access spacing and location may be evaluated as part of a special area plan. The approving authority may adopt specific standards through a special area plan such as a neighborhood plan and/or master plan. Where such plans are adopted, any conflict between the special area plan access and location standards and the standards in Section 10.550(3)(a) and/or (b) above shall be resolved in favor of the special area plan provisions.

(iv) New Development: At an applicant’s request, the approving authority will evaluate alternative access spacing and location on a project basis in conjunction with Type III land use review. Evaluation of alternative access location and spacing for projects shall be based upon a Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) prepared by a professional engineer licensed in the State of Oregon with expertise in transportation. The Public Works Director (or designee) will provide a scope of work for the TIA and will issue a report to the approving authority stating his/her professional opinion as to the technical adequacy of the TIA and whether it demonstrates compliance with the criteria for access spacing and location for the project. The TIA will consider motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. The approving authority will evaluate the project’s access spacing and location, in one of the following ways:

(A) If the conclusions of the TIA and the professional opinion of the Public Works Director (or designee) concur that the safety and operations of the project’s proposed access spacing and location will, at the time of development, be equal to or better than application of the standards in 10.550(3)(a) and/or (b) above for all studied facilities, the approving authority will accept the access spacing and location proposed at the time of project review. If the Public Works Director’s professional opinion is not consistent with the conclusions of the TIA, the approving authority will review the competing testimony by the professional engineers with expertise in transportation and will approve, modify, or deny the proposed alternative access design; or

(B) If the conclusions of the TIA and the professional opinion of the Public Works Director (or designee), concur that the safety and operations of the project’s proposed access spacing and location will, at the time of development, be equal to or better than application of the standards in 10.550(3)(a) and/or (b) above for the transportation system as a whole, the approving authority may accept the access spacing and location proposed at the time of the major project review provided all facilities will still meet basic transportation engineering safety requirements; or

(C) If the conclusions of the TIA find that the safety of the project’s proposed access location and spacing will, at the time of development, meet basic transportation engineering safety requirements and the approving authority concludes that the proposed access spacing and location will significantly advance one or more of the Goals and/or Policies of the Comprehensive Plan, the approving authority may accept the access spacing and location proposed at the time of project review.

[Replaced Sec. 3, Ord. No. 2008-70, Apr. 17, 2008; Amd. Sec. 22, Ord. No. 2009-207, Sep. 17, 2009; Amd. Sec. 161, Ord. No. 2018-64, Jun. 21, 2018 (effective Jul. 23, 2018); Amd. Sec. 19, Ord. No. 2022-60, Jun. 16, 2022.]