(a) Purpose. A driveway access permit shall be required prior to the construction of a driveway or other connection within the right-of-way of a state roadway system or highway or City of Asheville roadway system. The procedure set forth below shall be followed to obtain a permit for the construction of a driveway or other connection within the public right-of-way.
(b) Pre-application procedure. No pre-application conference is required prior to applying for a driveway access permit. Applicants are encouraged to call or visit the city's traffic engineering division prior to requesting a driveway access permit to determine what information is required for the application and to determine if any special conditions exist which may affect the construction or modification of a driveway at the site.
(c) Plan submittal.
(1) Filing of application. An application for a driveway access permit may be filed by the owner of the property or by an agent authorized by the owner to file such application. The application for a driveway access permit shall be filed with the development and permitting center on a form provided by the center.
(2) Fees. An application fee, as established by the City of Asheville Fees and Charges Manual, shall be due and payable when the application is submitted.
Where a driveway is connected to a state maintained roadway, fees as established by the N.D. Department of Transportation shall be due and payable when the application is submitted.
(3) Information required. Each application for a driveway access permit shall contain the information described in Appendix B (Checklists for Applications), including a site plan, prepared in accordance with the standards established by Appendix A (Map and Plan Standards), showing the location of the proposed driveway access point and construction specifications. Other information necessary to show that the proposed driveway complies with the standards set forth in this chapter and in the Asheville Standard Specifications and Details Manual shall also be provided.
(d) Staff review. The city's traffic engineer shall review the application for compliance with the standards established by the City of Asheville for driveway access. The application for a driveway entrance permit shall be reviewed and comments provided by the city traffic engineer within ten working days of its submittal. Failure of the city traffic engineer to take action within this time period shall result in the refund of application fees. The refund of the application fee due to the expiration of the ten working days shall not cause the review of the application to cease. Staff shall continue with the review of the application.
(e) Public notification. No public notification is required for driveway access permit applications.
(f) Formal review. No formal review of driveway access permit applications is required.
(g) Variances. Requests for variances from the requirements for driveway entrances set forth in this chapter shall be heard by the board of adjustment under the procedures established by section 7-6-1 of this chapter.
(h) Appeals. Appeals of the decisions of the city traffic engineer shall be heard by the board of adjustment under the procedures established by section 7-6-2 of this chapter.
(i) Permit validity. The driveway access permit shall be valid for one year only. The public works director may grant a single extension of this time period up to six months upon submittal by the applicant of sufficient justification for the extension. Any change in the approved plan shall render the driveway access permit invalid.
(Ord. No. 2369, § 1, 5-27-97)