(a) Purpose. Traditional single family lots front on a street and have a rectangular shape. New developments have been platted with a minimal frontage on a street, and have access to the street from a shared driveway. This section is designed to address the issues specific to these non-traditional lots.
(b) Definitions.
(1) SHARED ACCESS AREA means that portion of a shared access development that fronts on a public or private street and provides access to individual lots within the shared access development.
(2) SHARED ACCESS DEVELOPMENT means a development where one or more of the lots within the development do not front on a public or private street, where access to the lots within the development is provided via a shared access area and that meets all of the requirements of this section.
(3) SHARED ACCESS POINT means that portion of a shared access development where the shared access area provides vehicular access to a public or private street.
(c) Shared access development requirements.
(1) A shared access development is created by platting no less than three and no more than 36 individual lots. Adjacent shared access developments may not be connected or combined to exceed the 36 lot maximum.
(2) A shared access development must be restricted by plat to single family use.
(3) No building permit may be issued to authorize work in a shared access development until the plat and the shared access area agreement have been recorded in the real property records of the appropriate county, all requirements of the shared access area have been met, and the director has corrected the appropriate zoning map in the offices of the city secretary, the building official, and the department to reflect the restriction to single family use.
(4) A shared access development may not be platted as a community unit development (CUD).
(d) Shared access area requirements.
(1) Design and lighting of the shared access area must be approved by the director.
(2) Water and wastewater mains must be installed in accordance with applicable ordinances.
(3) Design and location of interior traffic control devices must be approved by the traffic engineer.
(4) The fire protection standards in the Dallas Fire Code must be followed.
(5) The geometrics of the shared access area must be designed to provide appropriate access for passenger, delivery, emergency, and maintenance vehicles and with a minimum height clearance of 18 feet above the surface of the shared access area.
(6) The shared access area must be shown on the plat of the shared access development.
(7) The shared access area must front on a public or private street (not an alley), have a minimum width of 20 feet, and have a minimum pavement width of 16 feet.
(8) If a guard house is provided, it must be at least 30 feet from the shared access point.
(9) If a shared access area entrance is closed at any time, it must be constructed to permit opening of the entrance in emergencies by boltcutters or breakaway panels.
(10) A shared access area may serve no more than 18 dwelling units per shared access point. No more than two shared access points may serve a shared access development.
(e) Written agreement requirements. A shared access development must be regulated by a written shared access agreement that:
(1) reflects adequate consideration;
(2) contains legal descriptions of the individual lots within the shared access development, and of the shared access area;
(3) is signed by all owners and lienholders of property in the shared access development and is binding on lienholders by a subordination clause;
(4) is approved by the building official;
(5) is approved as to form by the city attorney;
(6) creates a covenant running with the land (the document may be in any of several forms, including but not limited to, an access easement; a unity agreement; deed restrictions; or homeowners’ association’s covenants, conditions, and restrictions);
(7) provides that the owners of property in the shared access development are responsible for lighting, maintenance, and cleaning of the shared access area, and where appropriate, the installation and maintenance of interior traffic control devices;
(8) provides necessary easements in the shared access area for the benefit of the individual lots in the shared access development for utilities, storm water drainage, fire protection, lighting, traffic control, government and emergency vehicle access, mail service, meter-reading access, vehicular and pedestrian access, parking, and deliveries;
(9) gives the city the right, but not the obligation, to take any action needed to make necessary repairs or improvements within the shared access area, and to place a lien on all lots within the shared access development until the city has received full compensation for that action;
(10) provides that the owners of property in the shared access development agree to defend and indemnify the city, and to hold the city harmless from and against all claims or liabilities arising out of or in connection with the shared access development, shared access area, or shared access agreement;
(11) provides that it is governed by the laws of the State of Texas;
(12) provides that it may only be amended or terminated:
(A) with the consent of all the owners and lienholders of property in the shared access development; and
(B) after approval as to form by the city attorney, and approval by the director; and
(13) provides for the installation, maintenance, and repair of utilities, including electric, water, sewage, and communications located within the shared access area.
(f) Code compliance requirements.
(1) All code requirements must be met individually by each lot in the shared access development, unless otherwise specified in this subsection.
(2) The shared access development is treated as one lot for purposes of compliance with the front, side, and rear yard regulations, applicable landscape regulations, and any prohibition against parking in a front yard. For example, the front yard of the shared access development as a whole determines whether the front yard setback is in compliance with the zoning district regulations, and the individual lots within the shared access development are not individually required to meet front yard setback requirements.
(3) Each lot within the shared access development must meet the minimum lot area requirement for the zoning district in which it is located. In multifamily districts, the lot area of individual lots may be up to 20 percent less than the minimum lot area requirement if the average lot area of all lots within the shared access development equals or exceeds the minimum lot area requirement.
(4) In all districts other than multifamily districts, the shared access area may not be used to satisfy minimum lot area requirements or determine lot coverage.
(5) See Section 51A-10.125(a)(2) for landscape regulations applicable to shared access developments.
(g) Guest parking requirements. In addition to any parking spaces required for each dwelling unit, shared access developments must provide 0.25 unassigned spaces available for use by visitors and residents for each dwelling unit. Guest parking spaces must be located where they will not impede access from any other guest parking space or dwelling unit to the shared access point. (Ord. Nos. 24731; 25047; 26333; 28073)