(A) The granting of waivers shall be in harmony with the purpose and intent of these regulations and shall not be considered until every feasible option for meeting access standards is explored. Under no circumstances shall a waiver be granted, unless not granting the waiver would deny all reasonable access, endanger public health, welfare or safety, or cause an exceptional and undue hardship on the applicant. No waiver shall be granted where such hardship is self-created.
(B) Any applicant for access approval under the provisions of this chapter may apply for a waiver of its standards if the applicant cannot meet one or more of the standards according to the procedures provided below:
(1) For waivers on properties involving land uses with less than 500 vehicle trips per day (based on rates published in the Trip Generation Manual of the Institute of Transportation Engineers): Where the standards in this chapter cannot be met, suitable alternatives, substantially achieving the intent of the chapter may be accepted by the Planning Administrator or Town Engineer, provided that all of the following apply:
(a) The use has insufficient size to meet the dimensional standards;
(b) Adjacent development renders adherence to these standards economically unfeasible;
(c) There is no other reasonable access due to topographic or other considerations;
(d) The standards in this chapter shall be applied to be the maximum extent feasible.
(2) For waivers on properties involving land uses with more than 500 vehicle trips per day (based on the rates published in the Trip Generation Manual of the Institute of Transportation Engineers):
During site plan review the Planning Administrator or Town Engineer shall have the authority to waive or otherwise modify the standards of this chapter following an analysis of suitable alternatives documented by a registered traffic engineer and substantially achieving the intent of this chapter provided all of the following apply:
(a) Access via a shared driveway or front or rear service drive is not possible due to the presence of existing buildings or topographic conditions;
(b) Roadway improvements (such as the addition of a traffic signal, a center turn lane or bypass lane) will be made to improve overall traffic operations prior to project completion, or occupancy of the building;
(c) The use involves the redesign of an existing development or a new use that will generate less traffic than the previous use;
(d) The proposed location and design is supported by INDOT, as applicable, as an acceptable design under the circumstances.
(Ord. 2018-2A, passed 2-20-18)