(A) In order to maintain safe and efficient traffic operations at the access intersection and to ensure that the impact of a development accessing a county highway does not result in a degradation of traffic operations, improvements to the county highway system may be required with a major access permit. These improvements may include dedication of additional right-of-way to accommodate the widening required to maintain the existing level of service.
COMMENTARY: Increases in traffic from development result in two types of impacts to the county highway system: |
(1) Impacts that occur at the access point(s) and adjacent intersections that result in an increase in delays at those specific locations and are directly attributable to a specific development.
(2) Cumulative impacts to the overall roadway network that result from the incremental increases in traffic from developments.
(B) Limits of required improvements for any major access permit shall be determined by the Access Control Officer, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and design guidance provided in the Technical Reference Manual, Chapter 4.
(C) Right-of-way requirements.
(1) Right-of-way widths.
(a) The right-of-way widths for county highways shall be a total of 100 to 140 feet, 50 to 70 feet half right-of-way width, as designated by the County Engineer. Required right-of-way shall be determined for each permit request based on the access classification of the county highway to which access is being requested, existing right-of-way width, surrounding land use, local development plans and long range transportation plans. In general, required right-of-way width increases as the level of mobility of the county highway increases. Required minimum right-of-way width by access classification is included in the Technical Reference Manual.
(b) If the property abutting a county highway is to be subdivided or a major access is being requested, the owner shall dedicate, at no cost to the county, sufficient land to satisfy this right-of-way requirement.
(c) If additional right-of-way is needed in order to construct the required highway improvements or is needed to accommodate a future improvement to a county highway due to the particular circumstances of the nature of the major access, the additional right-of-way shall be dedicated by the owner at no cost to the county. This may include additional right-of-way required to obtain the required sight distance at the proposed access location. If the additional right-of-way needed is from property not controlled by the owner, the owner shall obtain the additional right-of-way in the name of the county at no cost to the county.
(2) Right-of-way widths to accommodate future county bike paths. At certain major intersections and along county highways where future county bike paths will be constructed as identified by the County Engineer, an additional ten to 20 feet of right-of-way width may be required. If the abutting property is being subdivided or a major access is being requested, the owner shall dedicate, at no cost to the county, sufficient land to satisfy the right-of-way requirement as designated by the County Engineer to accommodate the future county bike path.
(3) Wording on plat. The following wording shall be used to dedicate right-of-way, on a plat of subdivision or plat of dedication: HEREBY DEDICATED FOR PUBLIC ROAD PURPOSES.
(4) Restoration of right-of-way. Upon completion of any construction work within the right-of-way, the right-of-way shall be restored in accordance with the permitted plans acceptable to the LCDOT.
(5) Objects in the right-of-way. In general, no new objects, trees, plantings, bushes, landscaping, fences, signs, rocks, debris, berms, detention or retention facilities, or any such materials shall be permitted within the right-of-way. Trees may be allowed to be planted within the right-of-way, if a municipality will accept maintenance of these trees via the municipal acceptance form or via an agreement. In those instances where additional right-of-way is being dedicated as required by this chapter, brush, fences, signs, rocks, landscaping, objects, berms, detention facilities, wetlands, floodplains, and other such obstacles shall be removed or relocated beyond the new right-of-way line and clear zone. All affected existing utility poles shall be relocated to the new right-of-way line along the entire frontage of the development.
(6) Right-of-way encumbrances. All right-of-way to be dedicated shall be free and clear of any existing encumbrances, which would render the right-of-way in any manner or form unusable for road purposes or would in any manner or form, result in any extraordinary costs to the county at such time as said right-of-way is to be used for road purposes. This would include the mitigation and/or fee for future mitigation of any wetlands within the proposed right-of-way.
(7) Right-of-way monumentation. All new right-of-way boundary corners, points of curvature and points of tangency shall be monumented with iron pipes or rods that are a minimum of one-half inch diameter by 24 inches long or with other acceptable types of monuments that are in compliance with the Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act of 1989 Section 1270.56, Minimum Standards of Practice, paragraph 5. The type of monuments found or set shall be noted on the plat.
COMMENTARY: The additional right-of-way required in this section is needed to accommodate future highway improvements that are needed because of the cumulative traffic generation of developments and to accommodate access related improvements. The right-of-way widths are also needed to accommodate roadway drainage, snow storage, utilities and facilities, and to provide for traffic and pedestrian safety. |
(Ord. 19-1061, passed 7-9-2019)