(A) Chapters 153 and 154 of this code provide design standards that are specifically tailored to each district. For example, the residential district contains building design guidelines that are different than those provided in the downtown district, due to differences in land use, building types and compatibility issues. In addition, each district provides special standards that are meant to address the impacts or characteristics of certain land uses.
(B) The intent of this section is to manage vehicle access through a connected street system, while preserving the flow of traffic in terms of safety, roadway capacity and efficiency. Access shall be managed to maintain an adequate “level of service” and to maintain the “functional classification” of roadways. Major roadways, including highways, arterial and collectors, serve as the primary system for moving people and goods. “Access management” is a primary concern on these roads. Local streets and alleys provide access to individual properties. If vehicular access and circulation are not properly designed, these roadways will be unable to accommodate the needs of development and serve their transportation function. This section attempts to balance the right of reasonable access to private property with the right of the citizens of the city and the state to safe and efficient travel. It also requires all developments to construct planned streets (arterial and collectors) and to extend local streets. All off-site improvements conditions of approval shall be based on information and formulas derived from “Justifying Exaction: Recent cases and mechanisms for implementing viable conditions of approval,” December 1, 2006, to compare the exaction to the level of impact.
(C) The city mapped state and local roadways, by function, and classified them for access purposes based upon their level of importance and function. Regulations have been applied to these roadways for the purpose of reducing traffic accidents, personal injury and property damage attributable to access systems, and to thereby improve the safety and operation of the roadway network. This will protect the substantial public investment in the existing transportation system and reduce the need for expensive remedial measures. These regulations also further the orderly layout and use of land, protect community character and conserve natural resources by promoting well-designed road and access systems and discouraging the unplanned subdivision of land.
(Ord. 223, passed 11-18-2004; Ord. 255, passed 2-18-2010)