The purpose of this section is to promote and maintain the health and safety of town residents; to provide for the orderly flow of traffic within the town; to facilitate access of emergency vehicles to all parts of town; and to allow the safe and orderly movement of pedestrians, bicycles and permitted off-road vehicles.
(A) Subdivision connectivity. The degree of street/road connectivity between arterials and collector and local streets within a subdivision impacts the response time of emergency vehicles. A high degree of street connectivity shortens the response time by providing more direct routes and alternate routes to the site of the emergency. The town thus requires a high degree of connectivity as a health and safety measure.
(1) All new streets and roads within a new subdivision (development) shall be public and the property of a common entity.
(2) Access to arterial streets.
(a) Access to a new subdivision shall be from arterial and/or collector streets. The number of permanent, developed accesses is a function of the number of lots and the length of the longest street within the subdivision. In addition to the developed accesses, subdivisions shall also have a specified number of emergency access points that may be less developed, but capable of supporting a large fire engine, and protected by crash barriers. The required number of developed and emergency access routes are presented in the table below.
(b) The number of accesses may be reduced in areas where it is determined by the town or its representative, that the provision of one or more additional accesses is not practicable based on topography or other access constraints; the reduction in the number of accesses may require mitigation, such as sprinklers, or turnarounds.
Required Number of Accesses to a Subdivision | |||
Number of Lots in Subdivision | Principle Developed Access | Emergency Access | Total Number of Accesses Required |
0-9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10-39 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
40-79 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
80 or more | 3 | 2 | 5 |
(c) Length of travel requirement: the centroid of any lot within the subdivision shall not lie greater than 5,000 feet by street distance from a permanent, developed access to an arterial or collector street. This length of travel requirement may necessitate accesses in addition to those required by subdivision lot number.
(3) Access to adjoining properties shall be provided by:
(a) Connecting to existing streets that extend to the property line or when the existing street is parallel to the property line and lays within ten feet of said property line the new subdivision street shall join such existing street by acquired easement:
(b) When the adjoining property is undeveloped:
1. Streets shall be extended to adjoining subdivision property lines.
2. One access per 1,000 feet of shared property line shall be provided (rounded to the nearest 1,000 feet).
(c) Under no circumstances shall the subdivision result in the isolation of an adjacent property from an arterial or collector road.
(B) All streets in the subdivision shall conform to the current adopted master road plan or by the authority of the town and to this section.
(C) New subdivisions shall be designed in a grid pattern of interconnecting streets that is designed to allow traffic flow to adjacent properties. The layout should be suited to the existing topography and other natural features of the area; it is recognized that in some cases a varied design containing a layout of curving streets or circular patterns may be more appropriate for the site than a rectilinear grid.
(D) Block dimensions: while topography, existing vegetation, hydrology and design intentions influence block shape and size, the maximum length for a block shall be no longer than 600 feet and the minimum length shall not be less than 400 feet, with an allowance for blocks up to 1,000 feet in length when mid-block foot paths are provided.
(E) The alignment and width of previously platted streets on abutting properties shall be preserved unless topographical conditions or existing buildings or structures require otherwise.
(F) Streets, alleys and utility lines shall be arranged in a manner which will, insofar as possible, facilitate convenient extension and connection thereof to future streets, alleys and utility lines developed by the owners of adjoining property at the time their property is platted.
(G) No plat shall be laid out in any manner for the purpose of creating a spite strip within or adjacent to the subdivision.
(H) In order to calm traffic speeds and to provide for pedestrian safety, the use of “T” intersections within the subdivision is encouraged. At least 25% of all intersections within subdivisions equaling or exceeding 40 acres should take this form, unless other design devices, such as traffic circles or signed intersections are employed to reduce vehicle travel speed.
(I) Dead-end streets may be allowed in residentially zoned areas and shall be no longer than 400 feet as measured from the centerline of the intersecting street to the end of the dead-end street.
(1) Permanent dead-end streets must end in a cul-de-sac that allows the turning of large emergency vehicles. Minimum cul-de-sac dimensions are:
(a) Transition radius of 25 feet; and
(b) Right-of-way bulb radius of 50 feet.
(2) Temporary dead-end streets with a length greater than 400 feet may be allowed where either an adjoining phase of the subdivision, as shown on the applicant’s subdivision master plan will begin within three years or where necessary to permit access to adjoining undeveloped lands as required in this chapter.
(a) The temporary dead-end street shall be considered a permanent street and improved to the same degree as other permanent streets within the subdivision and shall meet other street standards.
(b) The temporary dead-end street shall end with appropriate warning signs and barricades.
(c) Temporary dead-end streets intended to provide access to adjacent undeveloped properties shall end in a temporary cul-de-sac with dimensions as described in this section. The excess right-of-way required for the temporary cul-de-sac shall be returned to adjacent property owners upon connection of the street to an adjoining street on the adjacent property.
(J) Street signs shall be purchased, and installed by the developer at his sole expense, through the Town to assure standardization throughout the town.
(Prior Code, § 14.02.110) (Ord. 2018-10, passed 8-8-2018; Ord. 2021-19, passed 12-15-2021)