§ 152.293 DRIVEWAYS.

   (A)   General. 

      (1)   After the date of passage of this section, only driveways designed, approved, constructed, and surfaced in accordance with the provisions herein shall be allowed to provide motor vehicle access to or from any property upon which a building has been constructed, reconstructed, or physically altered. All driveways shall be paved with either asphalt or concrete, or with alternative paving material (e.g., concrete pavers, brick, “turf stone” or similar material) determined to exhibit equivalent wear resistance and load bearing characteristics as asphalt or concrete.

      (2)   Before a building permit is issued for the construction, reconstruction, or change in use of any building or land used for purposes other than a single or two-family residence, all driveways shall be reviewed and approved by the Administrator . Private driveways serving single-family and two-family  dwellings shall not be regulated by the provision of this chapter. “Construction, reconstruction, or change in use” refers to those improvements made to the site involving overall structure size or to changes in use which would require the addition of one or more parking spaces under the provision of §§ 152.290 through 152.296, Off-Street Parking and Off-Street Loading Requirements; it is not intended to refer to construction activities which merely involve changes to exterior architectural features (e.g., painting, addition of siding, roofing activities, and the like).

      (3)   When the use of any driveway has been permanently discontinued, the property owner of that driveway shall, at his expense, replace all necessary curbs, gutters aprons, sidewalks, and appurtenances thereto, within 60 days of receipt of a written notice from the Administrator .

      (4)   No driveway shall conflict with any municipal facility such as traffic signal standards, catch basins, fire hydrants, crosswalks, loading zones, bus stops, utility poles, fire-alarm supports, meter boxes, and sewer clean-outs or other necessary structures, except with the express approval of the Administrator . Any adjustments to municipal facilities to avoid such conflicts shall be at the expense of the driveway applicant.

   (B)   Permit requirements. A permit must be obtained from the Administrator prior to the removal, alteration, or construction of any curb, driveway, gutter, and/or pavement or prior to the performance of any other work in any public or private street. Conditions governing the issuance of such a permit are:

      (1)   A continuing indemnity bond with sufficient surety acceptable to the town may be required of the party performing the work. All work must be done in conformity with the standards established herein.

      (2)   The town shall be indemnified for any damages it might sustain as a result of the breach of condition above. The damages payable to the town shall be the amount required to make such improvement conform to town standards.

      NOTE: Based on the Town of Swansboro Schedule of Fees, a fee shall be paid to the town at the time the application for a driveway permit is made.

   (C)   Submission of plans. 

      (1)   Two copies of plans showing the location and dimensions of all proposed improvements shall be filed with the Administrator for his approval prior to the issuance of a driveway permit for uses other than single or two-family residential.

      (2)   All design and construction of driveways shall conform to the requirements of the North Carolina Department of Transportation or Town engineering guidelines whichever is greater.

   (D)   Driveway Location(s).

      (1)   Two driveways entering the same street from a single lot shall be permitted only if the minimum distance between the closest edges of the driveways equals or exceeds 50 feet.

      (2)   Three driveways entering the same street from a single lot shall be permitted only if the minimum distance between the closest edges of the driveways equals or exceeds 150 feet.

      (3)   Four or more driveways entering the same street from a single lot shall be prohibited.

      (4)   In no case may the total width of all driveways exceed 50% of the total property frontage .

      (5)   No driveway (nearest edge) shall be located within 10 feet of a side lot property line except in the case of a shared driveway (single curb/access point) utilized by two or more lots .

      (6)   No driveway (nearest edge) shall be located within 25 feet of an intersection or secondary road and 40 feet of a primary road except in the case where no other lot access to a public street or town-approved private road is available.

   (E)   Driveway permit inspection. Once the driveway permit is duly issued, the supervisor of the driveway construction site shall keep the permit available for on- the-job inspection by authorized personnel of the town. The Administrator or other authorized representative of the town shall have the authority to require the immediate stoppage of work not performed either in accordance with the approved plans or under the requirements of this section and may order the nonconforming installations be corrected and/or blocked.

(Ord. 2005-O3, passed 3-15-2005)