Driveways shall be paved with asphalt, concrete or a comparable hard surface pavement in accordance with plans and specifications on file in the office of the Building Commissioner. The use of gravel driveways is prohibited.
(a) Concrete Driveways:
(1) Residential: All Concrete used in the construction of a residential driveway shall be Portland cement concrete or a well-known acceptable brand or brick pavers of equal strength as Portland cement concrete in thicknesses as outlined in this chapter, and shall be subject to strength testing as may be required by the Director of Public Service, Building Commissioner or City Engineer in compliance with concrete compressive strength pursuant to Standard Methods of Sampling and Testing of the American Society for Testing Materials. (ASTM C172). The concrete shall be thoroughly mixed before it is deposited in a steel or wooden form sufficiently braced to assure stability and no deviation from specified dimensions. Fills shall be made with no. two (2") inches gravel or sand and must contain wire mesh size six inches by six inches (6" X 6") or a fiber mesh. The concrete shall be thoroughly tampered and consolidated so that none of the stone appears on the surface. The forms must be kept clean, free of undergrowth, loam, shale, rocks, roots, briars, and spongy materials before filled with concrete. A copy of concrete tickets listing the property address and verifying compliance with the specifications shall be provided to the Building Department or the project will be deemed not approved.
(2) Commercial: All Concrete used in the construction of a commercial driveway shall be Portland cement concrete or a well-known acceptable brand of equal strength as Portland cement concrete in thicknesses as outlined in this chapter, and shall be subject to strength testing as may be required by the Director of Public Service, Building Commissioner or City Engineer in compliance with concrete compressive strength pursuant to Standard Methods of Sampling and Testing of the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM C172) or the American Concrete Institute. The concrete shall be thoroughly mixed before it is deposited in a steel or wooden form sufficiently braced to assure stability and no deviation from specified dimensions. Fills shall be made with no. two (2") inches gravel or sand and must contain wire mesh size six inches by six inches (6" X 6") or a fiber mesh. The concrete shall be thoroughly tampered and consolidated so that none of the stone appears on the surface. The forms must be kept clean, free of undergrowth, loam, shale, rocks, roots, briars, and spongy materials before filled with concrete. A copy of concrete tickets listing the property address and verifying compliance with the specifications shall be provided to the Building Department or the project will be deemed not approved.
(3) Thickness: The minimum driveway thickness for a Single Family or Two-Family House shall be four (4") inches with wire mesh reinforcing. All other thickness shall be a minimum of six (6) inches with reinforcement. Except that sidewalks and walkways shall be four (4) inches.
(4) Finish Surface: Finishing the surface, Residential and Commercial, should be performed immediately after pouring and the compaction of the concrete. A finish surface may be left plain or it may be broomed, or produced by rubbing with wood floats to a uniformed texture. The finished surface shall be free of depressions or inequalities and shall meet the guidelines set by the American Concrete Institute (ACI). The application of dry cement to hasten drying of the surface is prohibited.
(5) Joints: Control joints shall be tool formed to a depth of one-fourth (1/4) the thickness of the slab and the dimension of any joint panel shall not exceed ten (10) feet. Expansion joints shall be required at ends where the concrete abuts concrete curbing, foundations, paved streets, garage floors, stoops, lateral walks, building lines where the concrete is laid full width from the curb to the building, around hydrants, water meter covers and all other structures where fixed objects project through the concrete. The materials used in the expansion joint shall be pre-molded fiber expansion material one-half (1/2") inches in thickness and of sufficient width to extend the entire depth of the concrete and shall be placed in such a manner that the joint will be filled to within one-half (1/2 ") inches of the finish surface of the wale. All edges of joints shall be rounded with an approved edging tool to a radius of one-fourth (1/4) of an inch.
(6) Driveway Aprons: All driveway aprons new or replacements shall be constructed of reinforced Portland cement concrete on a prepared sub base.
A. Residential: All residential driveway aprons shall be concrete and must be a minimum thickness of six (6) inches of concrete with wire mesh reinforcing. The maximum thickness of concrete between a public walk and curb of the street shall be six (6) inches.
B. Commercial: All commercial driveways shall be a minimum of eight (8") inches in thickness. Asphalt aprons are not permitted on any driveways.
C. The Sidewalk within the limits of the driveway apron shall be constructed to meet the depth, subbase, and reinforcing requirements of the apron. All other areas of sidewalk shall be four (4) inches in depth. Aprons shall be a maximum of one and one-half (1-1/2) inch above the pavement grade. The minimum shall be one and one-fourth (1-1/4) inches. All sidewalks shall slope from the inside of the lot line toward the street at a ratio of three-eighths (3/8) inch per foot. Where a sidewalk intersects, corners must have a minimum of four (4') feet of walk facing the opposite corner. All corners that lead to a crosswalk must be ramped in accordance with the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act Guidelines. The sub-base and forms shall be inspected by the City prior to placing of concrete.
D. In all cases where curbs and/or sidewalks are constructed, the developer and/ or contractor constructing them shall mark thereon the location of the sewer and water connections with the proper letter "S" and "W".
(b) Asphalt Driveways.
(1) The base for an asphalt driveway shall consist of six-inches of compacted gravel or crushed stone.
(2) Asphalt shall have a minimum of two (2) inches thick bituminous surface after compaction.
(3) Asphalt materials may be placed over concrete. Placing concrete over asphalt shall be prohibited.
(c) Temporary Driveways. Any owner, agent, or contractor with an intent to excavate, construct or erect any building pursuant to a permit issued in conformity to the Building Code, must first install a temporary driveway of suitable gravel or slag material upon such property to the approval of the Building Commissioner or his, or her, designee so that vehicles driving onto and off of such property will not collect and track dirt, mud, or other substances into the streets of the City.
(Ord. 2021-105. Passed 6-15-21.)