Improvements and roadway access required as the result of site development shall be located; designed; and constructed to provide safe access to property and enable safe traffic flow throughout the City. It is recognized that land use and site planning issues are directly related to the capacity of roadways to efficiently move traffic through an area and provide safe access to adjoining property. It is also recognized that achieving an appropriate balance between roadway access to adjoining property and the ability of roadways to carry through traffic will not only reduce future congestion and accident rates, but will also enhance emergency vehicle response times.
(a) State Access Management Standards. In reviewing development projects adjacent to arterial and collector streets, the Planning Commission and the City Engineer shall require adherence to the State of Ohio Department of Transportation State Highway Access Management Manual, current edition, as well as the City's Engineering Construction Standards for access management, current edition.
(b) Other Access Management Standards.
(1) The minimum distance between nonresidential access drives, on adjacent parcels, shall be as set forth in the Ohio Department of Transportation, State Highway Access Manual, current edition, for all parcels located on state routes within the City's corporation limits.
(2) The minimum distance for nonresidential drives on other City streets shall be as set forth in the Engineering Construction Standards, current edition.
(3) The Planning Commission, upon a recommendation from the City Engineer, may grant an exception to the regulations in this subsection when the Planning Commission determines that reduced spacing will not impair public safety or the management of traffic on abutting roadways. In granting this exception, the Planning Commission may require the property owner to enter into a recorded agreement with the City that preexisting access points to the site will be closed and eliminated after the completion of a joint access driveway with an adjacent parcel.
(4) Adjacent nonresidential properties that generate 100 trips or more per day according to the Institute of Transportation Engineer's Trip Generation Manual, shall provide a cross access drive to allow circulation between sites. The Planning Commission, upon the recommendation from the City Engineer, may modify or waive the requirements of this sub-section where the characteristics or layout of abutting properties would make development of a unified or shared access and circulation system impractical.
(5) A system of joint use driveways and cross access easements shall be established along all streets designated as collector or greater and the building site shall incorporate one or more of the following:
A. Service drive connections or cross access corridors between sites preferably visible from the street; a design speed of 10 miles per hour and sufficient width to accommodate two-way travel aisles designed to accommodate automobiles, service vehicles, and loading vehicles;
B. Stub-outs and other design features to show that the abutting properties may be tied in to provide cross access via a service drive; or
C. A unified access and circulation system plan that includes coordinated or shared parking areas is provided.
(6) To effectuate Paragraphs A through C a cross-access agreement shall be required in accordance with Section 1125.07(e).
(7) The Planning Commission, upon the recommendation from the City Engineer, may modify or waive the requirements of this subsection where the characteristics or layout of abutting properties would make development of a unified or shared access and circulation system impractical.
(c) Traffic Impact Studies.
(1) A Traffic Impact Study (TIS) shall be required whenever a Major Subdivision or Development Plan application meets any of the development intensity thresholds listed below. The Planning Commission may waive this requirement based on a recommendation from the City Engineer.
A. Generates or has the potential to generate traffic volumes equal to or exceeding 100 vehicle trip ends (total of entering and exiting vehicles for the proposed development at full 20-year build out and occupancy) during the highest peak hour of the development or land use;
B. A turn-lane warrant analysis may be required by a development or land use generating less than 100 vehicle trip ends in the peak hour; or
C. Proposed access within a location identified by the City Engineer as a safety problem or accident location.
(2) The City Engineer shall maintain a list of submission requirements for a TIS.
(3) The TIS shall outline recommended mitigation measures, including but not limited to roadway widening, turn lane geometries, changes to signalization, elimination or combination of access points, or reduction in the proposed intensity of use, demonstrate any changes to the level of service achieved by these measures, and describe any alternatives or suggested phasing of improvements. The responsibility for construction and timing of roadway improvements shall be described.
(d) Turn Lanes. Turn lanes shall be provided on all existing arterial and collector streets adjacent to a proposed major subdivision. The Planning Commission may waive this requirement based on a recommendation from the City Engineer.
(Ord. 2018-009. Passed 5-7-18; Ord. 2019-17. Passed 10-7-19.)