Chapter 6 Mobility Standards Part 2 Streets and Rights-of-Way Page 1 of 3

6.2.1 Applicability and General Standards

1. All new streets located in or adjoining any subdivision of land hereafter proposed shall conform to the standards of design established in this Part. In any subdivision of land hereafter proposed, the subdivider shall agree to make all dedications and complete all physical improvements as required in Table 6.2.1 before the Commission may approve the preliminary plan or minor plat. In no case shall any new lots be created or new street constructed that does not meet a pavement width of at least 18 feet, except that a five lot, five acre per lot subdivision may be accessed by a 12 foot gravel road with 3 foot earthen shoulders.
2. All new development meeting one of the criteria listed in 1 through 6 below and having frontage on a public right-of-way shall dedicate land necessary to meet the minimum right-of-way width established in Table 6.2.1, unless exempted by the Planning Director and the Director of Works.
   1. Category 3 Review (includes Major Subdivisions)
   2. Rezoning/Plan Certain Development
   3. Conditional Use Permit
   4. Developments adjacent to legislatively adopted roadway improvement projects.
   5. Developments with road improvements as required by Metro Public Works and/or the LDC.
   6. Minor Subdivision Plats creating lots.
3. Developments meeting one of the criteria listed above that contain land that is depicted for future roadways shown in the comprehensive plan, legislatively adopted roadway plans, or an approved road alignment study shall dedicate right-of-way as outlined within the applicable plan or study.
4. All single family residential developments or detached unit condominium developments shall not create private streets unless written approval is obtained from the Directors of Works and Planning.
5. All new development and subdivisions having frontage on roadways proposed for bicycle facilities in the Comprehensive Plan shall provide right-of-way necessary to accommodate such facilities. The applicant shall construct the bicycle facilities, unless the Planning Director and the Director of Works determine, based on roadway conditions or the status of adjacent segments of the bicycle facility, that construction would not be appropriate.

6.2.2 Relationship of Streets to Topography

New streets shall be so related to the topography and to existing streets as to promote the public convenience and safety and to facilitate the proper use of the land they are constructed to serve. In particular, streets shall be designed to facilitate the drainage and storm water runoff objectives set forth in Appendix 4H (Erosion Prevention Sediment Control). Street Grades shall conform, as closely as practicable to the original topography.

6.2.3 Grade

No street grade shall be less than one per cent nor more than ten percent, unless a different grade is expressly approved by the Director of Works because of special topographical conditions.

The maximum grade at any point on a street constructed without curb and gutter shall be 6 percent, unless approved by Director of Works.

6.2.4 Street Intersections

1. Number of Approaches - Intersections involving more than four basic street legs or approaches shall be prohibited. Merging lanes, deceleration lanes, '"Y" intersections and traffic circles are not included in this prohibition, but are considered as being parts of one street leg or approach.
2. Angle of Intersection - For a tangent distance of at least one hundred feet measured from the intersection of right-of-way lines, all streets shall intersect at an angle of ninety degrees, where practical, but in no case shall the angle be less than seventy five degrees.
3. Intersection Offset - Streets entering opposite sides of another street shall be laid out either directly opposite one another or with a minimum offset of one hundred feet between their centerlines.
4. Intersection Spacing - All local and cul-de-sac streets intersecting with and entering the same side of other collector, local or cul-de-sac streets shall be located at least two hundred feet apart measured from centerline to centerline. When the intersected street is an arterial, the distance between intersecting streets shall be at least 1,000 feet. All other streets intersecting with and entering the same side of any other street shall be located at least five hundred feet apart, measured from centerline to centerline, unless a closer spacing is expressly approved by the Director of Works, to promote the public convenience and safety and to facilitate the proper use of the surrounding land.
5. Grades at Intersections - Where the grade of any street at the approach to an intersection exceeds three percent, a leveling area shall be provided, having not greater than a three per cent grade for a distance of fifty feet from the intersection of the street centerline. A sag immediately adjacent to the intersecting street and a vertical curve shall be used to connect the intersection grades.

6.2.5 General Layout of Streets

1. Coordination with Surrounding Streets - A proposed street shall recognize and extend the plan and profile of off-site existing streets, and shall make possible the future extension of streets into adjacent undeveloped land. Collector streets shall intersect with surrounding collector or arterial streets at safe and convenient locations.
2. Ingress and Egress - Access from new lots or a new street connecting an existing street shall not be approved unless the existing street has adequate pavement width to provide for ingress and egress to the proposed development.
3. Alignment - The alignment of all streets shall be related to the centerline and shall be as follows, unless a different alignment is required by the Director of Works because of special topographical considerations or sound engineering practices:
   1. Major and Minor Arterials and Collectors - the radius of all horizontal curves shall be at least 573 feet and horizontal curves shall have a desired stopping site distance of 325 feet with the minimum stopping sight distance of 275 feet. All vertical crest and sag curves shall conform to the formula L = KA. The desired K value shall be 80 with a minimum K value of 55. The design of the horizontal and vertical curves may vary based on the design speed of the roadway as determined by the Director of Works.
   2. Local and Cul-de-sac Streets - All local and cul-de-sac streets shall be related to the topography of the subdivision and shall generally tend to discourage fast or through traffic.
4. Corner Radii - The minimum radii at the pavement edge, or the back of the curb where required, shall be twenty-five feet for all street intersections, unless a different figure is expressly approved by the commission because of special topographical considerations or sound engineering practices. The minimum radii at the property line shall be fifteen feet for all street intersections, unless a different figure is expressly approved by the Director of Works because of special topographical considerations or sound engineering practices.
5. Continuation of Existing Streets – Subdivisions shall be designed to ensure that existing public and private streets, which stub into the subject property must be extended through the subject property. For subdivisions creating any lot that abuts or has access to any proposed stub street extension, right-of-way shall be dedicated sufficient to accommodate the extension of the street, and the street shall be constructed in accordance with the requirements of this Land Development Code for constructing public or private roads.
6. Cul-de-sac or Dead End Streets – Proposed closure of a section of cul-de-sac or dead end streets shall require installation of a turn-around or cul-de-sac unless waived by the Directors of Public Works and Planning or their designees. Signs shall be installed meeting the Manual on Uniform Transportation Control Devices (MUTCD).

6.2.6 Requirements for Specific Types of Streets and Alleys

1. Minimum Requirements - New streets shall provide right-of-way and improvements specified in Tables 6.2.1 and 6.2.2, according to the functional class of the street and the form district in which it is located, subject to the following exception:
2. Development activity that meets the thresholds in the form district for Street and Roadside Design and new streets shall provide sidewalks in accordance with Tables 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 subject to the following exceptions:
   • Sidewalks shall not be required on lots that are five acres or greater in area and developed for single family residential uses unless they connect with existing sidewalks on both sides of the property.
   • Lots within approved major subdivisions in which the sidewalk(s) were waived as Part of the subdivision approval for the applicable street frontage shall not be required to provide sidewalks.
   1. Fee in Lieu Option - The Director of Works and the Director of Planning or designees may allow the payment in lieu of sidewalk construction upon a finding that construction of a sidewalk is not appropriate due to one of the following applicability requirements:
      • Sidewalks construction is impracticable due to topographical conditions or site constraints; or
      • A determination by the Director of Works and the Director of Planning or designees that sidewalks do not exist in the area and there is not a likelihood for sidewalks to be constructed in the future, except for areas where sidewalks are recommended within a Planning Commission or legislatively adopted plan recommending sidewalk construction.
      1. Amount of fee shall be set by Metro Public Works based on average sidewalk construction. The fee in lieu amount for single family residential property that is not Part of a major subdivision plan shall be calculated based on the minimum lot frontage of the applicable zoning district or actual lot width, whichever is less. All fees paid shall be used for sidewalk construction within the same Metro Council District. It should be noted that payment of a fee in lieu of sidewalk construction is an option available to developers that must be approved by the Director of Works and the Director of Planning or designees. Applicants retain the right to request a sidewalk waiver (see B.2 below); in no case shall the Planning Commission or Director of Works require the payment of a fee in lieu of sidewalk construction. The fee in lieu option shall not be approved and the sidewalk shall be constructed when one of the following situations apply:
         • Where an existing sidewalk network can be completed or extended, except in locations where site constraints cause construction difficulties as determined by the Director of Works and the Director of Planning or designees.
         • The required sidewalk would provide a direct means of access to a lot that contains a pedestrian generator such as a school, church, library, community center or park.
      2. A new fee in lieu or sidewalk shall not be required in the future for a street frontage in which a fee in lieu has already been approved and paid.
   2. Sidewalk Waiver
      1. Applicability:
         
         Any development site required to provide a sidewalk in accordance with applicable form district threshold tables of Chapter 5 of this code may submit an application for a sidewalk waiver in accordance with the submittal requirements of paragraph 2b below.
      2. Submittal Requirements:
         1. A plan (e.g. development plan (plan certain or category review), minor plat, preliminary subdivision plan or conditional use permit plan.)
         2. A justification document, which addresses as applicable the following items:
            1. How the proposed waiver conforms to the Comprehensive Plan and the intent of this Land Development Code;
            2. Why compliance with the regulations is not appropriate and granting of the waiver will result in a development more in keeping with the Comprehensive Plan and the overall intent of this Land Development Code;
            3. What impacts granting of the waiver may have on adjacent property owners;
            4. Why strict application of the provision of the regulations would deprive the applicant of the reasonable use of the land or would create an unnecessary hardship on the applicant.
      3. Review Process:
         1. Notice shall be given in accordance with the provisions of LDC waivers as listed in Chapter 11 of this code.
         2. The Planning Commission or designee or BOZA (only in conjunction with a review of a variance or conditional use permit request) shall review the waiver request in order to hear comments from concerned citizens and to review comments from Planning and Design Services staff and other agencies.
         3. The Planning Commission or designee or BOZA (only in conjunction with a review of a variance or conditional use permit request) may approve waivers or modifications of standards upon a finding that:
            1. The waiver will not adversely affect adjacent property owners; and
            2. The waiver will not violate the Comprehensive Plan; and
            3. The extent of waiver of the regulation is the minimum necessary to afford relief to the applicant.
         4. The Planning Commission or designee or BOZA (only in conjunction with a review of a variance or conditional use permit request) may grant a waiver to allow a reduced sidewalk requirement where less than 50% of the street frontage is being developed. A reduction waiver shall not exempt future development on the parcel from the construction of the remainder of the sidewalk.

Table 6.2.1

1 Sidewalk is required on both sides of all streets. Minimum sidewalk width is 5 feet unless different width specified in Form Districts. With approval of the Director of Works, meandering sidewalks are specifically allowed.
2 Bicycle facilities will be required along selected streets based on the adopted Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan
3 Verge width will be determined by the director of Works, depending on right-of-way width and site specific factors. Recommended widths are listed in the table.

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