Chapter 19.08 STREETS

Chapter 19.08
STREETS

Sections:

19.08.010 General considerations.

(1) Shortened Designation. The city of Entiat street standards will be cited routinely in the text as the “standards.”

(2) Applicability.

(a) The standards are not intended to apply to “resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation” projects as those terms are defined in the WSDOT, Local Agency Guidelines, as amended; however, the public works director or designee may at his discretion consider the standards as optional goals.

(b) The provisions herein shall also apply to all developments, land use activities and permit applications obtained in compliance with the regulations governing development of the city, as established within the Entiat Municipal Code, including but not limited to the zoning code, subdivision code, the environment code and the standard plan guidebook.

(c) The city will not allow subdivisions to be recorded unless there exists a recorded continuous public access, i.e., right-of-way or easement to the subdivision except as provided for in EMC 19.08.020(2), nor will the city accept a road for maintenance unless such road and/or utility is directly connected to a city or other publicly maintained road.

(d) All road improvement and development projects shall include pedestrian access as a part of the design. Where existing roadways are to be modified, pedestrian facilities shall be as described in the City of Entiat Standard Guidebook Roadside Features.

(3) Meaning of Terms.

“Alley” means a thoroughfare or right-of-way, usually narrower than a street, which provides secondary access to the rear boundary of two or more residential or commercial properties and is not intended for general traffic circulation.

“As-built” means the original construction drawings revised to incorporate information pertaining to the street and/or utility improvements as they were constructed.

“Auxiliary lane” means the portion of the roadway adjoining the traveled way for parking, turning, or other purposes supplementary to through-traffic movement.

“Bulb” means round area for vehicle turn-around typically located at the end of a cul-de-sac street.

“Cul-de-sac” means a short street having one end open to traffic and the other temporarily or permanently terminated by a vehicle turn-around.

“Design speed” means the speed approved by the public works director or designee for the design of the physical features of a road as established by EMC 19.08.020(2), (3) and (4) for residential and commercial access streets or equal to five miles per hour above the current, or expected posted speed limit for arterials. In certain situations the public works director or designee may consider five miles per hour above the 85-percentile speed.

“Developer” means any person, corporation, government agency, partnership or other entity that makes application for a proposal, permit, approval or action governed by the codes and ordinances of the city.

“Development” means any manmade use or change to improved or unimproved real estate, including without limitation: the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation or enlargement of any buildings or any other structures; mining, filling, stockpiling; excavation and grading; and divisions of land.

“Driveway” means a privately maintained access to residential, commercial, or industrial properties.

“Engineer” means the city of Entiat public works director or designee, having authorities specified in RCW 36.75.050 and Chapter 36.80 RCW, or his/her authorized representative.

“Eyebrow” means a partial bulb located adjacent to the serving road that provides access to lots and serves as a vehicle turn-around.

“Half-street” means a street constructed along edge of development, utilizing a portion of the regular width of right-of-way and permitted as an interim facility pending construction of the other half of the street by the adjacent owner.

“Joint-use driveway tract” means a jointly owned and maintained tract or easement serving two properties.

“Landing” means a road or driveway approach area to any public or private road.

“Loop” means a road of limited length forming a loop, having no other intersecting road, and functioning mainly as direct access to abutting properties. A loop may be designated for one-way or two-way traffic.

“Off-street parking space” means an area accessible to vehicles, exclusive of roadways, sidewalks, and other pedestrian facilities, that is improved, maintained, and used for the purpose of parking a motor vehicle.

“Pavement width” means a paved area on shoulder-type roads or paved surfaces between curb, thickened edge or gutter flow line on all other roads as depicted in the Entiat Standard Plan Guidebook.

“Pipe stem” means a strip of land having a width narrower than that of the lot or parcel to be served and is designed for providing access to that lot or parcel.

“Private access tract” means a privately owned and maintained tract providing vehicular access to four or fewer residential properties.

“Private street” means a privately owned and maintained access provided for by a tract, easement, or other legal means, typically serving three or more potential dwelling units.

“Professional engineer” means a professional civil engineer licensed to practice in the state of Washington.

“Public street” means publicly owned facility providing access, including the roadway and all other improvements, inside the right-of-way.

“Right-of-way” means land, property, or property interest (e.g., an easement), usually in a strip, acquired for or devoted to transportation purposes.

“Road” means a facility providing public or private access including the roadway and all other improvements inside the right-of-way.

“Road” and “street” will be considered interchangeable terms for the purpose of these standards.

“Roadway” means pavement width plus any nonpaved shoulders.

“Shoulder” means the paved or unpaved portion of the roadway outside the traveled way that is available for emergency parking or nonmotorized use.

“Traveled way” means that part of the road made for vehicle travel excluding shoulders and auxiliary lanes.

“Utility” means a company providing public service such as gas, electric power, telephone, telegraph, water, sewer, or cable television, whether or not such company is privately owned or owned by a governmental entity.

“Standard plan” means the WSDOT Standard Plans for Road, Bridge, and Municipal Construction. (Ord. 661 § 1, 2006)

19.08.020 Road types and geometry.

(1) Road Classifications. Functional classifications are used for planning and designing roadway facilities. A functional classification system provides a framework for defining the uses of roadways. For example, roadways may be designed to emphasize through-traffic movement, access to adjacent properties, or some combination of these functions. General definitions of functional classification are presented in the following table. These definitions will serve as a guide in classifying streets.

Functional Classification Definitions
Freeway/expressway:	Inter-regional divided highways connecting major centers. Typically, freeways have two or more lanes for traffic in each direction; access is limited to interchanges designed for higher speed merging/diverging traffic.
Principal arterial:	Inter-community roadways connecting community centers or major facilities. Principal arterials are generally intended to serve predominantly “through” traffic with minimum direct service to abutting land uses. Spacing between parallel principal arterials is generally two miles or greater.
Minor arterial:	Provides for intra-community travel for areas bounded by the principal arterial system. Minor arterials serve trips of moderate length and provide more direct access to abutting properties than principal arterials. Spacing of minor arterials is typically less than two miles.
Collector arterials:	Provides for movement within a community, including connecting neighborhoods with smaller community centers. Collector arterials also provide connections to minor and principal arterials. Property access is generally a higher priority for collector arterials with a lower priority for through-traffic movements. Spacing of collector arterials is generally one mile or less.
Neighborhood collector:	Provides connections to arterial system for individual neighborhoods and provides circulation within and/or between neighborhoods. Spacing of neighborhood collectors is typically one-half mile or less.
Local access street:	Primary function of local access street is access to abutting properties. Local streets include a variety of designs and spacing depending on access needs.

(2) Private Streets.

(a) While community street requirements are usually best served by public streets owned and maintained by the city, private streets may be appropriate for some local access streets. Usually these are minor access streets, either residential or commercial.

(b) Private streets may be approved only when they are:

(i) Permanently established by right-of-way, tract, or easement providing legal access to each affected lot, dwelling unit, or business and sufficient to accommodate required improvements, to include provision for future use by adjacent property owners when applicable; and

(ii) Built to these standards as set forth herein; the Entiat Standard Plan Guidebook Standard Plan S5; and

(iii) Accessible at all times for emergency and public service vehicle use; and

(iv) Not obstructing, or part of, the present or future public neighborhood circulation plan developed in the Entiat comprehensive plan; and

(v) Not going to result in land locking of present or future parcels; and

(vi) Not needed as public roads to meet the minimum road spacing requirements of these standards; and

(vii) Covenants have been approved, recorded, and verified with the city, which provide for maintenance of the private streets and associated parking areas by owners in the development; and

(viii) At least one of the following conditions exist:

(A) The plat or short plat street will ultimately serve nine or fewer lots, or 18 or fewer units.

(B) The roadways are a part of a planned residential development (PRD).

(D) The public works director or designee and fire marshal determine that no other access is available and the private road is adequate; and

(ix) Maintained by a capable and legally responsible owner or homeowner’s association or other legal entity made up of all benefited property owners; and

(x) Clearly described on the face of the plat, short plat, or other development authorization and clearly signed at street location as a private street, for the maintenance of which the city of Entiat is not responsible.

(c) The city of Entiat will not accept private streets for maintenance as public streets until such streets are brought into conformance with current city road standards.

(d) The city of Entiat will not accept private streets within short plats when the roads providing access to the plat are private and already have the potential to serve more than the number of lots specified in subsection (5) of this section. Short plats proposed on properties to which the access is over private streets that do not meet the standards in this section shall be denied.

(e) Private access shall conform to the Entiat Standard Plan Guidebook Standard Plan S5 for private roads and access easement subject to:

(i) A maximum of nine lots or 18 units are served.

(ii) Minimum tract width of 20 feet for up to one lot or two units and 40 feet for up to nine lots or 18 units.

(iii) Access road length shall not exceed 300 feet.

(iv) Pavement width shall be a minimum of 12 feet.

(3) One-Way Streets. Local access streets, including loops, may be designated one-way upon a finding by the public works director or designee that topography or other site features make two-way traffic impractical.

(4) Intersections with State or Federal Highways. In the event that the city has jurisdiction over a development that requires the construction or improvement of a commercial/industrial driveway or any classification of street that intersects a county, state, or federal highway, minimum intersection spacing, entering sight distance and landing requirements in accordance with these standards shall be satisfied in addition to the requirements of all other applicable permits. In the instance county, state, or federal standards exceed these standards, county, state, or federal standards shall govern.

(5) Residential Access and Circulation Requirements. In order to provide a second access to a residential subdivision, short subdivision, binding site plan or planned unit development, no residential street shall serve more than 100 lots or dwelling units unless the street is connected in at least two locations with another street that functions at a level consistent with the road types and geometry for arterial roads and residential access streets as prescribed in the City of Entiat Standard Plan Guidebook.

(a) The second access requirement may be satisfied through use of connecting a new street to an existing street in an adjacent neighborhood if:

(i) No other practical alternative exists; or

(ii) Existing street was previously stubbed indicating intent for future access; or

(iii) An easement has been recorded specifically for said purpose.

(b) The second access requirement may not be satisfied through use of an existing roadway network in the existing adjacent neighborhood if:

(i) A more practical alternative exists; or

(ii) Existing streets do not meet the minimum design standards for residential access street as defined in the City of Entiat Standard Plan Guidebook.

(d) This section does not preclude a multi-family or commercial project from gaining access through a residential development. Traffic impacts for such project will be analyzed during the SEPA process.

(6) Exception for Maximum Dwelling Units on Neighborhood Collector. Proposed neighborhood collectors serving developments with an average density of seven to eight dwelling units per acre and which meet the access requirements of subsection (5) of this section may serve up to 300 single-family dwelling units, if approved by the public works director or designee. Prior to approval, the public works director or designee may require a traffic circulation study showing a balanced traffic flow of less than 1,500 vehicles per day past any access point. Streets trees shall be mandatory along neighborhood collectors serving higher densities of eight to 18 dwelling units per acre and shall be in conformance with City of Entiat Standard Plan Guidebook design standards for street trees and landscaping.

(7) Channelization Plan. The public works director or designee shall approve a channelization and signing plan. The plan shall comply with the current version of the MUTCD and Entiat standard plan guidebook requirements for pavement markings, markers, pavement tapes and signage. (Ord. 661 § 1, 2006)

19.08.030 Site access.

(1) General.

(a) Access to city roads is regulated through the right-of-way (R/W) use permit process. No construction of access points or related improvements will be allowed without a valid R/W use permit. Permits will be evaluated and issued based on the ability of the proposed access or use to meet these standards.

(b) If a proposed property access point cannot meet these standards, the public works director or designee may designate one or more access points based on traffic safety, operational needs, and conformance to as many of the requirements of these standards as possible.

(c) Access points for parking or loading areas shall be designed so that backing maneuvers from or onto a public street R/W will not occur. This does not apply to single-family or duplex residential uses on nonarterial roads.

(d) Where necessary for the safe and efficient movement of traffic, the public works director or designee may require investigation by the applicant to determine whether access points should be designed to limit turning movements. The public works director or designee may also require joint access and circulation agreements between neighboring properties to further provide safe and efficient movement of traffic.

(e) Temporary access may be granted to undeveloped property prior to completion of a final development plan if access is needed for construction of preliminary site access. Temporary access points are subject to removal, relocation, or redesign after final development plan approval.

(f) Secondary access for emergency vehicles may be required for certain high volume or public safety sensitive developments only. They shall be designed to the satisfaction of the public works director or designee based on review by the Chelan County Fire District No. 8. As a general rule, residential development shall have only one access point.

(g) No relocation, alteration, or reconstruction of existing access points is permitted without prior written approval from the public works director or designee. (Ord. 780, 2018; Ord. 661 § 1, 2006)