Chapter 16.07
DESIGN STANDARDS

Sections:

16.07.010    General Requirements—Determination of Adequacy.

16.07.020    Restricted Residential Access.

16.07.030    Wildland Access.

16.07.040    Modifications to Access and Frontage Requirements.

16.07.010 General Requirements—Determination of Adequacy.

A.    Each street providing access to lots within a division of land shall connect directly or through one (1) or more other streets to a highway which is shown on the General Plan Circulation Map Joint Highway Plan and which is maintained and open to public travel. Each route of access to a highway which is shown on the General Plan Circulation Map Joint Highway Plan shall be adequate to accommodate the composition and volume of vehicular traffic generated by the land uses which it serves.

B.    In determining the adequacy of a route of access, the approving authority shall consider the potential for blockage of the route by flood, fire or landslide and the effect of such blockage on the safe evacuation of future users and occupants of the subdivision and on the deployment of fire equipment or other services under emergency conditions. The approving authority may disapprove a design which makes use of a residential street as a route of access to industrial, commercial, residential or other divisions of land generating traffic which would conflict with the residential character of the street. (Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/13)

16.07.020 Restricted Residential Access.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to divisions of land referred to in Section 16.21.040 (Lot Sizes in Excess of Ten (10) Acres—Requirements), to divisions of land approved pursuant to Section 16.21.060 (Parcel Maps—Five (5) Acre Minimum Lot Size Requirement) or to the subdivision of four (4) or less residential units.

A.    If a street or street system is restricted to a single route of access to a highway shown on the General Plan Circulation Map Joint Highway Plan, except for a limited secondary highway, which is maintained and open to public travel, whether at the point of intersection with the highway or at some point distant from the highway, unless otherwise approved by the Fire Department, the street or street system shall serve not more than:

1.    One hundred fifty (150) dwelling units where the restriction is designed to be permanent and the street or street system does not traverse an area designated as a very high fire hazard severity zone;

2.    Seventy-five (75) dwelling units where the restriction is designed to be permanent and the street or street system traverses an area designated as a very high fire hazard severity zone;

3.    Three hundred (300) dwelling units, where the restriction is subject to removal through future development.

B.    If the roadway paving on that portion of the street or street system forming the restriction is less than thirty-six (36) feet but more than twenty-eight (28) feet in width and is not to be widened to thirty-six (36) feet or more as a part of the division of land, the permitted number of dwelling units shall be reduced by twenty-five percent (25%). If the pavement is less than twenty-eight (28) feet in width, the permitted number of dwelling units shall be reduced by fifty percent (50%). If the roadway paving on that portion of the street or street system forming the restriction is sixty-four (64) feet or more in width and the restriction is subject to removal through future development, the permitted number of dwelling units may be increased to six hundred (600). In no event shall the pavement width be less than twenty (20) feet.

C.    Residential access shall not be permitted on any residential street with a projected traffic volume of two thousand (2,000) or more vehicle trips a day unless approved by the City Engineer.

D.    Residential access shall not be permitted on any residential street within the first one hundred (100) feet of an intersection with a major or secondary highway. (Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/13)

16.07.030 Wildland Access.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 16.07.020 (Restricted Residential Access) and 16.11.110 (Cul-De-Sacs—Length Restrictions), the approving authority may disapprove a design of a division of land which utilizes a cul-de-sac or branching street system or other single-access street or street system as the sole or principal means of access to lots within the division, where the Fire Department advises:

A.    That the street or street system will traverse a wildland area which is located in a very high fire hazard severity zone; or

B.    That the lack of a second route of access would unduly hinder public evacuation and the deployment of fire-fighting and other emergency equipment in the event of a brush or forest fire. (Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/13)

16.07.040 Modifications to Access and Frontage Requirements.

The approving authority may modify the requirements of Sections 16.07.010 (General Requirements—Determination of Adequacy), 16.07.020 (Restricted Residential Access), 16.11.110 (Cul-De-Sacs—Length Restrictions) and 16.13.030 (Frontage for Lots) where it finds that topographic conditions, title limitations, or the pattern of ownership or the state of development of parcels in the immediate vicinity of a division of land make the strict application of the provisions of these sections impossible or impractical and that the public health, safety and general welfare will not be adversely affected thereby. (Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/13)