Article VII. Standards

SECTION 700 APPLICATION

  1. The standards outlined herein shall be considered minimum standards for the promotion of the public health, safety, morals and general welfare.
  2. Where literal compliance with the standards herein specified is clearly impractical, the Planning Commission and/or the Town Engineer may modify or adjust the standards to permit reasonable utilization of property while securing substantial conformance with the objectives of these Regulations. The Planning Commission and/or the Town Engineer shall not have the authority to modify any provision of any other ordinance of the Town of Easton.

SECTION 701 GENERAL PROVISIONS

  1. All portions of a tract being subdivided shall be taken up in lots, streets, public lands, or other proposed uses, so that remnants and/or landlocked areas shall not be created.
  2. Where trees, waterways, scenic points, historic spots, graveyards, or other assets and landmarks are located within a proposed subdivision, every possible means shall be provided to preserve and provide access to these features.
  3. Land subject to flooding or property and land deemed to be topographically unsuitable shall not be subdivided or developed for residential occupancy or for such other uses as may endanger health, life, or property, or aggravate erosion or flood hazards until all such hazards have been eliminated or unless adequate safeguards against such hazards are provided by the final plats. Such land within a subdivision shall be set aside on the plat for uses that will not be endangered by periodic or occasional inundation or will not produce unsatisfactory living conditions.
  4. The subdivision shall conform to the Comprehensive Development Plan and the Zoning Ordinance of the Town of Easton.
  5. The subdivision name approved by the Commission and recorded, shall constitute the subdivision's official and only name. No other name may be used unless an approved and amended plat is recorded bearing the revised name.

SECTION 702 STREET HIERARCHY

  1. The purpose of this Section is to establish appropriate standards for the design of streets in subdivisions.
  2. These provisions shall be applicable to the design and construction of all new residential streets. The design of streets in commercial and industrial subdivisions shall be in accordance with the specifications of the Town of Easton and Easton Utilities Commission Standard Details.
  3. Amendments or additions to subdivisions established prior to the adoption of the street classification system (established July 1993), shall comply with these provisions in so far as possible. The Commission is hereby authorized to modify the provisions of this section as necessary in order to accomplish the purpose established herein.
  4. HIERARCHY REQUIRED. There is hereby established a street hierarchy which is intended to tailor the design of each street to its function. Each proposed residential street shall be classified to meet or exceed the minimum standards for one of the following street types:
    1. Residential Access Street: This is the lowest order street in the hierarchy. It is intended to carry the least amount of traffic at the lowest speed. Developments should be designed so that all, or the maximum number possible, of the homes will front on this class of street.
    2. Residential Subcollector Street: This is the middle order street in the hierarchy. It will carry more traffic than the residential access street. It should provide an acceptable if not optimum environment for a residential neighborhood.
    3. Residential Collector Street: This is the highest order street that could be classed as residential. It will carry the largest volume of traffic at higher speeds. In large residential developments, this class of street may be necessary to carry traffic from one neighborhood to another or from the neighborhood to streets connecting to other areas in the community. This level of street is unsuitable for providing direct access to homes and such access should be avoided.

Figure 1 – Street Hierarchy

Street Hierarchy

Note: These illustrations are reprinted, with permission, from Residential Streets, Second Edition.

702.1 SPECIAL PURPOSE STREETS:

Under special circumstances a new residential street may be classified as one of the following:

Alley: An alley is a special type of street which provides a secondary means of access to lots. It will normally be on the same level in the hierarchy as a residential access street, although different design standards will apply.

Divided Streets: For the purpose of protecting environmental features the Town may require that the street be divided. In such a case, the design standards shall be applied to the aggregate dimensions of the two street segments.

702.2 RESIDENTIAL ACCESS STREETS

  1. SERVICE RESTRICTIONS. A residential access street is a frontage street which provides access to abutting properties; it shall be designed to carry no more traffic than that which is generated on the street itself. Each residential access street shall be designed so that no section of the street conveys an average daily traffic (ADT) volume more than 200. Each half of a loop street may be regarded as a single local access street and the total calculated traffic volume generated on a loop street shall not exceed 400 ADT
  2. STREET ACCESS. Residential access streets may intersect or take access from any street type. Both ends of a loop street, however, must intersect the same collecting street and be laid out to discourage through traffic.
  3. PAVEMENT WIDTH AND CURBING. Pavement width shall be twenty-six (26) feet. Driveway Access shall be permitted and curbing shall be required.

702.3 RESIDENTIAL SUBCOLLECTOR STREETS

  1. SERVICE RESTRICTIONS
    1. A residential subcollector is a frontage street which provides access to abutting properties and which may also conduct traffic from residential access streets that intersect it.
    2. Each subcollector street shall be designed so that no section of it will convey a traffic volume greater than 500 ADT. (Each half of a loop subcollector street may be regarded as a single subcollector street and the total traffic volume conveyed on a loop street shall not exceed 1000 ADT).
    3. Subcollector streets should be designed to discourage external through traffic which has neither origin nor destination on the subcollector or its tributary residential access streets.
  2. STREET ACCESS. Every subcollector must be provided with no fewer than two access intersections to streets of higher classification in the streets hierarchy if the total traffic volume exceeds 500 ADT on the street. For subcollector streets designed for 500 ADT or less, one access intersection to a street of higher order is allowed.
  3. PAVEMENT WIDTH AND CURBING. Pavement width shall be thirty-six (36) feet. Driveway access shall be permitted and curbing shall be required.

702.4 RESIDENTIAL COLLECTOR STREETS

  1. SERVICE RESTRICTIONS
    1. A residential collector street is a street which carries residential neighborhood traffic, but which provides no or limited frontage. Whenever possible, residential collector streets should be designed to have no residential lots directly fronting on them. In addition, only lots having frontage of 100 feet or greater may front on collector streets and space shall be provided on these lots for turnaround so that vehicles will not have to back out onto collector streets. Residential collector streets are required when the average daily traffic anticipated on the street will exceed the limits for residential subcollectors.
    2. Residential collectors shall be laid out to discourage through traffic unless linkage between streets outside of the subdivision is determined by the Town Engineer to be desirable.
    3. If the anticipated ADT will exceed 3000, the street shall be classified as a street of a higher order than residential collector. The Town engineer shall determine the required design standards. These standards may be in excess of the minimum standards established for residential collectors by this Ordinance.
    4. On-street parking shall be prohibited on residential collector streets.
  2. STREET ACCESS. Every residential collector must be provided with no fewer than two access intersections to streets of equal or higher classification in the streets hierarchy.
  3. PAVEMENT WIDTH AND CURBING.
    1. Pavement widths for collector streets shall be twenty-six (26) feet of pavement with six (6) foot grass shoulders.
    2. Curbs should not be provided along collector roads unless they are required by the Town Engineer.

702.5 ALLEYS

  1. SERVICE RESTRICTIONS. Alleys are permitted only under the following circumstances:
    1. Frontage on an alley shall not be construed to satisfy the requirements of this Ordinance for frontage on an approved street.
    2. No parking shall be provided for or permitted within the right-of-way of the alley.
    3. Street systems within which alleys are a part shall be designed to discourage through traffic on alleys.
  2. STREET ACCESS. Alleys may only intersect residential access or subcollector streets.
  3. ALLEY LENGTH. Alley length shall not exceed a distance of 600 feet.
  4. PAVEMENT WIDTH AND CURBING
    1. Alleys shall provide a minimum paved width of 14 feet.

702.6 RIGHTS-OF WAY

1. RIGHTS-OF WAY. Minimum rights-of-way shall be provided as follows:

Residential Collector - 60 feet

Residential Subcollector 60 feet

Residential Access - 50 feet

Special Purpose Streets: Alley - 20 feet

2. INCREASE IN RIGHT-OF-WAY WIDTH

  1. If proposed lots are large enough for further subdivision which may change the street classification in the future to a higher order street, the municipality may require that the right-of-way width for the higher order street be provided.
  2. In unusual circumstances, the minimum widths listed in Section 702.6 (a) may be insufficient to accommodate all necessary improvements and therefore rights- of-way widths in excess of the minimum established in Section 702.6 (a) may be required.

702.7 DRIVEWAYS

  1. DRIVEWAYS TO SINGLE-FAMILY LOTS
    1. Driveways shall be located not less than 40 feet from the tangent point of the curb radius of any intersection. Driveways to corner lots shall gain access from the Street of lower classification when a corner lot is bounded by streets of two different classifications.
    2. The following standards shall apply to the driveway apron at the edge of the pavement:
      1. Minimum curb cut or driveway width at the pavement edge: 12 feet
      2. Maximum curb cut or driveway width at the pavement edge: 20 feet.
    3. A single common driveway serving no more than four single family dwelling units is permitted provided a joint access easement has been recorded.
  2. SHARED RESIDENTIAL DRIVEWAYS FOR MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT
    1. All entrance drives serving 4 or less dwelling units may be designed to single family driveway standards above.
    2. All entrance drives serving more than 4 dwelling units, but which may be expected to convey less than 200 ADT, shall be laid out to conform to the design, service, and access standards established in this Ordinance for residential access streets.
    3. All entrance drives which may be expected to convey greater than 200 ADT, but less than 1000 ADT, shall be laid out to conform to the minimum design, service, and access standards specified in this Ordinance for residential subcollector streets.
    4. All entrance drives which may be expected to convey greater than 1000 ADT shall be laid out to conform to the minimum design, service, and access standards specified in this Ordinance for residential collector streets.