Brisbane Municipal Code Ch. 12.24 Miscellaneous Public Way Regulations

A. Adoption of Caltrans Standards. The city adopts and incorporates herein the standard plans and specifications and the related handbooks published by the state of California, Department of Transportation (Caltrans), dated July 1992, as the same may hereafter be amended or revised by Caltrans, and such plans, specifications and handbooks shall be applied unless otherwise specified by the city engineer.

B. General Street Standards. In addition to the requirements imposed by the standard plans and specifications adopted under subsection A of this section, and except as otherwise permitted by this section, any street providing a means of access for emergency vehicles shall comply with the following standards:

1. The street width shall be a minimum of thirty-six (36) feet if parallel parking is permitted on both sides; a minimum of twenty-eight (28) feet if parallel parking is permitted on one side only; and a minimum of twenty (20) feet if no parking is permitted on such street. Nothing herein shall in any manner limit or impair the authority granted to any officer or official of the city to restrict or prohibit parking upon any street or any portion thereof pursuant to any ordinance, rule or regulation of the city, including, but not limited to, the parking regulations set forth in Chapter 10.24 of this code.

2. Street grades shall not exceed fifteen percent (15%).

3. The street shall be capable of supporting sixty thousand (60,000) pounds.

4. Change of roadway elevations shall comply with the requirements of the fire department with regard to angle of approach and angle of departure.

5. Speed reducing devices, if installed, shall not reduce or restrict the movement of emergency vehicles.

C. Modification of Street Standards.

1. The city engineer shall have authority to modify any of the standards set forth in subsections A and B of this section, if the city engineer finds and determines that compliance with the standard is not currently necessary for traffic safety purposes or is impractical by reason of topographic, environmental or economic constraints.

2. Any decision or determination by the city engineer under subsection (C)(1) above may be appealed by the applicant or any interested person to the city council. Notice of such appeal must be filed with the city clerk not more than ten (10) days after the date on which the final decision or determination by the city engineer is rendered. The city council may uphold, reverse or modify the decision which is the subject of the appeal, and may refer the matter back to the city engineer for such further actions as may be directed by the city council.

D. Reduced Right-of-Way for Certain New Public Streets. Pursuant to Section 1805 of the California Streets and Highway Code, the city council by a four-fifths vote may approve as the principal means of access to a lot of record for which a permit or approval for development is requested, a new public street having a right-of-way width of less than forty (40) feet, if the council determines that such reduced width is justified by the public convenience and necessity. The reduced width shall be deemed to be justified by the public convenience and necessary if all of the following requirements are satisfied:

1. The new street shall be dedicated as a public street and the applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the city engineer that the applicant has the legal right to make such dedication.

2. If the proposed street right-of-way to be dedicated is less than thirty (30) feet in width, a thirty (30) foot wide public utility easement, which includes the new street, shall be offered for dedication to the city, unless alternative utility easements are available as approved by the city engineer. For new streets having a proposed pavement width of less than twenty-eight (28) feet, parking bays may be permitted within the thirty (30) foot wide public utility easement.

3. The new public street only takes access from another public street.

4. The new public street will be constructed in compliance with the standards in subsection B of this section (subject to modification by the city engineer pursuant to subsection C), in accordance with street improvement plans prepared by a licensed civil engineer and approved by the city engineer.

5. If the new public street is not a through street, the street shall end in a cul-de-sac or hammerhead turnaround approved by the fire chief. If such street exceeds three hundred (300) feet in length, measured as the distance between the edge of the existing pavement to which the new street is connecting and the farthest end of the new street's turnaround, then: (a) mid-length turnarounds may be required by the fire chief, and (b) the city engineer may require that any water line to be constructed in the new street be provided with a metered automatic flushing system or be installed as a looped system.

6. Any potential environmental impacts resulting from the proposed development will be mitigated to less than the level of significance for such impacts.

7. The proposed public street would be a preferred means of access when compared to other possible alternatives.

8. The proposed development will be consistent with the San Bruno Mountain Area Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), if the HCP is applicable to the site.

9. The city will receive a public benefit which is distinguishable from mitigation of impacts created by the project itself. By way of example only, such benefit may include the dedication of significant open space or the construction of public facilities or contribution toward the cost thereof. The obligation to provide such public benefit shall be established through a development agreement between the city and the applicant.

E. Prohibition Against Private Streets. The city council finds and determines that private streets could create a safety hazard as a result of the failure or refusal by the owners and users of such streets to keep them in good condition and repair. The legal remedies available to the city to prevent or eliminate these hazards are generally ineffective over the long term. The city council has concluded that the establishment or continuation of private streets is contrary to the public interest. It is therefore declared to be the policy of the city that any new streets required as a condition for approval of a development project must be constructed in accordance with the standards set forth in this section and offered for dedication to the city as a public street.

(Ord. 516 § 1, 2006: Ord. 495 § 2, 2005: Ord. 438 § 4, 1999: Ord. 198 § 1, 1975).

The location and dimensions of curb cuts and driveways shall be approved by the city engineer, subject to the following guidelines:

A. The curb cut shall be located so as to preserve as much on-street parking as feasible.

B. The maximum residential curb cut width shall be eighteen (18) feet, plus one and one-half (1½) foot wide flares on each side for standard curbs. The city engineer may approve exceptions to this width in the following cases:

1. Where a greater width is required to accommodate fire apparatus access as required by Section 15.44.100 of this code;

2. Where, due to lot line or street right-of-way configurations, the driveway is not perpendicular to the street (the minimum and maximum permitted angles shall be as approved by the city engineer);

3. Where the greater width will substantially reduce the amount of excavation that would otherwise be necessary to provide the required off-street parking, if the city engineer is able to make both of the following findings:

(a) The greater width will not eliminate existing usable on-street parking and

(b) The greater width will not preclude future on-street parking, given any expected street widening.

C. The minimum residential driveway entrance width shall be twelve (12) feet, plus one and one-half (1½) foot wide flares on each side for standard curbs, for a single-family dwelling, and eighteen (18) feet, plus one and one-half (1½) foot wide flares on each side for standard curbs, for driveways accessing parking facilities for more than one dwelling unit.

D. The city engineer may approve more than one driveway entrance for sites with a minimum of one hundred (100) feet of street frontage.

E. Driveway entrances shall be at least twenty (20) feet apart (measured from top of flare for standard curbs). The city engineer may reduce this distance to no less than four (4) feet where it is found that no other driveway location having less of an impact upon on-street parking is feasible.

(Ord. 495 § 3, 2005).

In the event there are any deviations, amendments or special provisions duly approved by the city for a project, the project plans and special provisions shall govern over the standard specifications and plans as set forth in Section 5-1.04 of the Standard Specifications.

(Ord. 198 § 2, 1975).

All garbage dumping or disposal of refuse of any sort or nature shall be prohibited on the easterly side of the James Lick Freeway within the territorial limits of the city, except when area designated for filling with garbage or other refuse shall be designated by the city council and approved by a majority vote of the citizens of the city at a special or general election.

(Ord. 86 § 1, 1965).

No private street located within the Baylands subarea of the city, as shown on the adopted 1994 general plan map, shall be constructed to connect with a public street unless such private street has been offered for dedication to the city pursuant to a circulation and development plan approved by the city council, and in no case shall a private street be used as a principal means of ingress to or egress from a freeway interchange.

(Ord. 424 § 1, 1998).