Lancaster Municipal Code Art. II Access and Circulation

Each lot in a subdivision shall be provided with adequate street access and circulation based on the design requirements contained in this article.

(Ord. 661 § 1 (520.000), 1994)

Street right-of-way, design, and improvements within a proposed subdivision shall be consistent with Section 2.2 of the master plan of complete streets as determined by the city engineer and any city appropriate city approving authority.

(Ord. 754 § 1 (Attach. A (Exh. 1)), 1999; Ord. 661 § 1 (520.010), 1994; Ord. No. 1036, § 2, 10-24-2017)

In cases where the ultimate street right-of-way is not entirely within a proposed subdivision, the subdivider shall be required to provide paved improvements beyond the centerline in order to provide for adequate vehicle circulation, installation of bicycling, pedestrian, or transit improvements, parking, the installation of required medians and left turn pockets in their ultimate location and paved shoulders. The minimum improvements of such streets shall be as follows; however, the city engineer may modify such requirements to meet the design intent and performance objectives of the street consistent with the master plan of complete streets:

A. Regional Arterials. Eighty-eight (88) feet of an ultimate one hundred twenty (120) foot right-of-way;

B. Major Arterials. Seventy-eight (78) feet of an ultimate one hundred (100) foot right-of-way;

C. Secondary Arterials. Seventy (70) feet of an ultimate eighty-four (84) foot right-of-way;

D. Residential Collector Streets. Forty-four (44) feet of an ultimate sixty-four (64) foot right-of-way;

E. Residential Local Streets. Forty-two (42) feet of an ultimate sixty (60) foot right-of-way;

F. Residential Cul-de-sac. Forty (40) feet of an ultimate fifty-eight (58) foot right-of-way;

G. Commercial and Industrial Streets. Sixty (60) feet of an ultimate eighty (80) foot right-of-way;

H. Commercial and Industrial Cul-de-sacs. Fifty-one (51) feet of an ultimate sixty-six (66) foot right-of-way.

(Ord. 754 § 1 (Attach. A § 14), 1999; Ord. 661 § 1 (520.020), 1994)

(Ord. No. 917, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-10-2009; Ord. No. 1036, § 2, 10-24-2017)

The street pattern and the design layout of each subdivision shall be consistent with the following design requirements. The city engineer and any city approving authority shall have the authority to require street layout and design that is consistent with the master plan of complete streets:

A. Each subdivision should have, at a minimum, two (2) separate points of access to the major/secondary arterial street network. The planning commission may approve subdivisions with only one point of access if other access will be provided by future development, or may require additional points of access when it is determined that the size or design of the subdivision warrants additional access, or when additional access is deemed necessary for public safety including fire access, etc.

B. Collector streets should be located at one-fourth (¼) mile points when intersecting regional and major arterials, and at one-eighth (⅛) mile points when intersecting secondary arterials. However, this requirement should not be construed to impose an intersection every one-eighth (⅛) mile. It is the intent of the city, in newly subdivided areas, to establish a public street network designed on a minimum of a one-fourth (¼) mile grid pattern to facilitate pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular circulation via multiple routes. Such streets shall be designed to minimize vehicular speed and safely accommodate multiple modes of travel, subject to the approval of the city engineer.

C. Intersections shall be located and designed to minimize vehicular speed and provide safe use and access by motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. The city may require the provision of roundabouts, neighborhood traffic circles, curb extensions, and other traffic calming and safety improvements at intersections to meet this design objective.

D. A minimum distance of one hundred fifty (150) feet shall be provided between the centerlines of offset streets intersecting on the opposite sides of a local or collector street, and an absolute minimum distance of three hundred eighty (380) feet shall be provided between the centerline of offset streets intersecting on the opposite sides of major or secondary arterials.

E. The subdivision shall be designed to respect the intent and design objectives of the master plan of complete streets, the master plan of trails and bikeways, the safe routes to school master plan, the existing circulation pattern of the area, and any previously approved tentative or final subdivision maps in the area.

F. Street patterns shall be designed to provide for future access to adjacent parcels when the planning commission determines that overall circulation needs in the area require such access. The development review committee and/or planning commission may, at their discretion, require the subdivider to provide conceptual design layouts for adjacent parcels when necessary to analyze whether a proposed subdivision will allow access to such adjacent parcels to allow for adequate future development or subdivision in accordance with city requirements.

G. Residential subdivisions should be designed to limit vehicle speeds through the appropriate use of street and intersection design, traffic calming features, and other techniques as determined by the city engineer in accordance with the master plan of complete streets.

H. The use of frontage roads in new residential subdivisions is prohibited.

I. The use of alleys in new residential subdivisions is prohibited except where they will be privately maintained through a homeowner's association or similar mechanism, or where the city engineer determines that the use of an ally system is the only practical means to design the subdivision.

J. The maximum length of cul-de-sacs shall be as follows:

1. Five hundred (500) feet in length when serving land zoned for industrial or commercial use; exception, one thousand (1,000) feet in length if the street has a minimum right-of-way of eighty (80) feet in width; or

2. Seven hundred (700) feet in length when serving land zoned for residential uses having a density of more than four (4) dwelling units per net acre; or

3. One thousand (1,000) feet in length when serving land zoned for residential uses having a density of four (4) or less dwelling units per net acre.

The length of the cul-de-sac shall be measured along the centerline of the cul-de-sac from the centerline of the intersected street to the radius point of the cul-de-sac.

K. Residential cul-de-sacs connecting to an arterial street are prohibited, unless the arterial street is the only available access to the site.

L. Interior street patterns in commercial and industrial subdivisions should be designed primarily to provide safe access for automobiles, trucks and service vehicles at slow speeds.

(Ord. 661 § 1 (520.030), 1994)

(Ord. No. 1036, § 2, 10-24-2017)

Subdivisions within rural residential areas (RR zones) shall generally comply with the following street design and improvement requirements; provided, however, that the city engineer or approving authority may modify or reduce the right-of-way and improvement requirements to meet the intent, design, requirements, and performance objectives of the master plan of complete streets, including the use of alternative street surfacing materials where appropriate. The cross-sections contained in Section 2.2 of the master plan of complete streets shall be utilized for right-of-way and design guidance in rural residential areas.

(Ord. 839 § 1 (Exh. A § 1), 2005)

(Ord. No. 917, § 1 (Exh. A), 2-10-2009; Ord. No. 1036, § 2, 10-24-2017)

If the planning commission has determined that a street is necessary for the future division of property shown on the tentative map, or for adjoining property, but that the present construction of such street is not warranted, the planning commission may require that the location, width and extent of such street be shown on the final map as a future street. The commission may also require that an offer of dedication be executed for that right-of-way.

(Ord. 661 § 1 (520.050), 1994)