San Anselmo Municipal Code Ch. 1 Driveways

It is hereby ordained, found and determined that the public interest, health, safety, convenience and necessity and the normal and ordinary use of the streets and sidewalks in the City require that the location and width of driveway entrances or approaches in the City be regulated and limited.

(§ 1, Ord. 358, as amended by § 1, Ord. 434)

It shall be unlawful for any person to cut and remove the curb on any public street to erect, construct or maintain any driveway entrance or approach leading from the street into any premises, structure or building frontage thereon, or for any other purpose, or to erect, construct or maintain any such driveway entrance or approach where no established curb exists without first having secured a written permit so to do from the Street Superintendent. It shall be unlawful for any person to violate the terms, conditions and regulations of this chapter as to permitted widths and locations of such driveway entrances or approaches, according to the use to be made of said premises, structure or building.

(§ 2, Ord. 358, as amended by § 2, Ord. 434)

Any driveway entrance or approach leading from the street into any premises, structure or building to be used exclusively for residential purposes shall not be of greater width than twenty (20′) feet measured over the sidewalk area. Such driveway entrance or approach shall not be permitted within thirty (30′) feet of the corner of any intersecting street.

(§ 2(a), Ord. 358, as added by § 3, Ord. 434)

Any driveway entrance or approach leading from the street into any premises, structure or building to be used for manufacturing, industrial or commercial purposes shall not be of greater width than forty (40′) feet. Such driveway entrance or approach shall not be permitted within thirty (30′) feet of the corner of any intersecting street.

(§ 2(b), Ord. 358, as added by § 4, Ord. 434)

No additional driveway entrance or approach shall be erected, constructed, or maintained into or from the same premises, structure, or building used for residential purposes in the Town, except that if any such premises, structure, or building is situated on a corner of intersecting streets, one additional driveway or approach may be erected, constructed, or maintained into or from such premises, structure, or building provided each of such driveways or approaches shall be from separate street frontages, and further excepting that if any such premises, structure, or building shall be maintained for multiple housing, one additional driveway or approach may be erected, constructed, or maintained into or from such premises, structure, or building provided such two (2) driveways or approaches on one street frontage shall be separated by a sidewalk area or island not less than forty (40′) feet in width from any other driveway entrance or approach, measured at the narrowest point.

(§ 3, Ord. 358, as amended by § 5, Ord. 434)

No additional driveway entrance or approach shall be erected, constructed, or maintained into the same premises, structure, or building used for manufacturing, industrial, or commercial purposes at a distance closer than twenty-two (22′) feet to any existing driveway entrance or approach, and in all cases where two (2) or more driveway entrances or approaches are erected, constructed, or maintained, they shall be separated by a sidewalk area or island not less than twenty-two (22′) feet in width at the narrowest point to any existing driveway entrance or approach.

(§ 3.1, Ord. 358, as added by § 6, Ord. 434)

Any driveway entrance or approach constructed in the Town shall be erected, constructed, or maintained so as to not impair the sidewalk area for pedestrian travel. All driveway entrances or approaches across the sidewalk area of any public street shall be erected or constructed pursuant to any and all laws of the Town regulating the location, size, grade, and type of materials to be used in the paving of any portion of the sidewalk area and the grade and slope of any such driveway entrances or approaches.

No driveway gradient shall exceed twenty-five (25%) percent, and all driveways shall have asphalt or concrete pavement, unless an exception is granted by the Director of Public Works in writing. An unpaved driveway not so excepted is hereby made subject to the provisions of Sections 1-2.03 through 1-2.09 of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of this Code.

(§ 4, Ord. 358, as amended by § 7, Ord. 434, § 1, Ord. 795, eff. January 22, 1981, and § 3, Ord. 802, eff. June 11, 1981)

The City Engineer is hereby authorized and empowered to grant adjustments and variances from the provisions of this chapter provided it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the City Engineer and he shall find that all of the following are shown to exist in the particular case:

(a) That there are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or conditions applying to the land, building, or use referred to in the application, which circumstances or conditions do not apply generally to land, buildings, and/or uses in the same district;

(b) That the granting of the application is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of substantial property rights of the petitioner; and

(c) That the granting of such application will not, under the circumstances of the particular case, materially affect adversely the health or safety of persons residing or working in the neighborhood of the property of the applicant and will not under the circumstances of the particular case be materially detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to property or improvements in such neighborhood.

(§ 5.1, Ord. 358, as added by § 8, Ord. 434, as amended by § 1, Ord. 614, eff. April 22, 1971)

The Building Inspector shall refuse to grant a building permit to any person insofar as this chapter is concerned unless and until any and all driveways and sidewalks conform to the provisions of this chapter. The Building Inspector is hereby authorized, empowered, and directed to stop work on any construction within the commercial and/or industrial districts of the City if the driveways and sidewalks in and about said construction do not conform with the provisions of this chapter.

(§ 6, Ord. 358)