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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8A - Gravel Driveways O� PRIg0 UAv 4646 Dakota Street SE nrlNNN Et'sogP Prior Lake,MN 55372 CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: NOVEMBER 10, 2014 AGENDA#: 8A PREPARED BY: LARRY POPPLER, CITY ENGINEER/INSPECTIONS DIRECTOR PRESENTER: LARRY POPPLER, CITY ENGINEER/INSPECTIONS DIRECTOR AGENDA ITEM: CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A REPORT REGARDING SECTION 1107.2303 OF CITY CODE RELATING TO GRAVEL DRIVEWAYS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION ON THE AMENDMENT OF THE CITY CODE OR ENFORCEMENT OF THIS PROVISION OF THE ORDINANCE DISCUSSION: Introduction The purpose of this agenda item is to accept a report regarding section 1107.2303 of City Code pertaining to gravel driveways and direct staff to pursue amendment or enforcement of this provision of City Code. History Section 1107.2303 of City Code was adopted June 9, 2009 and provides for a sunset date of June 9, 2014 for existing gravel driveways. Specifically, the City Code states the following: "(5) a. Any use on any property which contains a non-conforming parking lot or paver area shall not be expanded or intensified unless the property is brought into compliance with the standards contained in Subsection 1107.204. However, all unpaved non-conforming parking lots must be brought into compliance with Subsection 1107.204 (5) within 5 years of the effective date of this Ordinance. In addition to the other penalties provided by law the City may withhold Certificate of Occupancy for any property not in compliance with this Section." Since the effective date of the ordinance was June 9, 2009, the five year period expired on June 9, 2014. After this date, gravel driveways are in violation of City Code. On April 28th, 2014, the City Council was alerted of this ordinance and asked the City Staff to provide a report on the topic. In addition, the City Council directed that Staff defer enforcement of this ordinance until the language in the code is reviewed. In February of 2014, the City Council amended section 1102 of City Code to allow unpaved gravel areas as "Contractors Yards" for industrial properties. This change was amongst other changes of City Code to help encourage development within the industrial areas. "Contractors yards" are areas where contractors store materials or equipment. Current Circumstances The existence of gravel driveways contributes to sediment tracking onto local streets. This sediment is then washed down into the storm sewer and ultimately into wetlands, lakes, and rivers. The gravel also washes over our sidewalks and streets and can become a tripping hazard to skateboarders, rollerbladers, or other pedestrians. In 1979, City Code was adopted which required all new construction to include paving of driveways. We have been advised by the City Attorney that the City cannot require the paving of driveways which were installed prior to 1979 because they were installed in accordance with the City Code at the time of construction. These driveways would now be classified as a legal non-conformity. These legal non-conforming driveways cannot be expanded or improved without meeting the current City Code. Staff has performed an analysis of the number of driveways within the City which are currently not paved for both commercial and residential property. Addresses of these properties were accumulated during the review but may not be inclusive of every driveway within the City. Partial gravel driveways are most often added in the sideyard area for parking which have never been finished in bituminous or concrete like the remainder of the driveway. The analysis is provided below: Number of Number of Gravel Gravel Driveways Driveways Built after 1979 Partial Residential 73 34 Driveway Full Residential 206 34 Driveway Commercial Driveway 36 6 or Parking Lot TOTAL 1 315 74 Based on the analysis, at least 74 driveways would be subject to hard surface overlay if the ordinance is enforced. The remaining 241 driveways would be grandfathered and remain gravel. City Staff has reviewed the City Code for several other cities in the Metro Area. All of these cities require the paving of newly installed driveways. None of these cities require the paving of legal non-conforming driveways or gravel driveways that were installed five or more years ago even though they may have been constructed without meeting the City code. Some cities require paving of partial driveways. Others require paving of only that portion of the driveway in front of the home. Still others require the paving of driveways only within 50 feet of a city street. Some actively sweep city streets and sidewalks when erosion from a driveway occurs and charge a fee to property owners when sweeping of the eroded driveway occurs. The City Council has several options in which to pursue: 1. Proactive enforcement of the City Code for driveways installed after 1979. 2. Reactive enforcement of the City Code for driveways installed after 1979 based on complaint or observed erosion. 3. Amendment of City Code allowing for additional time for non- conforming driveways to be paved. City staff can mail out notice to the existing property owners whose driveways were installed after 1979 alerting them to the City Code. After the time limit has expired, the City could proactively or reactively enforce the code. 4. Amendment of the City Code to allow gravel driveways or portions of the gravel driveway to remain gravel. 5. Actively sweep city streets and sidewalks and charge property owners when erosion occurs from any driveway onto a public street or sidewalk. Conclusion An amendment to City Code seems appropriate since as presently written, the ordinance specifies paving of all driveways within the 5 year timeframe. The Code should be modified to only specify driveways installed after 1979. The City should also extend the timeframe for paving of driveways for driveways that were built after 1979. The City may also wish amend the Code to allow gravel driveways for properties which abut gravel streets and/or require paving of just the first fifty feet from the public street for longer driveways. City Staff recommends amendment of the City Code as stated above and charging for City sweeping efforts. ISSUES: The cost of converting a gravel driveway to a paved surface may be an issue for property owners. The expense of paving a driveway can be large depending on the size of the driveway surface. It can be expected that paving a typical full driveway amounts to approximately $3,000. A partial driveway may cost around $800. A longer than normal compliance timeline could also facilitate voluntary compliance. The City owns several properties which have gravel driveways or parking areas. This includes the Pike Lake Park driveway which is about a half mile long. The building construction for this property was 1987, so under our code the driveway should have been paved. The driveway for the maintenance shop off Credit River Road is another example. The City has 2.1 miles of gravel streets maintained by the City. Another 1.5 miles of private gravel streets exist within the City. These gravel City streets are also contributing to erosion into wetlands, lakes, and rivers. Pike Lake Trail and Rolling Oaks Circle are examples of City streets that are adjacent to wetlands and lakes that contribute erosion into these water bodies. The storms last summer demonstrated the erosion potential that can occur on these streets. If the City Council pursues conversion of private driveways to paved surfaces, they may also want to more diligently pursue the conversion of public streets to paved surfaces at the same time. Over time, the Capital Improvement Program will call for converting these roads to hard surfaces. FINANCIAL City Staff would proceed based on City Council direction. No additional IMPACT: expenditures are expected unless the City Council directs that city properties with gravel drives or gravel public roads be accelerated for improvement. ALTERNATIVES: The alternatives are as follows: 1. Approve a report and provide direction to staff with respect to amendments to section 1107.2303 of City Code. 2. Deny this item for a specific reason and provide Staff with direction. 3. Defer this item until a specific date in the future. RECOMMENDED Motion and second for alternative#1. MOTION: