Driveway and Fire Apparatus Access Lane Requirements_05-20-2025Page 1 of 8
City of Scandia Driveway and Fire Apparatus Access Road Requirements
Access General Information
The access to your home or business not only affects how easily firefighters can reach and
protect your home, but how easily other emergency vehicles can find and reach your home. It
starts with signage. Your local fire department may know where your house is, but assisting
departments won't easily find your home if your address is not visible from the road.
Once firefighters find your home, they need to be able to get to it. If your driveway is less than
150 feet long, firefighters can reach your home from the street. Your driveway should be at
least 12 feet wide and be clear of branches 1 3’ 6” feet up. Longer driveways will have
additional requirements. The driveway should also have a firm, all -weather surface and any
bridges or culverts should be rated to 33,500 pounds. Curves in long driveways need to be
gentle to accommodate large emergency vehicles. Long driveways also need a turnaround
near the house. Without a good access, and escape route, firefighters will not endanger
themselves to save your home.
These requirements apply to any new structure or any Improvement to a structure that
exceeds 50 percent of the structure value based on Washington County property tax records
will require access to meet these requirements
If established requirements cannot be met due to special circumstances , flexibility may be
granted by the City Administrator upon recommendation of the City Engineer, Public Works
Director, or Fire Chief.
These requirements do not apply to agricultural access drives that are not used to access a
structure.
1. Residential Driveway
a. Width (of travel surface)
i. Minimum 12 feet (10 feet with Fire Chief Approval)
ii. Maximum 24 feet
b. Height
i. Minimum height is 13 feet 6 inches
c. Location
i. 50 feet from the curb of an intersecting street on Minor Streets
ii. 100 feet from the curb of intersecting street on Collector Streets
iii. Access locations on Local Streets shall be setback as required by the City
Engineer
iv. Property line setbacks
1. All driveways located on a front or rear yard must be setback 5 feet from
side lot lines
2. All driveway located on a side yard must be setback 5 feet from front or
rear lot lines.
d. Slope
i. Maximum Slope 10%
ii. Maximum Side slope 5%
iii. Driveways greater than 6% slope shall be paved
City of Scandia Driveway and Fire Apparatus Access Road Requirements
Adopted May 20, 2025
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e. Radius
i. Minimum inside radius of 30 feet
ii. Minimum outside radius of 50 feet
f. Address Marker
i. Address needs to be displayed as to be seen from either direction on the road
and be at least 3 inches tall with minimum stroke of ½ inch contrasting reflective
letters and background.
ii. Make sure address is visible during all seasons and directs emergency crews to
the correct structure.
g. Should have a firm, all-weather surface and any bridges or culverts should be rated to
33,500 pounds.
h. If your driveway is over 250 feet long (see Exhibit: A)
i. Must provide an approved turnaround that is located a minimum of 50’ from
structure and maximum of 150 feet from the structure (see Exhibit: C, approved
turnaround design sheet or Exhibit D for alternate for residential Driveway)
ii. Must provide a pullout at a minimum of every 400 feet (see Exhibit: B)
i. Secondary Access
i. A secondary access may be allowed, as determined by the city, for the purpose
of accessing a detached accessory structure used for storing a vehicle, camper,
boat, or similar.
ii. Secondary access at the public right-of-way is restricted to a width of 12 feet
(minimum and maximum width).
iii. A concrete driveway apron per Engineering Standards is required at all
secondary access points.
iv. Secondary access must meet driveway setback requirements.
v. Secondary access must be located at least 15 feet from any other driveways
vi. The City reserves the right to deny a secondary access because of safety issues,
as determined by the City Engineer, Public Works Director, and Fire Chief.
vii. Each secondary access request will be reviewed on an individual basis and
Engineering and City Staff will grant final approval
2. Gated Driveway
a. Gate entrances shall be at least two feet wider than the width of the travel surface
serving that gate and a minimum width of 14 feet unobstructed horizontal clearance and
unobstructed vertical clearance of 13 feet 6 inches.
b. All gates providing access from a Road to a Driveway shall be located at least 30 feet
from the roadway and shall open to allow a vehicle to stop without obstructing traffic on
that Road.
c. Where a One-way Road with a single traffic lane provides access to a gated entrance, a
40-foot turning radius shall be used.
d. Security gates shall not be installed without approval. Where security gates are installed,
they shall have an approved means of emergency operation. Approval shall be by the
local authority having jurisdiction. The security gates and the emergency operati on shall
be always maintained operational.
City of Scandia Driveway and Fire Apparatus Access Road Requirements
Adopted May 20, 2025
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3. Commercial Driveway
a. Width
i. 32 feet Driveway widths greater than 32 feet requires engineering approval
b. Location
i. Requires engineering approval
c. Slope
i. Maximum driveway slope 10%
ii. Driveways greater than 6% slope shall be paved
d. Address Marker
i. Address needs to be displayed as to be seen from either direction on the road
and be at least 3 inches tall with minimum stroke of ½ inch contrasting reflective
letters and background.
ii. Make sure address is visible during all seasons and directs emergency crews to
the correct structure.
iii. Buildings with multiple units require unique identification for each unit.
4. Fire Department Access Lane (Buildings under 30 feet high)
a. Where the vertical distance between the grade plane and the highest roof surface is less
than 30 feet, approved fire department access lane shall be provided. For purposes of
this section, the highest roof surface shall be determined by measurement to the eave of
a pitched roof, the intersection of the roof to the exterior wall, or the top of parapet walls,
whichever is greater.
a. Width
i. Minimum 20 feet (option: 10 feet bituminous with 5 feet gravel shoulders)
b. Radius
i. Minimum inner radius 30 feet
ii. Minimum outer radius 50 feet
c. Crown Maximum 2%
d. Grade
i. Minimum 0.5%
ii. Maximum 5%
e. Distance from building to centerline of Access Lane
i. Minimum 25 feet
ii. Maximum 150 feet
f. Unobstructed Vertical Clearance 13 feet 6 inches
g. Maximum length dead end Access Lane 150 feet (City approved turn around required if
length exceeds 150 feet)
h. The alignment of the Access Lane must be approved by the City and may be modified to
match the circumstances and capabilities of the fire department.
i. Signage (Fire Dept. approval required) within 20 feet of every entrance
5. Aerial Apparatus access Road (Buildings over 30 feet high)
a. Where the vertical distance between the grade plane and the highest roof surface
exceeds 30 feet, approved aerial fire apparatus access roads shall be provided. For
purposes of this section, the highest roof surface shall be determined by measurement
City of Scandia Driveway and Fire Apparatus Access Road Requirements
Adopted May 20, 2025
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to the eave of a pitched roof, the intersection of the roof to the exterior wall, or the top of
parapet walls, whichever is greater.
b. Width
i. Minimum 26 feet
c. Radius
i. Minimum inner radius 30 feet
ii. Minimum outer radius 50 feet
d. Crown Maximum 2%
e. Grade
i. Minimum 0.5%
ii. Maximum 5%
f. Distance from building to centerline of Access Lane
i. Minimum 15 feet
ii. Maximum 30 feet
g. Unobstructed Vertical Clearance 13 feet 6 inches
i. Overhead utility and power lines shall not be located over the aerial fire
apparatus access road or between the aerial fire apparatus road and the
building. Other obstructions shall be permitted to be placed with the approval of
the fire code official.
h. Maximum length dead end Access Lane 150 feet (City approved turn around required if
length exceeds 150 feet)
i. The alignment of the Access Lane must be approved by the City and may be modified to
match the circumstances and capabilities of the fire department.
j. Signage (Fire Dept. approval required) within 20 feet of every entrance
TIP 1: In mid-summer, when vegetation is fully leaved, go to the street and see if you can read your
address. If you cannot, you may need to move the sign or make it bigger. Contact the City Planner to
determine potential restrictions on size. Remember that at times smoke or darkness may make it
harder to see your address.
City of Scandia Driveway and Fire Apparatus Access Road Requirements
Adopted May 20, 2025
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Exhibit: A
City of Scandia Driveway and Fire Apparatus Access Road Requirements
Adopted May 20, 2025
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Exhibit: B
City of Scandia Driveway and Fire Apparatus Access Road Requirements
Adopted May 20, 2025
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Exhibit: C
City of Scandia Driveway and Fire Apparatus Access Road Requirements
Adopted May 20, 2025
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Exhibit: D