5. driveway and culvert policy
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: June 1, 2016
To: City Council
From: Neil Soltis, Administrator
Re: Driveway permits
Background: In the course of the current street improvement project, City Engineer Ryan Goodman
noted that the current driveway application and permit and installation notes state that the
homeowner is responsible for culvert installation and the establishment of vegetation along the
driveway and, once final approval is given by the city, the City will maintain.
Issue: Should the City be responsible for the maintenance of culverts installed under
driveways?
Proposal Details: The typical driveway and culvert installation is the same one that was
adopted by the Town of New Scandia in 1999. Below are Ryan’s comments regarding the policy
in other communities and potential options.
From my experience with “private access/driveway culverts” I would say the majority of the
policies are similar to Scandia. However, as development has come forward and density
increased over the last 20 years, communities have seen a significant increase in budget dollars
and labor time on maintaining driveway culverts as the CMP either has deteriorated or are
plugged with sediment/leaves and blocking drainage.
Thus, some communities have moved away from their original policy because of cost and the
thought the culvert was only put in place to serve the property that needed the access. Also
some particular culverts are relatively large in size and can incur significant costs.
If the Council wants to stay with the current policy I would suggest discussing:
Provide background/education that a lot of the driveway culverts installed will last
around 25 years, +/- 5 years
Budget amount on driveway culvert replacement should be tracked separately from
street crossing work.
Any potential revisions/updates to current policy (maybe if culvert replacement is
required, property owner pays for cost of culvert and City cost shares on labor and
maintenance related to drainage flow)
Options:
1. Continue to maintain driveway culverts
2. Establish a policy to provide for cost sharing of culvert replacement
3. Establish a policy that places the maintenance responsibility on the property owner.
City of Scandia
Typical Residential Driveway & Culvert Installation
June 18, 2013
Notes:
1. Driveway width (W): 12’ minimum, 24’ maximum
2. Culvert under driveway: Minimum 15” diameter, 16 gauge CMP
3. Culvert flared ends sections are mandatory
4. Driveway slopes greater than 6% shall be paved to prevent erosion
5. Radius at connection to street (R): 5’ minimum, 15’ maximum
6. Maintain 75’ minimum clearance from edge of driveway to right of way line of adjacent street intersection or
obtain pre-approval from the City
7. Minimum 2% grade on culvert
8. Two driveways per lot or obtain pre-approval from the City
9. Homeowner is responsible for culvert installation and establishment of vegetation along driveway. Once final
approval, City will maintain.