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CASE # 3 <br />CONSIDER DRIVEWAY APRON PAVING POLICY <br />By: Steven Jankowski, Assistant City Engineer <br />Background: <br />One project element for which staff seeks direction is the manner in which driveway approaches <br />should be addressed on dirt street paving projects. Street paving projects involve existing <br />driveways which vary in stages of improvement from completely unpaved, to paved into the dirt <br />roadway. Historically City paving projects treated the individual driveways as the responsibility <br />of the property owner. Driveways were replaced as a project cost only when the existing <br />driveway needed to be removed and relayed to adjust for alignment or grade. Existing driveways <br />that did not extend to the roadway were not connected to the new street edge. <br />Following the Welcomes Road paving project, a property owner approached the Public Works <br />Committee at their meeting on November 20, 2007 and suggested that the lack of connecting <br />drives to the new roadway made the project appear incomplete. The Council approved the <br />Committee recommendation that future feasibility studies for paving projects include the cost of <br />paving a distance 10 feet beyond the edge of the roadway. <br />Since setting this policy staff has prepared three feasibility studies for dirt street paving projects <br />and is redrafting a fourth for Chameleon Street. In these studies the apron was identified to be <br />extended to the right of way line which is somewhat greater than the 10 foot distance specified <br />by policy. The Ute Street project (IP 08-33) is set to be paved next month. The apron length <br />specified in the feasibility study was 13 feet, which is the distance from the curb and gutter to the <br />end of the 10 foot drainage and utility easement. There are four driveways which are affected by <br />this issue on this project. The remaining driveways currently extend to the existing street and will <br />need to be cut and matched into the new roadway. Restoration of these drives will be included as <br />a project cost. The 151st and 152"d Avenues and Fluorine Street paving project (IP 08-34) is <br />planned for construction later this summer. The paved apron distance specified in the feasibility <br />study was to the property line, a distance of 19 feet. Attached to this case are examples which <br />illustrate when an apron installation would result in an assessment or not. <br />A second issue which should be considered is the manner in which the cost of the aprons is to be <br />financed. Staff has indicated in the feasibility studies prepared since modification of the policy <br />that the cost of the driveway aprons which are currently not paved are not included in the project <br />costs. Rather they would be billed separately to individual properties based upon the actual <br />installed area of their apron. This method of financing may be problematic if owners fail to pay <br />the bill. It would be more appropriate to treat this additional cost as an additional assessment. <br />This option may be more affordable for property owners. Properties that may wish to extend the <br />drive apron father back to the right of way line may find assessment financing an incentive for <br />lengthening their apron. The City should not consider participating in the driveway paving any <br />father than within public right of way. <br />