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COLUMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS DRIVEWAY ENCROACHMENT POLICY MANUAL Columbia County Engineering Services Division Road Construction Department (706) 868-3356 Adopted August 3, 2021 ---PAGE BREAK--- COLUMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS DRIVEWAY ENCROACHMENT POLICY 2 A. GENERAL 1. All driveway encroachments into County Rights-of-Way will be reviewed by the Engineering Services Division as follows: a. When the driveway construction is associated with other improvements that require a County permit, the driveway will be reviewed through that respective permitting process for conformance to this manual. b. When the driveway construction is not associated with other improvements that require a separate County permit, a driveway encroachment permit (see Appendix A) shall be submitted for review by the County Engineer. 2. Driveways that were installed prior to the publishing of this manual shall not be required to meet the criteria outlined in the manual unless a new permit is requested by the property owner at which time the County Engineer will make a determination if the driveway needs to be improved to meet the criteria in the manual. B. DRIVEWAY REQUIREMENTS The following requirements shall be enforced for all driveway encroachments unless otherwise approved in writing by the County Engineer or designee. a. The appropriate permit must be onsite at all times during construction. b. Notify the Engineering Services Division a minimum of 24 business hours prior to beginning work within the RIGHT-OF-WAY. c. Commercial driveways and newly constructed public and private streets shall be designed according to the latest edition of the Columbia County Engineering Services Division Criteria and Guidelines for Project Access Improvements on County Roadways. d. All driveways must meet the site distance criteria outlined in the most current edition of the GDOT Regulations for Driveway and Encroachment Control. If a location cannot be identified along the property frontage that meets these criteria, the most desirable location will be selected and mitigation measures may be required. e. Driveways shall be spaced and aligned according to the most current edition of the GDOT Regulations for Driveway and Encroachment Control for Collector and Arterial Streets. Driveway spacing for local streets shall be at the discretion of the County Engineer. f. No point of access shall be allowed within 35 feet of the RIGHT-OF-WAY line of any street intersection. No driveway shall be located within 10 feet of a property line unless it serves as a shared drive between two lots. g. Secondary access to properties is allowable but can be denied at the discretion of the County Engineer. h. All residential driveways should intersect at an angle of 90 degrees but at a minimum must intersect the RIGHT-OF-WAY at an angle of not less than 70 degrees and commercial driveways at an angle of not less than 85 degrees. ---PAGE BREAK--- COLUMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS DRIVEWAY ENCROACHMENT POLICY 3 i. Construction or improvement of a driveway will in no way introduce additional runoff to the existing roadway. Increases to water entering the County RIGHT-OF-WAY must have approval of the County Engineer. j. No columns, gates or other impediments shall be constructed within the clear zone of the existing roadway. k. All headwalls constructed in association with a driveway pipe must be safety rated if they are within the clear zone. l. All mailboxes installed with the driveway, shall meet USPS regulations. Support materials must be safety rated. m. All areas disturbed within the RIGHT-OF-WAY as part of the construction or improvement to the driveway must be stabilized to County specifications. n. Driveway must be stabilized with a minimum of 4” of stone within the RIGHT-OF-WAY. If a public use path crosses the driveway, the driveway construction must be the same as the public use path within the RIGHT-OF-WAY. o. Driveway pipes shall be constructed of reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) or corrugated high- density polyethylene pipe (HDPE). The minimum pipe size shall be 18” within the RIGHT-OF- WAY. Pipe size calculations shall be submitted with the permit documents. Pipes shall be extended as necessary to obtain 4:1 or flatter side slopes. p. For residential driveways, the driveway throat width in the RIGHT-OF-WAY shall be a minimum of 10 feet and a maximum of 20 feet. At the edge of the travel lane, the driveway tie width shall be a minimum of 30 feet and a maximum of 70 feet. q. Driveways shall slope away from the existing roadway, for a minimum of 10 feet or to the centerline of the RIGHT-OF-WAY ditch, at a minimum of 2% slope or a maximum of 10% slope. r. No curbs, medians, or pavement within the RIGHT-OF-WAY shall be cut or altered for access without approval of the County Engineer. C. DRIVEWAY REPAIR/REPLACEMENT a. Driveways that are damaged as a result of County construction work shall be repaired or replaced according to this section of the Driveway Encroachment Policy Manual. This section covers all types of driveways including those constructed of brick pavers, concrete, asphalt, dirt, gravel, etc. that exists within the County RIGHT-OF-WAY or easement. All driveways that are installed inside the County RIGHT-OF-WAY are subject to this section’s repair/replacement criteria. Columbia County will only be responsible for damage caused by Columbia County. b. Owners of driveways are advised that work may be required from time-to-time, which could result in the driveway material being removed for repair to utilities in the County’s RIGHT-OF- WAY. The County will only be responsible for repairing and or replacing the driveway to its original condition within the RIGHT-OF-WAY. The County will not be responsible for repairs that do not aesthetically match the existing driveway. The County will be responsible for the replacement cost of decorative cement, pavers, and unique designed driveways within County RIGHT-OF-WAY. These decorative items will be replaced to the standards in which they were originally installed. ---PAGE BREAK--- COLUMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS DRIVEWAY ENCROACHMENT POLICY 4 c. Columbia County will not be responsible for the maintenance of pipes or culverts that are installed under private driveways. If the pipe or culvert creates a condition that damages of threatens to damage County property, Columbia County reserves the right to take action to remedy the situation. However, in a situation where no utility work was done, and the only action that was taken was to prevent damage to County property, Columbia County will not be responsible for repairs to the pipe of the driveway. Columbia County will take all precautions necessary to prevent any damage to the pipe or driveway in this situation. d. Items that have been placed in the RIGHT-OF-WAY by property owners such as mailboxes, headwalls, lights, etc. will be repaired or replaced by Columbia County if they have been placed in the RIGHT-OF-WAY according to this policy manual and meet all clear zone requirements. Columbia County will follow all guidelines governing the placement of items within the clear zone of the travel lanes when replacing items that were damaged by Columbia County. e. Prior to any type of work on a private driveway, photographs will be taken to document the existing condition of the driveway.