Driveway Discussion

The requested discussion stemmed from two recent variance cases where parking spaces were constructed as extensions of existing driveways on the sides of the garages closer than the required 5 feet.  The current regulations for driveways are:

Sec. 106-463. - Residential driveways.
(a) When required.
    (1) A driveway shall be required for all attached accessory buildings with a doorway opening meeting or exceeding eight feet wide by seven feet tall.
    (2) If a detached accessory building serves as the primary garage, a driveway shall be installed.
(b) Surface materials.
    (1) Urbanized districts. Driveway materials shall consist of concrete, bituminous, or driveway-rated pavers for a continuous hard surface.
    (2) Rural residential or MUSA reserve districts. Driveway materials shall consist of concrete, bituminous, driveway-rated pavers, or a minimum two-inch Class-V gravel.
(c) Driveways shall be setback at least five feet from interior side or rear property lines.
(d) Driveway widths shall not exceed 30 feet at the street, through the public right-of-way, and the first five feet of the adjacent yard to the right-of-way where the driveway is accessing.
(e) No more than 50 percent of a front yard may be covered by a driveway.


The 5-foot side yard setback rule has been in place since the 1990s.  This 5-foot rule is common in many suburban communities, though narrower setbacks can be found in older established communities and the central cities.  There are generally three practical reasons for requiring some setback distance between driveways and property lines:
  1.  Drainage.  Commonly found in residential subdivisions going back to the 1980s, platted side-yard drainage and utility easements are present to protect swales where water can run off a property's impervious surfaces and be channeled between homes to the street or a storm basin.  
  2.  Tresspass.  If a driveway is constructed close to a property line and a car is parked close to the edge of the driveway, is the car accessible without having to walk onto the neighboring property? 
  3.  Snow storage.  Homeowners tend to plow snow to both sides of the driveway.  The driveway setback area can be used as snow storage without encroaching onto the neighbor's property.  
A fourth aesthetics-based reason is based on the premise that the suburbs are places that are supposed to be less crowded and a driveway setback gives elbow room between neighbors.   

Counter-arguments can be made for each of the three practical reasons above:
  1.  Drainage can still be accommodated by carefully sloping the driveway so that it does not impede the proper flow of water.  Generally, the point where the driveway meets the garage is at the high point of the yard.  
  2.  If a neighbor builds a fence, the person parking will need to park well enough away to give themselves enough room to get out of the vehicle.
  3.  People can be courteous and try to plow their snow only to the side of the driveway that is on the interior side.  

With the Zoning Code update in 2023, Section 106-303 was created allowing driveways to be constructed in those platted drainage and utility easements, provided they do not impede the flow of water.  This provision was intended, primarily, to address the standard practice of a driveway crossing the front platted easements though applies throughout the entire property.  

Planning Commission Discussion
The Planning Commission discussed the Council's request at its meeting on August 22.  Some Commissioners stated that they would like to keep the current rule in place. There was openness by some of the Commissioners to explore a reduced setback to some distance less than five feet, but not to zero.  One Commissioner stated that he would be fine with a zero setback so that a property owner could use all of his/her property.    Consesnus of the Commission is that they would review any reasonable variance request to recede the setback when there is a true practical difficulty in meeting the regulations.  

Variance Requests
A variance is a deviation from the Zoning Code site design standards for a good reason.  These reasons are based around no other practical reasonable place to construct something.  State Law authorizes a set of "practical difficulties" in justifying a variance.  Typically, a variance is requested before construction.  During the review process, consideration of various options, impacts, and potential mitigation are discussed to come up with the best possible outcome. 

The City Council expressed concern that the standard process may be burdensome financially and procedurally for requesting a driveway variance.  The land use application fee is $500 and is used to cover the administrative costs of setting up the application.  A $500 review escrow is also required.  The escrow covers the variable costs such as public hearing publication costs, mailing costs to surrounding property owners and residents, staff time to prepare the report (including Public Works' crew time to place the public notice signs), and recording costs (should a variance resolution be approved).  Other applications types have greater escrow requirements ranging between $1,000 and $3,000.
  
Staff believes the current costs and procedures are justified in the case of a driveway.  The newspaper publishing costs are approximately $90 with mailed notices approximately $20.  Total staff time on most variances can be 3-5 hours.  A driveway variance can be more impactful to neighboring residents than if a shed were constructed closer to a property line.  Additionally, the variance process is supposed to be public and transparent in the event that the modification of a rule is being requested.  If the desired outcome is that the rule is seen as burdensome, the rule should be changed.  

Zoning Permits
In 2023, the City Council did away with zoning permits for driveways.  They did not actually result in homeowners obtaining permits and complying by the setback requirements. The permit fee of $25 did not cover the cost of inspecting a driveway.  Staff does not recommend reisntituting the zoning permit requirement.  

30 minutes

The costs associated with this work are a part of staff's normal duties. 

Todd Larson, planning manager

If the Council would like to see a setback of less than 5 feet, please direct staff to prepare a public hearing notice for a Zoning Code amendment and state the desired setback.