17.53.101 Streets | McMinnville Municipal Code

17.53.101 Streets.

A. General. The location, width, and grade of streets shall be considered in their relation to existing and planned streets, to topographical conditions, to public convenience and safety, and to the proposed use of the land to be served by the streets. Where location is not shown in a comprehensive plan, the arrangement of streets in a subdivision shall:

1. Provide for the continuation or appropriate projection of existing principal streets in surrounding areas; or

2. Conform to a plan for the neighborhood approved or adopted by the planning commission to meet a particular situation where topographical or other conditions make continuance or conformance to existing streets impractical; or

3. Maximize potential for unobstructed solar access to all lots or parcels. Streets providing direct access to abutting lots shall be laid out to run in a generally east-west direction to the maximum extent feasible, within the limitations of existing topography, the configuration of the site, predesigned future street locations, existing street patterns of adjacent development, and the preservation of significant natural features. The east-west orientation of streets shall be integrated into the design.

B. Rights-of-way and street widths. The width of rights-of-way and streets shall be adequate to fulfill city specifications as provided in MMC 17.53.151. Unless otherwise approved, the width of rights-of-way and streets shall be as shown in the following table:

Where existing conditions, such as the topography or the size or shape of land parcels, make it otherwise impractical to provide buildable lots, the planning commission may accept a narrower right-of-way, ordinarily not less than 50 feet. If necessary, special slope easements may be required.

C. Reserve strips. Reserve strips or street plugs controlling access to streets will not be approved unless necessary for the protection of the public welfare or of substantial property rights, and in these cases they may be required. The control and disposal of the land comprising such strips shall be placed within the jurisdiction of the planning commission under conditions approved by them.

D. Alignment. As far as practical, streets other than minor streets shall be in alignment with existing streets by continuations of the center lines thereof. Staggered street alignment resulting in “T” intersections shall, wherever practical, leave a minimum distance of 200 feet between the center lines of streets having approximately the same direction and otherwise shall not be less than 125 feet.

Streetscape		Major	Minor	Major	Minor	Neighborhood Connector	Local Residential	Alley
Streetscape		Arterial		Collector		Neighborhood Connector	Local Residential	Alley
Street Profile Bike	Auto/Truck Amenities (lane widths) ¹	2-4 lanes (12 ft.)	2 lanes (11 ft.)	2 lanes (11 ft.)	2 lanes (10 ft.)	See Street Width	See Street Width	20 ft.
	Median / Center Turn Lane	14 ft.	12 ft.	12 ft.	10 ft.	None	None	None
	Bike Facility ²	2 lanes (6 ft.)	2 lanes (6 ft.)	2 lanes (5 ft.)	2 lanes (5 ft.) or shared lane	Shared Lane	Shared Lane	None
	Curb-to-curb Street Width ³ On-Street Parking Two Sides None	na 74 ft.	na 46 ft.	na 44 ft.	30 or 40 ft. 30 or 40 ft.	28 ft.	28 ft.	Not Apply
Pedestrian Zone (with ADA requirement)	Pedestrian Amenities ⁴ Sidewalks (both sides) Planter Strips	8 ft. Com	5 ft. Res 10-12 ft. Com 6 ft. Res na Com	5 ft. Res 10-12 ft. Com 6 ft. Res na Com	5 ft. Res 10-12 ft. Com 6 ft. Res na Com	5 ft. 5 ft. Res	5 ft. 5 ft. Res	None None
Pedestrian Zone (with ADA requirement)	Preferred Adjacent Land Use – Intensity	High	Medium to High	Medium	Medium	Medium to Low	Low	Low
Traffic Management	Maximum Average Daily Traffic	32,000	20,000	16,000	10,000	1,200 – 3,000	1,200	500
	Traffic Calming	Not Typical	Not Typical	Not Typical	Permissible/ Not Typical	Permissible/ Not Typical	Typical	Not Typical
	Managed Speed ⁵	35 mph	30-35 mph	25-30 mph	25 mph	25 mph	15-25 mph	10 mph
	Through-traffic Connectivity	Primary	Typical	Typical	Typical	Not Typical	Not Permissible	Not Permissible
	Access Control	Yes	Yes	Some	Some	No	No	No
	Maximum Grade	6%	6%	10%	10%	12%	12%	12%
	Right-of-Way:	104 ft.	96 ft.	74 ft.	56 ft. (no bike lane) 66 ft. (bike lane)	50 ft.	50 ft.	20 ft.

1Lane widths shown are the preferred construction standards that apply to existing routes adjacent to areas of new development, and to newly constructed routes. For arterial and collector streets within industrial zones, lanes widths shall be 12 feet.

2An absolute minimum bike lane width for safety concern is 5 ft. on arterial and 4 ft. on collector streets, which is expected to occur in locations where existing development along an established route or other physical constraint preclude construction of the preferred facility width.

3Street design for each development shall provide for emergency and fire vehicle access.

4Sidewalks 10-12 feet in width are required in commercial areas to accommodate the Pedestrian zone. Street trees are to be placed in tree wells. Placement of street trees and furniture and business accesses are to meet ADA requirements for pedestrian access.

5Speeds in the central business district may be 20-25 mph. Traffic calming techniques, signal timing, and other efforts will be used to keep traffic within the desired managed speed ranges for each Functional Class. Design of a corridor’s vertical and horizontal alignment will focus on providing an enhanced degree of safety for the managed speed.

6None with on-street parking

(a)Exclusive of side slope easement which may be required in addition for cuts and fills in rough terrain.

(b)The right-of-way and street width may be varied after consideration of the unique characteristics of the land including geography, topography, unique vegetation, and its relation to land development already present or proposed in the area.

(c)The right-of-way, street width, improvement standards, and turnaround radius of commercial/industrial cul-de-sacs and streets shall be dependent upon the types of vehicle traffic to be served.

(d)Intersection curb radii shall not be less than 25 feet. On-street parking shall not be permitted within a 30-foot distance of street intersections measured from the terminus of the curb return. Where such a local residential street intersects an arterial, parking along the local street shall not be permitted within a 60-foot distance of the intersection measured from the terminus of the curb return. The developer shall be responsible for the provision and installation of “No Parking” signs as approved by the city engineering department.

(e)Sidewalks and planting strips shall not be required along eyebrows.

(f)For cul-de-sacs greater than 300 feet in length, fire hydrants may be required to be installed at the end of the bulb and appropriately spaced along the throat of the cul-de-sac as determined by the McMinnville fire department.

E. Future extension of streets. Where necessary to give access to or permit a satisfactory future subdivision of adjoining land, streets shall be extended to the boundary of the subdivision; and the resulting dead-end streets may be approved without a turnaround. Local streets shall provide connectivity as identified in Exhibit 2-1 of the McMinnville Transportation System plan or connectivity that is functionally equivalent. Reserve strips and street plugs may be required to preserve the objectives of street extensions.

F. Intersection angles. Streets shall be laid out to intersect at angles as near to right angles as practical except where topography requires a lesser angle, but in no case shall the acute angle be less than 60 degrees unless there is a special intersection design. The intersection of an arterial or collector street with another street shall have at least 100 feet of tangent, measured from right-of-way adjacent to the intersection unless topography requires a lesser distance. Other streets, except alleys, shall have at least 50 feet of tangent measured from property line adjacent to the intersection unless topography requires a lesser distance. Intersections which contain an acute angle of less than 80 degrees or which include an arterial street shall have a minimum corner radius sufficient to allow for a roadway radius of 20 feet and maintain a uniform width between the roadway and the right-of-way line.

G. Existing streets. Whenever existing streets adjacent to or within a tract are of inadequate width, additional right-of-way shall be provided at the time of subdivision. The city may consider a reduction in arterial or collector street lane widths (lanes no less than 10 feet wide) by restriping existing travel lanes.

H. Half streets. Half streets, while generally not acceptable, may be approved where essential to the reasonable development of the subdivision, when in conformity with other requirements of these regulations, and when the planning commission finds it will be practical to require the dedication of the other half when the adjoining property is subdivided. Whenever a half street is adjacent to a tract to be subdivided, the other half of the street shall be platted within such tract. Reserve strips and street plugs may be required to preserve the objectives of half streets.

I. Cul-de-sacs. A cul-de-sac shall be as short as possible and shall have a maximum length of 400 feet and serve not more than 18 dwelling units. A cul-de-sac shall terminate with a turnaround.

J. Eyebrows. Where conditions do not warrant the use of cul-de-sacs and the land available in the proposed plan does not allow for a discontinuous minor street extension and where there are no more than three dwelling units proposed to take access, the city engineer or planning director may allow eyebrows. Eyebrows shall be limited to a maximum length of 125 feet, when measured from the main street right-of-way from which the eyebrow takes access. The city engineer or planning director may allow less than that required in (d) above, after taking into consideration the effects upon traffic flows. The right-of-way width shall be 36 feet, with a paved 10-foot curb-to-curb radius at the terminus. Sidewalks shall not be installed within eyebrows without additional right-of-way dedication. (Ord. 4573, 1994).

K. Street names. Except for extensions of existing streets, no street name shall be used which will duplicate or be confused with the names of existing streets. Street names and numbers shall conform to the established pattern in the city. Street names shall be subject to the approval of the planning director. The naming of new streets with names of local historic significance and/or where appropriate in alphabetical order is encouraged. (Ord. 4477, 1990).

L. Grades and curves. Grades shall not exceed six percent on arterials, 10 percent on collector streets, or 12 percent on any other street except as described below. Any local street grad exceeding 12 percent shall be reviewed for approval by the Fire Code Official during the land use application process. When a local residential street is approved to exceed 12 percent the following shall be required:

1. A maximum of 200 feet of roadway length may be allowed with a grade between 12 percent and 15 percent for any one section. The roadway grade must reduce to no more than 12 percent for a minimum of 75 linear feet of roadway length between each such section for firefighting operations.

2. Fire sprinklers shall be installed in all residential and commercial structures whose access road is constructed at a grade higher than 12 percent. The approval of such fire sprinklers shall be accomplished in accordance with the provisions of ORS 455.610(6).

Centerline radii of curves shall not be less than 300 feet on major arterials, 200 feet on secondary arterials, or 100 feet on other streets, and shall be to an even 10 feet. Where existing conditions, particularly topography, make it otherwise impractical to provide buildable lots, the planning commission may accept sharper curves. (Ord. 5023 §2, 2017).

M. Streets adjacent to a railroad right-of-way. Wherever the subdivision contains or is adjacent to a railroad right-of-way, provision may be required for a street approximately parallel with and on each side of such right-of-way at a distance suitable for the appropriate use of the land between the streets and the railroad. The distance shall be determined with due consideration at cross streets of the minimum distance required for approach grades to a future grade separation, and to provide sufficient depth to allow screen planting along the railroad right-of-way.

N. Frontage roads/streets. Where a subdivision or partition abuts or contains an existing or proposed arterial street, the planning commission may require frontage streets, reverse frontage lots with suitable depth, screen planting contained in a non-access reservation along the rear or side property lines, or other treatment necessary for adequate protection of residential properties and to afford separation of through and local traffic.

O. Alleys. Alleys shall be provided in commercial and industrial districts, unless other permanent provisions for access to off-street parking and loading facilities are approved by the planning commission.

P. Private way/drive. This type of street will be allowed when the conditions of MMC 17.53.100(D) are met. A private drive shall be constructed to the same structural standards that would apply to a public street. Storm runoff will be controlled to prevent damage to adjacent properties. A storm drainage plan shall be approved by the city engineer. The right-of-way width will be determined based on site conditions and proposed use and will be approved by the planning commission.

Q. Bikeways. Provisions shall be made for bikeways planned along arterial and collector streets and where shown on the Transportation System plan. Arterial streets shall be designed to be wide enough to accommodate a six-foot wide bike lane adjacent to each outside traffic lane. All major collector and some minor collector streets (dependent upon available right-of-way) shall be designed with five-foot wide bike lanes. Where a proposed development abuts a collector street less than 40 feet (Minor Collector) or 44 feet (Major Collector) in width, the planning commission may require that on-street parking be restricted to one side of the street only or that the deed(s) of the lot(s) adjacent to the street show that on-street parking will be eliminated in the future for bikeway development. (Ord. 4573, 1994).

R. Residential Collector Spacing. Generally, residential collector or arterial streets should be spaced no more than 1,800 feet from each other unless it is determined otherwise after consideration of the unique characteristics of the land including geography, topography, unique vegetation, and the relation of the site to developments already present or proposed in the area. (Ord. 4573, 1994).

S. Sidewalks. Along arterials and along major collectors with bikeways in commercial areas, sidewalks shall be eight feet in width or, where less than eight feet of right-of-way is available, shall extend to the property line and be located adjacent to the curb. Sidewalks in all other locations shall be five feet in width and be placed one foot from the right-of-way line. Sidewalks adjacent to a cul-de-sac bulb shall be located adjacent to the curb. (Ord. 4573, 1994).

T. Park strips. Park strips shall be provided between the curb and sidewalk along both sides of all streets except:

1. Commercial arterial and collector streets, in which case street trees may be placed in tree wells as specified by the McMinnville Street Ordinance; or

2. Cul-de-sac bulbs. Street trees shall be planted and maintained within the park strip as specified in Chapter 17.58 MMC (Trees).

U. Gates. Gates are prohibited within or across public rights-of-way. Gates are also prohibited across private streets that serve single-family residential development of four or more lots or parcels, multi-family housing complexes, manufactured home parks, or commercial or industrial subdivisions. The city may permit gates of limited duration for the purpose of facilitating public events, construction of public infrastructure, or other similar activities having a public interest or benefit at the discretion of the city manager. (Ord. 5023 §2, 2017; Ord. 4922 §4B, 2010; Ord. 4879, 2007).