Briefing on AO 20-25-64 outlines new site-access rules for driveways, windows and curb use

Assembly members and planning staff held a one-hour, on‑the‑record briefing from 11:50 to 12:50 on AO 20-25-64, an ordinance the Assembly introduced that would amend municipal site‑access standards to govern where and how private sites connect to the public street.

The ordinance would allow driveways up to 28 feet wide but require ‘‘vertical separation’’ — for example, bollards, boulders, trees or a depressed separation — where private access exceeds that width. It also sets minimum requirements for covered entrances and for windows on primary and secondary frontages (15% and 10%, respectively), and clarifies how curb space and snow storage on the public right of way are managed.

Assembly member Anna Brawley, a sponsor of the ordinance, said the measure is intended to ‘‘fix problems that are already in our code’’ and to replace provisions the Assembly paused after implementation problems in 2024. Brawley said the proposal is a technical follow‑up to prior code changes: "this project really is, a continuation of what I would say is a 4 year saga around this particular piece of code."

Daniel McKenna Foster,…