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Trustees hone private-streets rules; debate whether to allow new private roads
Summary
Staff proposed a tiered private-streets approach (4-unit maximum under tighter width and construction standards, wider profiles for 5'08 units and county coordination). Trustees discussed trade-offs: developer cost savings versus long-term maintenance, emergency access, plowing and preservation of agricultural/open land.
Staff presented a rewritten private-streets chapter merged into chapter 10 of the draft code. The draft retains a conservative approach for very small shared drives while adding a tier for larger private-street clusters. Key elements discussed:
- The subcommittee recommended a 4-unit maximum for private drives with a suggested 22-foot driving surface (up from the current draft 18 feet). For private streets servicing 5'08 units, the proposed minimum driving surface would be 26 feet.
- The draft continues to rely on the county's engineering standards where appropriate (county standard commonly cited as 30 feet for full public road width) and retains a 66-foot access-easement reference. Staff said the earlier ordinance allowed up to 20 units on a private road; the proposed tiering reduces that threshold.
Trustees debated reasons property owners want private roads (lower initial cost, preferred maintenance arrangements, privacy, limited county maintenance such as weekend plowing thresholds) against township concerns (long-term repair liability, enforcement of construction and maintenance standards, time spent resolving private-road disputes). Some trustees favored preserving the option for private roads in constrained topography; others favored limiting or prohibiting new private streets to protect open space and reduce future township involvement.
Outcome: board members voiced positions (no formal ordinance vote). Staff will keep the tiered approach in the draft, but finalize engineering detail and clearer enforcement language and present a clean redline to the board.
