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Council adopts code changes clarifying driveway and cross-access standards
Summary
Medford’s council approved a code amendment clarifying driveway spacing, consolidation and cross-access easements by street classification, with exceptions available through traffic studies for larger commercial developments.
The Medford City Council on Dec. 3 approved council bill 2025-101, a legislative amendment to Chapter 10 of the Medford Municipal Code that clarifies driveway standards and cross-access easement requirements by street classification (arterial, major collector, minor collector) and land use.
Planning Department staff member Carla Palladino told the council the amendment separates standards for arterials and collectors and provides more detail for commercial, industrial and multifamily uses versus single-family residential. Among the provisions: no driveway access on arterial parcels that abut a lower-order street unless spacing standards are met; a 250-foot minimum driveway spacing for arterials from intersections and a 150-foot standard for collectors; and cross-access easement requirements for contiguous parcels planned for similar uses.
Carl McNair of Public Works explained that a traffic-impact analysis (TIA) can justify exceptions for larger commercial developments with multiple frontages, citing the Barnes & Noble/mall area example where an exception or a TIA could be used to support an access point.
"There is an option already existing in the same code that allows a developer to do a traffic impact analysis and show that basically their driveway proposal makes more sense than what our standards say," McNair said.
Councilors asked whether the amendment expands or restricts access options; staff said the new language provides specificity and options tailored to street classifications rather than broad, undifferentiated rules. The planning commission and advisory committees reviewed and recommended adoption; the council approved the ordinance on an 8-0 roll call.
The ordinance becomes part of the city’s development code and staff said it will guide permit reviews, driveway consolidation conversations with developers, and cross-access easement negotiations going forward.
