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Commission recommends cleaning up site-triangle rules, removes 14-foot residential driveway requirement
Summary
After a public hearing, the Planning Commission recommended code changes to consolidate conflicting sight-triangle standards, adopt a 40-foot intersection triangle consistent with AASHTO, and limit driveway-specific regulation to nonresidential properties while keeping a 3–8 foot tree clearance allowance.
Rob, a city staff member, told the Planning Commission that the proposed amendments are mostly code cleanup to align the municipal code with the 2024 subdivision standards and to make sight-triangle measurement clear. "Side triangles are areas that are regulated generally at the corners of intersections where we don't allow anything over 3 feet," he said, explaining the 40-foot intersection standard and how he measured the three-foot height from the back of sidewalk or road surface.
During Q&A commissioners raised concerns about older, built-out neighborhoods and private driveways. Liz Rice, a Highland resident who spoke during the public hearing, said she feared a home with a recently replaced driveway might now be out of compliance: "I don't think my driveway is 14 feet from the corner... I'm a little bit worried about this one for me." Commissioners discussed two options — adopt a 14-foot driveway triangle used by some cities, or apply driveway-specific rules only to commercial accesses — and agreed the latter would avoid imposing new obligations on most existing residences.
The commission moved to recommend approval of the staff revisions that consolidate triangle references, rely on AASHTO standards for higher-intensity roads, remove the 14-foot residential driveway requirement, and retain trimming guidance allowing trees if trunks and pruning meet the 3–8 foot clearance standard. The motion was seconded and passed by roll call vote.
