ARTICLE 5. PUBLIC ROAD ACCESS MANAGEMENT STANDARDS

9-501. The Entrance Spacing Standards for Entrance Permits for platted and

unplatted property onto public roads in the unincorporated areas of

Douglas County (regardless of which governmental entity maintains the

Access Class

Spacing

From Intersection

Minor Collector:

250

Notwithstanding the foregoing, no entrance permit other than a field permit may be

issued for entrance onto a public road that is then designated a “minimum maintenance

road” pursuant to K.S.A. 68-5,102, as amended.

(Res. HR-06-10-7; Res. HR-07-1-1)

9-502. No property for which a deed, an affidavit of equitable interest, or plat of

property as a separate tract of real estate, shall be denied an entrance

permit onto a public road classified as Minor Collector or Local for

purposes of construction of a residential dwelling solely for the reason that

the property does not have sufficient frontage along a public road if the

property has not been further divided since the effective date of Section 9-

501 and any of the following apply with respect to the subject property:

a. It has 250 feet of frontage along a public road right-of-way and the

dwelling or mobile home gains its primary access directly to and

of the public roadway to current county standards have been

approved by the County Engineer, and (2) a sufficient bond or letter

of credit, in an amount determined by the County Engineer, is

provided to ensure construction or improvement of the public

roadway to current County standards; or

c. It has access to a public road by virtue of a private road approved

by the Board prior to October 30, 2006; or

d. Is located within a subdivision which has been platted as provided

in the Subdivision Regulations for the unincorporated area of

Douglas County; or

Douglas County Commissioners, based upon a finding that all of

the following conditions have been met:

(1) That the variance requested arises from such condition

which is unique and is created by this Article and not by an

action or actions of the property owner;

(2) That the granting of this variance will not adversely affect the

rights of adjacent property owners or residents;

(3) That the strict application of the provisions of this Article will

constitute unnecessary hardships upon the property owner

represented in the application;

(4) That the variance desired will not adversely affect the public

health, safety, morals, order, convenience, or general

welfare; and

The provisions of this Section shall not apply to property divided after

October 30, 2006. (Res. HR-06-10-7; Res. HR-10-1-1)

9-503 For purposes of this Article, the following words shall have the following

definitions:

a. Field Permit. The term “field permit“ means an entrance permit

which allows access to a public road only for agricultural purposes,

b. Frontage. The term “frontage” means the portion of private

property touching the adjacent public road right-of-way from which

the property gains its primary access, provided, however, that such

private property must have a depth equal or greater than required

by applicable Zoning Regulations or Subdivision Regulations.

c. Public Road Right-of-Way. The term “public road right-of-way”

means any right of way within which a public road may be

constructed, whether or not a public road actually is constructed,

including state highways, county roads, township roads, and any

refers to any one road separately and not to all of the roads

collectively.

(Res. HR-06-10-7)

9-504. The Minimum Public Road Spacing Standards for spacing between new

public roads intersecting with other public roads (regardless of which

governmental entity maintains the public road) for purposes of approval of

subdivision plats pursuant to the Douglas County Subdivision Regulations

shall depend upon the road classification of the other public road and are

hereby adopted as follows:

(Res. HR-06-10-7)

9-505. The Minimum Frontage Spacing , Desirable Entrance Spacing and

Minimum Public Road Spacing standards set forth in Section 9-501 and

Section 9-504 are based upon a one-mile section being exactly 5280 feet.

1318.75 feet (1320 x 5275/5280), thus allowing as many as four entrances

along that section. (Res. HR-06-10-7)

9-506 The road classifications shown on Exhibit 9-506, Road Classifications is

adopted as the Road Classification Map for the Access Management

Standards. (Res. HR 13-2-1)

Major Collector:

Posted or design speed

(as determined by County

Engineer)

55 mph

1320

9-507. Recognizing that configuration of existing land parcels, topography, sight

distances, and other engineering considerations may make it impractical

or undesirable to strictly comply with the desirable entrance spacing

standards and corner clearance standards set forth in Section 9-501, and

further recognizing the strict compliance with the minimum frontage,

Engineer is hereby authorized to grant exceptions to the standards set

forth in Section 9-501 as follows: (i) if sound engineering design practices

for a particular tract dictate different spacing of entrances, the County

Engineer may grant exceptions to the desirable entrance spacing

standards and the corner clearance standards; and (ii) if provisions of

state common law requires access to property abutting public roads, the

County Engineer may grant exceptions to the minimum frontage

standards. Entrance permits issued pursuant to clause (ii) shall be issued

only to comply with state law requiring access to property abutting public

the County Engineer, to be recorded with the Office of the Douglas County

Register of Deeds, limiting the location, number, and type of current and

future entrance permits to be granted each resulting division, as the

County Engineer determines necessary or advisable to substantially

comply with the purpose and intent of these Access Management

Regulations; provided, however, that the total number of permissible

entrance permits onto the public road for access to a residential or

commercial building shall not be increased as a result of any such

agreement.

gains its primary access from (i) a public road, unless a lawful entrance

permit has first been issued, provided, however, that no building permit for

a residential, commercial, or industrial use shall be issued if the entrance

permit is a field permit; or (ii) a private road, unless approved by the

Board. (Res. HR-06-10-7)

9-509. Entrance Permits onto township-maintained roads classified as Minor

Collector or higher classification shall be issued according to the following

process:

a. Each respective Township shall administer and issue entrance

permits onto roads that it maintains.

b. The County Engineer or designee shall provide the following

information on the township entrance permit:

requirements of this Article.

(2) Required or optimal entrance location, if any.

(3) Approved entrance type (single, shared, residential, field,

commercial, etc.)

c. No building permit shall be issued for a tract of land that gains its

primary access from a township-maintained road classified as

Minor Collector or higher unless the entrance permit includes

approval of the County Engineer or designee. (Res. HR-06-10-7)

9-511. If the County Engineer, in the County Engineer’s professional opinion,

determines that a proposed entrance may result in an unreasonable safety

risk to the traveling public or property owner due to configuration of land

parcels, topography, sight distances, traffic characteristics or other

engineering considerations, and if no feasible means of mitigation or

alternative entrance location exists along the property frontage, the

County Engineer is authorized to deny an entrance permit for purposes of

construction of a residential dwelling, even if the frontage along the public

road satisfies the standards set forth in Section 9-501 or is exempt from

those standards based upon Section 9-502. (Res. HR-06-10-7)

to the provisions of Section 9-502 solely for the reason that the property

Local or Minor Collector road (in other words, the property satisfies one of

the criteria in 9-502 but is not located on a Local or Minor Collector road),

the owner may file an application with the Douglas County Department of

Public Works for a variance to the strict application of this Article. Such

request shall provide justification for the requested variance and shall be

heard by the designee of the Board of County Commissioners within a

reasonable time after the filing of the application. In addition to other

relevant issues, the person hearing the owner’s application may consider

and require alternatives to the requested entrance permit so as to reduce