Traffic & Transportation

Ventura Traffic Citizen Information Brochures

What You Need To Know About Driveway and Curb Cut Access Policy

Why was this driveway policy developed?

This driveway and curb cut policy was developed to establish a policy regulating the location, spacing, width, alignment, number and design of driveway access on public streets servicing adjacent private property. The policy also establishes sight distance criteria and the setback of garage fronts from the street curb.

How many driveways can a property have?

One driveway access point per property owner shall be permitted unless a development or circulation plan is provided to the City Engineer indicating that more than one access is required to handle traffic volumes. Additional access shall not be permitted if it is determined to be detrimental to traffic flow and safety of adjacent public streets. Whenever a property has access to more than one road, access shall be generally limited to the lowest volume road where the impact of a new access is minimized.

Where can the driveways be located?

No portion of a driveway access shall be permitted within corner curb returns. The edge of the access shall not be less than five feet from the end of the curb return for single-family residential developments. For all other developments, these distance shall not be less than 150 feet. Where the lot size does not permit the access to be located 150 feet from the end of curb return, the access shall be located the maximum distance possible from the end of the curb return. This distance does not include the three foot transition or wing sections on each side of the driveway.

How wide can the driveway be?

Single-family residential access driveways shall be a minimum of 12 feet in width and a maximum of 16 feet for single garage. 20 feet for a double garage, and 24 feet for a triple garage. Accesses serving multifamily and commercial uses shall be a minimum of 25 feet in width and a maximum of 35 feet in width. Curb return radii shall be a minimum of 20 feet where curb returns are deemed to be necessary. Accesses serving industrial uses shall be a minimum of 35 feet in width and a maximum of 40 feet in width with minimum curb return radius of 25 feet or as specified by the City Engineer.

What spacing can driveways have?

Where two or more accesses serve adjacent single-family residential property, the minimum distance between the nearest points of the two accesses shall be at least 20 feet. Where two or more accesses serve the same or adjacent non-single family residential development, the minimum distance between the centerlines of access should be preferably at least 200 feet on streets with design speeds below 30 mph and 300 feet on streets with design speed above 30 mph. If adjacent driveways cannot be separated by these distances, the should be combined into a single joint access. For corner and double frontage residential lots, one access on each frontage may be permitted if it is determined by the City Engineer that two driveways are needed to provide safe access for traffic entering and leaving the lot because of site distance and geometric design consideration.

How are adjacent/opposing driveways aligned?

Closely spaced adjacent driveways should be combined into joint accesses. Opposing driveways should preferably be aligned.
Where commercial lots are not large enough to allow access on opposite sides of the street to be aligned, the center driveways not in alignment will normally be offset a minimum of 250 feet on all collector streets, and preferably 300 feet on all major and arterial roads, Greater distance shall be required if needed for left-turn storage lanes.

What clearances are required from appurtenances?

The nearest edge of any driveway curb cut shall be a minimum of three feet from a property line or at grade utility such as a drainage drop inlet. The nearest edge of the driveway shall also be a minimum of 5 feet from the projection of any above ground utility such as utility pole, traffic signal, fire hydrant, etc. the driveway shall be a minimum of 12 feet from any street tree. Water and sewer lines from the street to the house must be located outside of the driveway.

What sight distance is required at driveways?

At least 350 feet of clear sight distance shall be provided for drivers entering or leaving all accesses onto local streets; 400 feet for collector streets; 500 feet for arterial streets.

What if only temporary access is needed?

Temporary access may be granted to underdeveloped property prior to development of a final development plan if access is need for construction or preliminary site access. Temporary accesses are subject to removal, relocation, or redesign after the final development plan is approved.

How far does the front of a garage have to setback from the back of the sidewalk?

The distance between the front wall or garage door of a single-family residential development to the back of the sidewalk along the length of a driveway shall be at least 25 feet in order to permit a vehicle to park in the driveway without blocking the sidewalk.