4.01 CONSTRUCTION OF PRIVATE DRIVEWAYS REGULATED. No person shall construct or modify a driveway on lands in the Town without complying with Sections 4.02 through 4.07.

4.02 DEFINITION. In this ordinance, the term "driveway" is defined to mean private driveway, road, lane, field road or other means of travel through any part of a private parcel of land, which connects or will connect with any public highway.

1. No person shall establish, construct, improve, modify or rework a driveway which changes the existing topography of the land without first obtaining a Driveway Permit from the Town Board of Supervisors. Application forms and information can be obtained from the Town Clerk.
2. No building permit for new residential construction will be issued until the driveway is constructed according to the specifications of this chapter and Chapter 14 of the Dane County Code. (Revised 12/9/02)
3. With the approval of the Town Board, the driveway permit may allow for the excavation of the site to provide for site preparation and to provide fill for the proposed driveway.

4.04 FEE. A nonrefundable fee of an amount determined by a resolution of the Town Board will be charged for each driveway application for driveways up to one hundred (100) feet in length. For driveways longer than one hundred (100) feet, an additional fee for each hundred (100) feet will be charged. The maximum fee shall be determined by the Town Board.

4.05 EROSION CONTROL PLAN REQUIRED. Any proposed driveway construction improvement or modification shall be accompanied by an erosion control plan presented to the Town Board prior to the issuance of a Driveway Permit. An erosion control plan shall include the driveway owner’s intentions and timing to seed, mulch, ditch, place culverts and carry out other erosion control practices which will be accomplished within 90 days after beginning driveway construction or modification. If an engineer’s plan of the driveway is prepared, an erosion control plan shall describe practices which are not mentioned or required in the engineer’s plan.

4.06 SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF DRIVEWAYS. (Revised 12/9/02)

1. All driveways shall be constructed and maintained to meet the erosion control and stormwater management requirements of Chapter 14 of the Dane County Ordinances.
2. To limit extensive excavation of hillsides, no land with a slope of more than thirty percent (30%) shall be disturbed for the construction, establishment, reworking or improvement of a driveway.
3. No land with a slope of more than twenty percent (20%) shall be disturbed unless erosion control measures are installed to limit soil loss from the construction site to no more than 7.5 tons per acre.
4. Slope in percent is calculated from the vertical distance between two points divided by the horizontal distance between the points. Slope measurements are normally based on the elevation difference between points 25 to 50 feet apart. If a site's compliance with the slope limitation is uncertain, the maximum average slope shall be calculated as follows:

   Select as the starting point the location along the centerline of the proposed driveway with the steepest slope.

   Mark points 25 feet above and 25 feet below the starting point, measuring along the ground on the line of steepest slope.

   Measure the vertical elevation distance between these points. Multiply this number by 2.06 to determine the slope in percent.

   Repeat this measurement from two new starting points, measured 50 feet to either side of the original starting point along the centerline of the proposed driveway.

   Average the three slope measurements to determine the average slope.

   The applicant shall stake and flag the six points used for the slope measurement to allow verification by Town officials.

   The slope may also be measured using a clinometer, transit level, or other instrument designed to read slope directly.

5. No land within 1,000 feet of any stream, wetland or other surface water resource shall be disturbed unless the soil loss from the construction site is limited to no more than 7.5 tons per acre.
6. An engineer’s plan showing adequate erosion control measures is required for any segment of the proposed driveway which disturbs land with a grade of more than twenty percent (20%).
7. The driveway shall be constructed with a minimum roadway of twelve (12) feet in width, with a minimum of four (4) feet on each side with a slope of one (1) foot of vertical rise for six (6) feet of horizontal distance. There shall be a minimum of twenty (20) feet from the center of the ditch on one side of the driveway to the center of the ditch on the other side.
8. Each driveway shall have a culvert at least eighteen (18) inches in diameter at the ditch line where the driveway meets the public road, unless waived or modified on showing of hardship or difficulty by the Town Board and, in the case of county or state highways, approved by the Dane County Highway Commission or district engineer of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
9. A length of driveway of a minimum of twenty four (24) feet shall have a maximum of five percent (5%) grade at the point where the driveway enters onto a public road. A slight dip across the driveway shall be placed just before the culvert at the entrance to a public road to prevent debris from washing onto the pubic road.
10. Ditches, roadway crowning and culverts shall be designed to carry the expected stormwater flow from 2-year and 10-year storm events.
11. The side banks shall be graded to a slope of no more than one (1) foot of vertical rise in each three (3) feet of horizontal distance, except where retaining walls and/or other erosion control measures are installed as specified in an engineer’s plan approved by the Town Board.
12. Curves in the driveway shall have an inside radius of no less than thirty-six (36) feet.
13. Maximum grade of the driveway or any portion of the driveway shall be no more than thirteen percent (13%).
14. Banks shall be seeded promptly to control erosion.
15. Once the construction of the driveway has begun, all specified erosion controls, including retaining walls, ditching, culverts, crowning, mulching and matting shall be completed within ninety (90) days.
16. The driveway must have at least four (4) inches of two (2) inch rock on the roadbed, covered with two (2) inches of three-quarter (3/4) inch gravel. A field road, which is a road used only for agricultural purposes, is exempt from this provision.
17. All costs of construction of said driveway, including the cost of the culverts and engineer’s plan, if required, shall be paid by the property owner requesting the permit.
18. An area twenty four (24) feet in width and twenty five (25) feet in height shall be cleared along the driveway right-of-way in order to permit the safe passage of emergency vehicles. In case where such clearing would be environmentally damaging, the Town Board will determine if failure to clear will prevent or interfere with emergency service or create a safety hazard. A field road is exempt from this requirement.
19. Access for more than one lot to a public road via any shared private road or driveway shall not be approved unless the Town Board determines that a shared private road or driveway is desirable for environmental or safety reasons. A shared driveway shall be approved only if:
    1. each property either has road access guaranteed by legal easement, or an alternative site for a private driveway;

2. a shared driveway maintenance agreement is executed and properly recorded with the Register of Deeds;
3. at least one turnout lane is provided, with a minimum roadway width of 24 feet and a minimum length of 75 feet; and
4. No more than four residences share a single driveway.

1. See also requirements for private access roads in section 7.06 (1) of this Ordinance.

4.07 ENGINEERING PLAN. (Revised 12/9/02)

1. When Required. The Town Board may require a plan prepared by a licensed engineer prior to any driveway construction or modification. An engineer’s plan is required:
   1. for any driveway or segment of a driveway whose construction requires the disturbance of land with a slope of more than twenty percent (20%);
   2. for a driveway or segment of a driveway which requires a retaining wall or other special erosion control measure as determined by the Town Board; and
   3. when the Town Board requests a plan.
2. Contents of Plan. The engineer’s plan will include the following:
   1. the precise location of the driveway or segment of driveway which requires an engineer’s plan;
   2. the grade of the driveway showing no segment exceeding thirteen percent (13%);
   3. location and structure of any retaining walls;
   4. location and size of any culverts;
   5. cross section of the driveway; and
   6. .erosion control measures to limit soil loss from the construction site to no more than 7.5 tons per acre for any segment of the proposed driveway that disturbs land with a slope of more than 20%.
3. Review of Plan. The Town Board, at its option, may engage a licensed professional engineer to review the plan, with all expenses of the review to be paid by the applicant.
4. Preconditions to Construction of Driveway. No construction of a driveway may commence until the engineer’s plan, if required, is approved by the Town Board and a Town Driveway Permit is issued and, when applicable, any necessary approvals are obtained from Dane County or the State of Wisconsin. (See Wis. Stat. ss 86.07)
5. Engineer’s Plan No Guarantee of Driveway Permit. The preparation of an engineer’s plan does not guarantee the approval of a driveway permit.

4.08 EXISTING DRIVEWAYS AND FIELD ROADS. When washing or other conditions created by existing driveways or field roads become a potential hazard to a public road, the Town Board shall notify the property owner of the conditions. Any property owner failing to correct such condition(s) within thirty (30) days after notice by the Town Board shall be subject to the Penalties of this ordinance and shall also be liable for any costs incurred by the Town to eliminate the hazard as provided in Wis. Stat. ss 66.60(16).

1. Forfeiture. Should a driveway be constructed or modified in violation of the provisions of this ordinance, the owner(s) of the land through which the driveway passes shall, upon conviction pay a forfeiture equal to three (3) times the fee charged for the permit application plus applicable assessments and fees and, in addition, shall make the corrections ordered by the Town Board within a period of time determined by the Town Board, but not less than ten (10) days.
2. Special Charge for Correction by Town. If the owner(s) of the land through which the driveway passes do(es) not make required corrections ordered by the Board under (1) within the specified time period, the Town Board shall cause the required corrections to be made and charge the cost of correcting such violations, including, when necessary, the return of disturbed land to its original condition. The Town’s direct and indirect costs of correcting the violation, including but not limited to engineering, legal, administrative, materials and construction expenses, shall be imposed as a special charge against the property through which the driveway passes pursuant to Wis. Stat. ss 66.60(6).

4.10 VARIANCES AND EXCEPTIONS. (Created 12/9/02)

Any of the requirements of this chapter may be varied or excepted by the Town Board in such instances where, because of the unique nature of the property, rigid adherence to the above requirements would impose undue hardship, and the variance or exception includes measures to provide an equivalent level of health and safety protection as the provision being varied or excepted. The Town Board may grant an exception to the maximum slope restriction set forth in 4.06(2) in the case of natural rock outcroppings that would not be disturbed by the construction of the driveway.