CITY OF HOMER                                        City Manager

                                                              HOMER, ALASKA                                                             

                                                                                                                                                           

                                                            RESOLUTION 02-75                                                           

 

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOMER, ALASKA ESTABLISHING THE POLICY FOR ADDING NEW RURAL ROADS TO THE OFFICIAL ROAD MAINTENANCE MAP.

 

            WHEREAS, Ordinance 02-23(S), adopted June 10, 2002, and Ordinance 02-33, adopted August 26, 2002, enacted the Official Road Maintenance Map incorporating newly annexed roads and designating rural and urban levels of road maintenance; and

 

            WHEREAS, The Official Road Maintenance Map, adopted June 10, 2002, with categories of road service was prepared after evaluating factors such as road condition, ability to support equipment, road width and length, number of persons served, right-of-way widths, grades, presence of cul-de-sacs, drainage, et cetera; and

 

WHEREAS, The current policy of the City of Homer is that no maintenance is provided on roads that are not designated on the Official Road Maintenance Map, most roads that receive maintenance meet City Standards and the City Council approves additions to the Official Road Maintenance Map based on completion of road construction to full City Standards; and

 

WHEREAS, The Public Works Director, through the City Manager, submitted a Memorandum under the City Manager’s report, October 14, 2002 Regular Council Meeting, to the Council regarding Draft Policy Recommendations.

 

            NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of Homer, Alaska hereby establishes the Policy for adding new rural roads to the Official Road Maintenance Map as follows:

 

“Urban” level of road maintenance will not be extended to a road until it meets full City standards. (See Standard Construction Specifications, Standard Construction Detail 200.01) All new construction must meet full City standards to receive full City “Urban” level of road maintenance.

 

“Rural” level of service will not be extended to an existing road until or unless:

 

            1. The City Council enacts an Ordinance authorizing the inclusion of the road on the Official Road Maintenance Map. (HCC 11.04.055(b)(e).)

 

            2. The dedicated right-of-way width is 60 (sixty) feet wide, or 50 (fifty) feet wide if the road is less than 1,000 (one thousand) feet and can never be extended, unless the Public Works Director determines that a combination of drainage/snow storage easements and dedicated right-of-way would be sufficient to allow for maintenance operations. Under no circumstances will rural maintenance be provided where a combination of dedicated right-of-way and easements is less than 50 (fifty) feet wide.  All dead-end roads shall have a 100 (one hundred) foot diameter cul-de-sac platted at the end of the road as a turn around area or an easement at the end of the road of sufficient size and shape to allow snow removal and emergency response equipment to turnaround.

 

 

 

Page Two

Resolution 02-75

City of Homer

 

            3. Where the road serves less than 10 (ten) lots, the road bed must consist of a gravel surface at least 18 (eighteen) feet wide. Where the road serves more than 10 (ten) lots, the road bed must consist of a gravel surface at least  20 (twenty) feet wide. The thickness of the gravel shall be at least 18 (eighteen) inches  unless a professional engineer registered in the State of Alaska certifies that subgrade conditions, presence of stabilization fabric, or other factors are present that create a road surface capable of supporting maintenance equipment at all times of the year. The road must support maintenance equipment.

 

            4. All required street name signs and stop signs are in place.

 

            5. At least one residence or business is served for every 300 (three hundred) feet of road added to the maintenance system.

 

            6. Drainage has been improved to allow major drainage flows to cross the road through culverts at least 24 (twenty four) inches in diameter, and that positive drainage exists away from the road surface.

 

            7. Maximum grade must be 10 (ten) percent or less; short sections, less than 150 (one hundred fifty) feet, up to 15 (fifteen) percent.

 

Requests for expansion of road maintenance to roads that already exist shall be submitted to the Public Works Director. The request must be in writing and provide proof that the requirements listed above are met. All costs associated with bringing the roads up to standards or verifying that the above requirements have been met, are the responsibility of the property owners.

 

The Public Works Director will evaluate the request, and if in his/her opinion the road meets all of the above requirements, will recommend to the City Manager that the road section be added to the Official Road Maintenance Map. Requests made in writing that are found not to meet the above requirements will also be submitted to the City Manager. The City Manager will make his recommendation(s) to the City Council.

 

Developers constructing roads improvements in new subdivisions that request only rural level of service upon completion must have the approval of the Planning Commission and the City Council. 

 

Long driveways down street right-of-way may be approved by the Public Works Director on a case by case basis under the condition that the owner execute an “Agreement for Use of Undeveloped Right-of-Way (for private driveway access) and for Future Assessments”.

 

PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of Homer, Alaska this 25h day of November, 2002.

CITY OF HOMER

 

 

ATTEST:                                                                      ________________________

JACK CUSHING, MAYOR

________________________________________

MARY L. CALHOUN, CMC,  CITY CLERK

Fiscal Note: Maintenance costs, not identified for this Resolution.