Sec. 29-93. - Streets.
(a) All manufactured home parks shall be provided with a safe and convenient vehicular access from an adjacent previously dedicated and improved public street. Such access streets, or internal streets (being either public or private) shall provide access to every designated manufactured home site within the manufactured home park.
(b) Access streets shall be considered to be the street (either public or private) which provides the principal connection to an adjacent previously dedicated and improved public street and shall be designed to allow free movement of traffic to such public street. No parking shall be permitted on any access street (either public or private) for 100 feet from its intersection with an adjacent public street.
(c) Internal streets shall be considered to be those private streets lying totally within the boundaries of a manufactured home park, not providing access to any adjacent property outside the manufactured home park and connecting with the "access street" as herein described.
(d) Public street design:
(1) The width of the right-of-way to be dedicated for any local street must be at least 60 feet except as provided in paragraph (c). In those instances where a subdivision or manufactured home park plat is located adjacent to an existing public street, with a right-of-way width less than 60 feet, sufficient additional right-of-way must be dedicated within the subdivision or manufactured home park plat boundary to accommodate the development of the street to a total right-of-way width of not less than 60 feet. In those instances where it is proposed to transition from any given right-of-way width to a greater right-of-way, the transition shall conform to the criteria adopted by the Houston Public Works for such transitions.
(2) An interior street which:
a. Includes in its design storm sewers; and
b. Is designed as either:
1. A cul-de-sac of 800 feet or less in length; or
2. As a loop having an internal block length of less than 1,000 feet; or
3. A street which is not an access or collector street and is designed so that it will, from a practical standpoint, serve only those lots which have frontage upon it;
shall have the following right-of-way widths:
a. A minimum of 50 feet where the widths of the manufactured home lots abutting the interior street are 40 feet or more at the right-of-way line; and
b. A minimum of 55 feet where the widths of the manufactured home lots abutting the interior street are less than 40 feet at the right-of-way line.
(3) Curves along long streets may have any centerline radius, except that the centerline radius on a reverse curve may not be less than 300 feet. Reverse curves should be separated by a tangent distance of not less than 50 feet. The acute angle of any intersection shall be no less than 80 degrees. Where acute angle intersections are approved, however, a radius of at least 25 feet in the right-of-way line at the acute corner must be provided. Intersections of local streets must line up centerline to centerline or be offset a minimum 125 feet from centerline to centerline.
(4) The radii of the right-of-way at the end of local streets terminated with a circular cul-de-sac turnaround must be 50 feet except in those instances where a curbed type street section is to be constructed, and storm sewers are not planned to be installed, but storm drainage is proposed to be accommodated within the street right-of-way. Where the adjacent property is intended for uses other than single-family detached units, a cul-de-sac radii of 60 feet must be provided.
(5) Dead end streets will not be approved except in those instances where the street is terminated by a circular cul-de-sac turnaround or where the street is designed to be extended into adjacent property.
(6) An interior street must be designed to form a closed traffic circulation system. Culs-de-sac and loop streets or similar streets beginning from streets within a subdivision or manufactured home park are interior streets. A local street that allows access through the subdivision or manufactured home park to other properties adjacent to the subdivision or manufactured home park, or which directly connects with streets outside the plat boundary shall not be designated as an interior street.
(7) All public streets must be named in accordance with the provisions of chapter 41 of this Code.
(8) No public alleys shall be permitted in manufactured home parks.
(9) Public street right-of-way requirements shall be as provided in chapter 42 of this Code.
(e) Private streets:
(1) The purpose for the regulation of private streets and the standards established are:
a. To provide adequate vehicular access to all buildings, manufactured homes, and facilities by city police and fire vehicles; and,
b. To provide for the safe movement of all vehicles from a private street to the public street system of the city.
(2) Curves along private streets may have any centerline radius, except that the centerline radius on a reverse curve may not be less than 65 feet. Reverse curves should be separated by a tangent of not less than 25 feet. Intersections of private streets must line up centerline to centerline or be offset a minimum 65 feet from centerline to centerline. Transitions from a given private street width to a greater width must conform to the criteria adopted by the Houston Public Works for such transitions.
(3) The width of a private street shall be measured from edge to edge across the surface of the pavement. The right-of-way width and the pavement width of a private street are considered coterminous and the terms are used interchangeably. The minimum acceptable unobstructed width of any private street is 28 feet. If parallel parking is proposed along the private street, additional width shall be required to accommodate such parking.
(4) Dead end private streets must be terminated by a circular cul-de-sac having a paving radius of not less than 50 feet or a T- or L-type turnaround designed in conformance with the standards approved by the fire chief and the Director of Houston Public Works.
(5) A dead end private street must not extend further than 300 feet from nearest right-of-way line of the intersecting public or private street measured along the centerline of said private street to the center of the cul-de-sac or the center in the T- or L-type turnaround configuration.
(6) In those instances where a private street intersects with a public street paved with dual roadways and esplanade, the private street shall be located at an esplanade opening or offset a sufficient distance as determined by the Houston Public Works. Private streets must not be direct (straight line) projections of any public street, except in those instances where:
a. Such extension is at an intersection with a public street paved with dual roadways and esplanade; or,
b. Where the private street is two separate twenty-foot (minimum) roadways separated by a minimum 20-foot curb section at the public street intersection and the private street is not a direct connection (straight line) between two public streets.
In those instances where the private street is not a direct extension of a public street, then the private street must be offset a minimum distance of 125 feet, centerline to centerline, from any public street intersection. Intersections of all private streets must be at right angles, provided that the planning commission may grant a variance from such requirement. Right angle intersections of private streets must have a 20-foot radius at all corners. Acute angle intersections must have a 25 foot radius at the acute corner on both public and private streets.
(7) All manufactured home parks containing private streets must have a private street system designed to provide adequate emergency vehicular access and the private street system must be designed to provide more than one point of access to the park from the public streets adjacent to the boundaries of the park in those instances where the fire chief finds, in writing, that additional access points will be necessary to ensure the safety and general welfare of the public and occupants of the projects.
(f) Grades of all streets shall be sufficient to ensure adequate surface drainage, but should not be more than eight percent. Short runs with a maximum grade of 12 percent may be permitted, provided traffic safety is assured.
(g) All streets shall be provided with a smooth, hard and dense surface which shall be durable and well drained under normal use and weather conditions. The surface shall be maintained free of cracks and holes and its edges shall be protected by suitable means to prevent traveling and shifting of the base.
(h) Lighting, when provided, shall be designed to produce a minimum of 0.1 footcandle throughout the street system.
(i) Vertical clearance of not less than 14 feet above all public and private streets shall be maintained for fire department vehicle clearance.
(Ord. No. 85-498, § 1, 4-10-85; Ord. No. 90-635, §§ 59—62, 5-23-90; Ord. No. 93-514, §§ 40—43, 5-5-93; Ord. No. 98-334, § 6, 4-29-98; Ord. No. 2014-364, § 3, 4-30-2014; Ord. No. 2018-11, §§ 49, 50, 1-10-2018)
