CC - Staff Memo RE: Common Drives
Mayor Robert Simison
City Council Members:
Joe Borton
Liz Strader
Brad Hoaglun
Jessica Perreault
Luke Cavener
Treg Bernt
Development Design: Common Drives
Water/Wastewater Utility Operational Concerns
5/26/2021
Summary
Common drives are a designated portion of private property within a platted subdivision solely for
the purpose of ingress/egress access. Common drives are isolated, narrow, no outlet driveways
that are privately owned by the adjacent properties. Being that common drives are not dedicated
rights-of-way, they can circumvent many of the design standards of typical roadway requirements.
As such, common drives provide a unique set of operational challenges and concerns that have an
upfront and ongoing impact to both the homeowner and City.
Impacts to the Homeowners
Common drives require customers to provide private water service lines to water meters
located at entrance of common drive. These service lines can be up to 150 feet in length
which can reduce water quality, flow, and volume.
Common drives require the customer to provide private sewer service lines up to the
collection system mainline at the entrance to the common drive. These service lines can be
up to 150 feet in length which can cause challenges in keeping these service lines free from
plugging and causing sewer backups into residents’ homes.
Common drives place the burden of maintenance and repair of service lines on the
homeowner in areas that are outside of the boundaries of their property.
o The City’s legal responsibility to assist with customer service troubleshooting stops at
the entrance to the common drive. This can cause frustration on the side of the
customer when they are informed that they are responsible for troubleshooting several
hundred feet of utility service lines.
o These service lines are installed across neighboring properties without locating tracer
wire and under landscaping and hardscaping (i.e. concrete driveways, etc.). This
method of installation can make locating, leak detection, and future repairs and
replacements, extremely difficult and costly to the homeowner.
Common drives also generally have a lack of storm water control. These drives have no curb
or gutters making flood control extremely difficult to impossible in the event of a water
service line break, sanitary sewer overflow, or storm event.
Recommendations
Due to the challenges associated with common drive utilities, such as maintaining water quality,
maintaining sewer flows, locating challenges, and repair issues the Public Works Utility divisions
recommend limiting the use of common drives. Additionally, if a common drive must be allowed,
limiting the number of houses connected to that common drive is also very important. The more
private water and sewer service lines that run along the common drive add further complications
when utility locating, troubleshooting, or repairs are needed. Additionally, if a City owned water
or sewer main, rather than a private service line is ran through a common drive, it is important that
the City secure an easement with roadway access including turnarounds and require the developer
to install manholes, hydrants, and valves to allow for utility maintenance and repairs.