N.J. Admin. Code § 16:47-1.3

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 16:47-1.3 - General provisions

(a) The Department determines if an access permit is necessary and what type of permit is required, based on the provisions of this chapter.

(b) An access permit provides the lot or site owner:

1. The ability to construct a driveway or street between a State highway and a lot or site under the terms and conditions of that permit; and

2. The ability to use, maintain, repair, and perform in-kind replacement of a driveway or street between a State highway and a lot or site, under the terms and conditions of that permit and subject to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 16:41, Highway Occupancy Permits.

(c) An access permit is issued to a lot, site, or street and not to individual driveways. An access permit remains valid even if lot ownership changes.

(d) An executed access permit that requires construction within the State highway right-of-way grants approval to perform that work. This approval has a defined timeframe, which may have a one-time extension, and shall expire if the work is not completed and accepted by the Department within that timeframe.

(e) An access permit becomes valid pursuant to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 16:47-10.10. A valid permit does not expire, but can become invalid under certain conditions described at N.J.A.C. 16:47-10.12.

(f) A valid permit allows for a defined volume of traffic to access the State highway via a permitted driveway or street; however, the permit does not guarantee the means by which traffic movements are accomplished presently or in the future on the State highway including, but not limited to, left-turn access, traffic signals, or median openings.

(g) When the Commissioner denies an access application or revokes an existing access permit, or issues an access permit that requires non-State highway access, the decision of the Commissioner with regard to the appropriate means of access shall be final, notwithstanding the action of any municipal or county body to the contrary. Any subsequent municipal or county review shall abide by the Commissioner's decision. The municipality or county may require additions or changes in the design of the development in accordance with any applicable provisions of its development review ordinances, provided that such additional requirements do not conflict with the Commissioner's decision.

(h) The Department will determine the need for maximum trip limitations for a lot or site based on lot conformance as found in N.J.A.C. 16:47-5.1 and 5.2. A lot or site determined to be nonconforming is subject to maximum trip limitations and will not be permitted access to the State highway for development sizes or uses that generate trips between it and the State highway that exceed these trip limits, notwithstanding any zoning variances granted by a municipality, unless the lot or site is grandfathered, in which case the provisions of N.J.A.C. 16:47-8.3(c) apply. A conforming lot or site does not have maximum trip limitations. Conforming and nonconforming lots or sites are subject to the same requirements for a new access permit.

(i) The Commissioner may not approve an application for an access permit if the additional site traffic would create an unacceptable condition that could not be mitigated. Access shall not be permitted to a State highway if the desirable typical section for the State highway segment, as shown in N.J.A.C. 16:47 Appendix B-2, incorporated herein by reference, does not have sufficient capacity, at the bottom of Level of Service (LOS) D for rural State highway segments and the bottom of LOS E for urban State highway segments, to carry existing traffic plus traffic to be generated by the lot or site. Access also may not be granted if the lot or site owner's fair share obligation is insufficient to resolve safety and operational problems caused by site traffic. Proposed access, otherwise in conformance with this chapter, may be modified or denied if site-specific State highway efficiency and safety considerations so warrant. The Department may require traffic operational analyses for any application where safety or operational concerns have been identified and the analyses can be used to substantiate the concerns raised.

(j) Absent the existence of municipal or county access codes, when the Department assumes temporary jurisdiction over a street, in connection with a State highway project advanced by the Department or others, the provisions of this chapter shall apply to the street within the construction limits of the State highway project until the project is completed.

(k) The Department will not be responsible for mitigating any impact to any street as part of an access permit approval; however, the lot or site owner may be responsible for mitigating any such impact through the municipal and county approval processes.

(l) The Department encourages the sharing of driveways, non- State highway access, frontage roads, reverse frontage roads, and other similar measures to minimize the number of driveways on the State highway system.

N.J. Admin. Code § 16:47-1.3

Adopted by 50 N.J.R. 1534(b), effective 7/16/2018