Duluth UDC § 403.11

Interparcel access shall be required as follows: a. Internal Access Easements Required. For any office or retail sales or services use, the property owner shall grant a “cross” or internal access easement as described in this subsection to each adjoining property that is zoned or used for an office or retail sales or services use. The purpose of the easement is to facilitate 137 | P a g e Article Four. Parking and Loading Requirements movement of customers from business to business without generating additional turning movements on the public street, thus increasing public safety. b. Access Easement Provisions. The internal access easement shall permit automobile access from the adjoining property to driveways and parking areas intended for employee, customer, or visitor use on each property; but parking spaces may be restricted to use by each owner’s employees, customers, and visitors only. 1. Interparcel vehicle access shall be required between contiguous properties only when the parking areas are or will be in reasonable proximity to one another. 2. All internal access easements shall be no less than 28 feet in width and shall be improved to a minimum paved width of 24 feet in order to accommodate two-way vehicular traffic to and from the adjoining properties. 3. The granting of an internal access easement on a property shall be effective only upon the granting of a reciprocal easement by the adjoining property owner. 4. Upon the availability of access to driveways and parking areas of the adjoining lot, the pavement or other surfacing of each owner’s driveways and parking areas shall be extended by each owner to the point of access on the property line. c. Relief. Where the proposed land use is such that adverse impact of the required easement on use of the property would outweigh the reduced impact on the public street provided by the reciprocal easements, the Planning and Development Director may waive the requirement for the access easements, in whole or in part, in accordance with the Administrative Approval provisions in the Appeals Article of this UDC.