Head of the Harbor village board pushes new driveway regulations

The Village of Head of the Harbor plans to adopt a law to ensure that the design and maintenance of driveway installations, protect vehicle safety and limit surface water runoff.

The board of trustees introduced the law at a Dec. 16 public hearing. The law would require site plan review and planning board approval for construction, relocation or alteration of any driveway on a village road.

The proposed law also limits residences to one driveway curb-cut unless the resident receives approval from the planning board for two curb cuts because of the property’s topography, an occupant’s medical condition, or a special hardship. Additionally, driveways would be prohibited from being designed or maintained so that runoff during a 3-inch rainfall would go into a street or private property. The law also sets specifications for the height of entry gates, posts and piers, as well as the width of driveway aprons and curb cuts.

“We don’t want somebody to put in a driveway, curb cut and apron and have standing water,” Mayor Douglas A. Dahlgard said in an interview Tuesday. “You don’t want standing water because in the winter, standing water freezes and it becomes dangerous.”

Village board members have not yet voted on the proposed law.

“Sometimes we find that a simple-sounding issue becomes complicated as people come up with more thoughts,” Dahlgard said.