Section 441.3. Permit application procedure

(a) General rule. No driveway, local road or drainage facility or structure shall be constructed or altered within State highway right-of-way and no drainage facility of the Department may be altered or connected onto without first obtaining a permit from the Department. A permit may not be required for maintenance.

(b) Who may execute applications. Permit applications shall be submitted in the name of and executed by the owner of the property.

(c) Where to submit application. Permit applications shall be submitted to either the district or county office having jurisdiction over the county in which the proposed work will be performed.

(d) When to submit applications. Permit applications shall be submitted prior to the construction of any building which the proposed driveway will serve to assure that the driveway can be constructed in accordance with this chapter.

(e) Application procedure and required information. Permit applications:

(1) Shall be submitted in person or by mail on a properly completed Department Form M-945A.

(2) Shall be signed by the applicant.

(3) Shall include five sets of plans, of a quality sufficient for microfilming, detailing the location and pertinent dimensions of both the proposed installation and related highway features.

(4) Shall be accompanied by a check or money order, payable to the Department, in the appropriate amount, as set forth in § 441.4 (relating to permit fees).

(5) Shall be submitted to the Department at least 30 days prior to the anticipated start of work.

(6) Shall contain proof of ownership.

(f) Traffic control plan. Submission of the traffic control plan shall be as follows:

(1) When the applicant anticipates that it will be necessary to close a portion of a lane to vehicular traffic in order to perform the permitted work, the applicant shall submit a traffic control plan with the application.

(2) The district office may require the applicant to submit a traffic control plan if it is anticipated that a potential hazard or interference to vehicular or pedestrian traffic will result from performance of the work.

(3) The traffic control plan shall be either:

(i) A detailed drawing, showing all traffic control devices.

(ii) a reference to a standard drawing found in Publication 43 or Publication 90, provided the referenced standard drawing properly depicts the work area and completely addresses the needed traffic control.

(g) Drainage control plan for other than minimum use driveways. Drainage control plan for other than minimum use driveways shall be as follows:

(1) If it can reasonably be anticipated that there will be an increase in the flow of water onto the highway or into highway drainage facilities as a result of action by the applicant, or that there will be an increase in the flow of water onto the property of some other person as a result of any action authorized by the permit, a drainage control plan shall be submitted with the application. The drainage control plan shall contain the following:

(i) Source of water.

(ii) Existing flow in cubic feet per second.

(iii) Predicted flow in cubic feet per second.

(iv) Where drainage currently flows.

(v) Where drainage ultimately outlets.

(vi) Hydraulic computations showing effect of additional flow on existing highway drainage system.

(2) Issuance of a permit shall be conditioned upon the Department’s approval of the drainage control plan.

(h) Drainage release for other than minimum use driveways. If it can reasonably be anticipated that there will be an increase in the flow of water onto the property of some other person as a result of action, authorized by the permit, a drainage release shall be submitted with the application. Where possible, drainage releases—Form L-15 or CC-15—will be obtained, by and at the expense of the applicant, from all property owners over whose land additional drainage will flow. All drainage releases shall be notarized and recorded, by and at the expense of the applicant, in the County Office of the Recorder of Deeds. If a drainage release cannot be obtained from any affected property owner, the Department may nonetheless issue a permit if it determines that there is no reasonable and prudent alternative available to the applicant and the applicant executes an indemnification agreement acceptable to the Department.

(i) Plans for other than minimum use driveways. The permit application for all driveways other than those classified as minimum use shall include a plan which illustrates, as a minimum, the following, including dimensions where applicable:

(1) Existing highway pavement, ditches, right-of-way and relevant property lines, highway appurtenances, utilities, and medians.

(2) Existing and proposed building, including a description of present and proposed use of building.

(3) Details of internal traffic circulation, parking, and traffic signs.

(4) Design features of existing and proposed driveways, curbs, tapers, acceleration, and deceleration lanes including the following:

(i) Driveway width.

(ii) Driveway radii and other points of curvature.

(iii) Driveway grades or profile view of drive.

(iv) Driveway angle relative to the highway.

(v) Dimensions of traffic islands adjacent to the highway and within the development that separate traffic flow from or onto the highway.

(vi) Driveway surface material and traffic island materials.

(vii) Location of all required traffic control devices.

(5) Distance from each existing and proposed driveway to the following:

(i) Nearest intersecting street, road, and highway.

(ii) Nearest driveway on adjacent properties.

(iii) Street, road, highway, or driveways opposite the site.

(iv) Relevant property lines and property lines extended to the roadway.

(v) Building and business appurtenances on the site.

(6) Sight distance in each direction from each proposed driveway.

(7) The number of vehicles per day which are expected to utilize each proposed driveway.

(j) Review by municipalities, planning commissions, and zoning boards. Review by municipalities, planning commissions, and zoning boards shall comply with the following:

(1) Certain local governing bodies wish to review driveway applications within their jurisdictions.

(2) A listing of these municipalities and local agencies is available from the appropriate district office.

(3) Each application for an access driveway within one of these jurisdictions must be accompanied by evidence which indicates that the location and type of access being requested has been reviewed by that municipality or agency.

(4) The Department will consider any comments or recommendations resulting from this review prior to approving the access permit.

(k) Authority to reject application. The Department will examine and determine the genuineness, regularity, and legality of every application, and may reject any application if not satisfied of its genuineness, regularity or legality, or the truth of any statement contained in the application. The Department may also make such investigations and require such additional information as it deems necessary.

(l) Penalty for falsifying application. Information provided in applications must be accurate. Section 4904 of the Crimes Code, (18 Pa. C.S. § 4904), makes it a misdemeanor for a person to mislead a public servant in performing an official function by making any written false statement which the person does not believe to be true.

(m) Newspaper or mail receptacles. Permits are not required for the placing of newspaper receptacles or mail boxes, although their location is subject to the maintenance requirements of the Department.