A driveway is the portion of the street, alley or private property which provides access to, but not within, an off-street parking facility from a curb cut. Portions of the area defined as a driveway may also be defined as a sidewalk.

Standard Plan 430: Type 430 Driveway
Standard Plan 431: Concrete Driveway Placed with Sidewalk Construction

Curb cut and driveway widths: specified in the Land Use Code as follows:

• Overall requirements:
  - SMC 23.54.030 Parking Space Standards
  - SMC 23.53.025 Access Easement Standards
  
  
• Variations to standards:
  - SMC 23.44.016 C.6 Single Family Parking Location and Access
  - SMC 23.45.018 C.4.b Lowrise Parking and Access
  - SMC 23.45.060 C.4 Midrise Parking and Access

Driveway on private property: the portion of the driveway on private property shall meet the requirements specified in the Land Use Code (refer to references above.).

Parking pad: Paving in the off-street right-of-way to accommodate parking may not exceed 8-feet by 20-feet and must meet the loading requirements set forth in Standard Plan 430 or 431. Pavement exceeding this threshold must conform to full street improvement requirements.

Vertical curves: in accordance with the Land Use Code shall be provided at the top and bottom of the driveway. The vertical curve shall begin at the property line, not in the right-of-way.

Driveway elevations at the property line shall meet the elevations shown on the Building Grade Sheet and meet the Land Use Code driveway slope and vertical curve requirements. The driveway shall be designed so that any changes in driveway slope that may be needed as a result of future grading in the right-of-way will comply with driveway requirements specified in the Land Use Code.

Refer to the following figures (per SMC 23.54.030 C.4 Parking Space Standards):

Figure 4-11: Driveway Slope
Figure 4-12: Maximum Grade Curvatures for Driveways: Crest Vertical Curve Figure

4-13: Maximum Grade Curvatures for Driveways: Sag Vertical Curve

Driveway edges: When requested, the following information at driveway edges shall appear on both Building Permit and Street Use Permit plans:

• spot elevations at centerline of street;
• gutter line;
• top of driveway approach;
• back of sidewalk;
• property line;
• garage floor;
• driveway slope; and
• distance from property line to garage floor elevation.

• Driveways should be placed sufficiently far from crosswalks to provide enough sight distance into the crosswalk so that drivers can see pedestrians approaching within the crosswalk and so that vehicles do not block the crosswalk when exiting a driveway.
• Refer to permeable pavement guidelines in Chapter 6.4 Natural Drainage Systems.