OCPB agenda 090314 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment 4 6. Tree Clearance on Driveways - Heights for some emergency apparatus can be as much as 12 feet tall. Tree branches can droop when wet or when they have snow on them. An ordinance requiring a 14-foot wide by 14-foot tall clearance for driveways would insure that apparatus could negotiate the driveway with modest turns in it. If the ordinance would include something along the lines of “...and must be able to pass a vehicle 35-foot in length” that would be good too. Note that this would also be beneficial for the residents for both UPS delivery trucks and other vehicles such as gravel trucks or grading equipment trucks. In California, there are rules that require an area sufficient to turn a fire truck around for each house. Cul-de-sac, pull-over requirements and this recommended tree clearance for driveways is sufficient for rural Orange County (we are not prone to the wildfire situations that California has). The fire department had a medical call recently and it was difficult for them to navigate in a standard cab, Ford, long bed. The fire apparatus could not make the driveway turns because of the trees. 7. Private Road/Drive Widths – An ordinance should address accessibility due to insufficient driveway width for emergency vehicles to navigate. If this cannot be addressed through an ordinance we (Emergency Services) should send a letter to property owners and explain to them the difficulties we face and how we may not be able to access the property in the event of an emergency due to the lack of accessibility. 8. Road Identification – Standards for road identification need to be reviewed and perhaps revised or better enforced. Poor road identification can and has caused delays in emergency response time. The photo to the right is an example of poor road identification. 125