Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 374 § 374.311 — (6) except as otherwise provided in this section or unless a deviation

(6) except as otherwise provided in this section or unless a deviation is otherwise approved by the department. (b) Except for highways classified as interstate highways and highways designated as expressways by the Oregon Transportation Commission, the department may not use the presence of alternate access to a property abutting a highway as a basis for denying an approach permit application, except in rural areas where the presence of alternative access is a consideration in determining whether to approve or deny a second or subsequent approach permit application. (c) The department may not impose nontraversable medians as a mitigation measure for approach permit applications unless the department first establishes that no other mitigation measures are effective or available under the circumstances. (d) Mobility standards, established by the department by rule, are not applicable to turning movements from private approaches during the department’s review of approach permit applications, except when the ratio of volume to capacity on the proposed private approach is 1.0 or greater. (e) The department may not require an applicant to submit a traffic impact analysis except as provided in ORS 374.314. (f) The department shall utilize an engineer with relevant experience to review and respond to evidence from a qualified expert that is submitted by the applicant. (g) The department shall have the burden of proving any safety or highway operations concerns relied upon in the department’s decision to approve an application with conditions or deny an application. Safety or highway operations concerns that may be applied to the department’s permit decisions on applications submitted under this section are limited to one or more of the following unique safety and highway operations concerns: (A) Regular queuing on the highway that impedes turning movements associated with the proposed approach. (B) Offset approaches that may create the potential for overlapping left turn movements or competing use of a center turn lane. (C) Insufficient distance for weave movements made by vehicles exiting an approach across multiple lanes in the vicinity of signalized intersections, roads classified by the Oregon Transportation Commission as collectors or arterials and on-ramps or off-ramps. (D) Location of the proposed approach within a highway segment with a crash rate that is 20 percent higher than the statewide average for similar highways. (E) Location of the proposed approach within a highway segment listed in the top five percent of locations identified by the safety priority index system developed by the department. (F) Inadequate sight distance from an intersection to the nearest driveway on district highways and regional highways where the speed limit established in ORS 811.111 or the designated speed posted under ORS 810.180 is 50 miles per hour or higher. (11) The department shall use the criteria for determining what constitutes reasonable access as specified in ORS 374.310. (12) The department shall make its decision to grant or deny an approach permit on the record. When the department denies an application or approves an application with conditions, the department shall issue findings specifying the basis of the decision for the record. The department shall adopt rules specifying the form of the record. (13) The department and a local government may enter into an intergovernmental agreement setting provisions for and allowing the local government to issue approach permits for regional and district state highways. The agreement must provide that permits issued by local governments will be consistent with the highway plan and administrative rules adopted by the department, with state statutes and with the local transportation system plan acknowledged under ORS chapters 197 and 197A. The department shall adopt rules specifying the circumstances under which authority will be delegated to a local government. (14) The department shall develop a program that allows a person that might be affected by the issuance of the permit, but that is not the owner of the property subject to the permit, to express concerns to the department prior to the issuance of the permit. For purposes of this subsection, persons that might be affected by the issuance of the permit are the city or county in which the road is located and any person that owns property adjacent to the proposed access. Nothing in this subsection gives a city, county or other person that might be affected standing to appeal any decision of the department regarding granting of the permit. [1999 c.974 §2; 2003 c.371 §2; 2011 c.330 §13] Note: