08-07-2023 Council Work Session Packet

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WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT Work Session Item No. 9 Date: August 7, 2023 To: City Council From: Michael Grochala, Community Development Director Re: Driveway Access Agreement Insurance Requirements Background There are a number of private residential driveways in the city that use unimproved public right- of-way to access city streets. The unimproved right-of-way is land dedicated for use as a public street, typically stubbed to an abutting parcel, with improvements pending future development. In most cases these areas are used by an abutting large residential or rural lots for street access. In two cases that staff is aware of, the City entered into driveway access agreements that included, in part, a requirement for the property owner to indemnify the city against any claims related to the property owner’s use of the right-of-way. Additionally the agreement required the owner to provide evidence of insurance in the amount of $300,000 and name the City as an additional insured. An insurance certificate is typically provided annually. The insurance condition is not uniformly required in all cases where unimproved right-of-way is used for private driveways. In most cases these situations have existed for over 25 years. The insurance certificate has historically only been received from one property. This has routinely required repeated attempts by city staff to obtain the information. After review by the City Attorney we are proposing to drop the requirement to provide insurance naming the City as an additional insured. The driveways have been in place for many years so any likelihood of a liability issue arising is remote. Requested Council Direction Staff is requesting concurrence by the City Council to drop the insurance requirement naming the city as an additional insured. Attachments 1. Example driveway location map