In order to reduce or prevent traffic congestion and shortage of parking facilities in the township, off-street parking and loading facilities shall be provided as required by this article, in proportion to the need for those facilities created by various uses of land, buildings and structures. Off-street parking and loading areas shall be designed, maintained and operated so as to ensure their usefulness, protect the public safety, and where appropriate, protect surrounding uses from their impact.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.01), 5-28-1996)

Off-street parking facilities which exist on the effective date of the ordinance from which this article derives and which are provided in connection with a building, structure or use shall not be reduced in number or dimensions to less than the minimum standards prescribed by this chapter, nor shall those facilities be used to satisfy the standards of this chapter for any other building, structure or use of land.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.02), 5-28-1996)

Off-street parking facilities shall be provided for any new building, structure or use, for any addition or enlargement to an existing building, structure or use, or for any change in the use of an existing building or structure, according to the standards provided by this article. If an existing building, structure or use is added to or enlarged, the parking requirements of this article shall apply only to the addition or enlargement, and not to any preexisting parking deficiency of the existing building, structure or use. If an existing use is changed to a new use for which this chapter requires a larger number of parking spaces than is required for the existing use, the number of additional parking spaces required for the new use shall be equal to the difference between the number of parking spaces required for the new use and the number of parking spaces required for the previously existing use.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.03), 5-28-1996)

(a)

All off-street parking and loading facilities required by this article shall be maintained free of accumulated snow, debris or other materials which prevent the full use and occupancy of those facilities, except for temporary periods of short duration in the event of heavy snowfall.

(b)

The parking or storage in any off-street parking area of semi-trucks, trailers, recreation vehicles, mobile homes, machinery, wrecked or junked vehicles, similar materials or any materials not specifically related to the business or activity being conducted on the premises shall be prohibited in all zoning districts.

(c)

Off-street parking facilities shall not be used for repair, dismantling or servicing of any vehicles, machinery or equipment.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.04), 5-28-1996)

(a)

No person shall construct a parking facility or cause any land to be used for a parking facility, with the exception of parking facilities serving a single-family dwelling, unless a site plan for the parking facility has been submitted and approved, pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(b)

Application for approval of construction of a parking area shall be made by submittal to the zoning administrator of an application form, application fee and a site plan for the parking facility at a scale not greater than one inch equals 50 feet. The plans shall include the following:

(1)

Existing lot lines.

(2)

Existing and proposed ground elevation contours at two-foot intervals.

(3)

Location of buildings and other structures on the parcel.

(4)

Location and dimensions of the proposed parking area, including location of access driveways.

(5)

Parking stall, aisle and driveway dimensions.

(6)

Location and size of all drainage facilities.

(7)

Location, height, style and intensity of lighting.

(8)

Location of sidewalks which may be provided.

(9)

Proposed landscaping in and adjacent to the parking area.

(10)

Proposed base and surface materials of the parking area.

(c)

Review and approval of a site plan for construction of a parking area shall be carried out in accordance with the following procedure:

(1)

A site plan for the construction of ten or fewer parking spaces shall be reviewed by the zoning administrator. The zoning administrator may, at his discretion, approve the site plan, if the plans for the parking facility conform with the requirements of this chapter and other applicable provisions of this chapter, or refer the site plan to the planning commission for review according to the provisions of article XXII of this chapter.

(2)

A site plan for the construction of 11 or more parking spaces shall be subject to the review and approval of the planning commission, in accordance with the provisions of article XXII of this chapter.

(d)

Construction of a parking facility for which a site plan has been approved shall comply with the plans submitted in application for the approval.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.05), 5-28-1996)

The design of any off-street parking facility constructed on or after the effective date of the ordinance from which this article derives, with the exception of parking facilities serving public parks and recreation areas, farms, single- and two-family dwellings and nonpublic areas used primarily for private storage of vehicles, shall conform with the standards provided by this section. In addition, the standards provided by this section shall apply to any existing parking facility which is expanded in size by 20 percent or greater, based upon either number of parking spaces or square feet of parking area:

(1)

All parking facilities shall be hard-surfaced with asphalt or concrete pavement and shall be graded and drained so as to dispose of surface water which might accumulate within or upon the parking area. Surface water from a parking area shall not be permitted to drain onto adjoining property, except a public right-of-way, unless a watershed easement has been obtained.

(2)

All illumination for or on any parking area shall be deflected away from adjacent property. The source of illumination in all parking areas within or abutting a residential zoning district or use shall not be more than 20 feet above the parking area surface.

(3)

Adequate ingress and egress to the parking area, by means of limited and clearly defined drives, shall be provided for all vehicles. One-way ingress or egress driveways shall have a width between 12 feet and 15 feet, and two-way ingress and egress driveways shall have a width between 24 feet and 30 feet.

(4)

Wheel stops or raised curbing shall be provided and located so as to prevent any vehicle from projecting over the lot lines.

(5)

Individual parking spaces shall be clearly identified and marked with durable striping.

(6)

Parking areas, with the exception of access driveways from public streets, shall be located entirely within lot lines and shall not encroach into any public right-of-way.

(7)

Parking areas shall be subject to setbacks from property lines, as may be provided in articles VII through XVIII.

(8)

Off-street parking areas shall be designed so as to avoid the necessity of vehicles backing into any street.

(9)

Dimensions of parking spaces and maneuvering aisles shall comply with the following requirements:

These dimension standards are illustrated in the diagram, titled "Off-Street Parking Design Standards."

Minor adjustments of the dimensions prescribed in this section may be authorized by the zoning administrator, if consistent with generally recognized design standards for off-street parking facilities. Landscaping shall be provided within and adjacent to off-street parking areas in accordance with the requirements of article XXV of this chapter.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.06), 5-28-1996)

(a)

All parking associated with a particular use shall be located in the same zoning district as that use.

(b)

In the AGP, RP-1, RP-2, RR, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 and VR zoning districts, required off-street parking areas shall be located either on the same lot as the use served by the parking or on an adjoining lot under the same ownership or control as the lot on which the use is located.

(c)

In the C-1, C-2, PO and I zoning districts, required off-street parking areas shall be located within 300 feet of the building, structure or use served by the parking, measured as the shortest distance from any part of the building or structure to any part of the parking area. This requirement shall not apply where a shuttle vehicle service provides transportation between a parking area and the building, structure or use which is served by the parking.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.07), 5-28-1996; Ord. No. O-021710-1, § 26, 2-17-2010)

(a)

General parking provisions. Each use shall provide at least the number of parking spaces required by subsection (b) of this section, subject to the following provisions:

(1)

Where fractional requirements result from the application of this schedule, the nearest whole number shall be required.

(2)

For any use not listed in this schedule, parking spaces shall be provided in a quantity sufficient to reasonably and adequately provide for the highest expected volume of users.

(3)

If the required number of parking spaces is based on measurement of floor area, the measurement shall not include area used for parking within a building, incidental storage, mechanical, heating, ventilation system areas, and similar areas.

(4)

If documentation is provided to the planning commission that the requirements of this article would result in an excessive number of unneeded spaces for a proposed use, the commission may permit minor variation from the standards contained in subsection (b) of this section. Alternatively, the planning commission may permit the construction of a portion of the required parking to be deferred to a later date, subject to the following requirements:

a.

The site plan shall include the design and layout for the total number of parking spaces required by this article, and shall designate the parking area to be constructed initially, as well as parking area which is being deferred.

b.

The entire planned parking area, both initial and deferred, shall comply with all applicable standards of this article, including dimensions, setbacks, internal landscaping and landscape buffer requirements.

c.

The area reserved for deferred parking must not have physical characteristics, such as excessive slope or wetlands, which would interfere with its use for parking. At any time following the approval of a plan for deferred parking, and the construction of the use associated therewith, the planning commission may require that the deferred parking area be constructed within a reasonable time following notice of such requirement made to the property owner.

(b)

Schedule of minimum parking requirements: A minimum number of parking spaces shall be provided for each use as follows:

(c)

Maximum parking requirements. In order to limit excess areas of pavement which result in adverse aesthetic impacts and increased volumes of stormwater runoff, the number of parking spaces provided on any development site shall not exceed the minimum standards of this article by greater than 25 percent, except with the approval of the planning commission. The planning commission shall not approve such additional parking unless it determines, based on documentation provided by the applicant, that such additional parking is necessary to the operation of the proposed use. Factors which may be considered by the commission in making such a determination include, but are not limited to, the type of use proposed, the floor plan layout of proposed buildings, proposed staffing levels, examples of similar existing uses requiring such additional parking, and the likely frequency and duration of the need for the additional parking.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.08), 5-28-1996)

(a)

Uses which include drive-through service windows or bays shall provide area for vehicles waiting for service, according to the following schedule:

(b)

Waiting spaces for vehicles shall have minimum dimensions of nine feet in width and 23 feet in length. Stacking area for vehicles shall not conflict or block access to the site or to parking spaces on the site.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.09), 5-28-1996)

For mixed uses in the same building or on the same parcel, or if a single parking facility serves more than one use, the amount of parking specified for each use individually shall be provided, unless evidence is submitted that the aggregate minimum is unreasonably high, as a result of differing periods of peak parking demand for each use or other factors resulting from the joint use of parking, in which case the planning commission may approve a reduced aggregate amount.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.10), 5-28-1996)

(a)

For every building or addition to a building to be used for manufacturing, storage, display of goods, retail store or block of stores, wholesale store, market, hotel, hospital, mortuary, laundry, dry cleaning or similar use involving the receipt or distribution of materials or merchandise in vehicles, there shall be provided and maintained on the same lot with the building or addition off-street loading spaces and related maneuvering space for ingress and egress of vehicles, as follows:

(b)

Off-street loading/unloading spaces shall have minimum dimensions of ten feet in width, 25 feet in length and an unobstructed height of 14 feet.

(c)

Any loading space located closer than 50 feet to a residential zoning district or use shall be completely screened from the residential district or use by a solid fence or wall at least six feet in height or a landscape screen consisting of a dense, evergreen vegetative buffer not less than six feet in height at the time of planting.

(d)

Adequate space shall be provided so that vehicles using required loading/unloading spaces are not required to use a street for maneuvering.

(e)

No person shall construct an off-street loading area or cause any land to be used for an off-street loading area, unless a certificate of zoning compliance for the loading facility has been issued by the zoning administrator. Application for a certificate of zoning compliance shall be made in the manner provided in this chapter for approval of construction of a parking area, including review and approval of a site plan.

(Ord. No. O-052896-3, § 1(19.11), 5-28-1996)