The purpose of off street parking and loading requirements is to provide for the general welfare and convenience of persons utilizing the various uses located within the City, through the provision of suitable off street parking and loading facilities, and to protect the public safety by lessening traffic congestion on public streets. (Ord. 263, 7-12-2005)

The provisions of this chapter shall apply and govern in all zones.

   A.   No person shall cause use or occupancy of any premises unless the off street parking and loading facilities maintained thereon, or in connection therewith, conform to the requirements of this chapter.

   B.   Any change to a building, or any change in use of a building or site, shall require compliance with the provisions contained herein.

   C.   All required parking shall be made permanently available and shall be maintained for parking purposes only.

   D.   No construction shall be authorized until plans showing provisions for the required off street parking have been submitted and approved.

   E.   All off street parking and loading spaces being maintained in connection with any existing building, structure, or use on the effective date hereof, and all parking and loading spaces subsequently required by this title for any building, structure, or use, shall be maintained as long as said building, structure, or use remains, unless an equivalent number of parking and loading spaces is provided conforming to the requirements of this chapter.

   F.   All applications for building location permits shall be accompanied by a site plan, drawn to scale, that demonstrates compliance with this chapter. For commercial, industrial and other non-residential uses, such site plan shall be professionally prepared by an engineer, architect, landscape architect or professional drafter.

   G.   For parcels that are at least one (1) acre in size and located within the commercial zone, the city council may, by special exception, allow the occupancy of a building or the use of property to commence prior to implementation of the requirements of this chapter where:

      1.   There is a public benefit to do so.

      2.   The occupancy of the building or use of the property prior to the completion of the parking, loading, and landscaping improvements will not create a hazardous condition or be detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare of the public.

      3.   Plans meeting the requirements of this chapter have been reviewed and approved by the city.

      4.   A suitable financial guarantee of one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the cost to complete the improvements has been provided to ensure timely completion.

      5.   Improvements will be completed in the timeframe specified by the city council, but in no case shall that be more than two (2) years from the date of approval of the special exception. (Ord. 263, 7-12-2005; amd. Ord. 445, 5-21-2024; Ord. 448, 7-15-2025)

The number of off street parking and loading spaces required shall be no less than as set forth in this chapter. In the case of a combination of uses in a building or on a lot, the minimum number of spaces required shall be not less than the sum total of the requirements for all the individual uses. In computation of the total parking and loading spaces required for any use, fractional spaces shall be rounded off to the nearest whole number; fractions of five-tenths (0.5) or more being counted as one (1) full space. Where fixed seats provided are either benches or bleachers, such seats shall be construed to be not more than twenty (20) linear inches each. (Ord. 263, 7-12-2005)

All off street parking shall conform to the following requirements. No on street parking shall be considered in fulfilling the requirements for any use.

 

(Ord. 407, 8-16-2016; amd. Ord. 430, 11-17-2020; Ord. 445, 5-21-2024)

Off street parking and loading spaces shall be located as specified herein.

   A.   Accessibility; Location: All required off street parking and loading spaces shall be accessible and shall be located on the same lot as the use or building requiring such spaces, except that parking facilities for nonresidential uses may be separated from the use or building it serves by an alley as long as the ownership of the parking area is the same as the use or building it serves.

   B.   Prohibited In Yard Area, Landscape Area or Buffer: Except for residential driveways and parking areas, off street parking and loading spaces shall not be located within any required yard area. For commercial, industrial, or other non-residential uses, off street parking and loading spaces shall not be located within any required landscape area or buffer.

   C.   Backing Into Public Street: Except for single-family and duplex dwelling units, parking shall be so designed that vehicles shall not back out into public streets.

   D.   Blocking Stairways Or Walkways: Parking and loading spaces shall not preclude direct and free access to stairways, walkways, any pedestrian accesses, or fire safety equipment.

   E.   Residential Uses: For residential uses, an area at least large enough to house the parking required by subsection 8-12-4A of this chapter shall be provided on the driveway or other on site approved parking site serving the residential use.

   F.   ADA Parking: Parking shall be installed and designated in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility requirements of the State of Idaho.

   G.   Bicycle Racks, Storage Areas: Whenever twenty five (25) or more parking spaces are required for a building or use, bicycle racks or bicycle storage areas shall be provided at a ratio of one bicycle rack or bicycle storage area for each twenty five (25) required parking spaces. (Ord. 416, 3-21-2018; amd. Ord. 430, 11-17-2020; Ord. 445, 5-21-2024)

Each parking space and loading area shall be accessible as to both entrance and exit as provided for herein:

   A.   Curb Openings, Entryways: The curb openings or entryways to the lot and driveways or approaches to parking spaces shall not exceed forty feet (40') or fifty two percent (52%) of the total length of the fronting or flanking street property line or width of the street facing yard area, except where a circular driveway is provided and the Administrator approves the design and location of such circular driveway.

   B.   Driveway Or Approach: Each driveway or approach to a parking area shall be in accordance with the requirements of section 6-6-4. Two-way drive aisles in non-residential parking areas shall be a minimum width of twenty four feet (24'). One way drive aisles in non-residential parking areas shall be a minimum width of twenty feet (20') and shall only be allowed in conjunction with angled parking spaces.

   C.   Vertical Clearance: The vertical clearance above the surface of the driveway or approach to a parking space shall be not less than fourteen feet (14'). The vertical clearance for the driveway or approach to a loading space shall be as set forth elsewhere in this chapter.

   D.   Parking Space Slope: No driveway or approach to a parking space shall have a slope in excess of eight percent (8%), except for residential uses which shall not exceed twelve percent (12%). For loading spaces, the slope of the driveway or approach shall be as set forth elsewhere in this chapter.

   E.   Outer Radius Of Curve: The outer radius of a curve in any driveway or approach shall be a minimum of twenty five feet (25'). (Ord. 416, 3-21-2018; amd. Ord. 430, 11-17-2020; Ord. 445, 5-21-2024)

   A.   Grading And Surfacing: For non-residential uses all parking and loading areas and driveway access thereto shall be paved or hard surfaced to a standard comparable to the public street which services the driveway and parking area.

   B.   Completion Of Area; Drainage; Traffic Control Devices: All paving and hard surfacing, or alternative improvements authorized by the Administrator, shall be completed and provide for proper storm drainage, and allow for parking stalls and installation of other traffic control devices as set forth by this chapter. All traffic control devices, such as parking strips designating car stalls, directional arrows or signs, curbs and other traffic control devices, shall be installed by the property owner and approved by the City prior to use or occupancy of the property and as shown on the approved plans. Paint or markers shall be used to delineate parking stalls and directional arrows on paved or hard surfaced areas. (Ord. 416, 3-21-2018; amd. Ord. 445, - -2024)

Off street loading facilities are intended to provide adequate space to accommodate outside deliveries from large vehicles which cannot be functionally served by normal parking stalls.

   A.   Blocking Public Rights-Of-Way: Off street loading spaces must be located in such a manner that large vehicles do not block or intrude into public rights-of-way or block driveways or parking area circulation.

   B.   Location: In all cases, loading spaces shall be located on the same lot as the use or structure they are designed to serve. Off street loading spaces shall not be included in any area used to satisfy off street parking requirements.

   C.   Design: Loading spaces shall be designed so no vehicles are required to back to or from an adjacent street, except for minor trucking access on local access streets in the Commercial and Light Industrial Zones. (Ord. 263, 7-12-2005)

   D.   Combined Uses: Where a proposed building or structure is intended to be used concurrently for different uses, final determination of required loading spaces shall be made by the Administrator; provided, that the loading requirement for the combined uses shall not be less than the total requirement for each separate use. (Ord. 416, 3-21-2018)

   E.   Dimensions Of Spaces: Off street loading spaces shall measure fifteen feet (15') wide, sixty feet (60') long, and fifteen feet (15') high, except if this chapter requires only one loading space, it may measure twelve feet (12') wide, thirty feet (30') long, and fourteen feet (14') high. The width of any driveway or aisle providing access to a loading space shall not be less than twelve feet (12'), it shall have a vertical clearance of sixteen feet (16'), and shall be generally level. In no event shall the outer radius of any turning area to a required loading space be less than twenty five feet (25').

   F.   Minimum Requirements: The minimum number of off street loading spaces for each building or structure shall be in accordance with the following:

      1.   Department stores, retail, and other commercial uses, and industrial, manufacturing, wholesaling, warehousing, and similar uses:

 

 

      2.   Offices, hotels and motels, restaurants, hospitals, convalescent centers, and similar businesses and institutions:

 

 

(Ord. 263, 7-12-2005)

   A.   Landscaping Plan required. No building construction shall be authorized where landscaping is required until a landscaping plan, prepared by a landscape architect licensed to practice in the state of Idaho has been submitted and approved by the Administrator.

   B.   Required Landscaping Areas

      1.   Adjacent to Street Right-Of-Way: A ten-foot (10') wide landscaped buffer shall be provided along the entire length of street frontage, including flanking streets, except for driveways, provided that the plantings shall not obstruct the sight distance required at street intersections or driveway approaches. All road right of way adjacent to the property shall also be landscaped as permitted by the entity that manages the right of way.

      2.   Adjacent To Residential Property: Where a commercial, industrial, or other non-residential use abuts residentially zoned property along any interior side or rear property line, either a wall or 100% sight obscuring fence with a height of six feet (6').

      3.   Outside of Driveway and Parking Area: In all cases, areas of the property not utilized for buildings, fenced outdoor storage areas, driveways, maneuvering areas, parking stalls, loading areas and walkways shall be landscaped.

      4.   Within parking area: Parking areas with more than 10 spaces shall include an additional landscaped area within or adjacent to the parking area which shall be a minimum of 10 percent of the area covered by parking spaces, drive aisles, and driveways on the property. In addition, parking lots and the accompanying landscaping shall be configured so that no parking space is more than seventy five feet (75') from a landscaped area.

   C.   Planting Requirements: All landscaping shall consist of a liberal mix of deciduous and evergreen trees, planted in wells or strips, with a variety of ornamental deciduous and evergreen shrubs, and ground covers, the latter which may include such features as lawn, bark, decorative rock, or gravel. Landscaped areas shall consist of a minimum of fifty percent (50%) live groundcover (plants), and shall include a minimum of one (1) tree and three (3) shrubs for every three hundred (300) square feet of landscaped area. At the time of planting, deciduous trees shall be a minimum of two inch (2") caliper (as measured 6 inches above grade), and evergreen trees shall be at least five feet (5') tall. At the time of maturity, all trees shall be at least twenty feet (20') tall.

      Where shrubs are required, they shall be a minimum of a three (3) gallon tub. Where practical and feasible, existing trees shall be retained in all landscaping areas. All such planting areas shall be automatically irrigated and shall be maintained in a live and healthy condition. Dead or dying plantings shall be promptly removed and replaced.

   D.   Separation From Parking Area; Curbing: All landscaped areas along the perimeter of a parking area, driveways and drive aisles shall be separated from such areas by six inch (6") high curbing or a similar landscaping barrier to keep vehicles out of landscaped areas.

   E.   Time Of Installation: All required landscaping and irrigation shall be installed prior to occupancy or use of the premises. In the event that winter weather precludes timely completion of landscaping improvements in accordance with the approved plans, the Administrator may allow occupancy to proceed upon receipt of an acceptable guarantee of financial surety to complete installation when weather conditions allow. Such guarantees shall be for 150% of the cost to complete the work, and such work shall be completed within one year. (Ord. 416, 3-21-2018; amd. Ord. 445, - -2024)