A. Allow flexibility in addressing vehicle parking, loading and access issues;

B. Provide accessible, attractive, secure, and well-maintained off-street parking and loading facilities;

C. Ensure access and maneuverability for emergency vehicles;

D. Maintain and enhance a safe and efficient transportation system that is consistent with community and environmental goals;

E. Ensure that off-street parking, loading, and access demands associated with new development will be met without adversely affecting other nearby land uses and surrounding neighborhoods;

F. Assist in encouraging mixed-use and pedestrian friendly settings throughout the city;

G. Reduce the amount of parking area within the urban setting to help reduce the heat island affect;

H. Encourage infill and investment into the city’s central district;

I. Promote the location of housing and services near transit facilities;

J. Reduce vehicle trip lengths by encouraging mixed use, infill, and transit sensitive uses using shared parking standards as an incentive. (Ord. 4521 § 10, 2008)

A. Minimum parking standards are not required for:

A. For each new dwelling, new multiple-family dwelling, new business or new industrial establishment or other new or moved structures, or for any change of use of any existing structure, or for any addition to an existing use, there shall be provided and maintained off-street parking facilities to accommodate the motor vehicles required by the use of the property or structures as set forth in this chapter.

B. All parking for residential uses shall be on the same lot or parcel except where allowed pursuant to Section 17.58.070(B). Parking for all other uses shall be located on the same lot or parcel as the use served or be immediately adjacent to the subject property subject to the provisions of Section 17.58.070(A) and (C). (Ord. 4521 § 10, 2008)

A. Parking Spaces. Each off-street parking space shall be a minimum of nine feet wide by eighteen feet deep. Compact parking spaces may be provided at a minimum of eight feet wide by fifteen feet deep at a ratio of twenty percent of all spaces beyond the first twenty spaces required. All spaces shall be designed according to standards established by the traffic engineer.

B. Freight Loading Spaces. Each off-street loading space shall have a minimum length of thirty-five feet, a minimum width of ten feet, and a minimum vertical clearance, including entry and exit, of fourteen feet, except the minimum length for the first such space required for any structure or use shall be twenty-five feet and the minimum vertical clearance, including entry and exit, shall be twelve feet. These dimensions shall be exclusive of platform, driveways, drive aisles, and maneuvering areas.

C. Motorcycle Spaces. Each off-street parking space dedicated for motorcycle parking shall be a minimum of four feet wide by eight feet deep and shall be designed according to standards established by the traffic engineer. (Ord. 5121 § 1, 2023; Ord. 4521 § 10, 2008)

A. In calculating off-street parking and freight loading spaces, the following rules shall apply:

B. The requirements for off-street parking and loading for any use not specifically mentioned shall be the same as for a use specified which is similar, as determined by the planning director.

C. Where a parcel or site contains a use with existing legal nonconforming parking, no additional parking shall be required unless there is a change of use, a new building or use is proposed, or an existing building or use is enlarged. Parking will then be assessed as follows:

A. Every new off-street parking or loading space shall have adequate means of ingress from and egress to a street or alley that is designed and paved in accordance to adopted city standards. Every required off-street parking or loading space shall be independently accessible, except where tandem parking spaces are allowed. Access to off-street loading spaces shall be provided on private property.

B. The internal layout of off-street parking and loading spaces, driveways, aisles and maneuvering areas shall be clearly marked according to city standards.

C. Parking spaces for people with disabilities shall be provided and designed in accordance with Title 24 of the California Administrative Code and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. These parking stalls shall be allowed to be counted as part of the total number of parking spaces required for the use or building.

D. Off-street parking and loading facilities shall be arranged so as to prevent encroachments upon street rights-of-way, adjacent properties, and landscaping areas required pursuant to Chapter 17.61 of this code. In approving the design of said parking and loading facilities the approving authority shall consider the maneuvering, standing and storage of vehicles, and layout of the facilities, and may require the use of curbing, bumper or wheel guards, or other such devices as necessary to ensure compliance with this section.

E. Freight and merchandise loading docks or loading areas shall not be visible from any public street. Landscaped buffers and/or walls shall be used to screen these areas from public view.

F. For all multiple-unit projects, driveways shall not exceed a width of thirty feet (top-to-top) or the minimum width necessary for two-way travel as determined by the traffic engineer.

G. Driveways crossing sidewalks shall be arranged, to the extent practical, to minimize the width and frequency of curb cuts, and conflicts with pedestrian and transit movements as determined by the traffic engineer.

H. Every off-street parking or loading facility and access thereto shall be suitably graded, paved, drained, and maintained according to standards adopted by the city engineer. Whenever corrosive materials are loaded or unloaded, docks, driveways, off-street loading and parking areas shall be concrete or equivalent as required by the city engineer.

I. New off-street parking facilities, or additions or alterations to existing off-street parking facilities shall be subject to approval pursuant to Chapter 17.08 of this code.

J. No area credited as all or part of a required off-street parking space shall also be credited as all or part of a required off-street loading space, or used for off-street loading. No area credited as all or part of a required loading space shall also be credited as all or part of a required off-street parking space, or used for off-street parking.

K. In no event shall any parking required and provided pursuant to Section 17.58.010 through 17.58.110 be situated in such way that vehicles entering the parking area be allowed to back onto any street or thoroughfare in order to leave said property, except as follows:

L. Neither the area of a required side yard abutting a street nor the required front yard shall be used for off-street parking or drive aisles required by this code except as allowed in subsection M of this section.

M. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 17.58.110, the area of a required front yard or street side yard in an R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, or R-6 zone may be encroached to the extent of four feet for off-street parking required by this chapter, subject to the following limitations and conditions:

N. Where the parking area or lot, including driveways, drive aisles, delivery areas, and loading and unloading areas, is adjacent to property zoned residential, it shall be separated by a continuous solid wall of masonry construction a minimum height of six feet as measured from highest adjacent grade and by a continuous landscaped strip at least seven feet in width; however, this landscape strip shall not be required for projects containing four units or less in any R-2, R-3, or R-4 zone and not adjacent to any single-unit residential zone except to satisfy minimum shading requirements in Section 17.61.030(H). Additionally, where common, shared, or joint use of parking or drive aisles exist or will occur between residentially and/or commercially zoned properties and such is recorded according to Section 17.58.080, the wall and landscape separation shall not be required. Any wall located within or along the front yard setback shall not exceed a height of four feet.

O. All delivery, loading and solid waste operations shall be subject to the provisions of Section 17.08.140(G).

P. Within the “central district” and properties zoned C-B and C-C, any off-street freight loading area located within fifty feet of any residential zoned or developed property shall be completely enclosed within a building if such freight loading is used between the hours of ten p.m. and seven a.m. (Ord. 5171 § 1, 2024; Ord. 4521 § 10, 2008)

A. All parking lots shall be paved, including driveways, drive aisles and loading areas, with concrete, asphaltic concrete, or any other paved street surfacing material approved by the city engineer. Unless otherwise approved by the city engineer, if asphaltic concrete is used, it shall be a minimum thickness of two inches over three inches of approved base material with adequate drainage provided; if concrete is used, it shall be a minimum thickness of four inches.

B. Lighting shall be installed in all parking lots and parking garages which accommodate passenger vehicles, with the exception of parking areas for residential projects with four units or less, in compliance with the following provisions:

C. No parking lot for any number of automobiles shall have conducted upon it any dead storage, dismantling, or sale of vehicles, or any repair or servicing of vehicles other than that of an emergency nature.

D. Sales or storage of materials and merchandise, including seasonal merchandise, shall not be permitted in any required parking or loading area but shall be within a screened area dedicated for such use.

E. Any parking lot with more than ten spaces adjacent to a public street shall be screened via one of the following options: (1) landscaped berms, (2) retaining walls, (3) evergreen hedges or (4) a combination thereof, a minimum height of forty-eight inches at the time of installation, as measured from the adjacent parking lot top of pavement. Option 2 shall include the planting of shrubs between the wall and the sidewalk.

F. Shopping cart corrals, if provided, shall not be located within required parking stalls, drive aisles or loading areas. (Ord. 4943 § 1, 2018; Ord. 4521 § 10, 2008)

A. The nonresidential parking requirements of this section may be satisfied by owning adjacent parking facilities or leasing the required parking spaces from properties adjacent to the subject property. If parking is proposed on an adjacent parcel, said parking must be considered readily accessible to the subject property as determined by the planning director. If off-street parking is proposed on an adjacent parcel, said parking shall conform to the requirements in subsection C of this section.

B. Off-site parking for uses within the “central district” and properties zoned C-B and C-C shall be subject to the following exceptions and requirements:

C. In order to be credited toward the parking requirements of any development, use, or structure, any off-street parking space located on a lot other than the lot on which the structure or use to be served is located must meet the following criterion:

A. Shared parking for projects of one acre or less that contains a mix of residential and retail/office commercial uses that maintain the existing scale, architectural character, and general neighborhood character of the area, will be assessed based on the highest single-use demand as determined by the planning director.

B. Shared use of the same off-street parking spaces to meet the requirements of two or more structures or uses may be permitted where the normal hours of operations of such structures or uses are such as to assure the feasibility of such shared use of parking, and where the total quantity of spaces provided is at least equal to the total of the projected parking demand for the structures or uses in operation at any given time. Use of a shared parking model from the Urban Land Institute, International Council of Shopping Centers, or other recognized shared parking model may be used to determine minimum parking requirements in lieu of the standard schedule of parking in Section 17.58.110 as approved by the planning director.

C. In order to be credited toward the parking requirements of this chapter, an off-street parking space made available for shared use and located on a lot other than the lot on which the structure or use to be served is located, must be available for the actual lifetime of the structure or use to be served. Such availability shall be assured in the manner provided for in Section 17.58.070 of this chapter. In addition, an attested copy of a contract among all the parties concerned setting forth their agreement to such shared use shall be filed with the planning department prior to approval by said department of any building permit application affected by the arrangement for joint use of parking. In any such case a notice of restrictions upon the affected properties shall be executed in a form approved by the city attorney and recorded in the office of the Kern county recorder, making specific reference to said contract and describing the arrangement for shared use of parking. (Ord. 4521 § 10, 2008)

A. On-street parking credits will be allowed for all nonresidential uses.

B. For residential uses, only fifty percent of the guest parking that is required by this code will qualify for on-street parking credit, unless otherwise provided by this chapter.

C. On-street parking for disabled persons that is required by Section 17.58.050(C) shall not be credited unless the space is authorized by the building director in accordance with Title 24 referenced in the aforementioned section, and is approved by the traffic engineer.

D. Parallel spaces will be credited at one space per twenty-two feet and angled spaces will be credited at one space per fourteen feet of uninterrupted curb along the parcel or site frontage minus driveways, fire hydrant breaks, and other space not permitted for parking by the traffic engineer.

E. On-street parking credits may be permitted along collector streets at the discretion of the traffic engineer. However, his or her approval will consider such issues that include, but are not limited to, traffic safety, circulation patterns, speed limits, traffic volume, future improvements, and other traffic planning considerations where on-street parking may need to be limited or prohibited.

F. If on-street parking along a street is restricted or prohibited in the future by the city, the use or building will not be required to make up the lost spaces on site and will be deemed legal nonconforming subject to the provisions of Section 17.58.040(C). (Ord. 5043 § 1, 2021; Ord. 4521 § 10, 2008)

A. The minimum number of off-street parking spaces shall be provided and maintained for the following specified uses or facilities identified in the table in subsection E of this section. The number of off-street parking spaces shall not exceed one hundred fifty percent of the minimum requirement (limit does not apply to residential uses).

B. Tandem parking will not be counted toward the requirement for legal off-street parking, except one tandem parking space will be permitted for a single-family dwelling, and for each unit of a multiple-family dwelling that contains four units or less on a site that is not part of a multiple-family subdivision project.

C. Motorcycle parking that is provided and clearly identified for such use may be counted as part of the total number of parking spaces required for a nonresidential use or building. However, this credit shall not exceed twenty-five spaces or five percent of the total parking required, whichever is less.

D. For uses not listed in the parking space requirements table, parking will be determined by the planning director based on the listed use(s) that most closely resembles the proposed use.

E. Parking space requirements by land use table:

A. Minimum parking standards are not required for all residential development in the central district and Old Town Kern.

B. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65863.2(f) and relevant sections of the California Government Code as amended from time to time, this section shall not reduce, eliminate, or preclude the enforcement of any requirement imposed on a new multifamily residential to provide electric vehicle supply equipment installed parking spaces or parking spaces that are accessible to persons with disabilities that would have otherwise applied to the development if this section did not apply.

C. Any change of use of an existing building in the “central district” shall not be subject to additional off-street parking requirements set forth in this chapter, provided there is no expansion of the square footage of the building.

D. If not specifically addressed within these supplemental standards, the parking and loading standards of this chapter shall apply. (Ord. 5175 § 4, 2024; Ord. 5043 § 3, 2021; Ord. 4998 § 1, 2019; Ord. 4754 § 2, 2013; Ord. 4521 § 10, 2008)

A. In addition to off-street parking spaces required by the preceding sections, off-street freight loading spaces shall be provided in the minimum quantities specified in the table in subsection B of this section. Non-accessory parking spaces, driveways and maneuvering areas incidental thereto shall not be counted.

B. Freight loading space requirements by land use table: