Ballston Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XX
Off-Street Parking and Loading
§ 138-101 Off-street parking.
A.
Intent.
(1)
Off-street parking spaces shall be required for all structures and uses constructed, altered, or rebuilt after the effective date of this chapter, except that parking spaces shall not be required for structures in existence on the effective date hereof that are rebuilt or repaired as a result of damage or destruction by causes beyond the control of the owner or lessee. This exception shall not permit the rebuilding or repair of a building having a greater number of stories or square feet of ground space than the building damaged or destroyed unless provision is made for off-street parking as provided in this chapter. All parking spaces provided pursuant to this section shall be on the same lot with the building, except that the Planning Board may issue special use permits for parking spaces to be on any lot within 500 feet of the building, if it determines that it is impractical to provide parking on the same lot with the building.
(2)
Off-street parking space shall be provided for all dwellings. No portion of the right-of-way of an existing or proposed street or highway shall be used for parking space(s) for a residential use unless it is part of a proposed development in the Mixed Use Ballston Lake District or the Business District, or the Rural Highway Transition District where on-street parking is encouraged on internal roads and secondary streets. A parking space may be fully enclosed (as a garage), covered (as a carport) or open. For any buildings having more than one use, parking space(s) shall be required for each use.
(3)
The number, size and dimensions of parking spaces suitable for use by the physically handicapped shall comply with the requirements set forth in the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. Each area reserved for handicapped off-street parking shall consist of at least 320 square feet, with a minimum width of 16 feet. Spaces in a lot shall have a minimum clear width of eight feet zero inches and an adjoining access aisle having a minimum clear width of eight feet zero inches. Two accessible parking spaces are permitted to share a common access aisle.
B.
Parking design and lighting standards. All design standards, principals and procedures for on- and off-street parking established in Article VI and Article IX of this chapter shall apply for all commercial uses. ESVE stations are required as per § 138-159.
C.
Schedule of Off-Street Parking. The following is to be used as a guidance and the Planning Board shall establish the number of required parking spots at the time of review to avoid over-built parking lots.
Use | Number of Parking Spaces Required |
|---|---|
Banks | 1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area, plus 2 stacking spaces for each drive-through lane |
Business offices or professional offices | 1 per 300 square feet of floor area |
Beauty parlors, barbershops and similar personal services | 3 per employee |
Boarding, rooming or lodging homes | 1 per rental unit, plus 1 space per employee |
Bowling establishments | 5 per lane |
Car washes | 1 per employee, plus 5 stacking spaces per self-wash bay, plus 10 stacking spaces per automatic bay |
Churches | 1 per 3.5 seats |
Colleges, universities and equivalent parochial schools | 5 per classroom, plus 1 per faculty member, plus bus spaces equal to number of school buses |
Commercial recreation | 1 per 2 persons maximum capacity |
Convenience stores | 1 per 100 square feet of gross floor area; minimum of 5 |
Convention halls | 1 per 2 persons maximum capacity |
Convalescent, nursing and other health homes and institutions | 1 per 4 beds, plus 1 per employee, plus 1 per staff doctor |
Day-care centers or nursery schools | 1 per employee, plus 1 per 10 children, plus 1 stacking space per 10 children for pickup and dropoff |
Drive-through services | 2 stacking spaces per drive-through lane, plus 5 additional stacking spaces |
Private or parochial schools | 2 per classroom, plus bus spaces equal to number of buses |
Farm or nursery stands | 1 per 100 square feet of gross floor area |
Fast-food establishments | 1 per every 2 seats, plus 1 per each employee in the maximum shift or 1 per 100 square feet of gross floor area |
Home occupation, major | 1 per 300 square feet of gross floor area All off-street parking is to be located in the existing driveway of the home |
Hospitals | 1 per 2 beds, plus 1 space per 2 employees, plus 1 space per staff doctor |
Hotels | 1 per room, plus 1 per employee in the maximum shift |
Instructional facilities, seminars and/or training facilities alone or in conjunction with another use | 1 per instructor and 1 per every 2 students or participants |
Laundromats | 1 per washing machine |
Libraries | 1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area |
Manufacturing/industrial establishments | 1 per each employee or 1 per 400 square feet of gross floor area, whichever is greater |
Medical offices | 1 per 175 square feet of floor area |
Mortuaries or funeral parlors | 6 per chapel or parlor room, plus 1 per funeral vehicle, plus 1 per employee |
Motels and tourist courts | 1 per rental unit, plus 1 per employee in the maximum shift |
Multifamily residential structures | 2 per dwelling unit |
Multifamily senior citizen housing | 1 per 2 dwelling units |
Private clubs, lodge halls and union headquarters | 1 per 2 persons maximum occupancy |
Research and development laboratories | 1 per 500 square feet of gross floor area |
Restaurant or other eating place (other than fast-food establishments) | 1 per each 5 seats, plus 1 per each employee in the maximum shift |
Retail stores | 1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area |
Single-family residential | 2 per dwelling unit |
Service stations (automobile) | 2 per bay and 1 per employee |
Theaters, auditoriums and places of assembly with fixed seats | 1 per each 5 seats |
Warehouse - distribution | 1 per 750 square feet of gross floor area |
Wholesale businesses | 1 per 200 square feet of customer sales and office area, plus 1 per employee in the maximum shift in storage and service areas |
D.
Variation to the number of parking spots/reserved parking areas. If the Planning Board finds that compliance with the off-street parking requirements herein would have an adverse impact upon the physical environment or visual character of the area, and if the Board also finds that all of the parking required in the Schedule of Off-Street Parking will not be necessary for the anticipated use of the site, the Planning Board may reduce the amount of parking required to be constructed. The Planning Board may require that sufficient usable land is set aside to satisfy the prescribed parking requirements in the future an expansion take place and a need for such additional parking arises. The Planning Board shall, as a condition of any approval granted, retain the right to require the owner of the property to construct such additional parking whenever it finds that such parking is needed. If a proposed use is not listed in the Schedule of Off-Street Parking, the Planning Board shall use its discretion to determine the amount of parking to be required.
E.
Shared parking.
(1)
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be interpreted to prevent the Planning Board from requiring, in any Mixed Use District, the Rural Highway Transition District, Light Industrial or the Business District, the provision of shared parking lots and shared access for one or more uses located on separate lots or on common lots. Parking spaces located in a joint parking lot may be used to satisfy the off-street parking requirements of this article, provided said spaces are located within 500 feet walking distance of the lot containing the land use they are intended to serve, as measured along the public right-of-way. In no instance shall parking spaces in a joint parking lot that are devoted to meeting the parking requirements of one land use be used to meet the parking requirements of another land use.
(2)
Application of shared parking. Applicants for new developments or redevelopment in the Mixed Use Districts, Rural Highway Transition District, Light Industrial, and the Business District are encouraged to examine the feasibility of using shared parking arrangements, or may be required to provide for shared parking lots or shared access as a condition of approval. Factors to be evaluated to establish shared parking arrangements should include operating hours, seasonal/daily peaks in parking demand, the site's orientation, location of access driveways, availability of transit service, accessibility to other nearby parking areas, pedestrian connections, distance to parking area, availability of parking spaces, and cooperation of adjacent owners.
(3)
Calculation of parking spaces required with shared parking.
(a)
The minimum number of parking spaces for where shared parking strategies are proposed shall be determined by a study prepared by the applicant following the procedures of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Shared Parking Report, Institute of Transportation Engineer's (ITE) Shared Parking Guidelines, or other methodologies approved by the Planning Board. A formal parking study may be waived by the Planning Board for small developments where there is established experience with the land use mix and its impact is expected to be minimal. The actual number of parking spaces required shall be based on well-recognized sources of parking data, such as the ULI or ITE reports. If standard rates are not available or limited, the applicant may collect data at similar sites to establish local parking demand rates. If the shared parking plan assumes use of an existing parking facility, then field surveys shall be conducted to determine actual parking accumulation. If possible, these surveys should consider the seasonal peak period for the combination of land uses involved.
(b)
The applicant shall determine the minimum number of parking spaces required for shared parking arrangements or mixed-use developments by utilizing the following example procedures:
[1]
Step 1: Determine the number of parking spaces that should be provided for each land use separately in parking codes by multiplying the parking code requirements by the gross square feet (GSF) of each individual use and then sum the results. That is, parking required equals parking rate times GSF of development.
[2]
Step 2: Based on the hourly variation in parking demand, determine the peak parking demand for the combined demand of all the uses in the development. Standardized data such as from the ULI Parking Report should be used to estimate hourly variations. Field studies can also be performed on similar land uses within the jurisdiction or adjacent municipalities to establish the hourly variation patterns. This analysis may be needed for both weekdays and weekends, depending on the type of uses involved, and may need to consider seasonal peak periods.
[3]
Step 3: Compare the calculations of the two steps above, and the lesser of the two peak parking demands shall be used as the minimum number of parking spaces that need to be provided.
(4)
Distance to parking spaces and pedestrian connection requirements. Shared spaces for residential units must be located within 300 feet of dwelling unit entrances they serve. Shared spaces at other uses must be located within 500 feet of the principal building entrances of all sharing uses. Clear, safe pedestrian connections must be provided.
(5)
Agreement between sharing property owners. If a privately owned parking facility is to serve two or more separate properties, a legal agreement between property owners guaranteeing access to, use of, and management of designated spaces is required. Shared parking spaces shall be subject to appropriate deed restrictions (or other legal instrument), as approved by the Planning Board Attorney, binding the owner of the parking spaces and his/her heirs and assigns to provide and maintain the required number of spaces for the land use that they are intended to serve either throughout the existence of such land use, or until such spaces are provided elsewhere.
(6)
Shared parking plan. The Planning Board, at its discretion, may require that a shared parking plan be submitted. Shared parking may be shown on the site plan, landscaping plan or as a separate document. The shared parking plan shall include one or more of the following:
(a)
Site plan of parking spaces intended for shared parking and their proximity to land uses that they will serve.
(b)
A signage plan that directs drivers to the most convenient parking areas for each particular use or group of uses (if such distinctions can be made).
(c)
A pedestrian circulation plan that shows connections and walkways between parking areas and land uses. These paths should be as direct and short as possible.
§ 138-102 Off-street loading.
Off-street loading facilities shall be provided for each nonresidential use and shall be so arranged as not to interfere with pedestrian or motor traffic on the public highway or any adjacent residential area. Such off-street loading facilities shall be confined to the side or rear yard, and screening shall be provided to minimize the view of any off-street loading or commercial use from any point along a property line common to any residential use or from any street. The number and dimension of the off-street loading spaces shall be determined by the Planning Board.