Bedford City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
Off-Street Parking and Loading Facilities
§ 125-100 General provisions.
All structures and land uses shall be provided with a sufficient amount of off-street parking to meet the needs of persons employed at or making use of such structures or land uses and sufficient off-street loading facilities to meet the needs of such structures or land uses, but not less than the minimum standards of this Article. No certificate of occupancy or certificate of compliance shall be issued for any structure or land use until the required off-street parking and loading spaces have been established. Required off-street parking facilities shall be maintained as long as the use or structure exists which the facilities are designed to serve.
§ 125-101 Effect on existing structures and uses.
Structures and land uses in existence or for which building permits have been approved at the time of the adoption of this chapter shall not be subject to the parking or loading space requirements set forth in this Article. However, any parking and loading facilities now existing to serve such structures or uses shall not be reduced except where they exceed such requirements, in which case they shall not be reduced below such requirements.
§ 125-102 Schedule of Off-Street Parking Requirements; location.
[Amended 9-17-1985; 10-18-1994 by L.L. No. 3-1994; 10-5-2010 by L.L. No. 5-2010; 9-16-2025 by L.L. No. 5-2025]
A.
Schedule of Off-Street Parking Requirements. Off-street parking spaces shall be provided as follows:
Use | Minimum Off-Street Parking |
|---|---|
1-family and 2-family dwellings | 2 spaces for each dwelling unit |
Multifamily dwelling (including DH District) | 1 space for each dwelling unit, plus 1/2 space for each bedroom |
Rooming or boarding house | 1 space for each guest sleeping room |
Place of worship, theater, auditorium, athletic field or other place of public assembly | 1 space for each 3 seats or, in places without seats, 1 space for each 100 square feet of floor space used for public assembly |
Hospital | 1 space for each patient bed and 1 space for each employee on the maximum shift |
Nursing home or home for the aged | 1 space for each 3 patient beds and 1 space for each employee on the maximum shift |
Hotel or motel | 1 space for each sleeping room, plus 1 space for each employee on the maximum shift |
Golf and country club | 1 space for each 3 members |
Retail or service business | 1 space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area with access at grade level; 1 space for each 400 square feet above the grade floor level |
Conventional restaurant | 1 space for each 100 square feet of gross floor area |
Fast-food restaurant | 1 space for each 50 square feet of gross floor area |
Office for business or professional use (other than accessory to residential use) | 1 space for each 250 square feet of gross floor area |
Banking office | 10 spaces, plus 5 additional spaces for each employee in excess of 2 acting as tellers. Waiting spaces shall be provided for drive-in windows |
Self-service laundry | 1 space for each rentable machine |
Funeral home | 1 space per employee on the maximum shift, plus 1 space per 50 square feet of gross floor space in assembly rooms |
Greenhouse and the sale of nursery products | 10 spaces |
Motor vehicle sales and service | 1 space per employee on the maximum shift, plus 1 space per 150 square feet of gross floor space |
Veterinary office | 1 space per employee on the maximum shift, plus 1 space per 400 square feet of gross floor space |
Car washing establishment | 10 spaces per washing bay |
Bowling alley | 5 spaces per bowling lane |
Research and development laboratory | 1 space per employee on the maximum shift, but not less than 1 space per 400 square feet of gross floor space |
Manufacturing or industrial use | 1 space per employee, but not less than 1 space per 400 square feet of gross floor space |
Wholesale, storage, utility or other similar commercial use | 1 space per employee, but not less than 1 space per 1,000 square feet of gross floor space |
Housing for the elderly | |
Efficiency or 1-bedroom unit | .75 space per unit |
2-bedroom unit | 1.0 space per unit |
Reasonable and appropriate off-street parking requirements for structures and land uses not listed above shall be determined by the Planning Board upon consideration of all factors affecting the parking needs of each such use. |
B.
Location.
(1)
Required parking and loading spaces shall normally be provided upon the same lot as the use or structure to which they are accessory. Parking and loading spaces designed for a specific use under this Article shall not be allocated for another use without the approval of the Planning Board. Off-street parking spaces required for structures or land uses on two or more adjacent lots may be provided in a single common facility on one or more of said lots, provided that a legal instrument, satisfactory to the Town Attorney, assures the continued existence of the parking facility to serve said structures or land uses as long as they may exist. Such agreements shall also guarantee that upon the termination of such joint use, each subsequent use of the premises will provide off-street parking facilities for its own use in accordance with all requirements of this Article. In no event shall parking and loading spaces for a nonresidential use be located in any residence district.
(2)
Where two or more different uses occur on a single lot, the total amount of parking facilities to be provided shall be the sum of the requirements of each individual use on the lot, except that the Planning Board may approve the joint use of parking spaces by two or more establishments on the same or contiguous lots, the total capacity of which is no more than 15% less than the sum of the spaces required for each, provided that the Planning Board finds that the capacity to be provided will substantially meet the intent of the requirements by reason of variation in the probable time of maximum use by patrons and employees among such establishments, and provided that such approval of such joint use shall be automatically terminated upon the termination of the operation of any such establishments. If more than one lot is involved, the Planning Board shall require, as a condition of its approval, a legal instrument satisfactory to the Town Attorney, assuring the continued use of joint parking facilities in connection with the uses they serve.
(3)
For buildings in the CB District, the Planning Board, after notice and hearing, may permit all or part of the required parking spaces for a building to be located on any lot in the CB District within 250 feet for retail and service uses and 500 feet for office uses, if the Board determines that it is impractical to provide parking on the same lot with the building. The distance above shall be measured by normal pedestrian travel from the entrance of the building to the closest parking space in the parking facility. Where the Board approves the location of such off-site parking spaces, the Board shall require as a condition of approval, a legal instrument satisfactory to the Town Attorney assuring the continued existence and use of said parking spaces in connection with the land uses and buildings they serve.
C.
For cafe uses in the CB and NB Districts, the Planning Board, after notice and hearing, may waive up to 50% of the off-street parking spaces required by § 125-102A under the following conditions:
(1)
The Board must determine that the proposed use and parking waiver will be in accordance with the principles of the Town Comprehensive Plan.
(2)
The proposed parking waiver may be granted only for an existing building in the CB and NB Districts and shall be in effect so long as the existing building remains in its current area and the use remains the same as approved by the Planning Board.
(3)
The Planning Board shall determine that the proposed waiver will not significantly affect the use and availability of parking spaces in the immediate area of the subject building due to the schedule of parking space use by patrons and employees. In granting a parking waiver, the Planning Board may restrict the hours of operation of the proposed use.
(4)
The Board may require a legal instrument satisfactory to the Town Attorney documenting the permanent parking waiver and its relationship to the continued use of the building. This legal instrument shall be filed in the office of the Planning Board.
(5)
The Board may require the applicant to furnish parking studies to determine the need for parking in the area.
§ 125-103 Dimensions and configuration of parking facility.
A.
Each parking space shall be at least nine and one-half (9 1/2) feet wide and 20 feet long if unenclosed and at least 10 feet wide and 20 feet long if bordered by walls or columns on two or more sides. Where parking spaces are defined by curbs providing space for overhang of vehicles, such spaces may be reduced in depth to 18 feet.
B.
The layout of parking facilities shall be in conformance with the Table of Minimum Parking Dimensions (§ 125-107). Suitable barriers shall be provided to prevent any vehicle parking within the facility from overhanging a property line or projecting over any sidewalk, other walkway or a public road.
C.
No vehicle shall be forced by the nature of the design of the parking area to back out of the parking facility onto a public road.
D.
Suitable sidewalks shall be provided within the facility for the safety of pedestrians moving to or from their vehicles.
E.
Unobstructed access to and from a street shall be provided for all parking spaces. Such access shall consist of at least one twelve-foot-wide lane for parking areas with less than 30 parking spaces and at least two ten-foot-wide lanes for parking areas with 30 parking spaces or more. No entrance or exit for any off-street parking shall exceed grades in excess of those permitted in § 125-112 of this Article.
§ 125-104 Gradients, drainage on surfaces and markings.
All required parking facilities shall be graded, surfaced, drained and maintained throughout the duration of their use to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector to the extent necessary to avoid nuisances of dust, erosion or excessive water flow across public ways or adjacent lands. The maximum gradient within parking areas shall not exceed 5%. In multifamily residential developments and in nonresidential developments, the Planning Board shall require the provision of suitable markings to indicate individual parking spaces, maneuvering area, entrances and exits.
§ 125-105 Traffic circulation.
In order to encourage safe and convenient traffic circulation, the Planning Board may require the interconnection of parking areas via access drives within and between adjacent lots. The Board shall require written assurance and/or deed restrictions, satisfactory to the Town Attorney, binding the owner and his heirs and assignees to permit and maintain such internal access and circulation and interuse of parking facilities.
§ 125-106 Internal landscaping.
A.
Except for parking spaces accessory to a one-family or two-family dwelling, all off-street parking areas shall be curbed and landscaped with appropriate trees, shrubs and other plant materials and ground cover, as approved by the Planning Board, based upon consideration of the adequacy of the proposed landscaping to assure the establishment of a safe, convenient and attractive parking facility needing a minimum amount of maintenance, including plant care, snowplowing and the removal of leaves and other debris.
B.
Wherever possible, planting islands at least eight feet in width and protected by curbing shall be provided to guide vehicle movement and to separate opposing rows of parking spaces so as to provide adequate space for plant growth, pedestrian circulation and vehicle overhang. Such planting islands and the landscaping within them shall be designed and arranged in such a way as to provide vertical definition to major traffic circulation aisles, entrances and exits, to channel internal traffic flow and prevent indiscriminate diagonal movement of vehicles and to provide relief from the visual monotony and shadeless expanse of a large parking area. Curbs of such islands should be designed so as to facilitate surface drainage and prevent vehicles from overlapping sidewalks and damaging landscaping materials.
C.
No obstruction to driver vision shall be erected or maintained on any lot within the triangle formed by the street line of such lot, the outer edge of the access driveway to the parking area and a line drawn between points along such street line and access drive 30 feet distant from their point of intersection.
§ 125-107 Table of Minimum Parking Dimensions.
Diagonal Parking | Parallel Parking (0 °) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
Note paired spacing for additional maneuvering area. | ||||
a. | Parking angle | 0 ° | 60 ° | 90 ° |
b. | Length of stall, feet | 20.0 | 22.0 | 20.0 |
c. | Aisle width, feet One-way flow Two-way flow | 12.0 | 19.0 | 20.0 25.0 |
All parking stalls shall be 9.5 feet in width. | ||||
§ 125-108 Buffer screening.
Except for one-family and two-family dwellings, screening shall be provided between parking areas and adjoining property in residence districts as required in § 125-24 of this chapter. Driveways are not permitted within the required screening area. Parking facilities, not including driveways, shall be located at least 25 feet from any residential district.
§ 125-109 Lighting.
All parking facilities shall be suitably illuminated, if nighttime use is a regular function of the facility. No unshaded light sources shall be permitted, and no light sources shall be visible beyond the boundaries of the site.
§ 125-110 Deferment of full improvement of off-street parking.
Where the Planning Board determines that the immediate use of any property may not require the full initial improvement of all off-street parking and loading facilities, the Planning Board may waive the improvement of not more than one-third (1/3) of the required number of spaces, provided that the total number of spaces is shown on the approved plan, and provided that the area not to be improved is reserved for such future use. All such reserve land shall be used and maintained as additional landscaped grounds until the reserve spaces are required to be improved. The reserve spaces shall be improved within six months of the date of a written notice from the Planning Board that such spaces have been determined to be necessary. Appropriate written guaranties to the above must be provided by the owner and approved by the Town Attorney.
§ 125-111 Off-street loading facilities.
Off-street loading and unloading facilities, as defined in this chapter and located on the same site as the use to be served, shall be provided as follows:
A.
For retail and service business establishments, restaurants and other places serving food and beverages: one space for the first 3,000 square feet of the area or any portion thereof, used for business purposes, and one additional space for each additional 10,000 square feet, or major portion thereof, used for business purposes in excess of said 3,000 square feet.
B.
For wholesale businesses, storage warehouses, manufacturing or industrial establishments and other commercial establishments: one space for the first 8,000 square feet of the area, or any portion thereof, used for business purposes, and one additional space for each additional 20,000 square feet of business space, or major portion thereof, in excess of said 8,000 square feet.
§ 125-112 Driveways.
For reasons of traffic and pedestrian safety, both on- and off-street, as well as to provide for possible future road widening or other improvements, all new driveways and sidewalk crossings entering onto any street shall comply with all requirements of these regulations and shall be subject to the approval of a permit by the Town Superintendent of Highways, Westchester Department of Public Works or New York State Department of Transportation for access onto Town, county or state roads, respectively.
A.
Driveway gradients.
(1)
The maximum gradient for any new driveway accessory to a single-family dwelling and connecting its off-street parking area to a street shall not exceed 14%.
(2)
The maximum gradient for new driveways accessory to uses other than single-family dwellings and connecting the required off-street parking area to the street shall not exceed 8%.
(3)
Notwithstanding the maximum permitted gradients specified in Subsection A(1), a driveway serving a single-family dwelling shall have a platform with a gradient not greater than 4% within 35 feet of the center line of the traveled way of the street or within 10 feet of the right-of-way line of the street, whichever distance is greater.
(4)
Notwithstanding the maximum permitted gradient specified in Subsection A(2), a driveway serving a use other than a single-family dwelling shall have a platform with a gradient not greater than 3% within 50 feet of the center line of the traveled way of the street or within 25 feet of the right-of-way line of the street, whichever distance is greater.
B.
Driveway alignment and location. Any driveway entering onto a street shall be located and aligned in such a way as to create the minimum possible traffic hazard. The platform portion of the driveway, as required by Subsection A(3) and (4) above, shall be aligned at approximately right angles to the street.
C.
Sight distance. Clear visibility shall be provided in both directions at all exit points so that the driver of an automobile stopped on the platform portion of any new driveway will have an unobstructed view of the highway for a reasonable distance (commensurate with the speed and volume of traffic on such highway) and so that the driver of an automobile traveling on the highway shall have a similar view of the automobile in the driveway.
D.
Drainage. Stormwater runoff from driveways to the street shall be conducted to the street drainage system. Driveways shall be constructed so as not to impede the street drainage system.
§ 125-113 Employee parking.
Establishments offering goods and services to the public shall be encouraged to designate parking spaces for employees to maintain convenient access to parking spaces for the public.
§ 125-114 Parking facilities for the handicapped; fire lanes.
[Amended 8-16-1994]
A.
Parking spaces shall be reserved for the handicapped persons as required by state law or as directed by the Board approving the special use permit or site plan. The location of such spaces shall permit barrier-free access for the handicapped to proposed buildings and facilities.
B.
Traffic circulation shall be so arranged as to provide access by fire apparatus to all structures. Where there is likelihood of public parking to impede such access, suitable separate fire lanes shall be provided as directed by the Planning Board.
§ 125-115 Compact cars.
[Amended 8-16-1994]
A.
For office, manufacturing, warehousing, multifamily and other uses with similar long-term parking characteristics and in those cases where at least 25 off-street parking spaces are required, the Planning Board, as part of its site plan review, may approve the designation of not more than one-third (1/3) of the spaces as compact car parking spaces, subject to the following conditions:
(1)
Compact car parking spaces shall be conveniently located for both vehicular and pedestrian access. Such spaces shall be located in groups of not fewer than five contiguous spaces and shall be identified by appropriate signage.
(2)
Prior to Planning Board approval, the applicant shall submit a plan for full-size parking spaces in compliance with the requirements of the Town Code. This plan must receive Planning Board approval.
(3)
If the compact car spaces create a serious problem, the Building Inspector may require the construction of all or part of the original full-size spaces on the land reserved for this purpose.
B.
This authorization shall not be construed as allowing additional parking on a property; rather, it is for the purpose of making more environmentally sensitive use of the land.