Beekman City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Off-Street Parking, Loading and Driveways
§ 155-56 Standards.
[Amended 9-13-2022 by L.L. No. 2-2022]
All structures and land uses hereafter erected, enlarged, moved, created, changed in intensity or substantially altered shall be provided with the amount of off-street parking and loading space specified below, and such spaces shall be maintained thereafter.
A.
Off-street parking requirements.
(1)
Off-street motor vehicle parking facilities shall be provided as follows, except as may be modified in other provisions of this section or where additional parking requirements may be made as a condition of the issuance of a special permit, in which case provisions of the appropriate section shall apply:
Land Use | Off-Street Parking Space Requirements |
|---|---|
Dwelling | 2 for each dwelling unit (garages excluded) |
Dwelling - adult care facility and ECHO unit | 1 for each dwelling unit |
Apartment | 2 for each dwelling unit |
Religious uses | 1 for each 3 seats or pew spaces |
Theaters, auditoriums, athletic fields, stadiums or public assembly places | 1 for each 3 seats or, in places where capacity is not determined by the number of fixed seats, 1 per 40 square feet of floor area devoted to patron use |
Hotels, motels, inns, bed-and-breakfasts | 1.25 for each unit of occupancy, plus 1 for each 1.5 employees |
Government clubs | 1 for each 150 square feet of gross floor area devoted to patron use |
Hospitals | As determined by the Planning Board |
Nursing homes, alternate-care facilities | 1 for each 3 beds |
Government buildings | 5 for each 800 square feet of gross floor area |
Retail service establishments and professional offices | 1 for each 250 square feet of gross floor area |
Home occupations | 1 for each professional and other full-time employee, plus 3 additional |
Restaurants, bars, nightclub establishments | 1 for each 3 seats, including barstools, or 1 for each 40 square feet of floor area devoted to patron use where capacity is not determined by the number of fixed seats |
Wholesale, warehouse storage | 1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area |
Light industries | 1 for each 500 square feet of gross floor area |
Clinic (medical or dentist offices) | 4 for each doctor and 1 for each employee |
Office - business | 1 for each 250 square feet of gross floor area |
Golf courses and country clubs | 10 for each golf hole |
Clubs | 1 for each 3 memberships |
Boardinghouses | 1 for each guest room |
Bowling alleys | 4 for each lane, plus 1 for each employee |
Funeral homes | 1 for each 3 auditorium seats |
Motor vehicle service facilities and motor vehicle repair facilities | 1 for each 100 square feet of gross floor area |
Short-term rental | 1 per guest room/bedroom available for rent |
All other nonresidential | As determined by the Planning Board |
(2)
The maximum distance from parking areas to building entrances shall be 200 feet for residences and 600 feet for all other uses.
(3)
Reasonable and appropriate off-street parking requirements for structures and land uses which do not fall within the categories listed above shall be determined in each case by the Planning Board, which shall consider all factors entering into the parking needs of each such use, as part of its site plan review process.
(4)
The Planning Board may permit deviations from the requirements of Subsection A(1) and may require more or allow less parking in situations where the flexible application of their standards is appropriate. The Board shall notify the Building Inspector of the reasons for such a waiver prior to granting final approval of the application.
(5)
The Planning Board, in relaxing parking requirements, may require the applicant to reserve the parking area for future parking needs. Such an area shall be landscaped and maintained. The owner must provide the required parking within six months from necessary Planning Board notice that such spaces have been determined as being needed by the approved use.
B.
Size of parking spaces.
(1)
Each parking space shall be at least nine feet wide and 18 feet long.
(2)
Handicapped parking spaces shall be provided in accordance with state requirements.
(3)
The minimum width of access aisles shall conform to the following requirements:
Parking Angle (degree) | Width, One-Way (feet) | Width, Two-Way (feet) |
|---|---|---|
0, parallel | 12 | 24 |
30 | 14 | 24 |
45 | 15 | 24 |
60 | 18 | 24 |
90, perpendicular | 24 | 24 |
C.
Landscaping. Except for parking spaces accessory to a single-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.
(1)
At least one tree with a minimum trunk diameter of three inches at a height of six inches above ground level shall be provided within such parking area for each 10 parking spaces.
(2)
In an off-street parking area containing 25 or more spaces, at least 10% of the interior parking area shall be landscaped.
(3)
Raised islands a minimum of eight feet in width shall be provided for interior parking area plantings. Curbs of such island should be designed to facilitate drainage.
D.
Grades, drainage, paving and marking. All required parking facilities shall be graded, surfaced, drained and maintained throughout the duration of their use to the extent necessary to avoid nuisances of dust, erosion or excessive water flow across public ways or adjacent lands. The maximum slope and/or grade within a parking area shall not exceed 5% nor be less than 0.5%. The Planning Board shall require the provision of suitable markings to indicate individual parking spaces, maneuvering area, entrances and exits.
E.
Operation and maintenance of off-street parking facilities. Required off-street parking facilities shall be maintained as long as the use of the structure exists which the facilities are designed to serve. Required parking areas developed for specific structures and uses shall be reserved at all times to those persons who are employed at or make use of such structures and land uses, except when dedicated to and accepted by the Town as public parking areas.
F.
Traffic circulation.
(1)
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, enforceable by the Town, binding the owner and his heirs and assignees to permit and maintain such internal access and circulation and inter-use of parking facilities.
(2)
Adequate access to buildings by use of fire lanes shall be provided and maintained in all off-street parking and loading zones.
G.
Off-street loading requirements. Off-street loading and unloading facilities shall be located on the same site with the use to be served and shall be provided as follows:
(1)
Size. Each off-street loading space shall be at least 15 feet in width, at least 40 feet in length and at least 14 feet in height, exclusive of access and turning areas, except that adjacent loading spaces may be each 12 feet in width, except where delivery service will be by tractor-trailer, in which case the minimum length shall be 60 feet and the minimum width shall be 14 feet.
(2)
Required number of loading spaces:
Land Use | Number of Off-Street Loading Spaces | |
|---|---|---|
Multifamily buildings | 1 for each building | |
Schools | 1 for each building | |
Hospitals | 1 for each 50 beds | |
Funeral homes | 1 for each 5,000 square feet of gross floor area | |
Retail service establishments | 1 for each establishment | |
Wholesale storage and other light industrial establishments | 1 for the first 10,000 square feet of gross floor area, plus 1 additional for each additional 20,000 square feet or fraction thereof of gross floor area |
(3)
If not specifically mentioned above, the following calculations shall be used:
(a)
Service business establishments: a minimum of one space for the first 6,000 square feet, plus one space for each additional 8,000 square feet of gross floor area or major part thereof, except that no berths shall be required for buildings with a gross floor area of less than 3,000 square feet.
(b)
For office establishments: a minimum of one space for the first 10,000 square feet of gross floor area, plus one space for each additional 15,000 square feet of gross floor area or major part thereof, except that no berths are required for buildings of less than 5,000 square feet of gross floor area.
(c)
For office research establishments: a minimum of one space for the first 8,000 square feet of gross floor area of the building, plus one space for each additional 10,000 square feet of gross floor area or major part thereof.
(4)
Any loading dock facing a road frontage shall be sufficiently far back from the road to permit the largest permitted tractor-trailer to maneuver into said loading dock without encroaching on the required front yard. Any such dock shall be screened so it is not visible from the road.
(5)
The minimum curb radius for truck circulation shall be 30 feet.
H.
Driveways.
(1)
In all residential districts, all driveways, including shared driveways and private roads, shall be designed, constructed and maintained to afford suitable access to the residential dwellings in a manner that avoids both adverse impact upon the intersecting public or private street or roadway from either stormwater or erosion and provides reasonable access to such residential dwellings for routine or emergency access. For reasons of traffic and pedestrian safety, both on and off the street, as well as to provide for possible future road widening or other improvements, all new driveways and sidewalk crossings entering onto any street, whether private, shared or public, shall comply with all requirements of this chapter and shall be subject to the approval of the Town of Beekman Code Enforcement Officer, Town of Beekman Highway Superintendent, Dutchess County Department of Public Works or New York State Department of Transportation, whichever is applicable. Where such driveways are part of a use subject to special use permit, subdivision or site plan approval, they shall be subject to Planning Board approval. The Planning Board, Code Enforcement Officer and/or Highway Superintendent may seek the opinion of the Town of Beekman Fire Commissioners in reviewing and approving any driveways in excess of the standards listed herein.
(2)
No driveway center line shall intersect a street line less than 70 feet from the intersection of any two street lines.
(3)
Shared driveways may be permitted by the Planning Board to serve up to three residences, provided that each lot served by such a driveway has sufficient, physically accessible road frontage to allow construction of a separate driveway for each residence, and subject to the following requirements:
(a)
The shared driveway shall be paved and meet the requirements for alignment, width, cross section and drainage as deemed acceptable by the Planning Board.
(b)
The shared driveway shall be included in an easement area described by bearing and distance. Appropriate easement and maintenance agreements shall be filed with the Dutchess County Clerk for said shared driveways.
(c)
The Planning Board may require a bond or equivalent surety covering the cost of construction for shared driveways and appurtenances.
(d)
Plans are to be submitted demonstrating what would be needed to construct the additional driveways.
(4)
In the case of residential units, driveways shall extend to provide access to the interior of the dwelling.
(5)
Driveway grades.
(a)
For driveways less than 200 feet, the maximum grade for any new driveway, or portion thereof, accessory to a single-family dwelling and connecting its off-street parking area to a street shall not exceed 10%, as measured between any two-foot contour interval.
(b)
For driveways in excess of 200 feet, the maximum grade for the first 200 feet shall not exceed 10%. Within the remaining portion of the driveway, the Planning Board may approve a grade up to 15%, with the minimum requirement that a plan be submitted demonstrating what would be necessary to reduce the grade to 10%. The Board shall seek the input of the Highway Superintendent and Fire Commissioners in such cases.
(c)
If a portion of any driveway has a grade that exceeds 10%, a parking area for two vehicles that it is wholly contained outside of the travel way shall be required, at the discretion of the Code Enforcement Officer and the Highway Superintendent, at the point of the excessive grade occurrence.
(d)
The maximum grade for new driveways, of any length, accessory to uses other than single-family dwellings and connecting the required off-street parking area to the street shall not exceed 10%.
(e)
Notwithstanding the maximum permitted grades specified above, no driveway shall have a grade in excess of 3% within 25 feet of the roadway edge and within 25 feet of the dwelling.
(6)
All driveways shall be constructed so as to be in compliance with the following requirements:
(a)
A minimum of 14 feet of unobstructed vertical clearance.
(b)
Shall be designed with sufficient base to support emergency vehicles.
(c)
Shall be surfaced to provide all-weather driving capabilities.
(d)
Any driveway where sections of the driveway have grades in excess of 4% shall be paved over its entire length.
(e)
Shall have a minimum drivable width of 12 feet and unobstructed travel-way width of 15 feet.
(f)
At the roadway edge, shall have an asphalt driveway apron 15 feet wide by 10 feet deep (three-inch minimum over eight inches of well-compacted R.O.B. gravel), with an extended unobstructed travel-way width along this apron of 20 feet.
(g)
May be required to have a negative grade near the roadway to control storm drainage as required by the Highway Superintendent or Town Engineer.
(h)
Driveway curve radii will be determined at time of construction dependent upon site conditions.
(i)
Shall have an apparatus operating area (AOA) within 25 feet of the dwelling or structure with a maximum grade of 5%, required driveway clearance and sufficient base to support emergency vehicles.
(j)
Gates, utility boxes, driveway posts, stone walls, retention walls, pillars or other obstructions shall conform to the unobstructed width requirement and have a minimum setback from the roadway edge of 25 feet. Security gates shall be equipped with an appropriate Knox device, as approved by the Beekman Fire District.
(k)
Clear visibility shall be provided and maintained 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 distance commensurate with the speed and volume of traffic on such highway and so that there is a similar view of the automobile in the driveway.
(7)
Driveways greater than 500 feet in length:
(a)
Shall have an emergency vehicle pull-off (EVPO); with the minimum requirements the area meets the required driveway clearance and base requirements.
(b)
Driveways exceeding 900 feet will require additional emergency vehicle pull-offs at a maximum of every 900 feet as measured from the dwelling.
(c)
Depending on the nature of the driveway and type of structures it serves, additional AOAs and EVPOs may be required at time of review or construction.
(8)
With the passage of this subsection, all present driveways should minimally comply with the vertical clearance of 14 feet and, where practical, comply with the travel width of 15 feet. All present gates and chains shall be equipped with a Knox device as approved by the Fire District.
(9)
Prior to the issuance of a building permit, a center-line profile of the proposed driveway, prepared by a licensed surveyor, may be required by the Highway Superintendent or Code Enforcement Officer.
(10)
Driveways are subject to on-site inspection and final determination by the Code Enforcement Officer and the Highway Superintendent at the time of construction, with consultation provided by the Beekman Fire District, Town Engineer, and/or Building Inspector as needed. Before the issuance of a certificate of occupancy (CO), an as-built plot of the driveway, showing grade profiles, prepared in a format acceptable to the Highway Superintendent, may be required.