Cortland City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Off-Street Parking and Loading
§ 300-80 Purpose.
These regulations are in rough proportion to the generalized parking and transportation demands of different land uses. By requiring such facilities, it is the intent of this section to help avoid the negative impacts associated with spillover parking into adjacent areas, while at the same time avoiding the negative environmental and urban design impacts that can result from parking lots and other vehicular use areas. The provisions of this section are also intended to help protect the public health, safety, and general welfare by:
A.
Helping to avoid and mitigate traffic congestion;
B.
Encouraging multimodal transportation options and enhanced pedestrian safety;
C.
Providing methods to reduce the amount of impervious surfaces and adequate drainage structures in order to reduce the environmental impacts of storm water runoff; and
D.
Providing flexible methods for responding to the transportation and access demands of various land uses in different areas of the City.
§ 300-81 Applicability.
A.
New development.
(1)
Every use of a building or land hereafter established shall provide the minimum off-street parking spaces as required by this section and conform to all other regulations in this section.
B.
Existing buildings.
(1)
Building expansion.
(a)
Any existing building, where the type of business or occupancy continues, may be remodeled, repaired and structurally altered, but any enlargement must provide the parking spaces required by the enlargement.
(b)
Only the expanded portion of the parking area shall be required to comply with the design provisions of this section.
(2)
Change of use.
(a)
For any existing building or use of land located outside of the CB District where the type of business or occupancy is changed, the number of parking spaces to be provided shall be the average between the required number for the proposed use and those required for the latest use.
(3)
Nonconforming uses.
(a)
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this section, the amount of off-street parking permitted on a property containing a nonconforming use shall not exceed the amount of parking determined to have existed on said property at the time it became a nonconforming use, and shall not be extended onto or relocated to a different part of the lot or parcel in question or elsewhere, unless a use variance is granted for such additional parking.
§ 300-82 Calculation of parking requirements.
A.
Developments containing more than one use shall provide parking spaces in an amount equal to the total of the requirements for all uses except as permitted by § 300-87.
B.
When the required number of spaces result in a fraction, any fraction of less than 1/2 is rounded down to the next lower whole number, and any fraction of 1/2 or more is rounded up to the next higher whole number.
C.
If the use is not specifically listed in the schedule of such requirements, the requirement shall be the same as for the most similar listed use as determined by the Code Enforcement Officer.
D.
In residential districts in which garage space is provided, the garage space may be considered in determining whether required parking has been met.
E.
Truck loading spaces as required under this section shall be provided in addition to off-street parking space and shall not be considered as supplying off-street parking space.
§ 300-83 Off-street parking requirements.
A.
All required off-street parking spaces shall be on the same lot or premises as the proposed use served except as permitted by § 300-87.
B.
All uses in all zoning districts except the CB District shall provide a sufficient number of off-street parking spaces to accommodate the number of vehicles that ordinarily are likely to be attracted to the development and therefore must comply with the parking standards set forth in Table 300-83: Required Parking.
C.
If a parking ratio is not provided in Table 300-83: Required Parking, the Planning Commission shall determine the number of parking spaces and shall develop a record, which will substantiate such a determination.
D.
The Planning Commission shall approve the parking spaces and driving aisles and shall require at a minimum that is specified in Table 300-83: Required Parking; however, it may, upon special findings, require more than specified.
G.
Bicycle parking.
(1)
Bicycle parking shall be provided with all multifamily and nonresidential developments at 10% of the vehicle parking requirements as outlined in Table 300-83: Required Parking, but not less than two bicycle spaces and not more than 20 bicycle spaces for any single use.
H.
Recreational vehicles.
(1)
No boat, camper, travel trailer, camping trailer, utility trailer, motor home, motorcycle, or any other recreational vehicle may be parked or stored in any area of a front or side yard. The foregoing shall not apply in the General Business Districts (GB1 and GB2), or Industrial District where such vehicles are temporarily displayed for sale.
Table 300-83: Required Parking [Amended 9-3-2019 by L.L. No. 6-2019; 12-17-2019 by L.L. No. 7-2019] | |
|---|---|
Use Types | Number of Spaces |
Residential Uses | |
Single-family dwellings (rental non-owner-occupied) | 2 per dwelling unit |
Two-family dwellings | 2 per dwelling unit |
Multifamily dwellings | 1 1/2 spaces per dwelling unit |
Townhouses | 2 per dwelling unit |
Upper-story residential | 1 per dwelling unit |
Nonresidential Uses | |
Auditoriums, church convention halls, gymnasiums, stadiums, studios or other place of public assembly not otherwise classified | 1 per 4 permanent seats or 1 per each 40 square feet of seating area where fixed seating is not provided |
Banks, savings and loan associations | 1 space per 250 square feet of gross floor area |
Bars or nightclubs | 1 space per 100 square feet of gross floor area |
Bed-and-breakfast establishments | 1 per guest bedroom |
Bowling alleys | 6 spaces per lane |
Day-care center | 1 per employee + 1 per 8 children capacity |
Filling stations | 1 for every 100 square feet of store and business office space. Each pump station may be considered as a parking space. |
Fraternal or sororal organizations | 1 1/2 for every person |
Funeral homes | 1 space per 3 seats in the parlors and chapels |
Furniture store | 1 per 500 square feet of gross floor area |
Heavy industrial | 1 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area |
Hospitals | 2 spaces per sleeping room, and 1 1/2 spaces per sleeping room for psychiatric hospitals |
Hotels, motels | 1 per guest bedroom, plus 1 per 200 gross floor area or restaurant area |
Light manufacturing or light industrial | 1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area |
Nursing homes | 1 per each 5 beds, plus 1 per each 2 employees on the premises at one time |
Offices, business or professional | 1 per 400 square feet of gross floor area |
Offices, medical | 1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area |
Public or semipublic art gallery, library or museum | The same as auditorium, etc. |
Repair garages | 3 per service bay or repair station |
Research institutions or laboratories | Determined by the Planning Commission upon site plan review |
Restaurants, fast food and general eating establishments | 1 space per 100 square feet of gross floor area |
Retail stores, sales and service | 1 per 300 square feet of gross floor area |
Rooming and boarding house | 1 per bedroom |
Veterinary hospital | 1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area |
Wholesale establishment, warehouse | 1 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area |
§ 300-84 Parking area location, layout and design.
A.
Location (shall not apply to GB-1 District).
(1)
No parking shall be permitted in the front yard.
(2)
Off-street parking may be located in the rear yard, side yard or underground. Side yard parking shall be located a minimum of 10 feet behind the front facade.
(3)
Parking, or access to parking, in the side yard shall not exceed 40% of lot frontage.
 Off-street parking located in the side yard shall be setback a minimum of 10 feet behind the front facade and not exceed 40% of the lot frontage. |
B.
Layout plan.
(1)
For any off-street parking facility as required by this section, a layout plan showing entrances, drives and parking stalls shall be submitted to the Planning Commission.
C.
Design standards.
(1)
All parking spaces, driveways and driving aisles shall have an impervious surface; however, such surfaces which service any use other than single-family must be surfaced with concrete or asphalt.
(2)
All parking spaces, except those used to accommodate single-family dwellings, shall be delineated with a painted line. Such line shall be colored white or yellow, and shall be four inches in width.
(3)
Curbs shall be provided to prevent any vehicle using a parking area from encroaching on any public right-of-way or adjacent property.
(4)
Parking lots shall be improved with necessary lighting and traffic control signs.
(5)
Facilities and their access driveways shall be graded so as to provide for the proper mitigation of stormwater and runoff.
(6)
Each off-street parking space shall open directly onto an aisle or driveway that is not a public street or a public alley.
(7)
Parking spaces shall be designed to permit entry and exit without moving any other vehicle.
(8)
No parking space shall be located so as to block access by emergency vehicles.
(10)
In order to reduce the scale of parking areas, the total amount of parking provided shall be broken up into parking blocks containing not more than 40 spaces.
(a)
Each parking block shall be separated from other parking blocks by buildings, access drives with adjacent landscaped areas at least 10 feet wide, a landscaped median or berm at least 10 feet wide, or by a pedestrian walkway or sidewalk within a landscaped median at least 10 feet wide.
(b)
Each parking block shall have consistent design angles for all parking within the block. Parking blocks should be oriented to buildings to allow pedestrian movement down and not across rows (typically with parking drive aisles perpendicular to customer entrances).
 Parking Blocks. Parking blocks shall be compact, well landscaped with designated pedestrian facilities. |
(11)
Parking stall and aisle dimensions.
(a)
The minimum required dimensions of parking stalls and aisles shall be as indicated in Table 300-84: Required Parking Space and Aisle Dimensions, except for parking for an individual dwelling unit. If proposed parking angles are not shown in the table, the dimensions shall be determined by the Planning Commission.
Table 300-84: Required Parking Space and Aisle Dimensions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum Parking Space and Aisle Dimensions | |||||
Angle (A) | Stall Width (B) (feet) | Curb Length (C) (feet) | Drive Aisle (D) One-way Aisle (feet) | Drive Aisle (D) Two-way Aisle (feet) | Stall Depth (E) (feet) |
0° (Parallel) | 8 | 22 | 12 | 20 | 8 |
45° | 9 | 12.7 | 13 | — | 16.5 |
60° | 9 | 10.4 | 18 | 24 | 18 |
90° | 9 | 9 | — | 24 | 17.5 |
 |
§ 300-85 Curb cuts and driveways.
A.
Curb cuts and driveways shall connect with the street and shall be constructed as permitted by the City of Cortland Department of Public Works or the New York State Department of Transportation.
B.
All driveways shall connect at 90° with the public street or easement which provides access to the lot serviced.
C.
A driveway shall be at least eight feet in width.
D.
No driveway shall be allowed without a curb cut permit as required either by the City of Cortland Department of Public Works or the New York State Department of Transportation.
E.
Residential driveways constructed within a required front yard may not cover more than 35% of said required front yard, and only one of the two required side yards may be utilized as a driveway. In the case of a corner lot, which has two required front yards, the foregoing limitation applies. This coverage limitation is inclusive of parking spaces.
§ 300-86 Ancillary parking.
§ 300-87 Shared parking.
A.
The Planning Commission may approve shared parking facilities for developments or uses with different operating hours or peak business periods, subject to the following requirements:
(1)
Parking is for two or more uses located on the same lot or with a common lot line;
(2)
All shared parking facilities are located within 500 feet of the uses served;
(3)
A pedestrian circulation plan is submitted to the Planning Commission that shows connections and walkways between shared parking areas and uses. Paths should be as direct and short as possible;
(4)
A parking study is submitted to the Planning Commission that demonstrates the feasibility of the shared parking arrangement and includes the size and use of the proposed development(s), the anticipated parking demand for each use, and the peak periods of parking demand for each use.
(5)
The shared parking plan is developed and enforced by an irrevocable written covenant among all owners of record. A copy of the covenant must be submitted to the Planning Commission and recorded in the County Recorder's office before any building permits are issued for any use to be served by the shared parking area. A shared parking covenant may only be revoked if all off-street parking required by this article is provided.
§ 300-88 Off-street loading requirements.
A.
Loading facilities required.
(1)
Off-street loading spaces shall be required for uses that regularly handle or receive the shipment of goods, except in the CB District.
(2)
Uses receiving large quantities of goods shall provide one loading space for each 10,000 square feet, or fraction thereof, and shall be of sufficient quantity to adequately serve the proposed use.
(3)
Vehicle sales or rental facility or similar use requiring delivery of vehicles by truck shall demonstrate that an adequate on-site area exists for the loading and unloading of such trucks.
(4)
Any convenience store or similar use requiring deliveries by truck shall demonstrate that an adequate on-site area exists for the loading and unloading of such trucks.
B.
Design and layout.
(1)
Except as approved pursuant to § 300-89, loading and unloading activity shall not be permitted in any public right-of-way. In no case shall loading and unloading activity encroach on or interfere with the public use of streets, sidewalks, and lanes by automotive vehicles or pedestrians. Adequate space shall be made available for the unloading and loading of goods, materials, items or stock for delivery and shipping.
(2)
Where off-street loading facilities are provided, they shall be not less than 12 feet in width by 35 feet in length, with not less than 14 feet of vertical clearance.
§ 300-89 Alternative compliance.
All existing off-street parking shall be brought into compliance within two years. The Planning Commission is authorized to approve other alternatives to strict compliance with the parking and loading requirements of this section if, based on evidence provided by the applicant, the proposed plan will: