All developments in all zoning districts other than the Central Business Commercial (CBC) District shall provide a sufficient number of parking spaces to accommodate the number of vehicles that ordinarily are likely to be attracted to the development in question.

Except for projects that only require a simplified site plan pursuant to § 128-203, where the Director of Planning will determine the applicable parking standards, parking space requirements in the CBC District will be determined by the Planning Commission. When adequate off-street parking cannot practically be provided on-site in the CBC District, the Planning Commission may require the developer to provide a fee in lieu of parking. The Town shall use such fees collected to construct municipal parking elsewhere in the district.

The presumptions established by this article are that a development must comply with the parking standards set forth in Subsection F to satisfy the requirement stated in Subsection A, and any development that does meet these standards complies. However, the Table of Parking Requirements is only intended to establish a presumption and should be flexibly administered, as provided in § 128-131.

When a determination of the number of parking spaces required by the Table of Parking Requirements results in a requirement of a fractional space, any fraction of 1/2 or less may be disregarded. In contrast, a fraction in excess of 1/2 shall be counted as one (1) parking space.

The Town recognizes that the Table of Parking Requirements set forth in Subsection F cannot and does not cover every possible situation that may arise. Therefore, in cases not specifically covered, the permit-issuing authority is authorized to determine the parking requirements using this table as a guide.

Table of Parking Requirements.

The Planning Commission is authorized to establish required minimum off-street parking ratios for unlisted uses and in those instances where the authority to establish a requirement is expressly granted in § 128-129B.

Such ratios may be established based on a similar use/parking determination as described in § 128-129F, on parking data provided by the applicant or information otherwise available to the Planning Commission.

Parking data and studies must include parking demand estimates based on reliable data from comparable uses or external data. The data must come from credible research organizations, e.g., the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) or the American Planning Association (APA). Comparability will be determined by density, scale, bulk, area, type of activity, and location. Parking studies must document the source of all data used to develop recommended requirements.

The Town recognizes that, due to the particularities of any given development, the inflexible application of the parking standards set forth in § 128-129F may result in a development either with inadequate parking space or parking space far in excess of its needs. The former situation may lead to traffic congestion or parking violations in adjacent streets as well as unauthorized parking in nearby private lots. The latter situation wastes money as well as space that could more desirably be used for valuable development or environmentally useful open space. Therefore, the approving authority may permit deviations from the presumptive requirements of § 128-129F and may require more parking or allow less parking whenever it finds that such deviations are more likely to satisfy the standard set forth in § 128-129A.

A deviation from the presumptive requirements of § 128-129F may be established based on a similar use/parking determination on parking data provided by the applicant or information otherwise available to the Planning Commission. Parking data and studies provided by the applicant must include parking demand estimates based on reliable data from comparable uses or external data. The data must come from credible research organizations, e.g., the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) or the American Planning Association (APA). Comparability will be determined by density, scale, bulk, area, type of activity, and location. Parking studies must document the source of all data used to develop recommended requirements.

Without limiting the generality of the preceding, the permit-issuing authority may allow deviations from the parking requirements set forth in § 128-129F when it finds that:

Whenever the permit-issuing authority allows or requires a deviation from the presumptive parking requirements set forth in § 128-129F, it shall enter on the face of the permit the parking requirement that it imposes and the reasons for allowing or requiring the deviation.

If the permit-issuing authority concludes, based upon information it receives in the consideration of a specific development proposal, that the presumption established by § 128-129F for a particular use classification is erroneous, it shall initiate a request for an amendment to the Table of Parking Requirements in accordance with the procedures set forth in this chapter, Article XV, Amendments.

Subject to Subsections B and C, each parking space shall contain a rectangular area at least twenty (20) feet long and nine (9) feet wide. Lines demarcating parking spaces may be drawn at various angles in relation to curbs or aisles, so long as the parking spaces so created contain within them the rectangular area required by this section.

In parking areas containing ten (10) or more parking spaces, up to 20% of the parking spaces need to contain a rectangular area of only 7 1/2 feet in width by 15 feet in length. If such spaces are provided, they shall be conspicuously designated as reserved for small or compact cars only.

Wherever parking areas consist of spaces set aside for parallel parking, the dimensions of such parking spaces shall be not less than twenty-two (22) feet long by nine (9) feet wide.

Parking area aisle widths shall conform to the following table, which varies the width requirement according to the angle of parking.

Driveways shall be not less than ten (10) feet in width for one-way traffic and eighteen (18) feet in width for two-way traffic, except that ten-foot-wide driveways are permissible for two-way traffic when the driveway is no longer than fifty (50) feet, it provides access to not more than six (6) spaces, and sufficient turning space is provided so that vehicles need not back into a public street.

Unless no other practicable alternative is available, vehicle accommodation areas shall be designed so that, without resorting to extraordinary movements, vehicles may exit such areas without backing onto a public street. This requirement does not apply to parking areas consisting of driveways that serve one or two dwelling units, although backing onto arterial and major collector streets is discouraged.

Vehicle accommodation areas of all development shall be designed so that sanitation, emergency, and other public service vehicles can serve such developments without the necessity of backing unreasonable distances or making other dangerous or hazardous turning movements.

Every vehicle accommodation area shall be designed so that vehicles are separated from walkways, sidewalks, streets, or alleys by a wall, fence, curbing, or other protective device and cannot extend beyond the perimeter of such area onto adjacent properties or public rights-of-way. Such areas shall also be designed so that vehicles do not extend over sidewalks or tend to damage any wall, vegetation, or other obstruction.

Circulation areas shall be designed so that vehicles can proceed safely without posing a danger to pedestrians or other vehicles and without interfering with parking areas.

Off-street parking facilities shall be drained to prevent standing water and damage or flooding to abutting property and public streets and alleys, surfaced with erosion-resistant material, and incorporate the best management practices of Chapter 106, Stormwater Management. Off-street parking areas shall be maintained in a clean, orderly, and dust-free condition at the expense of the owner or lessee and not used for the sale, repair, dismantling, or servicing of any vehicles, equipment, or materials.

Vehicle accommodation areas that include lanes for drive-in windows or contain parking areas that are required to have more than ten (10) parking spaces and that are used regularly at least five (5) days per week shall be graded and surfaced with asphalt, concrete or other material that will provide equivalent protection against potholes, erosion, and dust, in accordance with Town specifications.

Vehicle accommodation area surfaces shall be as required in the Town of Denton, Department of Public Works, Standard Specifications, and Details for Public Works Construction. Porous pavers may be allowed if consistent with the Town specifications and approved by the Town.

Vehicle accommodation areas that are not provided with the type of surface specified in Subsection A shall be graded and surfaced with crushed stone, gravel, or other suitable material to provide a surface that is stable and will help to reduce dust and erosion. Bricks, stones, railroad ties, or other similar measures shall define the perimeter of such parking areas. In addition, whenever such a vehicle accommodation area abuts a paved street, the driveway leading from such street to such area (or, if there is no driveway, the portion of the vehicle accommodation area that opens onto such streets) shall be paved as provided in Subsection A for a distance of fifteen (15) feet back from the edge of the paved street. Single-family or two-family residences or other uses that are required to have only one or two parking spaces and abut a paved street without a sidewalk shall be paved as provided in Subsection A for five (5) feet back from the edge of a paved street.

Parking spaces in areas surfaced in accordance with Subsection A shall be appropriately demarcated with painted lines or other markings. Parking spaces in areas surfaced in accordance with Subsection B shall be demarcated whenever practical.

Vehicle accommodation areas shall be properly maintained in all respects. Without limiting the preceding, vehicle accommodation area surfaces shall be kept in good condition (free from potholes, etc.), and parking space lines or markings shall be kept clearly visible and distinct.

One parking area may contain required spaces for several different uses, but except as otherwise provided in this section, the required space assigned to one use may not be credited to any other use.

To the extent that developments apply to make joint use of the same parking spaces to operate at different times, the same spaces may be credited to both uses. For example, if a parking lot is used in connection with an office building on Monday through Friday but is generally 90% vacant on weekends, another development that operates only on weekends may be credited with 90% of the spaces on that lot. Or, if a church parking lot generally occupies only 50% of its capacity on days other than Sunday, another development may make use of 50% of the church lot's spaces on those other days.

If the joint use of the same parking spaces by two or more principal uses involves satellite parking spaces, then the provisions of § 128-137 (Satellite parking) are also applicable.

If the number of off-street parking spaces required by this section cannot reasonably be provided on the same lot where the principal use associated with these parking spaces is located, then spaces may be provided on adjacent or nearby lots under separate ownership in accordance with the provisions of this section. These off-site spaces are referred to in this section as "satellite parking spaces."

All such satellite parking spaces (except spaces intended for employee use) must be located within four hundred (400) feet of a public entrance of a principal building housing the use associated with such parking or within four hundred (400) feet of the lot on which the use associated with such parking is located if the use is not housed within any principal building. Satellite parking spaces intended for employee use may be located within any reasonable distance on adjacent or nearby lots under separate ownership. Public street parking spaces shall not be permitted as accommodation for retail and office employee use.

The developer wishing to take advantage of the provisions of this section must present satisfactory written evidence that he has permission from the owner or other authorized person in charge of the satellite parking spaces to use such spaces. The developer must also sign an acknowledgment that the continuing validity of his permit depends upon his continuing ability to provide the requisite number of parking spaces.

The developer who obtains satellite parking spaces in accordance with this section shall not be held accountable for ensuring that the satellite parking areas from which they obtain their spaces satisfy the design requirements of this article except as a requirement to fulfill the number of parking spaces.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, whenever there exists a lot with one or more structures on it constructed before the effective date of this chapter and a change in use that does not involve any enlargement of a structure is proposed for such lot, and the parking requirements of § 128-129 that would be applicable as a result of the proposed change cannot be satisfied on such lot because there is not sufficient area available on the lot that can practicably be used for parking, then the developer need only comply with the requirements of § 128-129 to the extent the parking space is practicably available on the lot where the development is located, and satellite parking space is reasonably available as provided in § 128-137.

It shall be a continuing condition of the permit authorizing development on such lot that the developer obtains satellite parking when it does become available should satellite parking subsequently become reasonably available.

Subject to Subsection F, whenever the normal operation of any development requires that goods, merchandise, or equipment be routinely delivered to or shipped from that development, a sufficient off-street loading and unloading area must be provided in accordance with this section to accommodate the delivery or shipment operations safely and conveniently.

The loading and unloading area must be of sufficient size to accommodate the numbers and types of vehicles that are likely to use this area, given the nature of the development in question. At a minimum, loading and unloading areas must be 12 feet by 35 feet and have an overhead clearance of 14 feet from street grade.

The following table indicates the number of spaces that, presumptively, satisfy the standard set forth in this subsection. However, the permit-issuing authority may require more or less loading and unloading area if reasonably necessary to satisfy the previous standard.

Loading and unloading areas shall be so located and designed that the vehicles intended to use them can maneuver safely and conveniently to and from a public right-of-way and complete the loading and unloading operations without obstructing or interfering with any public right-of-way or any parking space or parking lot aisle.

No area allocated to loading and unloading facilities may be used to satisfy the area requirements for off-street parking, nor shall any portion of any off-street parking area be used to satisfy the area requirements for loading and unloading facilities.

Whenever there exists a lot with one or more structures constructed before the effective date of this chapter, a change in use that does not involve any enlargement of a structure is proposed for such a lot the loading area requirements of this section cannot be satisfied because there is not sufficient area available on the lot that can practicably be used for loading and unloading. The developer needs to comply with this section only to the extent reasonably possible.