The purpose of this section is to require off-street parking facilities in proportion to the parking demand for each use in order to ensure functionally adequate, aesthetically pleasing and secure off-street parking. The regulations and design standards of this section are intended to accomplish the following:

A.

To ensure the usefulness of parking facilities.

B.

To ensure sufficient parking spaces on-site to prevent excessive parking on public streets and in residential neighborhoods.

C.

To ensure that access to parking does not impair the function of adjacent roadways or endanger the public safety.

A.

New and Complying Development.

New development occurring after the effective date of this section, and development existing on the effective date of this section and complying with the number of off-street parking spaces required by this article shall be subject to the following provisions.

1.

Every use of a building or land hereafter established shall provide the minimum off-street parking spaces as required by this section.

2.

The number of parking spaces may be reduced when the land use or floor area of a building is changed or reduced to a use or floor area for which fewer parking spaces are required.

3.

Accessible parking shall be provided in compliance with Section 1106 of the International Building Code and ICC A117.1.

B.

Expansion, Enlargement, Change of Use, and Nonconformities.

1.

Whenever any existing building is enlarged in height or in ground coverage, or the use is changed to a use that requires additional parking per Table 8.1, off-street parking shall be provided as follows:

a.

Minimal Change. Square footage changes that increase the total gross floor area of a structure by less than 10 percent, as determined by the building permit application, shall not be required to provide additional off-street parking.

b.

Proportionate Change. Square footage changes that increase the total gross floor area of a structure by more than 10 percent but less than 75 percent, as determined by the building permit application, shall require a corresponding percent increase in compliance with off-street parking standards until the site reaches compliance. For example, if the full off-street parking requirement for an existing structure is 20 spaces and the site already includes 10 spaces, a 50 percent expansion of the current structure requires 50 percent compliance with the missing 10 spaces, or 5 new parking spaces.

c.

Full Compliance. Square footage changes that increase total gross floor area of a structure by 75 percent or greater, as determined by the building permit application, shall be required to fully comply with these standards.

d.

Change of Use. A change, expansion, or addition of any use that requires off-street parking in addition to that already provided shall meet the requirements of Table 8.1 for the change, expansion, or addition. If the current use has insufficient parking to meet the requirements of Table 8.1, that parking shall only be required to be remedied if the entire use of the structure is changed, and then only to the maximum extent feasible on the site.

2.

Existing parking spaces shall not be reduced below the minimum required by this section.

3.

Measurement is based on changes to an individual structure that is subject to improvements, regardless of the total number of structures on the site.

4.

Any application by a property owner to expand or replace part of an existing structure shall remain on record for five years from the date of work completion. Any subsequent application by the same property owner(s) to expand or replace part of an existing structure shall be cumulative to any requests made within the previous five years. The cumulative total shall be used by the Town to determine the property owner's necessary level of compliance.

5.

Where site or structure changes identified in this section require the provision of additional off-street parking, accessible parking shall be provided first and may not be adjusted through administrative modification.

C.

Providing Off-Street Parking on Constrained Sites.

Where the existing lot size and applicable zone district dimensions make the provision of all required off-street parking infeasible on the lot and the property owner is not able to address that requirement sufficiently through the parking reductions in Section 8.4E, off-site parking in Section 8.5, or shared parking in Section 8.6, the property owner may seek an administrative modification to reduce the required amount of parking and to allow parking to be located in required side or rear setbacks.

The minimum number of parking spaces required for a specific development proposal shall be based on the requirements listed in Table 8.1, Schedule A: Off-Street Parking Requirements, and the following provisions.

A.

Multiple Uses.

In computing the parking requirements for any building or development, the total parking requirements shall be the sum of the specific parking space requirements for each class of use included in the building or development, except as modified by Section 8.6, Shared Parking.

B.

Fractions.

When measurements determining the number of required parking spaces result in fractions, any fraction less than one-half (½) shall be disregarded and any fraction of one-half (½) or more shall be rounded upward to the next highest full number.

A.

Accessible Parking.

1.

All permanent parking lots shall provide the minimum number of accessible parking spaces required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). All accessible parking spaces shall meet the design and location requirements identified in Section 1106 of the International Building Code and shall be constructed in conformance with ICC A117.1. Information about these standards is available from the Town Building Official.

2.

Accessible parking spaces shall be counted toward the minimum number of spaces required.

B.

Schedule A: Off-Street Parking.

Off-street parking spaces shall be provided on-site in accordance with the following minimum requirements:

C.

Schedule B: Parking for Industrial Uses.

Uses that reference this subsection in Table 8.1 shall provide the minimum number of spaces identified in Table 8.2, Schedule B: Off-Street Parking for Industrial Uses.

D.

Schedule C: Parking Calculation for Unspecified Uses.

Uses that do not have established standards in Schedule A or B may be required to establish parking standards pursuant to this Schedule C. This schedule is typically applicable to uses that have widely varying parking characteristics that make it difficult to establish a single standard.

1.

Upon receiving an application for a use subject to Schedule C standards, the Zoning Administrator shall apply the off-street parking standard specified for the listed use that is deemed most similar to the proposed use.

2.

The Zoning Administrator may also establish minimum off-street parking requirements based on a parking study prepared by the applicant. Such a study shall include estimates of parking demand based on recommendations of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), or other acceptable estimates, and shall include other reliable data collected from uses or combinations of uses that are the same as or comparable with the proposed use. Comparability shall be determined by density, scale, bulk, area, type of activity, and location. The study shall document the source of date used to develop the recommendations.

E.

Parking Reductions.

1.

DMU Downtown Parking.

No off-street parking or loading space shall be required for any use located in the DMU District.

2.

On-Street Parking.

The use of legal, on-street parking to meet a portion of the minimum off-street parking requirements is permitted.

a.

Marked spaces shall be counted if:

(1)

50 percent or more of the stall length of a parallel space is adjacent to the property served; or

(2)

50 percent or more of the stall width of perpendicular or angled parking is adjacent to the property served.

b.

Unmarked parallel spaces shall be determined by dividing the total curb length adjacent to the property served where parking is permitted by 20 feet.

3.

Small Use Exception.

Any nonresidential individual use in a space that is 2,000 square feet or smaller shall be exempt from the minimum parking requirement of Table 8.1.

4.

Senior Housing.

a.

The required minimum number of off-street parking spaces may be reduced by 33 percent for any group living use or multi-family use in which occupancy of at least 80 percent of the units is restricted for use by those 60 years of age or older.

b.

The required minimum number of off-street parking spaces may be reduced by 50 percent for any group living use or multi-family use in which occupancy of more than 80 percent of the units is restricted for use by those meeting the definition of "handicapped" individuals under the federal Fair Housing Act Amendments.

The Zoning Administrator may allow required parking spaces to be provided on a site other than that of the use for which the spaces are required. In general, such exception may be considered for employee parking or for institutional uses where longer term parking is common. Off-site parking shall meet the following conditions:

A.

Same Ownership.

The parking area is located on land under the same ownership as the use it serves, or a recorded easement in perpetuity that has been established for the use of an off-site location for parking and filed with the Montezuma County Clerk & Recorder.

B.

Distance Between Off-Site Parking Area and the Proposed Use.

1.

Off-site parking for multiple-unit dwellings shall not be located more than 600 feet from any normally used entrance of the principal use served.

2.

Off-site parking for nonresidential or mixed uses shall not be located more than 600 feet from any normally used entrance of the principal use served.

3.

Required distances shall be measured along the shortest legal, practical walking route. This route may include crossing a right-of-way provided it uses a legal crosswalk.

C.

No Undue Hazard.

The off-site parking area shall be convenient to use without causing unreasonable:

1.

Hazard to pedestrians,

2.

Hazard to vehicular traffic,

3.

Traffic congestion,

4.

Interference with commercial activity or convenient access to other parking areas in the vicinity,

5.

Detriment to the appropriate use of business lands in the vicinity, or

6.

Detriment to any abutting residential neighborhood.

The Zoning Administrator may allow shared parking. Shared parking shall mean that where the required spaces provided for one use may also be credited as required spaces for a complementary use. A permanent and irrevocable easement of the parking facilities in favor of the use to be benefited shall be dedicated and recorded in the Montezuma County records as a condition of such use. Shared parking shall meet the following conditions:

A.

Proximity to Use.

1.

Shared parking spaces shall be located within 600 linear feet of the primary entrance of all uses served as measured along the shortest legal, practical walking route. This route may include crossing a right-of-way provided it uses a legal crosswalk.

2.

Shared parking spaces shall not be separated from the use they serve by an arterial or collector street with a right-of-way greater than 80 feet.

3.

Adequate and safe pedestrian access must be provided from and to the shared parking areas.

B.

Shared Parking Calculation.

The following number of parking spaces may be shared by any non-residential use not normally open, used, or operated during the same hours as the following uses:

1.

Up to 50 percent of the parking spaces required for food, beverage, and indoor entertainment uses, or

2.

Up to 100 percent of parking spaces required for religious assembly uses and elementary, middle, high school, university, or college auditoriums.

A.

Parking Space Dimensions, Lighting and Design.

1.

Each off-street parking space shall consist of an open area measuring at least nine feet wide by 18 feet long and seven feet high; provided, however, parallel parking spaces shall measure at least nine feet wide by 23 feet long and seven feet high.

2.

Off-street parking shall be free of weeds, properly drained, and surfaced with concrete, asphalt, sealed pavers, cobbles, sealed brick or any other material with similar characteristics and uses and shall be maintained in a usable condition at all times.

3.

Off-street parking areas serving development in mixed-use, commercial, or industrial zone districts shall be landscaped and screened in accordance with requirements of Article 7, Landscaping, Screening, and Trees.

B.

Drive-Thru Lanes and Stacking.

1.

Design.

Any facility offering drive-through service shall provide stacking lanes which are a minimum of eight feet in width and which provide direct forward access to each service window, station, or other point of service.

a.

Stacking lane shall be marked and shall be separate from any other driveway, parking space, or aisle.

b.

Stacking lanes shall be measured from the point of service and shall provide 20 feet per vehicle.

c.

Common stacking lanes for several service points may be used for financial and restaurant uses, provided that separate stacking for at least three vehicles is provided for each point of service before stacking is merged into a common lane.

2.

Stacking Requirements by Use.

a.

General Uses: Unless otherwise specified below, each service point shall be provided with a stacking lane for a minimum of three vehicles. The off-street loading zone must lie outside the stacking lane.

b.

Financial Uses: Each teller station at a drive-through financial institution shall be provided with a stacking lane for a minimum of five vehicles.

c.

Restaurant Uses: Each remote ordering station and each service window at a restaurant with drive through service shall be provided with a stacking lane for a minimum of five vehicles.

B.

Restricted Use of Parking Areas.

No automobile trailers, boats, detached campers; junk vehicle or any other object that will render a parking space unusable according to the purpose of this section shall be parked or stored in off-street parking areas. Junk vehicles shall be defined as those that lack a current license or are wrecked and/or dismantled.

A.

Driveways and Access.

Driveway improvements should be extended and connect directly to the street surface. All required off-street parking shall be provided with driveway access to a public street or alley in accordance with the standards of this section:

1.

Minimum Driveway Width.

Driveways shall be a minimum of 12 feet in width when serving one dwelling unit, or 20 feet wide when serving more than one residence or another use such as a boarding house.

2.

Maximum Driveway Frontage.

The combined width of driveway cuts or entrances shall not be more than 40 percent of the frontage of the lot along any street or alley.

3.

Maximum Driveway Grade.

The maximum driveway grade shall be 10 percent.

4.

Corner Visibility—Street, Alley and Driveway Intersections.

No walls, buildings, or other obstruction to view in excess of four feet in height shall be placed on any corner lot within a Section 2.4 Clear Vision Area.

5.

Surface.

Access surface shall be constructed of asphalt, concrete, or other approved driving surface capable of supporting the imposed load of fire apparatus weighing at least 75,000 pounds.