(a)

Every building, use or structure, instituted or erected after the effective date of the zoning code shall be provided with off-street parking facilities in accordance with the provisions of this article for the use of occupants, employees, visitors or patrons.

(b)

Such off-street parking facilities shall be maintained and continued as long as the use of the property requires such parking.

(c)

It shall be unlawful for an owner or operator of any building, structure or use affected by this article to discontinue, change or dispense with, or to cause the discontinuance or reduction of any portion of existing parking without first obtaining a development permit in accordance with this code. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to utilize a structure or use where the existing parking situation was unlawfully established. This prohibition does not preclude the use of nonconforming parking in accordance with article IV.

(a)

The off-street parking facilities required by this article shall be located on the same lot or parcel of land they are intended to serve, except that an applicant may provide parking within 300 feet of the lot to be served, provided the applicant executes a binding parking agreement with the owner of the parcel where the offsite parking will be located. If the owner of the parcel where the offsite parking will be located is not the city, then the parking agreement must demonstrate:

(1)

The offsite parking will achieve site design advantages, such as preservation of additional trees or site features at the development site;

(2)

The offsite parking is not located within a residential district;

(3)

The offsite parking is not otherwise required for another use or development in order to comply with minimum parking code requirements and is not otherwise assigned or dedicated to another use or development through any private agreements;

(4)

A building permit application will be filed to construct any new offsite parking or modify an existing offsite parking design and such parking design shall comply with all applicable code requirements;

(5)

Adequate signage is provided to confirm that the offsite parking is available for the proposed development;

(6)

The offsite parking will remain available to the proposed development until such time as the parking agreement is terminated, which may occur when the proposed development is removed or alternative parking is provided to comply with parking code requirements;

(7)

The parking agreement will apply to successors and assigns of the owner of the proposed development to be served by the offsite parking and the owner of the parcel where the offsite parking will be provided.

Unless the owner of the parcel where the offsite parking will be located is the city, the parking agreement shall be recorded in the public records of the county as a covenant binding on the owner of the parcel to be served by the offsite parking and the owner of the parcel where the offsite parking will be provided, and said covenant shall state that it may be enforced by the city and shall not be terminated or amended without consent from city council.

(b)

The dimensions of off-street parking spaces and associated access aisles shall comply with the following chart. The standard width of parking space shall be ten feet. Except for single-family dwellings and duplexes served by their own residential driveways, each off-street parking lot shall be directly accessible from a street or alley, and each parking space shall be accessible from an access aisle within the parking lot. Each parking space shall be accessible without driving over or through any other parking space.

*Where approved wheel stops are provided at the end of a stall the paved area of the stall may be reduced two feet. The area two feet beyond the wheel stop shall be left clear from a point six inches above the grade of the back of the stall, for vehicle overhang. Vehicles shall not be allowed to overhang property lines.

†Driveways with one side loaded with parking, and the opposite side free of any vertical obstruction for a distance of no less than four feet, may be 20 feet wide.

(c)

The required off-street parking facilities shall be identified as to purpose and as to location when not clearly evident from a street or alley. Off-street parking facilities, including access aisles and driveways shall be surfaced with asphalt, concrete or pavers and maintained in a good condition, provided that driveways, access aisles and parking spaces for public and private schools offering academic courses may be surfaced with grass or lawn.

(d)

All off-street parking facilities required by this article shall be drained so as not to cause any nuisance to adjacent or public property, and any lighting thereon shall be so arranged and designed as to prevent any glare or excessive light on adjacent property. Such facilities shall be arranged for convenient access and safety of pedestrians and vehicles.

(e)

A plan shall be submitted with every application for a building permit for any use or structure required to provide off-street parking under this article, which plan shall clearly and accurately designate the required parking spaces, access aisles and driveways, and relating to the uses or structures these off- street parking facilities are intended to serve.

(f)

Up to 25 percent of the required off-street parking may be satisfied through the use of compact parking spaces, which shall be a minimum of nine feet wide and 17 feet in length as measured from a curb or wheel stop.

(g)

The number, location and design of parking spaces for the disabled/handicapped shall comply with minimum state and federal regulatory requirements.

The off-street parking required by this article shall be provided and maintained on the basis of the following minimum requirements:

(a)

Dwellings, single-family and two-family: One parking space for each dwelling unit.

(b)

Dwellings, multiple-family: One and one-half parking space for each dwelling unit.

(c)

Lodginghouses: One parking space for each two rental sleeping rooms plus one parking space for the owner or operator.

(d)

Dormitories, fraternities: Two parking spaces for each three beds, plus one parking space for the manager or operator, plus one parking space for each two employees.

(e)

Hotels, including clubs: Two parking spaces for each three sleeping rooms. If, in addition to sleeping rooms, there are other uses operated in conjunction with and/or part of the hotel, additional off-street parking spaces shall be provided for such other uses as would be required by this section if such uses were separate from the hotel, to the extent of 35 percent of the off- street parking spaces specified in this article for retail stores, offices, service establishments, bars, restaurants, dining rooms, nightclubs, cabarets, ballrooms, banquet hall, meeting rooms, auditoriums.

(f)

Motels, tourists' homes, guest cabins, villas, tourist courts: One parking space for each guestroom, cabin or rental unit, plus one parking space for the owner or manager.

(g)

Trailer courts, camps or parks: One parking space for each trailer.

(h)

Hospitals: One parking space for each two beds for patients, plus one parking space for each two paid employees.

(i)

Nursing homes: One parking space for each three beds for patients, plus one parking space for each two paid employees.

(j)

Theaters and other places of assembly having fixed seats: One parking space for each three seats.

(k)

Places of public assembly, including assembly halls (except included in paragraph (j)), exhibition halls, convention halls, dancehalls, skating rinks, sports arenas, community centers, libraries and museums: One parking space for each three seats or one parking space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area occupied by guests, customers, patrons, members or other occupants, whichever may be greater.

(l)

Churches: One parking space for each five seats in auditorium or chapel area, not including Sunday school classrooms.

(m)

Day care facilities: One parking space per five children, plus one space for each employee.

(n)

Stadiums, racetracks, fairgrounds, circus grounds: One parking space for each three seats.

(o)

Bowling alleys: Three parking spaces for each alley.

(p)

Miniature golf courses or driving ranges: One parking space for each hole or tee, and one space for every two employees.

(q)

Arcades and billiard parlors: One parking space for each two video games, two spaces for every billiard table, and one space for every three seats, plus one space for each two employees.

(r)

Mortuaries: One parking space for each four seats in public rooms.

(s)

Medical, dental, chiropractic, etc., clinics (separate buildings): One parking space for each 300 square feet floor area plus one parking space per two employees.

(t)

Business, professional and governmental offices: One parking space for each 300 square feet floor area.

(u)

Restaurants, bars, beer gardens, clubs, nightclubs: One parking space for each three seats in the rooms for customer service plus one space per two employees.

(v)

Fast food, drive-in and drive-through restaurants: One parking space for every two employees, plus one parking space for each two seats. The number of seats will include indoor and outdoor seats.

(w)

Elementary schools and junior high schools/middle schools (public, private or parochial): One parking space for each classroom, plus one-half parking space for public assembly rooms as otherwise required by this section plus one parking space per employee.

(x)

Senior high schools and colleges (public, private or parochial): One parking space for each classroom, plus six parking spaces for each ten students or one-half of the additional parking spaces for rooms used for public assembly rooms as otherwise required by this section, whichever may be greater.

(y)

Retail stores, personal service shops, household repair or equipment shops, interior decoration shops: One parking space for each 250 square feet of floor area.

(z)

Swimming pool sales, outdoor sales: One parking space for each 300 square feet of floor area in the sales or office building, plus one parking space for each 1,000 square feet of outdoor display area or outdoor display and sales area.

(aa)

Research and testing laboratories, bottling establishments, printing and engraving shops, warehouses, motor vehicle salesrooms, wholesale stores, laundries and storage buildings: One parking space for each 600 square feet of floor area of the buildings.

(bb)

Terminal facilities, including airports, railroad passenger and freight stations, bus depots, truck terminals, also commercial swimming pools and the like: One parking space for each two employees, plus off-street parking space in an amount determined by the planning commission to be adequate to serve employees, and the public as customers, patrons and visitors.

(cc)

Uses not specifically mentioned: The requirements for off-street parking for any uses not specifically mentioned in this section shall be the same as provided in this section for the use most similar to the one sought, which determination shall be made by the community development manager.

(dd)

Fractional measurements: When units or measurements determining number of required off-street parking spaces result in requirement of a fractional space, any such fraction equal to or greater than one-half shall require a full off-street parking space.

(ee)

Mixed uses: In the case of mixed uses, the total requirements of the various uses computed separately and off-street parking space for one use shall not be considered as providing the required off-street parking for any other use, except as specified in section 5.4.

(ff)

Measurement: For the purposes of this article, floor area shall mean the gross floor area inside of the exterior walls. In hospitals, bassinets shall not count as beds. In stadiums, sport arenas, churches and other places of assembly in which occupants utilize benches, pews or other similar seating facilities each 20 linear inches of such seating facilities shall be counted as one seat for the purpose of computing off-street parking requirements.

(gg)

Minimum requirement: Irrespective of any other requirement of this article, each and every separate and individual store, office or other business shall be provided with at least one off-street parking space.

(hh)

The amount of off-street parking required of a development project may be reduced when the reduction would result in the preservation of historic buildings, subject to review of the individual property and location involved. The following conditions shall also be met:

(1)

The historic resources to be preserved must be eligible according to city criteria.

(2)

Rehabilitation of the structure must conform to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's standards for rehabilitation.

(3)

The design of parking areas must be compatible with new and existing conditions on the site.

Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent collective provision for, or joint use of, off-street parking facilities for two or more buildings or uses by two or more owners or operators, provided that the total of such parking spaces shall not be less than the sum of the requirements of the several individual uses computed separately in accordance with this article.

No part of an off-street parking area required for any building or use by this article shall be included as a part of an off-street parking area similarly required for another building or use, except as follows:

(a)

An applicant may submit a parking study that addresses parking needs and demands, prepared by a professional engineer, architect or American Institute of Certified Planners-certified planner, that proposes alternate parking requirements based upon the unique characteristics of the applicant's proposed development.

(b)

The parking study shall consider and discuss all relevant factors including, without limitation: type of use, surrounding available public/private off-street parking, shared parking opportunities between users, hours of operation of proposed and neighboring uses, surrounding on-street parking, loading needs and demands and parking trends for similar development size and use. Additionally, estimates of parking needs and demands shall be based on recommendations in studies such as those from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the Institute of Traffic Engineers (ITE) or industry standards based on data collected from geographic areas and uses or combinations of uses which are the same or comparable to the proposed use.

(c)

The city council shall establish an application fee, by separate resolution, to reimburse the city for the expenses incurred in reviewing and resolving the issues raised by the parking study.

(d)

The following procedures and requirements shall apply in connection with the following requests:

(1)

Requests for reduction in parking requirements of ten percent or less shall be determined by the community development manager after review of the parking study. The community development manager will determine if any or how much off-street parking and loading is needed. Any appeal of the community development manager determination shall be made to the city council.

(2)

Requests for reduction in parking requirements in excess of ten percent shall be considered by the city council at a public hearing. The city council after receiving recommendations from the staff, and reviewing the parking study, may, in its discretion, modify the off-street parking and loading requirements of this article for the applicant's development. Any appeal of the planning and zoning commission shall be made to the city council.

Off-street parking facilities supplied by the owner or operator to meet the requirements of this article shall not be used by commercial vehicles over 1½ tons owned, operated or used in the business of such owner or operator during regular hours of business.

(a)

On the same lot with every structure or use hereafter erected or created, there shall be provided and maintained adequate space for loading and unloading of materials, goods or things and for delivery and shipping, so that vehicles for these services may use this space without encroaching on or interfering with the public use of streets and alleys by pedestrians and vehicles.

(b)

Where any structure is enlarged or any use is extended so that the size of the resulting occupancy comes within the scope of this section, the full amount of off-street loading space shall be supplied and maintained for the structure or use in its extended or enlarged size.

(c)

For the purposes of this section, an off-street loading space shall be an area at the grade level at least ten feet wide by 30 feet long with 12-foot vertical clearance. Each off-street loading space shall be directly accessible from a street or alley without crossing or entering any other required off-street loading or off-street parking space. Such loading space shall be accessible from the interior of the building to be served.

(d)

Off-street loading spaces shall be provided as follows:

a.

For all business uses:

b.

For each auditorium, convention hall, exhibition hall, museum, motel, hotel, office building, sports area arena, stadium, hospital, sanitarium, welfare institution or similar use which has an aggregate gross floor area of:

Over 10,000 sq. ft. but not over 40,000 sq. ft. .....1 space

Plus, for each additional 60,000 sq. ft. or major fraction thereof over the original 40,000 sq. ft. .....1 space

(e)

Off-street loading facilities supplied to meet the needs of one use shall not be considered as meeting the needs of any other use.

(f)

Off-street parking facilities required by this article shall not be used to meet the off-street loading requirements of this section.

(g)

Nothing in this section shall prevent the collective or joint provision of off-street loading facilities for two or more uses or buildings, provided the requirements of this section are fulfilled.

(h)

Off-street loading spaces shall be plainly marked on application for permits and shall be maintained at all times as an off-street loading space.

The requirements set out in article V for off-street parking and loading shall not be applicable as they relate to structures, buildings and land uses approved or lawfully established prior to June 9, 1997 and which front upon Williams Street between the bridge at the Withlacoochee River to the south and McKinney Avenue to the north. A proposed change to a qualifying exempt structure, building or land use (including intensification of such land use) as referenced in the preceding sentence which increases the demand for parking spaces or loading spaces as calculated based on section 5.3 and section 5.8, respectively, shall require compliance with section 5.3 and section 5.8 for just the proposed change. This section shall control within the exemption area to the extent that it conflicts with article IV.

(Ord. No. 2023-02, § 2, 1-10-2024)