Fishkill Village City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
Off-Street Parking and Loading
§ 171-88 Facilities required; interpretation.
Except as provided in § 171-89 herein, 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 required by the terms of this article to meet the needs of persons occupying or using such structures or land. A permit for the erection, replacement or substantial alteration of a structure or land use shall not be issued unless off-street parking and loading facilities shall have been provided in accordance with the requirements set forth in this article, and such required parking and loading facilities shall be completed before a certificate of occupancy shall be issued.
[Amended 12-4-1996 by L.L. No. 12-1996]
In case of exceptional difficulty or unusual hardship to such properties arising out of the requirements of this Article, the Board of Appeals may reduce the parking requirements, but shall require such degree of compliance as it may deem reasonable.
Whenever two or more classifications provided in § 171-97 shall apply to a use of land, buildings or other structures, the standard requiring the larger number of parking spaces shall apply, but where separate parts of a building or structure are used for purposes requiring a different number of parking spaces, the number of required spaces shall be determined by adding the number of spaces required for each type of use.
Required off-street parking facilities which, after development, are later dedicated to and accepted by the Village, shall be deemed to continue to serve the uses or structures for which they were originally provided.
§ 171-89 Parking exemption.
[Amended 12-4-1996 by L.L. No. 12-1996; 8-17-2009 by L.L. No. 23-2009]
Structures and land uses in the VC-BD District between Church Street and Jackson Street which are legally in existence shall not be subject to the parking and loading space requirements set forth in this article. This exception to the parking and loading space requirements of this article shall also apply to changes of use in said existing structures. However, any parking and loading facilities now existing to serve such structures and uses shall not be reduced except where they exceed such requirements, in which case they shall not be reduced below such requirements.
§ 171-90 Location.
Required parking and loading spaces shall be provided on the same lot as the use or structure to which they are accessory, except that off-street parking spaces required for structures or land uses in two or more adjacent lots may be provided in a single common facility on one or more of said lots, provided that a legal instrument, satisfactory to the Village Attorney, assures the continued existence of the parking facility to serve said structures or land uses as long as they may exist. Such agreements shall also guarantee that upon the termination of such joint use, each subsequent use of the premises will provide off-street parking facilities for its own use in accordance with all requirements of this Article. Also, the Planning Board may permit all or part of the required off-street parking spaces to be located on any lot within 500 feet of the building if the Board determines it is impractical to provide parking on the same lot with the building. In no event shall such parking and loading spaces for a nonresidential use be located in any residence district.
§ 171-91 Size of parking spaces.
[Amended 9-12-1988 by L.L. No. 2-1988; 8-19-2013 by L.L. No. 7-2013]
Each off-street parking space shall be designed to accommodate one automobile having an overall length of 18 feet. Such parking space shall have a length of not less than 18 feet and shall have a width of not less than 10 feet.
§ 171-92 Design standards.
Except for parking spaces provided in connection with a one- or a two-family dwelling unit, each parking space shall be provided with adequate area for approach, turning and exit of an automobile having an overall length of 18 feet without need to use any part of a public street right-of-way.
No off-street loading space, including any truck loading bay, ramp or dock, shall be designed or arranged in a manner that trucks must use any part of a public street right-of-way to back into such space.
Except for necessary driveway entrances and except for parking spaces provided in connection with a dwelling, an office in a dwelling and rooms to let in a dwelling, all off-street parking and loading spaces located within 10 feet of any street line shall be separated from such right-of-way by a fence, a wall or an embankment, not less than 24 inches in height, in such a manner that cars will not overhang the street line.
Central aisles between rows of perpendicular parking shall be 25 feet in width and between rows of forty-five-degree diagonal parking shall be 20 feet in width.
A nonresidential parking lot adjoining a residential lot should have adequate screening, including a setback of at least 10 feet or as determined by the Planning Board.
§ 171-93 Operation and maintenance of off-street parking facilities.
Required off-street parking facilities shall be maintained as long as the use of structure exists which the facilities are designed to serve. Required parking areas developed for specific structures and uses shall be reserved at all times for those persons who are employed at or make use of such structures and land uses, except when dedicated to and accepted by the Village as public parking spaces.
§ 171-94 Grading, surfacing, drainage and maintenance of parking facilities; markings.
All required parking facilities shall be graded, surfaced, drained and maintained throughout the duration of their use to the satisfaction of the Village Engineer to the extent necessary to avoid nuisances of dust, erosion or excessive water flow across public ways to adjacent lands. The maximum slope within a parking area shall not exceed 5%. In multifamily residential developments and in nonresidential developments, the Planning Board shall require the provision of suitable markings to indicate individual parking spaces, maneuvering and maintenance area, entrances and exits.
§ 171-95 Traffic circulation.
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 assurances and/or deed restrictions, satisfactory to the Village Attorney, binding the owner and his heirs and assignees to permit and maintain such internal access and circulation and interuse of parking facilities.
§ 171-96 Waiver of parking requirements.
Where the authority approving a site plan or special permit application determines that less than the required number of parking spaces will satisfy the intent of this chapter, said Board may waive the requirement in part, but not in excess of 50% of the number required according to § 171-97 herein. In all cases, it shall be expressly demonstrated on the site plan that sufficient space remains for the provision of the total amount of off-street parking required, and the site plan shall bear such designation.
All such undeveloped parking space shall be used and maintained as additional landscaped grounds until required for parking. Written guaranties, satisfactory to the Village Attorney, shall be submitted by the applicant for the eventual improvement of any such spaces which may have been waived or within six months of the date of written notice to the property owner by the Planning Board that such spaces have been determined as necessary and must be constructed by the property owner.
§ 171-97 Schedule of off-street parking requirements; fee in lieu of spaces.
[Amended 12-4-1996 by L.L. No. 12-1996; 3-25-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; 3-13-2000 by L.L. No. 2-2000; 2-12-2007 by L.L. No. 4-2007]
Off-street parking spaces shall be provided in accordance with the following minimum standards, except that the Planning Board may modify these provisions as a condition of the issuance of a special permit or site plan approval in accordance with the provisions of Articles VIII and X, respectively. In cases where sufficient space for parking cannot be provided for an existing structure or structures on the site, the applicant may furnish a fee, in lieu of providing the parking spaces, for each space the applicant is unable to provide:
[Amended 7-20-2009 by L.L. No. 19-2009; 9-28-2009 by L.L. No. 28-2009; 8-15-2011 by L.L. No. 6-2011; 3-4-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013; 11-15-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2021]
Use | Minimum Number of Required Off-Street Parking Spaces |
|---|---|
One- and two-family dwellings | 2 for each dwelling unit |
Multifamily dwelling | 1 for each dwelling unit plus 1/2 for each bedroom |
Church, place of worship, theater, auditorium or place of assembly | 1 for each 4 seats or pew spaces or, in places without seats, 1 for each 50 square feet of floor space used for public assembly |
Athletic field | 1 for each 4 seats or bleacher spaces |
Accessory home occupation | 2 in addition to spaces required for the residential use, except that there shall be 4 for each doctor or dentist in addition to spaces required for the residential use |
Nursing home, convalescent home or home for the aged | 1 for each 3 patient beds and 1 for each employee, including medical and service staff |
Bowling alley or other center of public recreation or amusement center | 5 for each bowling lane; all others, 1 per 100 square feet of floor space for public recreation or amusement |
Retail | 1 for each 200 square feet plus 1 per each on-duty employee |
Restaurant or tavern | 1 for each 2 seats |
Fast-food restaurant | 1 per 60 square feet of gross floor area |
Office for business or professional use (other than accessory to residential use) | 1 for each 300 square feet of gross floor area |
Banking use | 10, plus 5 additional spaces for each person in excess of 2 acting as tellers |
Hotel/motel | 1 for each guest bedroom or suite, whichever is greater, plus 1 for each employee, plus additional spaces for any accessory restaurant, conference or meeting room, public assembly, retail or office uses, etc., based upon the standards contained herein for such uses |
Medical, veterinarian, and dental office or clinic | 3 per doctor, plus 1 additional for each technician and employee, or 1 for each 325 square feet of gross floor area, whichever is greater |
Funeral home | 1 for every 3 seats accommodated at capacity plus 1 for every 2 employees |
Automobile sales and service | 1 per 175 square feet of gross floor space |
Automotive service station | 3 per service bay, or 10 plus 1 space per 150 square feet of garage gross floor area plus 1 per employee, whichever is greater; plus stacking spaces for any gasoline pumps, and additional spaces for any accessory convenience retail use based upon the standards contained herein for such use. Spaces at gasoline pumps cannot be counted towards required parking. |
Car washing establishment | 10 stacking spaces per automatic washing bay, or 1 per 500 square feet of gross floor area, whichever is greater; plus 2 drying spaces for each manual washing bay; plus 1 space per employee |
Manufacturing or industrial use | 2 per 3 employees, but no less than 1 per 400 square feet of gross floor space; plus 1 per commercial vehicle |
Warehouse, wholesale, storage, utility or other similar commercial use | 1 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor space plus 1 per commercial vehicle |
Laundry facilities | 4 spaces for every 1,000 square feet plus 1 space per every 2 washing machines |
Shopping plaza | One parking space for every 200 square feet of overall building space |
Reasonable and appropriate off-street parking requirements for structures and land uses which do not fall within the categories listed above shall be determined by the Planning Board and will be specified in the resolution approving the site plan.
Off-street parking of commercial vehicles in residential zones.
[Added 4-20-2009 by L.L. No. 8-2009]
Commercial motor vehicles in residential districts shall conform to all of the following requirements for parking "as of right":
The type of vehicle shall be either a panel van or pickup truck.
The maximum height from the ground to the highest point of the vehicle shall be 6 1/2 feet or less.
The vehicle shall not have signs, pictures or illustrations attached to and extending upward, downward or outward from any part of the vehicle.
The Planning Board may issue a special use permit for the parking of one commercial vehicle not permitted as of right in the § 171-97 schedule of off-street parking requirements, provided that:
The vehicle will only be parked in the residential district during nonbusiness hours.
The vehicle will not generate more than two trips per day to and from the residential lot, except if the vehicle is being used in connection with a permitted home occupation.
The vehicle will not create a nuisance nor be a threat to the health, safety and welfare of the community.
Any commercial vehicle not meeting the standards as being able to park as of right or by a special use permit is prohibited from parking in residential zones.
Exception for commercial vehicle or trailer actually providing service to residence. There shall be an exception to the foregoing prohibition where the commercial vehicle or trailer is actually providing a commercial service to the residence. For example, lawn care vehicles actually providing lawn care, construction vehicles actually providing construction work, and moving trucks and trailers actually providing moving service to the residence shall be allowed to park at the residence to which they are providing such commercial service; but in no event shall any of the foregoing vehicles/trailers be parked at the residence for more than eight hours.
Any commercial vehicle permitted to park either by right or by special use permit shall be parked in a garage or on an approved driveway surface (as determined by the Code Enforcement Office) constructed of suitable materials.
[Amended 5-24-2010 by L.L. No. 6-2010]
Any commercial vehicle permitted to park either by right or by special use permit shall, when feasible, be parked behind the front building line of the owner's house or be suitably screened as determined by the Planning Board.
Only one commercial vehicle shall be allowed to park at each residence.
In-lieu fee.
[Added 7-20-2009 by L.L. No. 19-2009; amended 9-28-2009 by L.L. No. 28-2009]
The fee in lieu of providing parking spaces shall be based on the minimum number of spaces shown on the Off-Street Parking Chart (§ 171-97A) after subtracting the number of spaces that the applicant actually provides.
The fee in lieu of providing parking spaces shall only be implemented when all other reasonable options are exhausted. It shall only be applicable to existing structures and shall not apply to new structures.
The fee shall be set by the Village Board of Trustees at the recommendation of the Planning Board and will be reviewed annually.
The fee collected for each parking space not provided by the applicant will represent the parking replacement cost (PRC) of providing and maintaining such parking at another location in or near the Village Center Business District.
This provision shall apply only to existing structures and does not apply to new development or redevelopment of a parcel or group of parcels.
Parking fund.
[Added 7-20-2009 by L.L. No. 19-2009]
The fee in lieu of providing parking spaces shall be collected and deposited into a separate fund held by the Village. The amount of the fee shall be $300 per space not provided per year, to be paid annually. Such fee shall continue to be paid every year thereafter, unless and until such time as the required space or spaces are provided.
[Amended 8-17-2009 by L.L. No. 23-2009]
The fund may be used to provide for the acquisition, improvement and maintenance of new and existing parking solutions, including the preparation of a Village parking plan. Acquisition of parking solutions can include, but is not limited to, outright purchase of either property or leases on property or the establishment, and funding of a shuttle service to a parking area either within or outside the Village boundaries. Improvements to parking areas can include lighting, landscaping and redesign. Maintenance includes, among other things, snow removal, landscaping, painting and repaving.
§ 171-98 Off-street loading and unloading requirements.
Off-street loading and unloading facilities shall be located on the same site with the use to be served, except as provided in § 171-90, and shall be provided as follows:
Size. Each off-street loading space shall be at least 12 feet in width, at least 30 feet in length and at least 15 feet in height, exclusive of access and turning areas, with such shape, access and slope as to accommodate one truck having an overall length of 30 feet.
Required number of spaces.
For retail and/or service business establishments: a minimum of one space for the first 7,500 square feet, plus one space for each additional 10,000 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 5,000 square feet.
For office establishments: a minimum of one space for the first 20,000 square feet of gross floor area, plus one space for each additional 40,000 square feet of gross floor area or major part thereof, except that no berths are required for buildings of less than 10,000 square feet of gross floor area.
For office research establishments: a minimum of one space for the first 12,000 square feet of gross floor area of building, plus one space for each additional 20,000 square feet of gross floor area or major part thereof.
For wholesale business, industry, storage, warehouse and other commercial establishments: a minimum of one space for each establishment, plus one space for each 10,000 square feet of gross floor area or major part thereof.
Other uses which do not fall within the categories listed above shall be determined by the Planning Board and will be specified in the resolution approving the site plan.
§ 171-99 Driveways.
General requirements. For reasons of traffic and pedestrian safety, both on- and off-street, as well as to provide for possible future road widening or other improvements, all new driveways and sidewalk crossings entering onto any street shall comply with all requirements of these regulations and shall be subject to the approval of the Village Engineer or Code Enforcement Officer except where such are part of a use subject to special permit or site development plan approval, in accordance with Articles VII and X, in which case they shall be subject to Planning Board approval.
[Amended 5-24-2010 by L.L. No. 6-2010]
Driveway grades.
The maximum grade for any new driveway accessory to a single-family dwelling and connecting its off-street parking area to a street shall be 12%, except that where it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the approving authority that, because of practical difficulty or unreasonable hardship affecting a particular property, the construction of a driveway should be permitted at a grade in excess of 12%, said increase in grade shall be permitted, provided that the increase in driveway grade is the minimum increase required and further provided that in no case shall such driveway grade be permitted to exceed 15%.
The maximum grade for new driveways accessory to uses other than single-family dwellings and connecting the required off-street parking area to the street shall not exceed 7%, except that the approving authority shall have the same power to permit increased grades here as in Subsection B(1) above, provided that such grades in no case exceed 10%.
Notwithstanding the maximum permitted grades specified in Subsection B(1), no driveway serving a single-family dwelling shall have a grade in excess of 4% within 35 feet of the center line of the traveled way of the street or within 10 feet of the right-of-way line of the street, whichever distance is greater.
Notwithstanding the maximum permitted grades specified in Subsection B(2), no driveway serving a use other than a single-family dwelling shall have a grade in excess of 3% within 50 feet of the center line of the traveled way of the street or within 25 feet of the property line of the street, whichever distance is greater. The Planning Board may require increased platform areas of this type in situations where, because of the nature of the proposed use, substantial traffic volumes are anticipated.
Driveway alignment and location. Any driveway entering onto a street shall be located and aligned in such a way as to create the minimum possible traffic hazard. The platform portion of the driveway, as required by Subsection B above, shall be aligned at approximately right angles to the street.
Sight distance. Clear visibility shall be provided 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 reasonable distance (commensurate with the speed and volume of traffic on such highway) and so that the driver of an automobile traveling on the highway shall have a similar view of the automobile in the driveway.