Franklin Park City Zoning Code

All required facilities with respect to parking area shall be provided and maintained so long as the use exists which the facilities were designed to serve. Off-street parking facilities shall not be reduced in total extent after their provision except upon the approval of the Zoning Hearing Board and then only after proof that, by reason of diminution in floor area, seating area, the number of employees or change in other factors controlling the regulation of the number of parking spaces, such reduction shall be in conformity with the requirements of this chapter.

Reasonable precautions shall be taken by the owner or sponsor of particular uses to assure the availability of required facilities to the employees or other persons whom the facilities are designed to serve.

Such facilities shall be designed and used in such a manner as to at no time constitute a nuisance, a hazard or an unreasonable impediment to traffic.

Off-street parking facilities accessory to a residential use may be used only for the parking of passenger automobiles, recreational vehicles as defined by this chapter and commercial vehicles a Class 4 or less registered gross or combination weight in pounds (i.e., 11,000 pounds or less), as provided by the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code, Act of June 17, 1976, P.L. 162, No. 81, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1916, when such automobiles or vehicles are owned by the occupants of the residential dwelling structure constituting the principal use of that property. The use of residentially zoned property, either private or public, for the parking of commercial vehicles with a Class 5 or greater registered gross or combination weight in pounds (9,001 pounds or more) as provided by the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code, Act of June 17, 1976, P.L. 162, No. 81, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1916, or tow trucks, trucks with dump bodies, construction vehicles and equipment such as, but not limited to, pavers, rollers, compressors, welders, backhoes, highlifts or trailers designed, constructed or intended to be used for the transport of such equipment, is prohibited. Not more than one commercially lettered vehicle shall be parked on a residential lot, except when services are being provided to the property.

No more than one utility trailer or recreational vehicle, including those that are not self-propelled, may be stored on a residential property; provided, however, that no utility trailer or recreational vehicle shall be stored in the required front yard of a residential property

No person in charge of or in control of premises or private property, whether as owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or otherwise, shall allow any partially dismantled, wrecked, junked, discarded or otherwise nonoperating motor vehicles to remain on such property longer than 10 days, and no person shall leave any such vehicle on any property within the Borough of Franklin Park for a longer time than 10 days; provided, nevertheless, that this section shall not be construed to apply to any vehicle in an enclosed building or so located upon the premises as not to be readily visible from any public place or from any surrounding private property; and provided, further, that this chapter shall not be construed to apply with regard to any vehicle on the premises of a business enterprise operating in a lawful place, other than in a residential district, and operated in a lawful manner, when the keeping or maintenance of such vehicle is necessary to the operation of such business enterprise or with regard to a vehicle in an appropriate storage place or depository maintained in a lawful place and manner by the Borough of Franklin Park or any other public agency or entity.

The minimum dimensions of stalls and aisles shall be as follows.

Parking areas shall be designed to permit each motor vehicle to proceed to and from the parking space without requiring the moving of any other motor vehicles.

The width of entrance and exit drives shall be:

For the purpose of servicing any property held under single and separate ownership, the number of entrance and exit drives crossing the street line shall be limited to two along the frontage of any single street, and their center lines shall be spaced at least 80 feet apart. On all corner properties, there shall be a space of a minimum of 60 feet, measured at the curbline, between the center line of any entrance or exit drive and the street line of the street parallel to said drive.

In no case shall parking areas be designed to require or encourage cars to back into a public street in order to leave the lot.

All parking spaces and access drives shall be at least five feet from any side or rear lot line.

All parking areas for any purpose other than single-family residences shall be physically separated from any public street by a planting strip, which shall be not less than five feet in depth.

Lighting of parking areas may be required and/or permitted at the discretion of the governing body. All artificial lighting used to illuminate any parking space or spaces shall be so arranged that no direct rays from such lighting shall fall upon any neighboring property or streets. Lighting level shall be a minimum of one-footcandle average unless modified by the governing body.

Every retail establishment, storage warehouse or wholesale establishment exceeding 6,000 square feet shall have at least one off-street loading space. Where there is an aggregate gross floor area of 20,000 square feet or more arranged, intended or designed for such use, there shall be provided off-street truck loading or unloading berths in accordance with Table 22-4:

Every auditorium, funeral home, multifamily dwelling of 20 units or more, office building, restaurant or hotel exceeding 6,000 square feet shall have at least one off-street loading space. Where there is an aggregate gross floor area of 30,000 square feet or more arranged, intended or designed for such use, there shall be provided off-street truck loading and unloading berths in accordance with Table 22-5.

Each required space shall be no less than 14 feet wide, 55 feet long and 17 feet high, exclusive of drives and maneuvering space and located entirely on the lot being served.

There shall be appropriate means of access to a street or alley as well as adequate maneuvering space.

The maximum width of driveways and sidewalk openings measured at the street line shall be 35 feet; the minimum width shall be 20 feet.

All accessory driveways and entranceways shall be graded and all-weather-surfaced and drained to the satisfaction of the Borough Engineer to the extent necessary to prevent nuisances of dust, erosion or excessive water flow across public ways.

Such facilities shall be designed and used in such a manner as to at no time constitute a nuisance, a hazard or an unreasonable impediment to traffic.

The lighting requirements of § 212-2210H shall be met when applicable.

They shall be provided and maintained as long as the use exists which the facilities were designed to serve.

They shall not be reduced in total extent after their provision except when the reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this chapter.

Reasonable precautions shall be taken by the owner or sponsor of particular uses to assure the availability of required facilities to the delivery and pickup vehicles they are designed to serve.

Borough Council may approve alternative off-street loading area designs, provided that the loading area is designed by a professional engineer.