Harlingen City Zoning Code

Eliminate nonresident on-street parking in adjoining neighborhoods.

Avoid traffic congestion and public safety hazards caused by a failure to provide such parking spaces.

Expedite the movement of traffic on public thoroughfares in a safe manner, thus increasing the carrying capacity of the streets and reducing the amount of land required for streets, thereby lowering the cost to both the property owner and to the city.

Each off-street parking space for automobiles shall have an area of not less than 9 feet by 18 feet connected either to a public street or alley by a driveway no less than 10 feet wide or directly adjacent to a public alley and so arranged as to permit ingress and egress of the automobile at all times without moving any other automobile. (See spacing chart in section 111-582 for driveway aisles required at differing angles of parking arrangements.) There shall be adequate maneuvering space to eliminate backing into a public street. When off-street parking spaces are located adjacent to a public alley, the width of such alley may be assumed to be a portion of the maneuvering space requirement. The parking spaces, connecting driveways and public alley adjacent to the parking spaces for all businesses and residential uses as defined in section 111-62 shall be of asphalt or concrete surface. Residential garages that allow for a minimum of one standard sized automobile shall be credited as one off-street parking space in meeting these requirements.

Off-street parking shall be provided on the residence use and/or other permissive zoned use lot or tract (or other and additional lots or tracts, for such off-street parking purposes, located within reasonable use proximity to such residence use or other permissively zoned use property) sufficient to provide the following ratio of vehicle spaces for the following uses specified in the districts designated:

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. Any partial parking spaces calculated must be rounded up to the next whole space.

Wherever a lot or tract is used for off-street parking of motor vehicles in connection with an office, retail, commercial or industrial use and is adjacent to or across the street from a residentially zoned district, a masonry wall or solid ornamental fence of not less than three feet nor more than six feet in height shall be erected and maintained so as to enclose the off-street parking area so as to screen the parking use from adjacent residential districts.

The area in front of the required screening wall or fence shall be maintained in a clean and orderly condition free of weeds, debris and trash.

Any lights used to illuminate the parking area shall be so arranged so as to reflect away from any adjacent residential uses or residential districts.

In the N, R-1, R-2, M-1, M-2 and MH districts, no parking space, garage or carport or other automobile storage space or structure shall be used for the storage of any truck, truck trailer or van except panel and pickup trucks not exceeding 1.5 ton capacity. In addition, no trucks exceeding 1.5 ton capacity shall be parked on the right-of-way in such designated zones.

All required parking, other than single-family residential use parking or residential duplex use parking (when located within an R-2 zone or in other allowable zones when on a street not designated as a collector or an arterial street on the most current adopted version of the long range thoroughfare plan in the City of Harlingen's Comprehensive Plan), shall be designed so that adequate on-site turn around area is provided.

There is no requirement for off-street parking in the downtown improvement district for new uses which occupy existing buildings, and new construction of a building on a lot which was previously occupied with a building of similar size; if the square footage of the building is increased, the existing parking requirements in the article will apply to additional square footage only.

No person shall park or cause to be parked on a right-of-way of any street, alley or other public way in the city for a period exceeding 24 hours in any 14-day period commercial trucks, truck trailers, truck cabs, boats and boat trailers, and 48 hours in any 14-day period for motor homes and travel trailers. The moving of any such vehicle from one particular place in a public way to another particular place in a public way shall not be considered compliance with the above described provision.

It shall be unlawful to park and occupy any motor vehicle or recreational vehicle on city owned park property for more than 24 hours.

In addition, in the N, R-1, R-2, M-1, M-2 and MH districts, no semi tractor-trailer with or without an attached storage box shall be parked on the right-of-way or stored on any lot in such designated zones.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to street construction equipment, maintenance and repair equipment or trucks, equipment trailers or vehicles used by public service utilities when used or intended for use in the general vicinity, and vehicles parked while in the act of accepting from the immediate shipper or delivering to an addressee any transportable thing.

All retail, commercial and industrial structures shall provide and maintain off-street facilities for the loading and unloading of merchandise and goods within the building or on the lot adjacent to a public alley or private service drive. Such space shall consist of a minimum area of ten feet by 75 feet for each 20,000 square feet of floor space or fraction thereof in excess of 3,000 square feet in the building or on the lot.

Kindergartens, day schools and similar child training and care establishments shall provide loading and unloading space on a private drive, off-street, to accommodate one motor vehicle for each ten students or children cared for by the establishment.