Harrison City Zoning Code

The orderly provision of motor vehicle parking is important to the overall character and function of the City. Insufficient parking creates congestion and safety concerns while too much parking is wasteful and expensive, harms the environment by increasing stormwater run-off, exacerbating the creation of the heat-island effect, impacts the ability to create vibrant walkable communities, and large expanses of poorly designed and maintained parking areas cause blight. Well-designed parking ensures proper onsite maneuverability, safe ingress and egress from parking areas, proper access for loading and unloading while ensuring emergency vehicle access.

In all zoning districts, excluding the R-4 and C-1 districts, off-street parking and loading facilities for the parking of vehicles for the use of occupants, employees, and patrons of the buildings hereafter erected, altered, or extended after the effective date of this ordinance shall be provided as herein prescribed.

7.1.1

SCHEDULE OF PARKING REQUIREMENTS.

a.

To encourage the redevelopment of downtown Harrison in an urban manner, there shall be no parking requirements within the R-4 and C-1 districts. It shall be the developer's responsibility to determine the appropriate mix of available street and off-street parking necessary for the success of their development. For all other districts, ordinance enforcement officer shall calculate the maximum number of parking spaces allowed for accessory off-street parking by applying the "Schedule of Parking Requirements." The most recent version of the Institute of Transportation Engineers Parking Generation Manual, and any other applicable provisions of this Ordinance. Where the computation results in a fractional space over one-half, it shall be counted as one additional space allowed.

b.

Provision of common parking areas for several uses in the same vicinity is encouraged. In cases where the hours of operation are significantly different between two or more uses, a reduction in the total space requirements shall be considered by the Planning Commission during the Site Plan Review Process.

c.

In the instance of dual function of off-street parking spaces where the off-street parking is located on the same lot or an off-street parking lot connected by a common drive the property owner(s) at their discretion may utilize the Shared Parking standards defined in Section 7.1.1(f).

d.

The following table provides the specific off-street parking space requirements for each common land use. In cases of uses not specifically mentioned, the requirements of off-street parking spaces shall be in accord with the use which the Zoning Administrator and/or Planning Commission considers is similar in type, or through reference to the Institute of Transportation Engineers' most recent Parking Generation Manual. The term "GFA" refers to gross floor area.

e.

Size of parking space: Each off-street parking space shall have the following minimum requirements:

f.

Shared parking: Shared Parking, or Effective Parking, is allowed based on the following calculation which is based on the general type of land use or function of the property. The Shared Parking Factor for two land use functions, when divided into the sum of the two amounts as listed on the Shared Parking table below produces the maximum Shared Parking permitted. For example, residential parking is calculated at 12 spaces and retail parking is calculated at 32. Summed they equal 44. Using the Shared Parking Table this amount is divided by 1.2 to derive an Effective Parking amount of 36.6 or 37 parking spaces. During Site Plan Review, the Planning Commission may accept further reductions in parking based upon calculations provided by the applicant.

g.

Reduction of off-street automobile parking:

1.

Establishments Not Located Along a Designated Public Pathway: For each One (1) bicycle parking space the automobile parking can be reduced by One (1) parking space.

2.

Establishments Located on a Designated Public Pathway: For each One (1) bicycle parking space the automobile parking can be reduced by Two (2) parking spaces.

3.

Establishments that Connect to a Designated Public Pathway: For each One (1) bicycle parking space the automobile parking can be reduced by Two (2) parking spaces.

h.

Bicycle parking. For every off-street parking area constructed within the C-2 and I-1 districts, a bicycle parking rack that accepts at least five (5) bicycles shall be provided within close proximity to the main entrance. For parking lots that accommodate more than fifty (50) vehicles, racks shall be provided for the parking of at least ten (10) bicycles.

i.

Requirements of parking areas: Every parking area containing six or more spaces shall require site plan review in accordance with Article 9 and shall be developed and maintained in accordance with the following requirements:

1.

Designed to provide adequate drainage.

2.

Meet the minimum parking lot landscape design requirements found within Section 7.10.

3.

Surfaced with concrete or asphalt pavement. At the discretion of the Planning Commission, parking areas for outdoor recreational uses may be graveled.

4.

The parking area shall be provided with entrances and exits so located as to minimize traffic congestion.

5.

No part of any parking area shall be closer than five (5) feet to the street right-of-way or closer than ten (10) feet to a lot line in any residential district.

6.

All spaces shall be provided adequate access by means of maneuvering lanes. Backing directly onto a street shall be prohibited except in the case of one-family dwellings.

7.

Adequate ingress and egress to the parking lot by means of clearly limited and defined drives shall be provided for all vehicles.

8.

Ingress and egress to a parking lot lying in an area zoned for other than single-family residential use shall not be across land zoned for single-family residential use.

9.

All maneuvering lane widths shall permit one-way traffic movement, except that the 90-degree pattern may permit two-way movement.

10.

Each entrance and exit to and from any off-street parking lot located in an area zoned for other than single-family residential use shall be at least 25 feet from adjacent property located in any single-family residential district.

j.

Parking Lot Operation. The following requirements shall be in effect for the operation of all off-street parking spaces:

1.

Maintained in good condition and free of dust, trash, and debris.

2.

All signs, paint markings, and parking lot surface shall be maintained in a well-kept manner.

3.

All required buffer landscaping and parking lot canopy landscaping shall be replaced within four months when found to be diseased or dying.

4.

All parking lot buffering shrubs shall be maintained in a manicured manner.

5.

Parking of vehicles with signage printed on the sides of the vehicle for longer than one day shall be prohibited.

6.

Storage of commercial fleets in surface parking lots located within the front yards of businesses shall be prohibited.

a.

Requirement for Provision of Off-Street Loading Facilities. Off-street loading spaces: For every building or addition to an existing building requiring the receipt or distribution in vehicles or materials or merchandise, an area adequate for maneuvering and ingress and egress for delivery vehicles and off-street loading spaces as follows shall be provided and maintained on the same lot:

1.

From 0 to 2,500 Square Feet of Floor Area: None

2.

From 2,501 to 20,000 Square Feet of Gross Floor Area: One space

3.

From 20,001 to 50,000 Square Feet of Gross Floor Area: Two spaces

4.

One additional space for each additional 50,000 square feet of gross floor area or fraction thereof.

Each such loading space shall be at least 10 feet in width, 35 feet in length, and 14 feet in height. During Site Plan Review, the Planning Commission may make a determination that this requirement should be waived within the R-4 and C-1 districts, based upon the intent of the Master Plan to support the development of a vibrant downtown district and that the delivery operations of the project will not generally impact the safe operation of streets adjacent to the development.

b.

No such space shall be located within the front setback area or closer than 25 feet to a lot line in any residential district. Loading and unloading spaces shall be provided in all commercial districts subject to the following standards and regulations:

1.

Off-street loading areas shall be surfaced with a concrete or bituminous mix pavement and shall be sloped and drained to dispose of surface water.

2.

Any lighting used to illuminate off-street loading areas shall be so arranged so as to direct light away from adjoining premises.

3.

Each loading space shall be at least ten (10) feet wide, twenty-five (25) feet long and shall have a clearance of fourteen (14) feet above grade.

4.

Required loading areas shall be in addition to required off-street parking areas.

5.

Loading spaces may occupy all or any part of any required yard or court space.

6.

No loading spaces shall be located closer than fifty (50) feet to any lot in any R-1 or R-2 District unless wholly within an enclosed building or enclosed on all sides facing R-1 or R-2 Districts, by a wall or uniformly painted solid board or masonry fence of uniform appearance which is not less than six (6) feet in height.

The purpose of this subsection is to support the development of a network of sidewalks and nonmotorized pathways that once completely developed, would enable all individuals, regardless of mobility limitations or motor vehicle access, to safely traverse the City on a fully integrated network.

All new developments, except those located in the R-1 and R-3 districts, shall include sidewalks serving the site and along the public right-of-way. All public sidewalks and pathways shall:

a.

Be handicap accessible;

b.

Be no less than five (5) feet wide;

c.

Create a complete linked network of walkways connecting all uses with parks and other areas;

d.

In residential areas sidewalks shall be separated from streets by "planting strips" a minimum of five (5) feet wide, planted with shade trees; and

e.

Where nonmotorized pathways are planned to link transportation nodes within the City and adjoining Hayes Township, a ten-foot wide nonmotorized asphalt pathway shall be installed instead of a sidewalk.

As a condition for approval the applicant shall provide official documentation indicating the stormwater run-off system as proposed meets the requirements of the Clare County Storm Water Control Ordinance, and has been reviewed and approved by the Clare County Soil Erosion Officer. When possible, the use of green infrastructure including rain gardens, bioswales, and porous pavement is encouraged.

The intent of this requirement is to increase the City's urban tree canopy and to leverage the wide number of benefits that develop from a well-managed urban tree canopy. Street trees are an important component of a community's tree canopy. The urban forest provides a wide range of measurable benefits which include: reduced stormwater flow; reduction in heat island effect, reduction in air conditioning costs, improved air quality, improved resident well-being, reduced road maintenance expenses, noise reduction, traffic calming, increased property values, and improved biodiversity.

New street trees in commercial districts shall comply with the standards below:

a.

Spacing: On every site involving new development or re-development, street trees shall be provided at 25- to 40-foot intervals.

b.

Variety: The species of street tree and exact locations shall be as specified on the future streetscape plan. In the event that future streetscape plan has not been prepared then trees identified as being recommended for street tree locations by the Michigan Department of Nature Resources or any other professional landscape organization or appropriate governmental body.

c.

Engineered Tree Well: Within the C-1 and C-2 districts, whenever street trees are planted in areas where paving significantly constricts the unimpeded root growth area, the tree wells shall be designed to reduce tree mortality and improve long-term tree health. A variety of solutions may be deployed including: creating enlarged unimpeded rooting areas, use of engineered soils, pavement support structures (aka Silvia Cells) irrigation, drainage, root aeration, and other appropriate means. The solutions to be employed shall be clearly described within the project's Site Plan Review application.

Any fences, walls or similar enclosures which are located in the required front yard in any residential district shall be of an "open-type" or "see-through" material and shall not exceed four (4) feet in height. Also, any fences, walls or similar enclosures which are located in a required side yard or required rear yard in any residential district may be of an obscure type in nature but shall not exceed eight (8) feet in height.

Sign regulations are addressed in City of Harrison Ordinance 22.050. Please refer to this ordinance for sign standards in all zoning districts.

(a)

The City may require a wireless provider to repair all damage to the right-of-way directly caused by the activities of the wireless provider while occupying, constructing, installing, mounting, maintaining, modifying, operating, or replacing wireless facilities, small cell wireless facilities, utility poles or wireless support structures in the right-of-way and must return the right-of-way to its functional equivalent before the damage. Should a wireless provider fail to make the repairs required by the City within 60 days after a written notice, the City may make the repairs and charge the wireless provider the reasonable and documented cost of the repairs. The provider shall remit the invoice provided under the terms of this provision forthwith.

(b)

Before discontinuing its use of a wireless facility, small cell wireless facility, utility pole, or wireless support structure, a wireless provider shall notify the City in writing. The notice shall specify when and how the wireless provider intends to remove the small cell wireless facility, utility pole, or wireless support structure. The City may impose reasonable and nondiscriminatory requirements and specification s for the wireless provide to return the property to its pre-installation condition. If the wireless provider does not complete the removal within 45 days after the discontinuance of use, the authority may complete the removal and assess the costs of removal against the wireless provider. The provider shall remit the invoice provided under the terms of this provision forthwith. A permit under this section for a small cell wireless facility expires upon removal of the small cell wireless facility.

(c)

Should a wireless provider undertake work that will unreasonably affect traffic patterns or obstruct vehicular or pedestrian traffic in a public right-of-way or public or semi-public lands, the wireless provider must submit a permit to the City as provided elsewhere in this code.

(d)

The notice that an application is administratively incomplete or that a fee has not been paid as set forth in the Small Cell Wireless Facilities Deployment Act tolled the running of the time period to approve or deny the application as set forth in the Small Cell Wireless Facility Deployment Act. The running of time tolled under the law and this ordinance resumes when the applicant makes a supplemental submission in response to the City's notice of incompleteness. If a supplemental submission is inadequate, the City shall notify the applicant in writing not later than 10 days after receiving the supplemental submission that the supplemental submission did not provide the information identified in the original notice delineating the missing documents or information. The time period may be tolled in the case of second or subsequent notices under the procedures identified herein. A second or subsequent notice of incompleteness may not specify missing documents or information that was not delineated in the original notice of incompleteness.

[(e)

Reserved.]

(f)

The City shall approve or deny the application and notify the applicant in writing as follows: Should the City fail to comply within the time set forth, the completed application is considered to be approved subject to the condition that the applicant provide the City not less than 7 days' advance written notice that the applicant will be proceeding with the work pursuant to the automatic approval provisions of the Small Cell Wireless Facility Deployment Act, Section 15, being MCL 460.1315(H).

No permitted or Special Use shall conform to the following minimum requirements and standards of use, occupancy and operation:

a.

Smoke: It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to permit the emission of any smoke from any source whatever to a density greater than that density described as No. 1 of the Ringlemann Chart; provided that the following exceptions shall be permitted; smoke, the shade or appearance of which is equal to but not darker than No. 2 of the Ringlemann Chart for a period, or periods aggregating four minutes in any thirty minutes.

b.

Dust, Dirt and Fly Ash:

1.

No person, firm or corporation shall operate or cause to be operated, maintained or cause to be maintained, any process for any purpose, or furnace or combustion device for the burning of coal or other natural or synthetic fuels, without maintaining and operating, while using said process or furnace or combustion device, recognized and approved equipment, means, methods, device or contrivance to reduce the quantity of gas borne or airborne solids shall not exceed 0.20 grains per cubic foot of the carrying medium at a temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.

Method of Measurement: For the purpose of determining the adequacy of such devices these conditions are to be conformed to when the percentage of excess air in the stack does not exceed fifty (50) percent at full load. The foregoing requirement shall be measured by the A.S.M.E. Test Code for dust-separating apparatus. All other forms of dust, dirt, and fly ash shall be completely eliminated insofar as escape or emission into the open air is concerned. The Building Inspector or Official may require such additional data as is deemed necessary to show that adequate and approved provisions for the prevention and elimination of dust, dirt and fly ash have been made.

c.

Glare: Glare from any process (such as or similar to arc welding, or acetylene torch cutting) which emits harmful ultraviolet rays shall be performed in such a manner as not to be seen from any point beyond the property line, and as not to create a public nuisance or hazard along lot lines.

d.

Fire and Explosive Hazards: The storage and handling of flammable liquids, liquefied petroleum, gases, and explosives shall comply with the State Rules and Regulations as established by Public Act No. 207 of 1941, as amended.

e.

Noise: No operation or activity shall cause or create noise that becomes a nuisance to adjacent uses.

f.

Odors: Odorous matter released from any commercial or industrial use or district shall not exceed the odor threshold concentration beyond the property lines when measured either at ground level or habitable elevation.

a.

Purpose: The intent of this section is to provide general landscaping, buffering, and screening requirements that will enhance the aesthetic character of the City, protect property values by buffering uses from each other, support the small-town character of the City, and assist in accomplishing the goals of the Master Plan.

b.

Applicability: All multiple family developments over four units, commercial, and industrial uses shall provide landscaping and screening according to this Section.

c.

Landscaping Plan: At the discretion of the Zoning Administrator or Planning Commission, a landscape plan shall be prepared by a landscape architect for all developments requiring site plan approval illustrating all site landscaping, parking lots, fences and walls, and buffer areas. If the proposed development's landscaping is limited in extent, the licensed landscape architect requirement may be waived by the reviewing agent/body.

d.

Landscaping Requirements:

1.

Open Space Planting: In commercially and industrially zoned districts and multifamily developments, for each one thousand (1,000) square feet of open space that is not utilized for buildings, stormwater control, or parking lots, the open space shall be planted at a minimum with one canopy shade tree, five decorative trees or shrubs, and 25 ornamental grasses or perennials. These plantings may be bunched together for enhanced visual effect. At the written request of the applicant, the Planning Commission may adjust this requirement during the Site Plan Review process, if they are satisfied as to how the intent and purpose of this section is achieved through a non-conforming design.

2.

Native and Low Maintenance Plantings: Use of at least fifty percent (50%) native plant species to Northern Lower Michigan shall be required and the selection of plants requiring only periodic maintenance is encouraged.

3.

Parking Lot Landscaping: These requirements are for all parking lots developed within the City, and these design standards are recommended for all existing parking lots undergoing renovation activities.

a)

Public Right-of-Way Buffer: A minimum of a five-foot wide planting strip shall be located along all street frontages within the C-2 and I-1 districts where parking lots and drive aisles are located within the front yard. This buffer strip may be comprised of a decorative brick knee wall, decorative brick piers and landscaping, or opaque row of shrubs measuring three (3) feet in height. Installation of additional decorative shrubs and plantings is recommended.

b)

Parking Lot Perimeter Landscaping: For parking lots of ten (10) or more vehicles, canopy shade trees shall be planted on the perimeter of all parking lots on forty-foot (40') centers wherever more than fifteen (15) feet exists between buildings and the edge of the parking lot and/or seven (7) feet between the surface of the parking lot and other paved surfaces including sidewalks and adjoining parking areas.

c)

Interior Parking Lot Landscaping: The number of required parking lot trees based on size are as follows:

1)

Parking lot areas containing less than twenty (20) parking spaces are not required to plant parking lot trees.

2)

Parking lot areas containing fifty (50) parking spaces or less shall provide one (1) tree per six (6) parking spaces.

3)

Parking lot areas containing fifty-one (51) or more parking spaces shall provide one (1) tree per five (5) parking spaces.

4)

Parking lots fifty-one (51) or more parking spaces shall have one-third (⅓) of the required trees must be located within the interior or the parking lot envelop in an island or peninsula.

5)

The minimum size for interior parking lot islands or peninsula shall be eight (8) foot width with a total gross floor area of two hundred (200) square feet.

6)

Placement of parking lot landscaping should be done in a manner that permits convenient snow storage during winter protecting the required interior parking lot landscaping from damage caused by plows, snow mounding, and ice melter distribution and run-off.

7)

Parking lot design encourages the use of connected islands with combination of spill ways into bio-swales or rain gardens.

4.

Plant Materials:

a)

Canopy shade trees shall measure two inches in caliper at five feet diameter breast height.

b)

Evergreen trees shall measure five feet tall at the time of planting.

c)

Plant material: Plant material and grasses shall be of generally acceptable varieties and species, be comprised predominantly of species indigenous to the Roscommon County area, be free of insects and diseases, and not be prone to disease, low wood strength and/or high wood-splitting tendencies, such as box elder, mulberry and willows, unless specifically authorized otherwise during site plan approval. A mixture of plant species shall be required as a protective measure against insect and disease infestation.

5.

Maintenance: Any required plant materials shall be planted within six (6) months from the date of issuance of a certificate of occupancy and shall thereafter be reasonably maintained with permanent plant materials to provide a screen to abutting properties. Suitable materials equal in characteristics to the plant materials listed with the spacing as required shall be provided.

All plant growth in landscaped areas be controlled by pruning, trimming or other suitable methods so that plant materials do not interfere with public utilities, restrict pedestrian or vehicular access, or otherwise constitute a traffic hazard.

All planted areas be maintained in a relatively weed-free condition and clear of undergrowth and irrigated at such intervals as are necessary to promote optimum growth.

Any dead or diseased plants shall be replaced with the same or similar credited species of similar size in a timely manner.

6.

Waivers and Modifications: Any of the requirements of this Article may be modified through site plan review proceedings, provided the approving body makes a finding that identifies characteristics of the site or site vicinity that would make required buffer areas, fencing, or screening unnecessary, inappropriate, or ineffective, or where it would impair vision at a driveway or street intersection.