The purpose of this chapter is to achieve the purposes of the general plan, this title, all other land use ordinances, and to promote traffic and pedestrian safety and efficiency by:

   (1)   The minimization of hard surfaced areas to reduce environmental impacts, storm water runoff, visual impacts, and prevent heat buildup while providing adequate parking sufficient to support the associated use or activity.

   (2)   Requiring off street parking at locations that respect the natural environment and view amenities of the city.

   (3)   Requiring off street parking areas to respect the image and character of the city. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

   (1)   Off street parking spaces shall be provided, meeting the requirements of this chapter, for all new buildings, all additions or enlargements to an existing building, the establishment of any new use, or the expansion of any existing use.

   (2)   If an existing, legally established building is expanded by more than thirty percent (30%) of the existing gross floor area, all off street parking spaces and areas shall comply with the requirements of this chapter, as applicable.

   (3)   Required off street parking spaces and areas located in commercial and industrial zoning districts shall not be used for the repair of motor vehicles, or the display or sale of goods and services of any kind, unless authorized by a class I use application approval, as provided by chapter 14 of this title.

   (4)   Oil separators and other pollution control devices may be required as part of use application approval, as recommended by the city engineer, and required by the land use authority.

   (5)   No sidewalk, trail or required landscape area shall be used for the off street parking of any vehicles, or as a loading area.

   (6)   Off street parking is prohibited in all accessways, fire lanes or similar areas not designated for parking purposes. These areas shall be posted with "no parking" signs and/or other means as required by the land use authority or fire department. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

   (1)   The minimum dimensions of all off street parking spaces, other than parallel spaces, shall be ten feet (10') wide by eighteen feet (18') long. The minimum dimensions of all parallel off street parking spaces shall be nine feet (9') wide by twenty five feet (25') long.

   (2)   All required loading spaces shall have minimum dimensions as required by the land use authority, depending on the nature of the use. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

   (1)   All ingress and egress locations from an adjacent road or street to any off street parking areas, including curb cuts, drive approaches or other accesses, shall be approved by the city, county or the state department of transportation, as applicable.

   (2)   A single-family residential lot shall have no more than two (2) driveways, each of which shall be a maximum of twenty feet (20') wide at the street lot line. Such driveways shall not be closer to each other than twelve feet (12'). No driveway shall be closer to a side property line than three feet (3').

   (3)   The location and dimensions of all driveways shall be as approved by the land use authority with use approval, as applicable. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

Where there is a combination of uses on the same lot, the total number of off street parking spaces provided shall be the sum of the off street parking requirements for each individual use. The total number of spaces required may be reduced if the land use authority, as part of application review, approves a parking study, conducted by a professional traffic engineer, demonstrating that a reduction of parking spaces is appropriate, with shared parking possible by the nature of the uses proposed. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

Interconnections between adjoining parking areas, located on adjacent lots, shall be required by the land use authority as part of use approval, and necessary to promote efficiency, convenience and safety of vehicle movements. Permanent cross access and maintenance agreements shall be required by the land use authority as part of use approval.

(Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

All required off street parking spaces shall be located on the same lot as the use or building it serves, except required off street parking spaces may be allowed on a separate lot that is within three hundred feet (300') of the use or building it serves, provided the two (2) lots are not separated by a major street, if a nonrevocable written parking agreement is in place prior to, or concurrent with, use approval. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

To minimize the environmental and visual impacts created by large areas of hard surfacing, all off street parking areas shall be designed and constructed to meet the following minimum landscape requirements. A land use authority may require additional parking area landscaping to achieve the purposes of this title.

   (1)   Minimum Parking Area Landscaping: All off street parking areas, providing twenty (20) or more parking spaces, shall provide a minimum of fifteen percent (15%) of the total parking area as landscape areas. Areas to be landscaped may include:

      (a)   Traffic islands separating adjacent parking spaces.

      (b)   Peninsulas parallel to individual parking spaces.

      (c)   Planter areas located at the ends of parking rows or other planter areas located within the off street parking area.

   (2)   Greatest Area: For the purposes of this section, the area provided for off street parking shall be the greatest area defined by the distance from the curb lines or edges of the outermost parking space, aisle or driveways.

   (3)   Setback Areas Not Included: For the purposes of this section, no required setback areas shall be included as meeting the required parking area landscaping as required by this section.

   (4)   Materials: Landscaping shall consist of trees and other plant materials suitable for planting in a desert environment. A list of approved parking area landscape trees and plant materials is available from the zoning administrator.

   (5)   Irrigation And Maintenance: All required landscaped areas shall be provided with a permanent and adequate means of irrigation and regularly maintained, including weed control.

   (6)   Surfacing: All parking lot hard surfacing shall provide a sufficient area around all trees and landscaping to permit water absorption and prevent soil compaction. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

All off street parking area lighting shall be designed and installed to meet the following minimum requirements:

   (1)   Parking lot lighting may be provided in all parking areas, with emphasis placed on appropriate lighting at entrances and exits. All parking lot lighting shall be integrated with landscape features.

   (2)   All off street parking area lighting shall meet the applicable requirements for outdoor lighting, as applicable, and as required by chapters 19 and 22 of this title.

   (3)   All lighting fixtures and poles shall be of a decorative nature and painted or stained a color in harmony with a desert environment.

   (4)   The height of all pole mounted lighting fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20'), measured to the top of the pole or luminary from the finished or natural grade, whichever is lower.

   (5)   All light fixtures, including security lighting, shall be fully hooded or shielded and aimed and so that all direct illumination shall be confined to the property boundaries of the source. All motion sensing light fixtures shall be fully shielded and adjusted, according to the manufacturer's specifications, to turn off when detected motion ceases.

(Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

Every parcel of land used as a public or private off street parking area shall be constructed and maintained in compliance with the following requirements:

   (1)   Surfacing: All off street parking areas shall be surfaced with a surface adequate in relation to its location and use. All parking areas shall be surfaced to provide a dustless surface. Storm water drainage systems shall be provided for all off street parking areas, as recommended by the city engineer and required by the land use authority. If storm water is to be carried to adjacent streets, adequate detention shall be required to meet city requirements, and it shall be piped under all sidewalks.

   (2)   Screening: The sides and rear of any off street parking area that adjoins a residential zone shall be screened by a masonry wall or solid visual barrier fence, meeting the requirements of section 16.11.135 of this title.

   (3)   Landscaping: All off street parking areas shall be landscaped and permanently maintained as required by section 16.20.108 of this chapter, and chapters 19 and 22 of this title.

   (4)   Traffic Control Signs: Traffic control signs and/or striping shall be provided, as adopted by the city, or recommended by the city engineer, and required by the land use authority necessary to minimize vehicular and pedestrian conflicts.

   (5)   Maintenance: All off street parking and loading areas shall be maintained as required for use approval. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

The number of required off street parking spaces shall be provided as required by table 20-1, "Table Of Off Street Parking Requirements", of this section:

   TABLE 20-1

   TABLE OF OFF STREET PARKING REQUIREMENTS

 

   (1)   Fractional Amount: In calculating the total number of required off street parking spaces, fractional amounts shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.

   (2)   Unspecified Uses: The land use authority, based on the requirements for similar uses, shall determine the off street parking requirements for any use not specifically listed. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

Designated parking for disabled persons shall be provided for all uses as designated by the Americans with disabilities act. Each accessible parking space shall be painted on the ground with an international accessibility symbol and posted by a sign in accordance with the Americans with disabilities act, and located as close as practical to an accessible entrance to the building. The sign must be placed so that a vehicle parked in that space does not obscure it. The striping specifications for accessible parking spaces shall comply with the Americans with disabilities act. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

Requests to reduce off street parking requirements may be granted by the land use authority, with use approval, if the applicant shows:

   (1)   The unique nature of the existing or proposed land use, or an unusually large number of pedestrian or transit trips, below normal parking demands, will be generated.

   (2)   A reduced number of off street parking spaces will meet the demands of the proposed use without increasing traffic or on street parking problems in adjacent areas and neighborhoods. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

Every building or use receiving or distributing materials or merchandise by truck, shall provide and maintain on the same lot as the building or use, adequate off street loading space, as required by the land use authority. No loading space shall be considered as meeting any off street parking requirements of this chapter. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)

No required off street loading spaces shall be permitted in any front yard or in any street side yard. All loading spaces shall be screened from view from any road or street. Off street loading spaces are encouraged to be located in rear yard areas, and encouraged to be partially or entirely enclosed within a building. The location of all loading areas shall not interfere with parking lot circulation patterns. (Ord. 2005-13, 2005)