La Feria City Zoning Code
§ 23
OFF-STREET PARKING AND LOADING REQUIREMENTS GENERALLY.
A.
PURPOSE
To secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to lessen congestion in the streets; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation; to conserve the value of buildings; and to encourage the most appropriate use of land, minimum off-street parking and loading areas shall be provided as set forth in the following schedules and provisions.
B.
RESIDENTIAL PARKING REQUIRED
(1)
Two (2) paved parking spaces per dwelling unit shall be provided for the following, with the parking area located on the same lot as the main building or buildings, except as otherwise provided above:
(2)
Minimum number of paved, striped off-street parking spaces per dwelling unit required for multifamily dwelling units or condominiums:
C.
NONRESIDENTIAL PARKING REQUIREMENTS:
(1)
Commercial uses, office and professional buildings outside of the Central Business District,
unless otherwise mentioned in this section, shall be required to have three (3) spaces for up to three hundred (300) square feet of floor area, plus one (1) space for each additional three hundred (300) square feet of floor area.
(2)
Restaurants, nightclub, café or similar recreation or amusement establishment:
One (1) parking space for each one hundred (100) square feet of floor area, or one (1) space for each four (4) seats, whichever is greater.
(3)
Theaters, auditoriums, churches, temples, assembly halls, sports arenas, stadiums:
One (1) space for each three (3) seats in the main auditorium or seating area.
(4)
Dance, assembly and exhibition halls without fixed seats:
One (1) space for each one hundred (100) square feet used for assembly or dancing.
(5)
Hotel or motel:
One (1) parking space for each sleeping room or suite plus one (1) space for each two hundred (200) square feet of commercial floor area contained therein.
(6)
Hospital:
One (1) parking space for each bed.
(7)
Sanitorium, convalescent home, home for the aged or similar institution:
One (1) parking space for each two (2) beds.
(8)
Medical or dental clinics:
Five (5) for each doctor or dentist, or in accordance with a [1.] [sic], whichever is greater.
(9)
Bowling alley:
Five (5) parking spaces for each alley.
(10)
Mortuary or funeral home:
One (1) parking space for each fifty (50) square feet of floor space in slumber room parlors and individual funeral service rooms.
(11)
Day nurseries, day care centers, and kindergartens with over six children:
One (1) parking space for each two (2) employees, plus an off-street drive and loading space for a minimum of four (4) cars for the transferring of passengers.
(12)
Schools (except high school or college):
One and one-half (1.5) spaces for each classroom.
(13)
College or high schools:
One (1) parking space for each eight (8) seats in the main auditorium or four (4) spaces for each classroom, whichever is greater.
(14)
Manufacturing plants, research laboratories:
One (1) for each one and one-half (1.5) employees in the maximum work shilt [shift].
(15)
Warehouses:
One (1) for each employee in the maximum work shift.
(16)
Terminal facilities, truck terminals, and other similar personal and/or material facilities:
One (1) for each two hundred (200) square feet of floor area when non warehousing facilities are provided; one (1) for each seven hundred (700) square feet when warehousing facilities are provided.
(17)
Bus depots:
One (1) for each one hundred (100) square feet of floor area.
(18)
Lumberyards and wholesale establishments:
One (1) for each one hundred fifty (150) square feet of sales floor area, plus one (1) for each warehouse employee.
(19)
Unclassified use:
Where the proposed land use cannot be classified within the uses herein specified, the City Manager shall determine the specified use most closely related to the proposed use and the minimum requirements for the specified use so determined shall apply to the proposed use.
(20)
Exceptions:
Groups of uses requiring vehicle parking space may join in establishing group parking areas with capacity aggregating that required for each particular use. Where it can be established to the satisfaction of the City Manager that parking for two (2) specific uses occurs at alternating periods, the parking space requirements of the use requiring the greater number of spaces may be applied to both uses in a combined parking area. Such parking shall be within three hundred (300) feet of all uses to be served by such parking. Example: Church and professional office building.
(21)
Game Halls:
one (1) parking space for every two gaming devices or 200 square feet of gross floor area of the Game Hall, whichever is more.
(22)
Sexually Oriented Businesses:
one (1) parking space for every 200 square feet of gross floor area of the Sexually Oriented Business.
(23)
Mobile Food Vending Court:
four (4) parking spaces for every mobile food vendor space.
D.
OFF-PREMISES LOCATION OF PARKING
Off-Premises Location: For any new use, building or structure where the required off-street parking cannot be provided on the premises because of the size or the locations of the lot, such parking may be provided on other property under the same ownership not more than two hundred (200) feet distant from the building site and provided the proposed parking area is located in a district where parking lots are permitted. Where individual land parcels are not large enough to permit on-site parking, the owners of several such adjacent parcels may be required to make a financial contribution sufficient to permit the joint development of required parking space nearby to serve traffic generated by the several land uses.
E.
CLARIFICATION, EXCEPTION AND MODIFICATION OF OFF-STREET PARKING REQUIREMENTS
(1)
No parking space located on a public street or alley may be included in the calculation of off-street parking requirements.
(2)
Parking spaces used for the parking of trucks or buses shall not be counted towards meeting the requirements of this section.
(3)
In the event that the owner of a piece of property has insufficient street frontage to comply with the above parking requirements, the board of adjustment may grant permission to lessen the parking requirements.
(4)
When the computation for the number of parking spaces required under this ordinance results in the requirement of a fractional space, the fractional space requirement shall be satisfied by adding one (1) additional space to the whole-space total.
(5)
When a lot is used for a combination of uses, the off-street parking requirements are the sum of the requirements for each use, and no off-street parking space for one use is included in the calculation of off-street parking requirements for any other use.
(6)
Except for single-family, duplex, townhouse and mobile home uses, head-in parking adjacent to a public street where the maneuvering of the vehicle in parking or leaving the parking space is done on a public street is prohibited, and on all existing uses is excluded in computing off-street parking requirements.
(7)
In all districts except a central area district, required off-street parking must be available as free parking or contract parking on other than an hourly or daily fee basis. This requirement does not apply to institutional uses.
(8)
The parking space required for a use not specifically mentioned herein shall be the same as required for a use of similar nature.
(9)
After the effective date of this Section 23, whenever a property is changed or enlarged in floor area, number of employees, number of dwelling units, seating capacity, or otherwise, to create a need for an increase to ten (10) percent or more in the number of existing parking spaces, such space shall be provided on the basis of the enlargement or change as proportional percentage. Whenever a building or use existing prior to the effective date of this Section 23 is enlarged to the extent of fifty (50) percent or more in floor area used, said building or use shall then and thereafter comply with the parking requirements set forth herein.
(10)
Automotive vehicles or trailers bearing license plates or state motor vehicle inspection stickers that are more than three (3) months out of date shall only be parked or stored on any residentially zoned property in a completely enclosed building. Parking and storage of vehicles shall be in accordance with the city’s junk vehicle ordinance.
(11)
For purposes of these regulations, major recreational equipment is defined as including boats and boat trailers, travel trailers, pickup campers or coaches (designed to be mounted on automotive vehicles), motorized dwellings, tent trailers, and the like, and cases or boxes used for transporting recreational equipment, whether occupied by such equipment or not. No major recreational equipment shall be parked or stored on any lot in a residential district except in an enclosed building or behind the portion of a building nearest to a street, provided, however, that such equipment may be parked anywhere on residential premises for not to exceed twenty-four (24) hours during loading or unloading.
F.
OFF-STREET LOADING REQUIREMENTS
Except in the “C-1” and “C-2” District, all retail, commercial and industrial uses shall be provided with off-street facilities for receiving and loading merchandise, supplies and materials within a building or on the lot or tract. Such off-street loading space may be adjacent to a public alley or private service drive or may consist of a truck berth within the structure. Such off-street loading space or truck berth shall consist of a minimum area of ten by forty-five feet (10' x 45') and such spaces or berths shall be provided in accordance with the following schedule:
Square Feet of Gross Floor Area in Structure | Minimum Required Spaces or Berths |
|---|---|
0 to 5,000 | None |
5,000 to 25,000 | 1 |
25,000 to 45,000 | 2 |
45,000 to 65,000 | 3 |
65,000 to 100,000 | 4 |
The existence of a twenty foot (20') alley adjacent to the property shall be construed as equivalent to one (1) berth. All off-street loading spaces shall have an all-weather surface of asphalt or concrete construction and shall be accessible by a street, driveway or alley.
No loading docks shall be constructed facing on any public street or highway unless said loading dock is at least seventy-five feet (75') inside the right-of-way line of the street or highway on which said loading dock fronts.
G.
OFF-STREET LOADING REQUIREMENTS
All parking areas and spaces shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the following requirements:
(1)
All parking areas and spaces shall be designed and constructed so as to have free ingress and egress at all times.
(2)
No parking space or parking area shall be designed so as to require a vehicle to back into a public street or across a public sidewalk, except in the case of one-family and two-family dwelling units.
(3)
Minimum dimensions for off-street parking:
(a)
Ninety-degree angle parking:
Each parking space shall not be less than nine (9) feet in width and eighteen (18) feet in length. Maneuvering shall be not less than twenty-four (24) feet.
(b)
Sixty-degree angle parking:
Each parking space shall be not less than nine (9) feet wide perpendicular to the parking angle nor less than twenty (20) feet in length when measured at right angles to the building or parking line.
Maneuvering space shall be not less than sixteen (16) feet perpendicular to the building or parking line.
(c)
Forty-five-degree angle parking:
Each parking space shall be not less than nine (9) feet wide perpendicular to the parking angle nor less than eighteen and one-half (18-1/2) feet in length when measured at right angles to the building or parking line. Maneuvering space shall be not less than twelve (12) feet perpendicular to the building or parking line.
(d)
When off-street parking facilities are located adjacent to a public alley, the width of said alley may be utilized as a portion of the maneuvering space requirement, provided the alley is paved.
(e)
When off-street parking facilities are provided in excess of minimum amounts herein specified, or when off-street parking facilities are provided, but not required by this Section, said off-street parking facilities shall comply with the minimum requirements for parking and maneuvering space herein specified.
(4)
Pavement standards:
All parking lots shall be paved according to city standards and specifications. The parking lanes must be clearly marked by white paint, buttons or other approved material.
(5)
No parking area shall be designed or constructed which ends in a dead end, if more than three (3) parking spaces in depth, unless adequate turnaround space is provided.
(6)
All entrances or exits in a parking area shall be a minimum of thirty (30) feet from the beginning point of any corner radius.
(7)
All entrances or exits in a parking area shall be a minimum of twenty-four (24) feet and a maximum of thirty (30) feet in width, unless one-way, in which case they shall be a minimum of twelve (12) feet for entrances and a minimum of nine (9) feet for exits.
(8)
The driveway approach angle to any parking area shall be a maximum of sixteen (16) degrees, the departure angle a maximum of ten (10) degrees, and the ramp angle a maximum of eleven (11) degrees.
(9)
No parking areas or parking spaces shall be allowed to pave over or utilize public right-of-way, with the exception of approved entrances and exits, unless an exception is granted by the board of adjustment to pave within four (4) feet of an existing or future curbline, due to a hardship.
(10)
Any lighting used to illuminate any off-street parking area shall be so designated [designed] and constructed as to reflect the light away from any adjoining property or street.
(11)
No occupancy permit shall be issued by the chief building inspector of the city until the terms and conditions of this ordinance have been met, as certified by the director of planning.
(12)
All parking areas and parking spaces shall be designed and constructed to protect adjacent residences from the direct glare of headlights of vehicles using the parking area. In accordance, all off-street parking areas shall be effectively screened on each side by a buffer as herein defined, from any adjoining property zoned single-family, townhouse, or duplex.
(Ordinance 2008-03 adopted 1/10/08; Ordinance 2011-10, sec. 6, adopted 7/12/11; Ordinance 2023-04 adopted 3/28/2023)