Areas and buildings subject to parking requirements. In any district, except the Commercial Core Parking Overlay District(s), if any structure is constructed or enlarged or if any use of land is established or changed, off-street parking spaces shall be provided for the entire use in accordance with the parking requirements established by this article.

Exemption from parking requirements.

Changes in use of existing buildings in commercial districts (C, CR and UC). In any commercial district, changes of use in buildings existing as of January 1, 2019, and which do not result in an increase in the total gross floor area of the building shall not be required to develop additional off-street parking spaces for uses in the building, provided that the number of existing parking spaces and loading areas serving the building are maintained and any nonconformity is not increased. In addition to the above conditions, where the green space requirements are conforming and additional parking can be accommodated, the site shall be designed to accommodate the greatest number of parking spaces and loading areas up to the total number required by the ordinance for the proposed use.

Conditional use permits for alternative parking requirements. The Planning Board is authorized to issue conditional use permits to reduce the number of off-street parking spaces otherwise required by this article for the following flexible parking arrangements:

Special exception for commercial parking in noncommercial district. The Zoning Board of Adjustment is authorized to grant a special exception for the following uses:

Conditions for granting of special exceptions or conditional use permits relating to parking. Special exceptions and conditional use permits authorized by this article may be granted only where the granting body finds that the property owner can meet all of the conditions of this subsection as listed below:

Suspension or waiver of parking requirements for temporary uses. The parking requirements contained herein shall be suspended as permitted below to accommodate the following temporary uses:

Use and availability of parking spaces. Required parking spaces shall, at all times, be available for the parking of vehicles of residents, customers, patrons or employees of the principal use(s) that the spaces are intended to serve. Required spaces shall not be used for storage of vehicles, recreational equipment or vehicles, goods, or materials, or for the sale, repair or servicing of any vehicles, except as provided for the temporary conditions described in this article.

Computation of number of spaces required. Where more than one principal use and/or more than one structure are located on the same lot, the parking requirements shall be computed for each use and/or structure, and the number of spaces provided shall not be less than the sum of these requirements established by this article, except where a conditional use permit has been granted by the Planning Board for an alternative parking arrangement. Off-street parking spaces shall be provided in accordance with the Table of Off-Street Parking Requirements.[1] In computing total parking requirements for a land use, fractional numbers shall be summed. Where the sum of the parking space computations results in a fractional number, fractions of 1/2 or more shall be counted as one.

Parking requirements for uses not listed. The parking requirements for uses that do not fall within one of the categories in the Table of Off-Street Parking Requirements [2] shall be as for the closest similar use, as determined by the Director of Planning and Community Development or his or her designee.

Standard parking space. Each standard parking space shall contain a rectangular area at least 19 feet in length and nine feet in width, except where the spaces are located parallel to the travel aisles, the length shall be increased to 22 feet. The total linear dimension of a parking stall may be greater than the dimensions of the minimum rectangular area required within each stall. Such dimensions increase as the angle of parking decreases from 90° (perpendicular) to 0° (parallel).

Accessible spaces for disabled. Adequate parking spaces for disabled persons will be provided as necessary under the ADA and New Hampshire State Building Code regulations. Each accessible parking space must be at least 19 feet in length and 96 inches (eight feet) wide and shall have an adjacent access aisle 60 inches (five feet) wide. Access aisles are to be kept clear of obstructions at all times. Each accessible parking space must be designated by a sign per NH RSA 265:73-a.

[1]Van-accessible parking spaces. If a site is required to have only one accessible space, that space must be van-accessible. After the first van-accessible space, one out of every six accessible parking spaces, or fraction thereof, must be van-accessible. Parking spaces are the same as accessible parking spaces for cars except for three features needed for vans:

Exceptions. These two exemptions are only related to signs; accessible parking spaces must still be provided in appropriate numbers and with other required features (minimum width, etc.):

Safety of design. Except in connection with one- and two-family dwellings, parking areas shall be designed so that, without resorting to extraordinary movements, vehicles may exit the parking area without backing onto a public street. These parking areas shall be graded and surfaced with asphalt, concrete or other material that will provide equivalent protection against potholes, erosion and dust and will not be subject to damage from snow plowing.

Drainage. All paved parking areas shall provide for drainage of surface waters such that water will not accumulate within the parking area nor shall it be directed over or across the adjacent streets or any neighboring lot.

Demarcation. Parking spaces, stacking lanes, entry and exit drives and direction of traffic flow shall be appropriately demarcated.

Illumination. Where artificial lighting is provided, the illumination shall be directed away from adjacent streets and properties.

Setbacks.

Stacking space for drive-through uses. Stacking spaces for drive-through businesses shall be located on the same lot as the principal use and shall not interfere with other required parking spaces or access aisles to said parking spaces.

Landscaping.

Applicability. Except in the Commercial Core Parking Overlay District(s), no nonresidential use shall be established, and no structure for nonresidential use shall be erected, enlarged or used except in conformance with the off-street loading requirements of this chapter. Loading zones in the Commercial Core Parking Overlay District(s) are provided through available on-street and off-street loading zones, as designated by Chapter 119, Building Construction, Article II, of the Code of the City of Laconia or a site plan approved by the Laconia Planning Board. Wherever new off-street loading zones are established, they shall conform to the provisions of this section and § 235-50 of this article. Off-street loading spaces shall be provided on the same lot as the principal use they are intended to serve. In no case shall an off-street loading space be counted as part of an area to satisfy the off-street parking requirements and vice-versa.

Setbacks. No loading space or bay in a nonresidential district shall be located within 50 feet of a residential district boundary or within 50 feet of the lot line of an abutting residential use within a residential district. All bays shall be located at the side or rear of the building they are intended to serve. No loading space or bay in any district shall be located within 10 feet of any property line.

Standard loading space. Each loading bay shall contain a rectangular area of at least 70 feet in length and 14 feet in width and shall have a minimum height clearance of 14 feet above grade, and may be located either within a building or outside of and adjoining an opening in the building.

Safety of design. Loading spaces and bays shall be so located and designed to allow a WB-50 design vehicle to maneuver safely and conveniently to and from a public right-of-way and complete the loading and unloading operation without obstructing or interfering with any public right-of-way or any on-site parking space or parking access aisles.

Drainage. All loading spaces shall be graded and surfaced with asphalt, concrete, bluestone or other material that will provide equivalent protection against potholes, erosion, and dust, and will not be subject to damage from snow plowing. Provision shall be made for the drainage of surface water from loading spaces so that water will not accumulate within the loading space nor shall it be directed over or across the adjacent streets or any neighboring lot.

Number required by floor area. Off-street loading spaces shall be provided in accordance with the following Table of Off-Street Requirements.

Residential driveways shall be a minimum of 25 feet in length when being used to meet the minimum parking requirement. Where garages are constructed, driveway length must be a minimum of 19 feet.

Driveways serving three or more residential lots or sites shall be considered a street and meet the minimum requirements thereof.

Aisle width. Aisles in parking lots shall be at least 22 feet in width for two-way traffic. Aisles shall be provided at the minimum widths shown in Table IV, Minimum Aisle Width for Parking Areas, for one-way traffic. Parking spaces at an angle of less than 90° shall provide for one-way traffic flow.

Driveways connecting parking lots. Driveways connecting parking lots to other parking lot(s) shall be a minimum of 22 feet in width for two-way traffic flow and at least 12 feet in width for one-way traffic flow. No driveway connecting two parking lots shall be greater than 28 feet in width.

Separation of driveways for nonresidential development or redevelopment. For corner lots at the intersection of two streets, no driveway entry or exit shall be located within 50 feet of the point of intersection of curblines. Where two or more driveways connect a lot to any one street, there shall be a minimum separation between the driveways at the right-of-way line of 50 feet. Driveways shall intersect with streets at an angle of as near to 90° as site conditions permit and in no case less than 75° or more than 105°.

Driveway accessing the street. Driveways accessing the street for nonresidential or multifamily development or redevelopment of a site shall meet the following standards: one-way driveways shall be a minimum of 12 feet and a maximum of 16 feet in width. Two-way driveways shall be a minimum of 24 feet and a maximum of 32 feet in width. The Planning Board is authorized to issue a conditional use permit to allow for deviations to the standard where specific site restrictions or unique use characteristics prohibit strict adherence to the standard.