Lowell Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
Traffic Visibility, Loading, Parking and Access
§ 295-48 Traffic visibility.
A.
On a corner lot in all zoning districts, no fence, wall, hedge, planting or structure shall be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow in such a manner as to obstruct vision between a height of 2 1/2 feet and 10 feet above the center line grades of the intersecting streets in the area bounded by the street lines of such corner lots and a line joining the points along said street lines 25 feet from the point of intersection.
B.
In the case of arterial streets intersecting with other arterial streets or railways, the corner cutoff distances establishing the triangular vision clearance space shall be increased to 50 feet.
§ 295-49 Parking requirements.
All new parking lots created after the effective date of this chapter shall be subject to the approval of the Town Board. Requests for said parking lots shall be accompanied with detailed plans on landscaping, parking layout, drainage provisions and driveway locations. In all districts, except those areas which are located in a fire district as designated on the Official Map, there shall be provided at the time any use or building is erected, enlarged, extended, or increased off-street parking stalls for all vehicles in accordance with the following:
A.
Access. Adequate access to a public street shall be provided for each parking space.
B.
Design standards. Each required off-street parking space shall have a stall width of at least 10 feet and a stall length of at least 18 feet. Such space shall have a vertical clearance of at least 6 1/2 feet. Minimum width of aisles providing access to stalls for one-way traffic shall be as follows: Aisles shall be not less than 24 feet wide for 90° parking, 18 feet wide for 60° parking, 15 feet wide for 45° parking (angle shall be measured between center line of parking space and center line of aisle), and 12 feet wide for parallel parking. For parallel parking, the minimum length of the parking space shall be increased to 23 feet. No parking area of more than two spaces shall be designed as to require any vehicle to back into a public street. Any parking area of more than five spaces shall be sufficiently screened in the form of a solid fence or shrubbery to protect adjacent residential uses. Large expanses of unchanneled parking areas shall be avoided by interior landscaping and safety islands.
C.
Location.
(1)
Location to be on the same lot as the principal use or not over 250 feet from the principal use.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
(2)
Off-street parking is permitted in all yards of all districts except in the front yards of single-family and two-family residence districts but shall not be closer than five feet to a side lot line, right-of-way line or rear lot line.
D.
Surfacing.
(1)
It shall be the responsibility of the owner that off-street parking areas for more than 10 customer/employee vehicles shall be graded and surfaced so as to be dust-free and properly drained, and shall have the aisles and spaces clearly marked in all RC-1 and B-1 Districts.
(2)
All such open off-street parking areas shall be surfaced with a dustless all-weather material capable of carrying a wheel load of 4,000 pounds (normally, a two-inch blacktop on a four-inch base or, in the alternative, five inches of portland cement will meet this requirement.) Any parking area for more than five vehicles shall have the aisles and spaces clearly marked.
E.
Landscaping requirements.
(1)
Landscaping. All public and private off-street parking areas which serve 10 vehicles or more and are created or redesigned and rebuilt subsequent to the adoption of this chapter shall be provided with accessory landscape areas totaling not less than 10% of the surfaced area. The minimum size of each landscape area shall not be less than 100 square feet.
(2)
Location. Location of landscape areas, plant materials, and protection afforded the plantings, including curbing and provision for maintenance by the property owner, shall be subject to approval by the Zoning Administrator/Permit Issuer.
(3)
Plans. All plans for such proposed parking areas, at the discretion of the Zoning Administrator/Permit Issuer and Building Inspector, shall include a topographic survey or grading plan which shows existing and proposed grades and location of improvements. The preservation of existing trees, shrubs, and other natural vegetation in the parking area may be included in the calculation of the required minimum landscape area.
(4)
Special residential requirements. Those parking areas for five or more vehicles if adjoining a residential use shall be screened from such use by a solid wall, fence, evergreen planting of equivalent visual density, or other effective means, built and maintained at a minimum height of five feet. Where a solidly constructed decorative fence is provided along the interior lot line, the minimum setback for the parking area shall be five feet from said lot line. Said fence shall be located a minimum of one foot from the said lot line.
(5)
Repair and service. No motor vehicle repair work or service of any kind shall be permitted in association with unenclosed parking facilities provided in residence districts.
(6)
Lighting. Any lighting used to illuminate off-street parking areas shall use cutoff fixtures and be directed away from residential properties and public streets in such a way as not to create a nuisance. However, in no case shall such lighting exceed three footcandles measured at the lot line.[1]
F.
Uses not listed. In the case of structures or uses not mentioned, the provision for a use which is similar shall apply. "Floor space or area" shall mean the gross floor area inside the exterior walls, where floor space is indicated above as a basis for determining the amount of off-street parking required.
G.
Handicapped parking requirements. In addition to any other requirements relating to parking spaces contained in this Code, the provisions contained in §§ 101.13, 346.503 and 346.56, Wis. Stats., and any Wisconsin Administrative Code sections adopted pursuant thereto are hereby adopted by reference and made applicable to all parking facilities whenever constructed.
H.
Changes in buildings or use. Whenever a building or use is changed, structurally altered or enlarged to create a need for an increase of 50% or more in the number of existing parking spaces, such spaces shall be provided on the basis of the enlargement or change.
I.
Off-lot parking.
(1)
Required off-street parking spaces shall be located on the same lot with the principal use, or when this requirement cannot be met, such parking spaces may be located off-lot, provided the parking spaces are located in the same district. Off-lot parking spaces shall also be held in fee simple ownership by the owner of the use requiring such parking or be leased or rented through a written agreement satisfactory to the Town Attorney.
(2)
Off-lot parking spaces for residential uses shall be within 250 feet of the principal entrance or the entrance for the individual occupants for whom the spaces are reserved, while the farthest portions of a parking lot for all other uses shall be within 300 feet of the entrance of the establishment.
(3)
Accessory parking may be located in residential districts, provided that said lots or property are immediately adjacent to a commercial, business or industrial zoning district.
(4)
All off-street parking lots adjoining lots zoned for residential use shall have a minimum setback of 10 feet from any interior lot line, except if the adjoining lot is used for legally conforming parking purposes.
§ 295-50 Highway access.
A.
Private access restricted. No direct private access shall be permitted to the existing or proposed rights-of-way of expressways, nor to any controlled-access arterial street without permission of the highway agency that has access control jurisdiction.
B.
Public or private access prohibited. No direct public or private access shall be permitted to the existing or proposed rights-of-way of the following:
(1)
Freeways, interstate highways and their interchanges or turning lanes nor to intersection of interchanging streets within 1,500 feet of the most remote end of the taper of the turning lanes.
(2)
Arterial streets intersecting another arterial street within 100 feet of the intersection of the right-of-way lines.
(3)
Streets intersecting an arterial street within 50 feet of the intersection of the right-of-way lines.
C.
Public access barriers. Access barriers, such as curbing, fencing, ditching, landscaping or other topographic barriers, shall be erected to prevent unauthorized vehicular ingress or egress to the above-specified streets or highways.
D.
Temporary access. Temporary access to the above rights-of-way may be granted by the Permit Issuer after review and recommendation by the highway agencies having jurisdiction. Such access permit shall be temporary, revocable and subject to any conditions required and shall be issued for a period not to exceed 12 months.