Lower Frederick Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVII
Off-Street Parking and Loading
§ 170-129 Declaration of legislative intent.
In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent and community development objectives contained in Article I of this chapter, the specific intent of this article is:
A.
To set reasonable standards and provide reasonable controls to assure sufficient parking capacity for the uses or potential uses of land in the Township.
B.
To provide flexibility in the implementation of these standards by permitting construction of a reduced number of parking spaces under appropriate conditions.
C.
To prevent hazards to public safety caused by the intrusion of parking upon public rights-of-way.
D.
To provide design standards that will minimize the impact of parking lots on adjoining property owners.
§ 170-130 Required off-street parking facilities.
Any building or structure erected, altered, or used, and any lot used or occupied for any of the following purposes shall be provided with the minimum number of parking spaces set forth below, together with adequate driveways, pedestrian access, and street access in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 145, Subdivision and Land Development:
Use | Requirement | |
|---|---|---|
Dwelling: | ||
Single-family detached, two-family, multifamily | 2 spaces per dwelling unit | |
Single-family attached (townhouse) | 2.25 spaces per dwelling unit | |
Mobile home | 2 spaces per dwelling unit; 2.25 spaces per dwelling unit where a twenty-foot or narrower paving width is used | |
Elderly housing: | ||
Single-family detached, two-family, single-family attached, mobile home | 1.5 spaces per dwelling unit | |
Multifamily | 1.25 spaces per dwelling unit | |
Institutional uses: | ||
Place of assembly (theater, church, auditorium, stadium, etc.) | 1 space per 4 seats | |
Nursing home, sanitarium, convalescent home, institutional home for the care of the aged, children, etc. | 3 spaces per 5 beds | |
Hospital, medical center | 2 spaces per bed | |
Community center, library, museum, or other similar place | 1 space per 600 square feet of public area | |
Elementary school | 1.75 spaces per classroom | |
High school, trade or professional school, college or university | 5 spaces per classroom | |
Group home | 1 space per employee on the largest shift plus 1 space per 4 residents | |
Commercial uses: | ||
Retail store | 1 space per 100 square feet of gross floor area | |
Department store, supermarket | 1 space per 50 square feet of gross floor area | |
Shopping center | 4.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area | |
Hotel, motel, rooming house, bed-and-breakfast | 1 space per rental unit | |
Restaurant, tavern, etc. | 1 space per 100 square feet of gross floor area | |
Theater, movie house | 1 space per 4 seats | |
Doctor, dentist, patient-oriented professionals | 6 spaces per professional | |
Business or corporate office | 1 space per 200 square feet of gross floor area | |
Industrial uses: | ||
Laboratory or industry | 1 space per 450 square feet of gross floor area, or 1 space per employee on the largest shift, whichever is greater | |
Warehouse or wholesale establishment | 1 space per 500 square feet of gross floor area, or 1 space per employee on the largest shift, whichever is greater | |
Recreational facilities | 1 space per person at 50% of maximum capacity, plus 1 space per employee at time of largest shift | |
§ 170-131 Reduction of requirements by conditional use.
The total number of parking spaces required by this article may be reduced using shared parking and/or parking reserve, when approved as a conditional use by the Board of Supervisors, upon recommendation of the Township Planning Commission and Zoning Officer. The reduction in parking shall comply with the following requirements, and with the provisions in § 170-31 of this chapter.
A.
Shared parking requirements. The owners of two or more adjacent buildings used for commercial or industrial purposes or two or more adjacent lots may share parking facilities according to the following requirements:
(1)
The total number of spaces required by this article for all uses sharing the common parking may be reduced by up to 25% if the applicant demonstrates that a common facility will accommodate expected parking demand and provide substantial benefits in terms of reduced impervious coverage and safe and efficient access.
(2)
The applicant shall submit to the Township Planning Commission a plan showing the location of all parking, accessways, and buildings sharing the common parking, in order to demonstrate their adequacy.
(3)
Access and parking easements for each property affected by the shared parking shall be shown on the plan, and shall be recorded in the Montgomery County Office of the Recorder of Deeds.
B.
Parking reserve areas. If the applicant demonstrates that the number of required parking spaces is substantially larger than the demand for parking anticipated for the proposed use, the applicant may create parking reserve areas to avoid unnecessary paving. The parking reserve areas shall comply with the following criteria:
(1)
The applicant shall provide evidence that the number of required parking spaces is substantially larger than the demand for parking anticipated for the proposed use.
(2)
The Township Board of Supervisors, upon recommendation of the Township Planning Commission and Township Engineer, may reduce by up to 50% the total number of spaces which must be paved initially.
(3)
Suitable area must be available and reserved for construction of the balance of the total number of spaces otherwise required. The maximum impervious surface coverage for the lot may not be exceeded if and when the reserve area is paved. A reevaluation of parking capacity shall be required upon a change in status (use, building addition, or number of employees) to determine whether additional parking is needed. Whenever a parking capacity problem is identified, the Board of Supervisors may require installation of additional parking spaces, upon recommendation of the Township Zoning Officer, Planning Commission, and/or Township Engineer.
(4)
The applicant shall show on a plan the parking areas to be paved initially and the parking areas to be held in reserve.
(5)
A financial guarantee shall be provided by the applicant to cover the cost of installation of the reserved parking areas. The financial guarantee shall extend for a period of one year after the date at which 90% of the building floor area on the site is occupied. The type and dollar value of the guarantee shall be approved by the Township Board of Supervisors upon recommendation of the Township Solicitor and Township Engineer.
§ 170-132 Design requirements.
All parking lots shall be operated and maintained in accordance with the following conditions:
A.
No parking shall be permitted within 10 feet of any property line, except in the instance of shared parking facilities. Also, no parking shall be permitted within the width of a screening buffer required by Chapter 145, Subdivision and Land Development.
B.
All parking areas shall meet the requirements for design and landscaping of Chapter 145, Subdivision and Land Development.
C.
At least 10% of the parking area must be landscaped, in order to reduce impervious coverage, provide shade, control vehicular and pedestrian circulation, and reduce the perceived size of the parking areas.
D.
Parking areas shall not be used for the sale, repair, or dismantling of any vehicles, equipment, materials, or supplies.
E.
Parking area shall be properly graded for drainage; surfaced with concrete, asphaltic concrete, asphalt, or any dust-free surfacing; and maintained in good condition, free of weeds, dust, trash, or debris.
F.
Parking areas shall be provided with entrances and exits so located as to minimize traffic congestion and the effect of headlight glare.
G.
Commercial and multifamily parking areas shall be provided with wheel or bumper guards or concrete curbing so located and arranged so that no part of any parked vehicles will extend beyond the boundaries of the parking lot.
H.
Lighting facilities, if any, shall be arranged so that they neither unreasonably nor unnecessarily disturb occupants of adjacent residential properties nor interfere with traffic by either location or glare.
I.
There shall be no more than one attendant shelter building containing not more than 50 square feet of gross floor area and set at a distance of not less than 20 feet of any boundary of the parking lot which abuts a residential lot line or zoning district.
§ 170-133 Required off-street loading and unloading facilities.
In addition to the required off-street parking spaces, the uses listed in § 170-130 shall be provided with adequate off-street loading space.