Loyalsock Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
Off-Street Parking
§ 215-39 General parking regulations.
A.
Off-street parking facilities shall be provided to lessen congestion on the streets. The facilities required herein shall be available to patrons throughout the hours of operation of the particular business or use for which such facilities are provided. As used herein, the term "parking space" includes either covered garage space or uncovered parking lot space located off the public right-of-way.
B.
All parking spaces shall be ample in size for the vehicles for which use is intended. The net parking space per vehicle shall not be less than nine feet wide when measured at right angles to the edge of the parking area and 18 feet long. Parking spaces, and the approaches thereto, shall be paved. Parking and loading areas shall be graded to dispose of all surface water and shall be maintained in good condition at all times. Outdoor parking space shall be deemed to be part of the open space of the lot on which it is located. Nothing contained herein shall be constructed to modify paving requirements set forth elsewhere in this chapter.
C.
Aisle width.
(1)
In order to ensure adequate space for backing out of a parking space, all parking lots must conform to the following standards for minimum aisle width:
Stall Angle | Minimum Aisle Width (feet) | |
|---|---|---|
90º | 25 | |
75º | 22 | |
60º | 19 | |
45º | 14 | |
30º | 11 |
(2)
Minimum width of aisles providing access to stalls for two-way traffic shall be 25 feet.
D.
For commercial manufacturing developments with a gross floor area in excess of 100,000 square feet, parking areas may be designed using a sixty-one-foot module.
E.
A garage or carport may be located wholly or partly inside the walls of the principal building, or attached to the outer walls. The garage may be constructed under a yard or court, provided that the level of such yard or court shall conform to the general level of the other yards or courts on the lot. The space above an underground garage shall be deemed to be part of the open space of the lot on which it is located.
§ 215-40 Facilities required.
A.
Any of the following buildings hereafter erected and any building hereafter converted into one of the following buildings and any open area hereafter used for commercial purposes shall be provided with not less than minimum parking spaces as set forth below. These spaces shall be readily accessible to, and within a reasonable distance from, the buildings served thereby. Parking spaces shall be on the same lot as the principal building or open area, except when otherwise authorized in conformity with the following regulations:
(1)
The required parking spaces shall be situated within 600 feet of the principal building or open area in question. Such remote parking area shall be owned by the zoning applicant.
B.
Off-street parking shall be provided as follows:
[Amended 3-27-2012 by Ord. No. 347]
(1)
Dwellings: two parking spaces for each dwelling unit.
(2)
Apartments. Off-street parking for apartments shall be provided at the following rates:
Number of Bedrooms/Apartment | Parking Spaces Per Apartment Unit | |
|---|---|---|
0 | 1.00 | |
1 | 2.00 | |
2 | 2.00 | |
3 | 2.00 | |
4 | 3.00 |
(3)
Rooming houses, hotels, motels, guest houses and lodging houses: at least one parking space for each guest room, plus one additional space for every employee based on the maximum number of workers present at any one time. If a restaurant in connection with the above is open to the public, the off-street parking facilities shall be not less than those required for restaurants, in addition to those required for guest rooms.
(4)
Theaters, auditoriums, churches, schools, stadiums or any other place of public or private assembly: at least one parking space for each three seats provided for public or private assembly.
(5)
Retail stores: at least one parking space for each 200 square feet of public floor area plus one space for each employee based on the maximum number of workers present at any one time.
(6)
Food markets and grocery stores: one parking space per 100 square feet of public floor area.
(7)
Restaurants and bars: at least one parking space for each two customer seats, plus one additional space for every employee based on the maximum number of workers present at any one time.
(8)
Barber shop, beauty shop and hair styling shop: 2 1/2 parking stalls for each chair plus one additional space for every employee based on the maximum number of workers present at any one time.
(9)
Office buildings: at least one parking space for each 200 square feet of net leasable floor area, or fraction thereof. Net leasable floor area shall be the total internal area of the building, less bathroom area, hallway area and storage area.
(10)
Shopping centers: not less than three square feet of automobile parking space, exclusive of driveways, and pedestrian walks shall be provided for each square foot of gross floor area, except that in planned commercial developments comprised of combination office and commercial uses with a gross floor area in excess of 100,000 square feet, off-street parking shall be provided at the rate of five spaces per 1,000 square feet of floor area.
(11)
Industrial establishments: at least one parking space for each employee based on the maximum number of workers present at any one time. Plus one parking stall for each 200 square feet of office space provided within the building.
(12)
Wholesale establishments: at least one parking space for each employee based on the maximum number of workers present at any one time. Plus one parking stall for each 200 square feet of public floor area denoted to display sales or office space.
(13)
Major garages or automobile service stations: at least two parking spaces for each service bay plus one parking space per pump and one parking space for every employee based on the maximum number of workers present at any one time.
(14)
Hospitals and sanitariums: parking space shall be provided for visitors at the rate of at least one parking space for each two accommodations (beds) for patients. Such spaces shall be in addition to those necessary for doctors and other administrative personnel on a basis of one for every employee based on the maximum number of workers present at any one time.
(15)
Nursing or convalescent home: one parking stall per each three beds plus one parking stall for each employee based on the maximum number of workers present at any one time.
(16)
Take-out and delivery uses: where no seating on premises at least one parking space for each 50 square feet of public floor area plus one space for each employee based on the maximum number of workers present at any one time.
(17)
Open areas used for commercial purposes: at least one parking space for each 1,500 square feet of area or fraction thereof.
(18)
Dance halls, roller rinks, clubs, lodges and other similar places: at least one parking space for each 100 square feet of floor area.
(20)
Swimming pools: where a swimming pool is the principal use at least one parking space for each four persons based upon the designed capacity of the pool.
(21)
Home occupations: in addition to the spaces required for each dwelling unit, not less than:
(a)
Clergymen: two client spaces.
(b)
Architect, landscape architect, engineer, accountant and attorney: two client spaces.
(c)
Physician and dentist: three client spaces.
(d)
Writer, realtor and insurance agent: three spaces.
(e)
Instruction in the arts: three client spaces.
(f)
Dressmaker, milliner, etc.: two spaces.
(22)
In addition to all of the above minimum requirements, additional spaces for visitor parking and salesmen shall be provided to the specific requirements of each use.
(23)
No part of the public right-of-way of any street or road shall be used in computing the required area for parking, however, parallel parking may be permitted along the curb or edge of an access drive or private road, provided that the spaces are not less than eight feet by 20 feet in addition to the required width for the circulation of vehicles.
(24)
All off-street parking facilities with a capacity for five or more vehicles must conform to the following standards.
(a)
Parking facilities must be set back from street right-of-way lines by at least five feet.
[Amended 10-23-2001 by Ord. No. 287]
(b)
A minimum of three feet of this setback area shall be developed as a planting strip. The design of said parking area and type of plants shall be approved by the Loyalsock Township Planning Commission.
[Amended 10-23-2001 by Ord. No. 287]
(c)
Entrances and exits should be located at least 50 feet away from nearby street intersections.
(25)
For other uses not enumerated, the parking requirements shall be established by the Board of Supervisors.
(26)
Where there are multiple uses proposed to be constructed on one lot and each use requires a certain number of parking stalls, the Board of Supervisors reserves the right to establish a total number of parking stalls for the project. The applicant must request a review of the required number of parking stalls and submit a parking study to justify his/her/its request. This study must be reviewed and commented on by the Township Planning Commission.
[Added 3-27-2012 by Ord. No. 347]
§ 215-41 Modification of requirements.
The governing body may authorize after review by the Planning Commission a modification, reduction or waiver of the foregoing requirements, if it should find that in the particular case appealed the peculiar nature of the use, or the exceptional situation or condition can justify such action.
§ 215-42 Loading and unloading space.
A.
In addition to the off-street parking spaces required above, all commercial and industrial establishments, hospitals or sanitariums and other similar uses shall provide adequate off-street area for loading and unloading of supplies to and from vehicles.
B.
In no case where a building is erected, converted or enlarged, shall public rights-of-way be used for loading and unloading space.
§ 215-43 Surfacing.
A.
Parking and loading areas for more than five vehicles, with driveways, shall be paved to township specifications or as authorized by the Loyalsock Township Board of Supervisors.
B.
All driveways and internal traffic lanes servicing parking areas for more than five vehicles shall be paved to township specifications or as authorized by the Loyalsock Township Board of Supervisors.
§ 215-44 Wheel stops or guard fence.
Where parking areas abut the right-of-way line or property line, the parking area shall be provided with concrete wheel stops, metal guard fence or other material as approved by the Loyalsock Township Planning Commission so that parked vehicles do not overhang any required setback.
§ 215-45 Design of parking and loading areas and access drives.
A.
Design standards. Whenever required or provided under the provisions of this chapter, all parking and loading areas and access drives shall be designed according to the following standards:
(1)
Except in the case of single- and two-family dwellings the general layout shall be such that there will be no need for motorists to back over public rights-of-way.
(2)
Access drives shall be paved from the edge of the cartway to a point 50 feet from the center line of the public road with a material equal or better than the cartway paving in accordance with Township requirements. Any portion of an access drive beyond the 50 feet shall be improved with a surface capable of year-round use and shall be maintained dust- and mud-free. Access drives for single- and two-family dwellings shall not exceed 22 feet in width for one- or two-car garages. Access drives for all other uses shall not exceed 35 feet in width, measured at right angles to the center line of the drive, within 12 feet of the street right-of-way line, excepting as increased by permissible curb return radii.
[Amended 3-27-2012 by Ord. No. 347]
(3)
The number of access drives shall not exceed two per lot on any one street frontage. The Loyalsock Township Planning Commission may grant permission for additional access drives where required to meet exceptional circumstances and where frontage of unusual length exists.
(4)
Access drives shall not cross the street right-of-way line:
(a)
Within 50 feet of the street right-of-way line of an intersecting street, and in no case less than 15 feet from the point of tangency when the intersecting street lines are joined by a curve. Notwithstanding the above, and when deemed reasonably necessary for safety by the governing body after review and recommendations of the Planning Commission, this dimension shall be increased for access drives to shopping centers and other commercial, industrial, public or institutional uses. Such access drives shall be located on major streets where practical, in a manner to permit safe ingress and egress.
(b)
Within five feet of a fire hydrant, catch basin or drain inlet.
(c)
Within 20 feet of an access drive.
(d)
Within 10 feet of a property line in commercial and industrial uses.
(e)
Within three feet of a property line in residential areas unless two adjoining owners mutually agree to a common access drive or agree to allow the adjoining property owner to place a driveway closer than three feet from his or her lot line.
[Amended 10-23-2001 by Ord. No. 287]
(5)
General safety requirement; sight distance. Driveways shall be located in a safe relationship to sight distance and barriers to vision, and shall not exceed a slope of 10% within 12 feet of the street line. Where drives enter a bank through a cut, unless a retaining wall is used, the side slopes of the cut shall not be graded to more than 1/2 foot vertical to one foot horizontal within 10 feet of the point the drive intersects with the right-of-way line. The existing slope of the shoulder of the public road shall be maintained.
(6)
Submission of plans. A scaled drawing of proposed off-street parking and loading areas, access drives and walks shall be submitted as part of the required plot plan. Any plan requiring access onto a state highway shall be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in addition to township approval.
B.
Special permits for access drives and driveways.
(1)
A separate zoning permit is required prior to the construction, reconstruction or placement of an access drive or driveway.
(a)
A zoning fee shall be paid by the applicant for review by the Township Codes Enforcement Officer or Road Superintendent.
(b)
A fee shall be paid by the applicant to cover the cost of review by the Township Engineer if said review is deemed necessary by the Township Codes Enforcement Officer or Township Road Superintendent.
(c)
A state highway occupancy permit shall be required for construction of a private driveway or access drive that enters on to a state highway.
(2)
Application. The applicant shall provide the following drawings and information upon determination by the Township Codes Enforcement Officer or Township Road Superintendent that said drawings are necessary:
(4)
Access drives and driveway standards.
(b)
Approach flares. Driveway approach flares shall be true arcs of circles and shall be tangent to the edge of pavement or curb.
(c)
Driveway slope:
[1]
Driveways shall be constructed in such a manner as not to impair the drainage within the street right-of-way or the adjacent area.
[2]
Where open shoulders occur, the driveway shall be sloped away from the pavement edge at a rate between 1/2 inch and one inch per foot.
[3]
Where a drainage ditch exists, adequate drainage pipe (fifteen-inch minimum) shall be installed under the driveway at the property owner's expense and Township Engineer's approval.
[4]
A leveling area must be provided at the intersection of any driveway or access drive and any road. Said leveling area shall extend from the edge of shoulder or curb to a point 30 feet from center line of existing thoroughfare. This leveling area may not exceed 7% unless recommended by the Township Engineer and approved by the Board of Supervisors. A leveling area at least 18 feet in length of the same percent of slope must be maintained directly outside the garage.
[5]
A site distance of 250 feet in each direction along the private or public road must be maintained at the intersection of the access drive or driveway. This distance is measured from a point on the center line of the driveway or access drive and 10 feet from the edge of the cartway or pavement of a public or private road. Said distance may be reduced upon approval by the Board of Supervisors.
(d)
Design review. Applications for private driveways, access drives or private roads shall be submitted to the Township Engineer by the Codes Enforcement Officer for review and recommendation if said review is deemed necessary by him. All designs must meet the requirements of Article VI of this chapter and acceptable engineering practice. Special designs may be required for large traffic generators.