Marple Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
Off-Street Parking and Loading
§ 300-75 General requirements.
Off-street parking areas shall be oriented to and within a reasonable walking distance of the buildings the parking areas are designed to serve. Access to parking lots shall be designed so as not to obstruct free flow of traffic. There shall be adequate provision for ingress to and egress from all parking spaces to ensure ease of mobility, ample clearance and safety of vehicles and pedestrians. Off-street parking areas shall provide paved surfaces for vehicular movement and parking spaces.
§ 300-76 Setbacks.
Off-street parking areas shall be set back a minimum of 10 feet from front lot lines and a minimum of one foot from side and rear lot lines. Greater setbacks may be required in accordance with the standards applicable to each district.
§ 300-77 Size of spaces.
[Amended 8-12-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-5]
Each required off street parking space shall be measured 10 feet in width by 18 feet in length. Parking spaces for the physically handicapped shall be 12 feet wide.
§ 300-78 Width of aisles.
The minimum width of all aisles providing direct access to individual parking stalls shall be in accordance with the requirements specified below. Only one-way traffic shall be permitted in aisles serving single-row parking spaces placed at an angle other than 90°.
Parking Angle | Aisle Width |
|---|---|
30° | 12 feet |
45° | 13 feet |
60° | 18 feet |
90° | 24 feet |
§ 300-79 Parked vehicle overhang.
Parking areas shall be designed so as to prevent parked vehicles from overhanging or extending over sidewalks or required landscaped areas.
§ 300-80 Perimeter landscaping.
For any off-street parking area accommodating 20 or more vehicle spaces, a landscape strip of at least five feet in width shall be provided between vehicular use areas and any adjacent public street, walk or right-of-way or any contiguous property. The landscape strip shall be planted and perpetually maintained with shade trees, with at least one tree per 35 linear feet. The required landscape strip area shall be planted and perpetually maintained with grass, ground cover or other landscape materials.
§ 300-81 Interior (nonperimeter) landscaping.
For any off-street parking area accommodating 20 or more vehicle spaces, landscaped areas shall be provided for interior vehicular use areas so as to provide visual and climatic relief from broad expanses of pavement, to channel and define areas for pedestrian and vehicular circulation, to reduce stormwater runoff and to provide groundwater recharge:
A.
At least 5% of the gross area of the interior vehicular use area shall be landscaped.
B.
Interior (nonperimeter) landscaped areas shall be dispersed so as to define aisles and limit unbroken rows of parking.
C.
Each separate landscaped area shall be at least 300 square feet in area and a minimum of five feet in width.
D.
Landscaped areas shall be planted and perpetually maintained with grass, ground cover or other landscape materials.
E.
Shade trees shall be planted and perpetually maintained in interior landscaped areas, with at least one shade tree per 300 square feet of interior landscaped area.
F.
No hedge, tree, shrub or other growth shall be maintained that may cause danger to vehicular or pedestrian traffic in any off-street parking area by obscuring the view.
§ 300-82 Parked vehicle registration.
All vehicles parked outdoors must be registered, with current, valid, state motor vehicle plates plainly visible.
§ 300-83 Recreational vehicle, boat and oversize vehicle parking in Residential Districts.
Except as provided for in Subsection D below, no more than one recreational vehicle, boat or oversized vehicle may be parked outdoors on a lot in any residential district.
A.
Such vehicles may be parked in side or rear yards and shall be parked no closer than 10 feet to any lot line.
B.
Such vehicles shall not have exterior identification or signs indicating an occupation, employment or enterprise that is carried on for profit.
C.
Such vehicles shall not be used for living or sleeping quarters on any lot in the Township.
D.
On a lot containing two or more dwelling units, a designated parking area may be established to accommodate several such vehicles, provided that:
(1)
The total number of such vehicles parked on the lot does not exceed the number of dwelling units on the lot.
(2)
The designated parking area meets the other requirements of this section.
(3)
The designated parking area is screened from view from adjoining lots and public streets by means of a buffer area.
§ 300-84 Required parking for specific uses.
Any building or structure erected, altered or used and any lot used or occupied for any of the following purposes, regardless of the zoning district in which the use is located, shall be provided with the minimum number of off-street parking spaces set forth below, together with adequate driveways and street access in compliance with the requirements of §§ 300-75 through 300-83 of this article and of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.[1] Where a use is not specifically listed below, the requirement of the most similar use shall apply.
Structure or Use | Spaces Required | |
|---|---|---|
Single-family detached dwelling | 2 per dwelling unit | |
Two-family dwelling, three- or four-family dwelling | 2 per dwelling unit | |
Five-or-more-family dwelling | 1 per studio unit, 2 per dwelling unit for any other unit | |
Retirement community, senior housing | 1 per dwelling unit | |
Tourist home, boarding or rooming house, bed-and-breakfast | 2, plus 1 per rental unit | |
Home occupation or office within a residence | ||
General home occupations | 1 additional per use | |
Professional services | 4 additional per use | |
Healing arts practitioners | 7 additional per use | |
Church, public auditorium | 1 per four seats | |
Elementary or intermediate school1 | 1.75 per classroom | |
High school1 | 5 per classroom | |
Hospital, nursing home, rehabilitation center | 1 per 2 beds, plus 1 per employee | |
Community center, library, public building | 1 per 500 square feet gross floor area | |
Day-care center | 1 per 12 children, plus 1 per employee | |
Institutional home | 1 per 5 occupants of total capacity | |
Correctional institution | 1 per 3 occupants | |
Membership club (nonresidential) | 1 per 6 members of total capacity | |
Indoor recreation | ||
Bowling alley | 5 per lane | |
Court for racquet sports | 2 per court | |
Sports club/health spa, billiard room, etc. | 1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area | |
Dance, music or art studio floor area | 1 per 250 square feet of gross | |
Outdoor recreation | ||
Golf course employee (Any area for restaurant, clubhouse, etc., shall meet standards for those facilities separately.) | 3 per hole, plus 1 per | |
Ballfield or other outdoor court | 1 per 4 persons of total designed capacity | |
Medical/dental office | 7 per practitioner, including technicians | |
Retail store | 1 per 200 square feet gross floor area | |
Shopping center, supermarket | 1 per 200 square feet gross floor area | |
Bank, financial institution without drive-in | 6 per teller window | |
Bank, financial institution with drive-in | 3 per inside teller window, plus 3 per self-service facility | |
Indoor theater | 1 per 3 seats | |
Restaurant, bar or tavern | 1 per 100 square feet gross floor area | |
Vehicle sales | 1 per 500 square feet indoor gross floor area, plus 1 per 5,000 square feet to be set aside for customer parking and not used for display or storage | |
Motor vehicle service/repair | 3 per service bay | |
Gasoline service station | 1 per 300 square feet gross floor area or 3 per service bay (whichever is larger) | |
Undertaking or funeral establishment | 1 per 4 seats or per 50 square feet of public floor area (whichever is larger) | |
Job printing | 1 per employee on largest shift, plus 1 per 250 square feet of public floor area | |
Hotel or motel | 1 per room, plus 1 per 200 square feet of additional public floor area | |
Offices | 1 per 300 square feet gross floor area | |
Warehouse or storage | 1 per 1,500 square feet gross floor area or per employee on largest shift, whichever is larger | |
Industry, research and development | 1 per 450 square feet gross floor area or per employee on largest shift, whichever is larger | |
Newspaper publishing | 1 per 450 square feet gross floor area or per employee on largest shift, whichever is larger | |
Animal hospital or kennel | 3 per veterinarian, plus 1 per additional employee | |
§ 300-85 Reserve parking.
If the number of spaces required under §§ 300-75 through 300-83 is substantially greater than the number of spaces anticipated as needed by the applicant, the applicant may apply to the Zoning Hearing Board to have the number of spaces required reduced by up to 25%. Upon the recommendation of the Planning Commission and Township Engineer, the Zoning Hearing Board may reduce the required number of spaces in accordance with the following criteria:
A.
The applicant shall provide evidence of reduced parking needs to the Planning Commission and Township Engineer for their review and recommendation.
B.
Sufficient area shall be set aside for construction of the remainder of the required spaces, if and when they are deemed necessary by the Zoning Hearing Board.
C.
All stormwater engineering shall be designed based on total parking requirements, including the reserve.
D.
Parking capacity shall be re-evaluated by the Code Enforcement Officer should any change occur in the use, ownership, size of building or number of residents or employees and, following such re-evaluation, the Zoning Hearing Board may require the construction of additional parking spaces, up to the maximum required by this chapter, upon the recommendation of the Planning Commission and Township Engineer.
F.
The applicant shall provide a financial guaranty to cover the cost of installation of the reserved parking spaces for a period of one year following installation of the initially constructed spaces, in a manner approved by the Zoning Hearing Board upon the recommendation of the Township Solicitor and Township Engineer.
§ 300-86 Loading and unloading.
A.
Requirement for loading and unloading areas. Whenever the normal operation of any business, enterprise or use requires that goods, merchandise or equipment be routinely delivered to or shipped from that business, enterprise or use, a sufficient paved off-street loading and unloading area must be provided in accordance with this § 300-86 to accommodate the delivery or shipment operations in a safe and convenient manner.
B.
Specifications for loading and unloading areas. The loading and unloading area must be of sufficient size to accommodate the numbers and types of vehicles that are likely to use this area given the nature of the business, enterprise or use in question.
(1)
Loading and unloading areas shall be so located and designed that the vehicles intended to use them can maneuver safely and conveniently to and from a public right-of-way and complete loading and unloading operations without obstructing or interfering with any public right-of-way or any parking space or parking lot aisle.
(2)
No area allocated to loading and unloading facilities may be used to satisfy the area requirements for off-street parking, nor shall any portion of any off-street parking area be used to satisfy the area requirements for loading and unloading facilities.
(3)
All loading and unloading areas shall be landscaped and screened sufficiently to obscure the view of the loading and unloading vehicles and platforms from any public street and adjacent residential districts or uses. Such screening shall be an extension of a building, a fence, planting or combination thereof and shall be a minimum of six feet in height.
(a)
All schools shall designate an area of lawn or field for overflow parking for special events, which shall provide at least 100 parking spaces.