Meadville City Zoning Code
ARTICLE 1308
Parking and Loading
§ 1308.01 Off-street loading.
[2-6-2024 by Ord. No. 3821]
Size and Access. Where off-street loading is provided, each off-street loading space shall be not less than 12 feet in uniform width and 65 feet in length, including 15-foot height clearance. It shall be designed so the vehicles using loading spaces are not required to back onto a public street or alley. Such spaces shall abut a public street or alley or have an easement of access thereto.
§ 1308.02 Off-street parking.
[2-6-2024 by Ord. No. 3821]
Off-street parking shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of this section in all zoning districts.
(A)
Size. Off-street parking spaces shall conform to the definition of "parking space" in this zoning code. No portion of a parking space shall include a portion of an access drive, sidewalk, travel lane, driveway, or public right-of-way of a street or alley. All parking lots or areas for uses other than single-family dwellings or two-family dwellings shall include a turnaround area so that vehicles are not required to back onto public streets.
(B)
Existing Parking. No use existing at the time of passage of this zoning code may reduce the number of parking spaces it currently provides except by special exception.
(C)
Residential Parking. Residential uses shall provide a minimum of one off-street parking space per dwelling unit or rooming unit, whichever is greater.
(D)
Commercial Parking. New developments of commercial uses are exempt from parking minimums.
(E)
Nonresidential, Noncommercial Parking. All noncommercial business, institutional, industrial, or other non-residential uses in all districts except for DPH and MU-3 must provide an adequate number of off-street parking spaces to serve at least the expected average number of employees, visitors, and patrons of that use as documented on the zoning application and confirmed by the approving authority. This provision may be satisfied by lot-sharing agreements with neighboring properties as well as or in place of providing parking spaces on the use's own lot. Uses in the DPH and MU-3 districts are exempt from this provision except for those uses where the number of employees, visitors, and patrons totaled together is expected to routinely exceed 30 persons at one time, in which case the use must provide an off-street parking space for each additional expected person beyond 30.
(F)
Access. Where an existing lot does not abut on a public or private street, alley or easement of access, there shall be provided an access drive leading to the parking or storage areas or loading spaces.
(1)
With the exception of access from any public right-of-way 20 feet or less in width, access to off-street parking areas shall be limited to well-defined locations, and in no case shall there be unrestricted access along a street. Specifically, single-lane access drives shall be at least 10 feet wide but shall not exceed 12 feet. Double lane access drives (for ingress and egress) and their curb cuts may be up to 35 feet wide. Driveways and their curb cuts must be at least 10 feet wide but no more than 24 feet wide. All access drives and driveways must comply with standards and specifications adopted from time to time by the city.
(2)
No vehicles, including motor vehicles, trailers, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, campers and recreational vehicles, may be parked for any period of time between a principal building and a street, road, alley or other right-of-way. No driveway or access drive for a residential use may be located between a principal building and a street, road, alley or other right-of-way. This provision shall not apply to properties which have less than 12 feet of open area between the principal building and a side property line.
(3)
In the DPH - Diamond Park Heritage district, no access shall be permitted from the street or right-of-way to which the property is addressed.
(G)
Conflict With Other Uses. No other use of the parking lot shall be permitted to interfere with the availability for the parking need it is required to serve.
(H)
Containment. Parking spaces shall be provided with bumper guards, wheel stops or curbing, when necessary for safety or protection, to prevent any part of a vehicle from entering into, onto or over a pedestrian walkway or sidewalk.
(I)
Pedestrian Walkway. In any development where a structure that is open to the public is set back from a public right-of-way or public sidewalk, or where a parking lot is located between a public right-of-way and a structure open to the public, there shall be provided a route clearly marked with paint, colored surface material or other differentiation acceptable to the zoning administrator, from the public rights-of-way or public sidewalks to the main entrance or pedestrian way closest to the building. The intent of this provision is to protect pedestrians as they walk through a parking lot or other area where they may come in close proximity with moving motor vehicles.
(J)
Location and Design.
(1)
Parking spaces shall be located on the same lot with the principal use unless the zoning administrator determines that it is impractical to provide parking on the same lot with the principal use, in which case the zoning administrator may permit off-lot parking spaces within 500 feet of the lot of the principal use under the following circumstances: there shall be presented evidence, satisfactory to the zoning administrator, that (a) the designated parking spaces are dedicated and available for the intended use; and (b) the designated parking spaces shall be located so as not to pose a hazard to or interfere with existing and foreseeable parking and traffic so as not to detract from or interfere with the nature and appearance of the neighborhood or planned development of the neighborhood, and so as to be consistent with the city's land use plans, Comprehensive Plan, development plans, and with the public health, safety and welfare.
(2)
Off-street parking areas for six vehicles or more shall be placed behind the front face of its related building in such locations as may be permitted by the zoning administrator with due consideration of the proposed use and access to the public streets, with the objective of preventing a hazard to or interference with existing and foreseeable parking and traffic in the vicinity, with the objective of preserving the appearance and character of the neighborhood or planned development of the neighborhood in which the parking is being located, and with the objective of locating the parking in a manner consistent with the city's land use plans, Comprehensive Plan, development plans and with the public health, safety and welfare.
(K)
The minimum dimensions for depth of space, access lane width and total aisle width shall be in accordance with the following table:
Angle of Parking | Curb | 30 Degrees | 45 Degrees | 60 Degrees | 90 Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Depth of Space | 8' | 16' | 19' | 21' | 18' |
Access Lane Width | 12' | 12' | 12' | 20' | 24' |
Total Aisle Width | 28' | 44' | 50' | 62' | 60' |
(L)
Screening and Landscaping. Off-street parking areas for six vehicles or more, and off-street loading areas, shall be effectively landscaped.
(1)
There shall be a planting strip of at least five feet in width between all property lines and the parking lot. Such planting strip shall be suitably landscaped and maintained in accord with a written landscape and maintenance plan filed with and approved by the zoning administrator. At a minimum, the required planting shall consist of one deciduous or coniferous tree per each four parking spaces, and one shrub per each four parking spaces. The balance of the planting strip shall be maintained in plants or grasses. In exercising the approval authority granted by this section, the zoning administrator may include healthy and attractive existing landscaping to count towards this requirement.
(2)
At the time of planting, all shrubbery shall be a minimum of 18 inches in height as measured from the ground after proper planting; all coniferous trees shall be a minimum of six feet in height as measured from the ground after proper planting; and all deciduous trees shall have a minimum of a two-inch caliper as measured at three feet from the ground after proper planting.
(3)
Off-street parking areas for six vehicles or more and off-street loading areas abutting a residential district or use shall be required to have screening placed between the parking lot and the lot line facing the residential district or use. Screening shall be at least six feet in height at the time of planting or construction, unless the position of the screening would block a line of sight for a public street intersection or intersection of a lawful service drive and public street intersection, in which case it shall be four feet in height. Such screening shall comply with one or more of the following parameters:
(a)
A dense vegetative planting incorporating trees and/or shrubs of a variety that shall be equally effective in all seasons, as determined by the zoning administrator, to form a solid continuous visual screen.
(b)
A man-made opaque structure such as a solid masonry wall or a solid fence.
(c)
A maintained, landscaped earthen-mound at least five feet wide.
(d)
Maintenance of the existing natural vegetation that, in its natural state, forms a screen as defined in this zoning code.
(M)
Minimum Distance and Setbacks. No off-street loading or parking area for six vehicles or more shall be closer than 10 feet to any abutting lot line containing a dwelling, or to any abutting lot line within the R zoning district. Setbacks shall comply with Subsection (L) planting strip requirements.
(N)
All fences, trees, shrubs and other landscaping materials shall be maintained substantially in the manner set forth in the approved plans. Trees and shrubs which have died shall be replaced within six months. Buffers and screening do not need to be retained if the abutting residential building is demolished and the residential use of the premises is abandoned or if the abutting zoning district is changed from residential to some nonresidential zoning district and no residential uses are maintained on abutting lots.
(O)
Parking lots containing more than 20,000 square feet of impervious parking surface, either initially or as a result of expansion, shall devote an additional eight percent of surface area (exclusive of required border planting strips) to interior planting strips or planting islands at locations and in designs approved by the zoning administrator. In exercising the approval authority granted by this subsection, the zoning administrator shall consider the nature of the use serviced by the parking facility, the nature, character and appearance of the neighborhood surrounding the parking facility, the land use and development plans and ordinances of the city and the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the city. The purpose of this requirement is to maximize stormwater infiltration and the design of the interior planting strips must serve that purpose by way of curb cuts to permit entry of stormwater into the interior planting strips or planting islands or similar methods. Landscaping plans for parking lots containing more than 20,000 square feet of impervious parking surface shall be designed by a registered landscape architect or registered professional engineer.
(P)
Surfacing and Drainage.
(1)
Surfacing. With the exception of single-family and two-family dwellings, all parking and loading areas, driveways and access drives shall have a surface of concrete, asphalt, permeable pavers, pavers interlocked to allow stormwater to flow through, or grill surfacing through the use of geotextiles. Alternate paving materials are subject to the approval of the city engineer. Parking and loading area surfacing for single-family and two-family dwellings shall comply with the definition of driveways in Section 1302.02.
(2)
Drainage. Surfaces shall be graded with positive drainage away from neighboring properties or stormwater shall be otherwise managed so that it does not sheet flow onto neighboring properties, and drainage shall not be permitted to sheet flow onto public rights-of-way or streets without the written approval of the city.
(Q)
Lighting. Illumination of off-street loading and parking areas is permitted. If lighting is provided, it shall be arranged so as to reflect the light away from any adjoining premises and away from roads or highways.