The requirements established in this section are applicable to the implementation of the objectives and policies in the traffic circulation element of the City of Midway comprehensive plan, to provide well designed parking and loading spaces which ensure safe and convenient on-site traffic flow, and to provide acceptable vehicle parking.

Access - ingress and egress to or from land bordering on a system of streets and roads.

Connection - one or more driveways, streets, turnouts, or other means of providing for the right of access to or from the controlled access facilities on the state highway system.

Driveway - the portion of the vehicle accommodation area that consists of a travel land bounded on either side by an area that is not part of the vehicle accommodation area.

Gross floor area - the total area of a building measured by taking the outside dimensions of the building at each floor level intended for occupancy or storage.

Off-street loading space - a portion of the vehicle accommodation area, which has minimum dimensions of 14 feet in height, 12 feet in width, and 55 feet in length.

Off-street parking space - a portion of the vehicle accommodation area, with dimensions of nine feet in width and 19 feet in depth, exclusive of the area required for access drive or aisles.

Parallel parking space - a portion of the vehicle accommodation area, with dimensions of seven feet in width and 19 feet of additional depth for maneuvering purposes, exclusive of the area required for access drive or aisles.

Permit - a written authorization given by the permitting authority, subject to conditions in accordance with this code.

Setback - the lateral distance between the right-of-way line and the roadside business, building, gasoline pump, curb base, display stand, or other objects.

State road - all streets, roads, highways, and other public ways open to travel by the general public and dedicated to public use according to law or by prescription, and designated by the Florida department of transportation as part of the state highway system.

Vehicle accommodation or vehicle use area - that portion of a lot that is used by vehicles for access, circulation, parking, and loading and unloading areas, inclusive of the total circulation, loading and unloading, and parking area (spaces and aisles).

5.03.01.

General.

A.

For every use, activity, or structure for which authorized or conditional use is established in accordance with this Code, there shall be provided sufficient space for access and off-street parking, loading and unloading for motor vehicles.

B.

Any expansion or change in use, the proposed expansion of any existing building in floor area, volume, capacity, or space shall result in the compliance with the requirements governed by this Code for both existing and new buildings.

C.

A change in use of a structure or building resulting in additional requirements over that of the present use, shall be bound to comply with the regulations contained in this Code.

5.03.02.

Permanent reservation. At the effective date of this Code, areas reserved for off-street parking or loading in accordance with the requirements of this Code shall not be reduced in area or changed to any other use unless the authorized use which it serves is discontinued or modified, except where equivalent parking space is provided to the satisfaction of the City council.

5.03.03.

Off-street parking or loading plan. An off-street parking or loading plan shall be submitted with an application for every building permit for which construction or building are required to be provided off-street parking or loading spaces.

5.03.04.

Exception. If existing commercial uses in the Commercial Business District and similar areas desiring to expand are unable for good and sufficient reason to provide parking at the standard required by the parking space matrix, the City Council may grant relaxation of the strict application of these requirements on appeal subject to the regulations governing appeals and variances.

5.03.05.

Repair, sales, or service use of parking facilities. It shall be unlawful to use any required off-street parking and loading facilities for vehicle repair work, service, display, or sales of any kind, except as expressly permitted by the City council.

5.03.06.

Pedestrian and bicycle traffic. A sidewalk or marked cross land shall be provided for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, especially in the Commercial Business District.

5.04.01.

Parking space requirements. There shall be provided the minimum off-street parking spaces pursuant to the following requirements:

Note: Parking requirements for multiple-family dwellings may be provided for in part by remote parking off site. In such event, 50 percent or more must be accommodated on site; 25 percent or more must be provided within 400 feet of actual pedestrian travel from a main entrance to the parking facility; and the remaining parking required provided within 600 feet of actual pedestrian travel from a main entrance. Should the parking requirement fail to be maintained in either sufficient number or serviceable condition, the building shall be subject to the penalties as herein established for a violation of this Code.

5.04.02.

Uses not on the matrix. Any uses not specifically listed in the above parking space requirements matrix shall be derived from the use that most closely approximates the unlisted use.

5.04.03.

Parking for persons with disabilities. Any General public parking area shall provide suitable, marked spaces for persons with disabilities are required by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), A117.1, and by F.S. § 316.1955, as amended. The number of parking spaces for handicapped persons are set forth in the following table:

5.04.04.

Joint use.

A.

The required number of parking spaces for any separate uses may be combined in one lot, but the required spaces assigned to one use may not be assigned to another use at the same time. Exceptions to this regulation are as follows:

B.

The parking space required for an existing church whose peak attendance will be at night or on Sunday, may be assigned to a use normally closed at night or on Sundays.

C.

If such a joint parking arrangement is proposed, the applicants must file a written notarized agreement assuring the retention of the joint parking arrangement with the application for a building permit.

5.04.05.

Location of parking spaces.

A.

All required off street parking spaces shall be provided on the same lot or parcel or on a contiguous lot in the same ownership. Alternatively, the required off street parking spaces may be located on a contiguous lot under the control of the principal use. A parking area shall not be separated from the principal use by a major arterial.

B.

Each off street parking space shall be directly accessible from a street, alley, or other public right-of-way; and shall be arranged such that a motor vehicle shall not have to back on to any street.

C.

If an off street parking space cannot be reasonably provided on the same site on which the principal use is conducted, the City council may allow the designation of such spaces which lie within six hundred (600) feet of the property line of such principal use. Such vehicle parking space shall be associated with the permitted use and shall not hereafter be reduced or encroached upon in any manner.

5.04.06.

Garbage dumpsters. Garbage dumpsters shall not be permitted to be place in a required parking space. If a garbage dumpster is required, an additional space must be included in the Off-Street Parking Plan.

5.05.01.

General. There shall be provided loading spaces for each hospital, institution, hotel, commercial, or industrial building or similar use requiring the receipt or distribution of materials or merchandise.

5.05.02.

For gross floor area 20,000 square feet or more. Each said building having a gross floor area of 20,000 square feet or more shall be provided at least one off-street loading space for the first 20,000 square feet, plus one space for each additional 40,000 square feet or fraction thereof.

5.05.03.

For gross floor area less than 20,000 square feet.

A.

Each said building having a gross floor area of less than 20,000 square feet, shall provide sufficient off-street loading space (not necessarily a full space if shared by an adjacent establishment).

B.

Based upon sufficient demonstration that a particular loading space will be used exclusively by shorter trucks, the City council may reduce the minimum length accordingly to 35 feet.

5.05.04.

Location of off-street loading spaces. All required off-street loading spaces shall be located on the same lot as the building which they are intended to serve, or on an adjacent lot when shared with the use occupying said adjacent lot. Such space shall be so located as not to hinder the free movement of pedestrians and vehicles over a sidewalk, street or alley.

5.05.05.

Marking. Each required loading and unloading area shall be marked so that service vehicles may use this space without interfering with the use of streets, sidewalks, alleys or parking areas, and shall have access to a street or alley or have a driveway which offers satisfactory ingress and egress for trucks in accordance with the access management requirement in this Code.

5.05.06.

Bus and trucking terminals. There shall be provided sufficient space to accommodate the maximum number of buses or trucks to be stored or to be loaded at the terminals at any one time.

5.06.01.

Size of parking spaces. The following table of parking space standards shall apply to all parking facilities in accordance with this Code:

5.06.02.

Spaces for handicapped parking. Spaces for handicapped parking shall be designed at a minimum of twelve (120 feet in width and 20 feet in length.

5.06.03.

Drainage and maintenance. All required off-street parking or loading facilities shall conform to the stormwater management requirements of this Code. The said parking and loading facilities shall be provided with adequate draining facilities to prevent damage or any inconvenience to the abutting private property and/or public streets and alleys; and shall be maintained in a clean and orderly condition.

5.07.01.

General. The Access management shall meet the requirements in accordance with F.A.C. ch. 14-97 of the Rules of the Florida department of transportation.

5.07.02.

Ingress and egress. All entrance and exits to off-street parking and loading areas from a major arterial shall be subject to special approval by the City council.

5.07.03.

Access points.

A.

Access points must be able to accommodate all vehicles having occasion to enter the site. There shall be sufficient on-site storage to accommodate queued vehicles waiting to park or exit without using any portion of the street right-of-way or in any other way interfering with street traffic.

B.

A maximum of one access point shall be permitted to a particular site from each of one or two abutting streets. Dual access driveways will be considered to be one access point. The number of access points shall be as follows:

C.

The separation between access points onto arterial or collector roads, or between an access point and the intersection of an arterial or collector with another road, shall be in accordance with the following table:

D.

Common driveways. Adjacent land uses located on arterials and major collectors shall use common driveways, provided that appropriate access easements are granted between or among property owners.

5.07.04.

Measurement. The distance between access points shall be measured form the centerline of the proposed driveway or roadway to the centerline of the nearest adjacent roadway or driveway.

5.07.05.

Driveway regulation.

A.

Driveways shall not be less than ten feet in width for one-way traffic and 18 feet in width for two-way traffic, except that ten feet wide driveways are permissible for two way traffic when the driveway is not longer than 50 feet, or the driveway provides access to not more than six spaces, and sufficient turning space is provided so that vehicles need not back into a public street.

B.

All driveways connecting to any City-owned or City-maintained right-of-way, where constructed or altered by others, must be included in a site plan before construction can occur.

C.

No one shall be allowed to enter upon a City-owned or City-maintained right-of-way to construct a driveway or roadway without issuance of a driveway permit or development order. Alteration of an existing driveway or existing roadway and/or connection to any driveway or roadway shall not take place until the development order is issued. Development orders will not be permitted until the standards enumerated in this Code are met.

D.

Permits for the construction or alteration of driveways or roadways on City-owned or City-maintained rights-of-way will be issued in conformity with procedures set forth in the Concurrency Management section of this Code.

5.07.06.

Curb cuts. No curb cut shall exceed 50 feet in length, nor shall curb cuts be closer than 20 feet to other curb cuts or to an intersection of two streets measured along the curbline.

5.08.01.

Standards. All off-street parking or loading areas shall be set back a minimum of ten feet from the front property line and six feet from the side and rear property lines, except that the minimum setback is reduced to four (40 feet between access aisles, drives, and side or rear property lines.

5.08.02.

Exceptions.

A.

If there is a joint use of common access aisles or drives alongside or rear property lines of two or more building lots, the said setbacks are not required.

B.

When a continuous curb or wheelstop is used adjacent to a required setback area or an interior landscape area large enough to allow a two feet vehicular overhand, the parking space depth may be reduced from 19 feet to 17 feet.

5.08.03.

Landscaping. All off-street parking and loading areas shall be properly landscaped. It is the intent of this section to encourage the use of setbacks or adjacent open land to provide adequate protection from undesirable effects created by the parking and loading facilities, as well as safe and comfortable space for pedestrians.

5.09.01.

Parallel parking. Motor vehicles may be required to park parallel against the curb in the Commercial Business District established herein, in designated areas, sufficiently close together to allow a maximum number of vehicles to park in said area.