Montgomery Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIX
Off-Street Parking and Loading 1
§ 230-134 Required parking.
[Amended 8-3-1987 by Ord. No. 17-036; 6-22-1992 by Ord. No. 92-1; 5-17-1993 by Ord. No. 93-14Z; 1-28-2002 by Ord. No. 01-140Z; 6-25-2012 by Ord. No. 12-259Z; 4-8-2013 by Ord. No. 13-272Z; 11-11-2019 by Ord. No. 19-311ZS; 9-12-2022 by Ord. No. 22-329Z; 9-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-336Z
Any building or other structure erected, altered or used or any lot used or occupied for any of the following purposes shall be provided with minimum off-street parking spaces, as defined in Article II hereof and as set forth below, together with adequate passageways, driveways or other means of circulation and access to and from a street or way. In the case of access to secondary township, state, and county roads (as set forth in the Township's Ultimate Classification of Roads Map, as amended), parking spaces, together with the driveways or passageways, shall be large enough to permit the circulation or turning around of vehicles on the lot so that egress to the street or way can be made frontways to avoid backing in or onto the street or way.
A.
Dwelling. Two all-weather parking spaces, on the same lot therewith, for each family in the dwelling shall be provided.
B.
For any of the following uses, the required parking spaces shall be all-weather and shall be located on the same lot therewith or on land adjacent thereto:
(1)
Rooming house: one parking space for each rental unit.
(2)
Church, school, public auditorium, stadium, assembly or meeting room or other similar place of public or private assembly: one parking space for every five seats.
(3)
Hospital or similar institution: one parking space for every four beds.
(4)
Roadside stand: one parking space for every 100 square feet of sales area.
C.
For any of the following uses, the required parking spaces shall be all-weather, and such parking spaces shall be located on the same lot therewith, except as provided in § 230-135 below:
(1)
Retail store, shop or supermarket less than 20,000 square feet total floor area which is not part of a shopping center: 6.5 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of total floor area.
(2)
Retail store, shop or supermarket 20,000 square feet or greater total floor area which is not part of a shopping center: 5.0 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of total floor area.
(3)
Indoor theater:
(a)
Multi-screened: one parking space for every four seats.
(b)
Single- or double-screened theaters or live theaters: one parking space for every three seats.
(c)
Reserve parking. Up to 25% of the required parking area may be held in reserve, provided that:
[1]
The Board of Supervisors, by resolution, grants the application for reserve parking area.
[2]
The reserved parking is required to be fully engineered at the time of plan approval.
[3]
The reserved parking area shall be paved and taken out of the reserve in the event that it is determined by the Board of Supervisors, after reviewing the community experience with each reserved area, that the then existing parking for the indoor theater or theaters is not adequate.
[4]
The Supervisors may designate a lesser percentage of reserve parking area than 25% originally and subsequently reduce the reserve, either partially or fully.
[5]
When the reserve parking is not in active use for parking, the area shall be landscaped; the landscaped area shall not be included in the overall open space requirements.
(4)
Outdoor theater. The number of parking spaces is controlled by the area available for automobiles parked to view the screen. Parking spaces shall be marked at a minimum of 10 by 20 feet for each of the motor vehicles consigned to such parking space, with aisles of a minimum width of 25 feet, and laid out in accordance with the plan thereof submitted for approval to the Montgomery Township Supervisors. The parking area shall be landscaped in accordance with Township ordinances.
(5)
Hotel, tourist home or automobile court: one parking space for each rental unit.
(6)
Office building or wholesale establishment: one parking space for every 200 square feet of total floor area.
(7)
Restaurant: one parking space for every three chairs of seating capacity.
(8)
Laboratory or any industrial establishment: one parking space for every three employees.
(9)
Other commercial buildings or open spaces used for commercial purposes: one parking space for every 1,000 square feet of floor or open area used for commercial purposes or fraction thereof.
(10)
Shopping center for retail, business services, personal services, or office purposes, preplanned and designed as a complex of related buildings and circulation patterns having at least five establishments providing the following minimum square feet of total floor area (excluding satellite uses):
(11)
Trade or professional school: one parking space per student or one per 200 gross square feet, whichever is greater.
(12)
Recreational uses: each specific use within a recreational development shall provide parking in accordance with the following standards:
(a)
Fitness center or health club: one space per 200 square feet of gross floor area.
(b)
Racquet or tennis club: four spaces per court or one space per two spectator seats, whichever is greater.
(c)
Bowling alley: four spaces per alley.
(d)
Skating rink: one space per 180 square feet of gross floor area, including rink area, or one space per two spectator seats, whichever is greater.
(e)
Golf course: five spaces per hole.
(f)
Golf driving range: 2 1/2 spaces per tee.
(g)
Miniature golf course: 2 1/2 spaces per hole.
(h)
Athletic field and basketball court: 40 spaces per field and 20 spaces per basketball court or one space per two spectator seats, whichever is greater.
(i)
Swimming pool or club: one space per 60 square feet of water surface area or one space per two spectator seats, whichever is greater.
(j)
Batting cage: two spaces per batting cage.
(k)
Accessory retail use: one space for every 100 square feet of store sales floor space.
(l)
Accessory restaurant use: one parking space for every three chairs of seating capacity.
(13)
Outdoor sales areas, open to the public and provided in a secured/enclosed space such as an enclosed garden center, but not including areas where nursery stock is grown, which are either generally not open to the public or not in a secure area: 4.5 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of total floor area.
(14)
Dispensary facility: one parking space for each 200 square feet of total floor area.
(15)
Grower/processor facility: one parking space for each 650 square feet of total floor area or one space per employee on the largest shift, whichever is greater.
D.
Commercial uses and shopping centers located in the C, S, or RS Districts which undergo a redevelopment, addition or change of use or an action which shall require the submission of a land development plan shall comply with the requirements governing parking, landscaping, sidewalks and pedestrian walkways, lighting, trash enclosures, noise attenuation, and all other applicable regulations contained herein and the Montgomery Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.[1] The parking and circulation for these uses shall be modified to comply with current standards on the basis of not less than the number of parking spaces and support aisles and drives calculated by ordinance to support the redevelopment, addition or change of use.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. Subdivision and Land Development.
E.
Drive-in/drive-through facilities shall be provided with not less than eight automobile waiting spaces per drive-through window or drive-through lane, whichever results in the greater number of waiting spaces.
F.
Drive-in/drive-through banking facilities shall be provided with not less than four automobile waiting spaces per drive-through window or drive-through lane, whichever results in the greater number of waiting spaces.
§ 230-135 Location adjustments.
Parking spaces required in § 230-134C herein may be located elsewhere than on the same lot when authorized as a special exception and subject to the following conditions:
A.
The owner shall submit, with his application for special exception, a site plan showing the proposed use and location of the off-street parking area.
B.
If the parking area does not abut the lot served thereby, some portion of the off-street parking area shall lie within 200 feet of an entrance, regularly used by patrons, into the building served thereby.
C.
The Zoning Hearing Board may, in its discretion, reduce the aggregate amount of required parking space upon determination that greater efficiency is effected by joint use of a common parking area, but in no case shall the required off-street parking area be reduced more than 25%.
§ 230-136 Required loading facilities.
In addition to required off-street parking spaces, the foregoing uses shall be provided with adequate off-street loading space.
§ 230-137 Parking in required yards.
Required off-street parking space shall be permitted within the required yard areas, except where otherwise specified in industrial districts.
§ 230-138 Parking space sizes.
[Amended 1-28-2002 by Ord. No. 01-140Z]
All use groups (not provided with different specific dimensional standards elsewhere in this Zoning Ordinance) shall provide a parking space of 10 feet in width by 20 feet in length and having an area of 200 square feet. Off-street parking spaces shall be marked with all-weather paint to the size required by this chapter. For all uses the length of a parking space may be reduced to 18 feet under the following circumstance: The forward curbed edge of a parking space shall overhang a landscaped area having a width of not less than five feet. For those conditions where spaces face one another, then the minimum total landscaped area shall equal 10 feet.
§ 230-138.1 Reserved parking.
[Added 5-17-1993 by Ord. No. 93-14Z]
If the number of required spaces is substantially larger than the number anticipated by the applicant, the reserve parking option may be utilized to avoid unnecessary paving, in accordance with the following criteria:
A.
The total number of spaces which must be paved initially may be reduced by up to 25% by the Township Supervisors, upon recommendation of the Township Planning Commission and Engineer.
B.
Suitable area that meets all requirements of this chapter and Chapter 205, Subdivision and Land Development, must be available and reserved for construction of the balance of the total number of spaces otherwise required. 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 Supervisors, at their sole discretion, may require part or all of the reserve green area to be converted to parking area to serve needs of the businesses.
C.
A financial guaranty must be provided by the applicant to cover the cost of installation of the reserved parking spaces, for a period of one year after 90% of the building floor area on the site is occupied. The type and dollar value of the guaranty must be approved by the Township Supervisors.
D.
To qualify for use of the reserve parking concept, the applicant shall provide evidence supporting reduced parking needs to the Township Planning Commission and Engineer for their review and recommendation.
§ 230-138.2 Special requirements for parking structures.
[Added 1-28-2002 by Ord. No. 01-140Z]
A.
Parking structures shall not be located within any required yard, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. Parking structures shall be constructed so as to preserve at least one side of the principal building for which said structure was designed to serve with an unobstructed visual access (excluding landscaping) to a public or private street or driveway.
B.
Maximum height limitations: 60% of the height of the tallest principal structure for which the parking structure serves as an accessory use, but in no event shall the height be greater than four levels of parking above grade, counting the rooftop as one level.
C.
Ramps for the movement of vehicles between parking levels shall be designed to provide an optimal movement of vehicular traffic within the parking structure.
D.
Parking structures shall be so designed to minimize blank concrete facades through the use of innovative architectural detail. The design of the exterior of the parking structure shall be compatible with the exterior design of the principal structure to the extent that the parking facility is clearly identified with the principal structure.
E.
Any parking structure or group of parking structures containing 300 parking spaces or more in total shall provide a grade-separated pedestrian walkway connecting the parking facility with the principal structure or structures.
F.
Parking structures shall be landscaped in accordance with and to the same extent as the overall landscape plan for the principal use and structure the parking structure shall serve.
G.
Parking layouts using ninety-degree parking spaces shall be designed for two-way travel. Parking layouts using less than ninety-degree parking spaces shall be for one-way travel only, clearly marked and signed as such. The parking angle design shall be the same for both parking structures and surface parking when used in the same development.
§ 230-138.3 Exceptions to floor area calculations.
[Added 1-28-2002 by Ord. No. 01-140Z]
Basements, attics and penthouses used principally for storage or utility purposes shall provide parking at the ratio of one parking space per 1,000 square feet of total floor area in lieu of the higher rates provided in § 130-134C above.