Mountain Home City Zoning Code

The purpose of this chapter is to alleviate or prevent congestion of public rights of way so as to promote the safety and general welfare of the public by establishing minimum requirements for the provision of off street parking and circulation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic in accordance with the utilization of various sites. (Ord. 1628, 1-12-2015)

   A.   Purpose: The purpose of the Downtown Parking Overlay is to promote the investment, innovation, and vibrancy of the City of Mountain Home's downtown.

   B.   Downtown Parking Overlay:

      1.   Description Of Downtown Parking Overlay: The following described real property located in the City of Mountain Home, County of Elmore, State of Idaho, is hereby declared to be a part of the Downtown Parking Overlay:

         The City of Mountain Home Downtown Parking Overlay being +/- 42 acres of real property situated within Section 25, Township 3 South, Range 6 East, Boise Meridian, Elmore County, State of Idaho more particularly described as follows:

         Commencing at a point lying at the center of the intersection of North Main Street and East 5th North Street said point being the REAL POINT OF BEGINNING;

         Thence running in a north west direction along the center line of North Main Street to a point that is parallel to the north west property boundary point of Parcel RPA3S06E262230;

         Thence running in a south west direction, a point lying on the north west property boundary point of Parcel RPA3S06E262230;

         Thence running in a south east direction along the west boundary line of Parcels RPA3S06E262230, RPA3S06E262220, RPA3S06E262210, said line also being the east R.O.W. line of the Union Pacific Railroad, to a point lying on the south west corner of Parcel RPA3S06E262210, said point also lying on the north R.O.W. line of West 5th North Street;

         Thence continuing along the east R.O.W. of the Union Pacific Railroad in a south east direction

         +/- 127 feet to a point;

         Thence running in a north east direction +/- 50 feet to a point lying on the south west corner of Parcel RPA3S06E253910;

         Thence running in a south east direction and parallel to the east R.O.W. line of the Union Pacific Railroad to a point lying on the northern Right-of-Way line of East 4th North Street;

         Thence running in a south west direction along the northern Right-of-Way Line of East 4th North Street to the property of the Union Pacific Railroad.

         Thence running south east, along the property line of the Union Pacific Railroad to a point lying on the southern Right-of-Way Line of the West Jackson Street;

         Thence running north east along the southern Right-of-Way Line of West Jackson Street to a point lying at the center of North Main Street and the projected southern Right-of-Way Line of East Jackson Street;

         Thence continuing in a north east direction along the southern Right-of-Way Line of East Jackson Street to a point lying on the north west property corner of parcel #RPA0090001007A

         (also known as El Rancho Park);

         Thence running in a south easterly direction along the property line of El Rancho Park to the south west corner of El Rancho Park (parcel #RPA0090001007A) to a point;

         Thence running in a north easterly direction along the property line of parcel #RPA0090001007A to a point lying on the property line of parcel #RPA0090001013B;

         Thence running in a south easterly direction along the western property lines of parcels RPA0090001020C, RPA0090001020B, RPA0090001022A to a point lying at the center of East 2nd North Street;

         Thence running in a north easterly direction along the center line of East 2nd North Street to a point lying on the extended center line of the alley way between South 3rd East Street and South 4th East Street;

         Thence running in a north westerly direction along the center line of the alley way between South 3rd East and South 4th East to a point lying on the northern Right-of-Way Line of American Legion Blvd (I-84 Business Loop);

         Thence continuing in a north westerly direction along the center line of the alley way between North 3rd East and North 4th East to a point lying on the center line of East 5th North Street;

         Thence running in a south westerly direction along the center line of East 5th North Street to a point lying at the center of the intersection of North Main Street and East 5th North Street,

         said point being the REAL POINT OF BEGINNING;

         Said Overlay being ± 42 acres

      2.   No off-street parking is required within the Downtown Overlay for existing or new uses. (Ord. 1655, 12-27-2016; amd. Ord. 1702, 11-23-2020; Ord. 1707, 12-28-2020)

(Ord. 1655, 12-27-2016; amd. Ord. 1707, 12-28-2020)

   A.   General Requirements For All Districts:

      1.   Applicability: No land use, building or structure shall be commenced, erected, substantially altered, or changed to a use which increases traffic and/or the need for increased parking, unless permanently maintained access driveways and off street parking and loading spaces have been provided in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Such parking space shall be reserved for the sole use of the occupants of the building or lots, their employees and their customers.

      2.   Expansion And Enlargement:

         a.   Whenever any building is enlarged in height or ground coverage, off street parking shall be provided for the expansion or enlargement in accordance with the requirements of this section.

         b.   When a building and/or use is substantially altered, the parking requirements of this section shall apply to the total building (both the addition and preexisting building).

         c.   No additional parking spaces need to be provided in case of enlargement or use change, where the number of parking spaces required for such expansion or use change is less than ten percent (10%) of the parking spaces required for the building and/or use before enlargement.

An accumulative total of building permits for enlargements over a five (5) year period which exceeds the ten percent (10%) shall require the additional parking.

         d.   Already established required parking shall not be eliminated unless otherwise provided for.

      3.   Existing Facilities: Accessory off street parking or loading facilities that are located on the same lot as the building or use served and that were in existence on the effective date hereof, or were provided voluntarily after such effective date, shall not thereafter be reduced below, or, if already less than, shall not further be reduced below, the requirements of this chapter for a similar new building or use.

   B.   Location Of Off Street Parking:

      1.   Access: Each required off street parking space shall open directly upon an aisle or driveway of such width and design as to provide safe and efficient means of vehicular access to such parking space and shall conform to the minimum standards as established by the city. All off street parking facilities shall be designed with appropriate means of vehicular access to a street or alley in a manner which will least interfere with traffic movement.

      2.   Eliminating On Street Parking: Whenever a developer eliminates on street parking spaces by constructing a public or private trafficway, he shall provide, in addition to the off street parking requirements of this chapter, off street parking equal to the amount of on street parking so eliminated.

      3.   Location/Residential Off Street Parking: Parking spaces accessory to dwellings shall be located on the same lot as the use served and shall not be stacked (one behind the other) but shall be located within a garage or side by side. Residential driveways shall be located as far from a corner as is possible to eliminate vision problems, and the driveway shall be a minimum of twenty feet (20') in length from the garage/carport to the sidewalk.

An exception that would allow the parking to be stacked may be allowed by the development services department for infill development in the original townsite or when special circumstances arise due to extreme narrowness of the lot. Special efforts shall be made to fit the building design to the narrowness of the lot.

      4.   Commercial Accessory Off Street Parking: Required parking spaces shall be within two hundred feet (200') of the entrance to the establishment being served by said parking spaces or as otherwise provided for in this chapter. However, no parking spaces accessory to a use in a commercial or industrial district shall be located in a residential district except that private or free off street parking, which is accessory to such commercial/industrial uses, may be allowed by conditional use permit. Any such parking must be within two hundred feet (200') of the use which it serves and meet all code requirements.

      5.   Joint Parking Facilities: Joint parking facilities may be utilized by commercial, industrial or public use establishments for up to seventy five percent (75%) of the required parking, provided such parking spaces are within two hundred feet (200'). The joint use of parking facilities may be permitted in cases where major parking demands occur on different days of the week or during different hours, if the owner of the off site parking spaces agrees in writing that any subsequent sale or change in the use of such property will not interfere with the joint use of the parking facilities. The parties concerned in such joint use of off street parking facilities shall submit a written agreement to be approved, as to form and content, by the city attorney and such document, when approved as conforming to the provisions of this chapter, shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder.

      6.   Parking In Setback Area: When abutting another commercial use, parking shall be permitted within the setback area. When abutting residential uses, parking shall not be permitted in the setback area.

      7.   Wheel Blocks: Whenever a parking lot extends to a property line, wheel blocks or other suitable devices shall be installed to prevent any part of a parked vehicle from extending beyond the property line.

      8.   Minimum Distance And Setbacks: Any parking area shall be separated from adjoining land uses by acceptably designed buffer yard(s).

      9.   Parking In Residential Front Yard Setback: No parking shall be permitted in a front yard other than on a designated hard surface driveway which serves the dwelling unit. Vehicles shall not overhang or infringe on public rights of way.

   C.   Use Of Parking Facilities:

      1.   Residential Off Street Parking: Under no circumstances shall required parking facilities, which are accessory to residential structures, be used for the storage of a commercial vehicle other than that owned by the occupant of the residential lot, and in no case shall large commercial trucks, buses, semis, etc., be parked or stored on the property.

      2.   Parking And Storage Of Certain Vehicles: Automotive vehicles or trailers of any kind or type without current license plates, or inoperable, shall not be parked or stored in the public right of way or on any residentially zoned private property other than in a completely enclosed building.

      3.   Abandoned Or Wrecked Vehicles: See title 6 of this code.

      4.   Boat, Trailer, Overweight Commercial Vehicles: See title 6 of this code.

   D.   Loading Zones: Parking spaces are not to be combined with loading zones.

      1.   Loading Zones: Any retail, hospital, school, wholesale, distributing or manufacturing establishment shall have a clearly marked loading zone adjacent to or on the premises of such establishment. Loading zones shall be located and arranged in a manner which creates no interference with the vision triangle or the public use of streets and alleys. One loading zone, not less than ten feet by twenty five feet (10' x 25'), shall be provided for each twenty thousand (20,000) square feet of floor area.

      2.   School Bus Loading: Off street bus loading area shall be provided, separate and apart from regular parking, for loading and unloading buses only.

      3.   Uses Not Specified/Requirements Not Met: The parking space requirements for buildings and uses not specifically set forth herein shall be based upon the requirements for the most comparable building or use specified herein. (Ord. 1628, 1-12-2015)

   A.   Parking Layout: Whenever off street parking is required by this code, a parking layout drawing shall be submitted and approved by the city engineer. The layout shall show all required improvements, access aisles, entrances and exits to the site, the layout shall be drawn to scale, show all dimensions and indicate all information necessary to determine the employee and customer parking required. The completion of the parking improvements, according to the plan, shall be required before a certificate of occupancy is issued or one hundred ten percent (110%) bonding shall be required.

   B.   Design/Materials: Parking lots, parking spaces/areas and access driveways shall be graded to properly drain off all surface water and paved with portland cement concrete or asphaltic concrete pavement to the sidewalk/curb of the adjoining public way or abutting alleyway.

      1.   Alley Access: When an alleyway that abuts a residential zone is allowed to be used as ingress or egress for multi-dwellings (3 or more), offices, business or public parking, that portion of the alley used to access the parking shall be paved with concrete or asphaltic material by the developer. The alleys shall be maintained by the city, if a public right of way, or the developer or property owner, if private.

      2.   Backing Into Public Trafficway Prohibited: Backing a vehicle from an off street parking space directly into a public trafficway creates a traffic hazard. Parking layouts requiring this maneuver shall not be allowed, except for residential uses exiting onto a local street or a street with a low traffic volume.

   C.   Handicap Parking: There shall be one handicapped parking space for every twenty five (25) spaces or fraction thereof. Said handicap space shall be fourteen feet (14') wide, open on one side to allow room for individuals in wheelchairs or individuals requiring the aid of a mechanical device to egress and ingress from a motor vehicle on a level surface and be located convenient to a door which accesses the building. The space shall be signed for handicapped use only.

   D.   Dimensions Of Parking Space/Driveways: Each parking space shall be not less than nine feet by eighteen feet (9' x 18'), with direct access to a public street or alley. Parking spaces shall not be placed one behind the other unless the case being considered is infill and shall be at the discretion of the development services department.

Driveways shall have a minimum length of twenty feet (20') measured from the property line and shall not infringe upon the vision triangle.

   E.   Stormwater Management: The management of stormwater for all development, including, but not limited to, parking lots, subdivisions, commercial, industrial, residential, recreational, and public shall conform to the city of Mountain Home stormwater management policy/performance standards, of this title.

   F.   Striping: Parking lot spaces shall be marked with striping which outlines each parking space and designates direction of traffic on the concrete or asphalt surface and shall be maintained by the property owner.

   G.   Landscaping/Screening: See chapter 11 of this title.

   H.   Lights: Parking lot light pole height shall be no more than the maximum height allowed for buildings in the zoning district in which the parking lot is located. Lights used to illuminate parking lots shall be arranged to reflect lighting away from adjoining premises in a residential district. Such lighting shall be maintained in a safe condition by the property owner. (Ord. 1628, 1-12-2015)

The minimum number of paved, off street parking spaces required shall be as set forth in the following. All of the required paved parking spaces shall be constructed of concrete or asphalt. After the required number of paved off street parking spaces has been met, any additional spaces may be constructed of the "hard surface" material as defined in section 9-3-2, "Definitions Enumerated", of this title. (For the purpose of this section, "floor area" shall mean the sum of the area of each building story, including basements. To calculate the area of each building story, the measurement shall be taken from the outside wall, excluding architectural features. In multiple use buildings, floor area shall be calculated on the total area used for each occupancy. "Floor and display area" shall mean the floor area plus any area outside the building used to display merchandise.) (Ord. 1647, 2-8-2016)

REQUIRED NUMBER OF SPACES

 

(Ord. 1628, 1-12-2015; amd. Ord. 1647, 2-8-2016)