Norristown City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXVI
Off-Street Parking and Loading
§ 320-300 Off-street parking requirements.
A.
Standards.
(1)
The number, size and type of parking spaces required for particular zoning uses shall be determined according to the standards described herein. The number of parking spaces required per use is stated in this section; if the proposed use does not precisely match one of the listed uses herein, the number of spaces required shall be based on the use which most closely matches the proposed use.
(2)
In cases where accessory uses are customary to a principal use, the accessory use parking requirement is listed with the primary use requirement. Other uses which are accessory in nature, but which are classified in this chapter as a principal use, are required to have the number of parking spaces required for the accessory use in addition to those required for the principal use.
(3)
A "parking space" shall be a space which, exclusive of driveways and turning areas, is a minimum of nine feet wide and 18 feet long and is accessible for the parking of one vehicle. All off-street parking spaces or areas shall be paved. Required off-street parking areas for three or more vehicles shall have individual spaces marked and shall be so designed, maintained and regulated so that no parking, backing onto or other maneuvering incidental to parking shall be on any public street, walk or alley and so that any vehicle may be parked or unparked without moving another.
(4)
Parking spaces are required to be located on the site (off-street) for which they are intended, unless on-street parking provisions are applicable.
(5)
When the word "parking" or "parking requirement" is referenced, it refers to both the size and number of the spaces.
§ 320-301 Application and interpretation.
A.
Existing nonconforming land uses:
(1)
Existing land uses which are nonconforming with respect to the parking requirements established herein shall be exempt from compliance unless an addition, alteration, or change in use occurs. Existing nonconformities are recognized with respect to both the number of existing parking spaces and the size of existing parking spaces.
(2)
Additions. When a use which is nonconforming with respect to parking is increased with an addition to the property or structure, parking must be provided for the additional use area according to the provisions expressed herein. The existing use area may continue to operate without increasing parking provisions for that use, provided the number of parking spaces originally existing is not reduced in number or size.
(3)
Alterations. When a use which is nonconforming with respect to parking is changed through an alteration to property, structure or use, the alteration may not reduce the amount of parking originally available in either number or size of spaces. An alteration which generates increased use or demand on the premises may only occur provided the required number of parking spaces is installed on the site.
(4)
Change in use. When a parcel, property, structure or use which is nonconforming with respect to parking requirements is changed to a different use classification as described herein, the change may only occur provided corresponding parking requirements can be achieved.
(a)
More intense use. A change in use which generates a higher parking requirement than previously contained on the site, or than can be added in compliance with the zoning district provisions, must seek variance approval from the Municipal Zoning Hearing Board.
(b)
Less intense use. A change in use which generates a lower parking requirement than previously contained on the site may be permitted without a variance, provided the following applies:
[1]
The number of available parking spaces for the proposed use is within 75% of the number required under the provisions of this chapter.
[2]
The number of available parking spaces originally contained on the site is not reduced by alterations, additions, or other zoning criteria required for the proposed new use.
§ 320-302 Existing conforming land uses.
A.
Standards.
(1)
Existing land uses which are conforming with respect to the parking requirements established herein may not undergo addition, alteration, or change in use which creates nonconforming parking conditions, unless a variance is obtained from the Township Zoning Hearing Board.
(2)
Additions or alterations. Conforming parking spaces must be provided for the additional use area or alteration, according to the provisions expressed herein.
(3)
New land uses. A parcel, property, structure, or use which requires permit approval, special exception use approval, subdivision or land development approval according to the requirements of this chapter and other adopted codes or ordinances of the Municipality shall comply with the intent and parking regulations established herein.
§ 320-303 Remedies for alleviating parking deficiencies in nonconforming buildings and uses.
A.
Standards.
(1)
In order to help prevent the vacancy of commercial buildings and properties which are nonconforming with respect to parking requirements, a building may be partially utilized or employ shared-use provisions in order to achieve the highest degree of parking compliance. This provision may be accomplished through the permit process and does not require Zoning Hearing Board action.
(2)
When such options are utilized, the allocation of use must be clearly identified on a floor plan layout of the building or premises submitted with the permit application, and the shared allocation of parking spaces must be stated on the certificate of occupancy for the building, property, structure, or use, as a condition of use and occupancy approval.
§ 320-304 Parking use requirements.
A.
Standards. The following off-street parking requirements shall be provided for uses as established below:
[Amended 9-19-2017 by Ord. No. 17-09; 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. 18-06; 10-17-2023 by Ord. No. 23-06
Apartment Complex — Same as use "apartment/condominium building," plus 1/4 parking space per dwelling unit for visitors and overflow parking if proposed in land development with greater than 16 units. |
Apartment/Condominium Building or Multifamily Dwelling Unit — Parking spaces shall be provided per dwelling units as follows: |
Efficiency units | 1.0/DU | |
One-bedroom units | 1.0/DU | |
Two-bedroom units | 1.5/DU | |
Three-bedroom units | 1.5/DU | |
Four-bedroom units | 1.5/DU |
Arcade of place of business with four or more amusement devices — One parking space for each four amusement devices. |
Athletic/Health Club — One parking space for every 200 square feet. |
Bed-and-Breakfast — In addition to parking required for the home, one parking space per guest room, plus one parking space per employee. |
Car Wash — In addition to the stacking area required by § 320-239, one parking space for every 200 square feet of gross leasable floor area not contained in the washing area. |
Church/House of Worship — One parking space for every 25 square feet of primary worship space. This standard may be reduced by special exception. |
Club, Fraternal Organization or Lodge — One parking space for every 100 square feet of floor area used or intended to be used for service to customers, patrons, clients, guests or members. |
Commercial Buildings (unless specifically regulated herein) — One parking space for every 400 square feet of net square footage. |
Community Centers, Libraries, Museums, or other similar places — One parking space for every 800 square feet of floor area in public use. |
Duplex Unit or Multiplex Unit — One parking space per unit. |
Funeral Home — No less than one parking space for every three seats provided for patron use, or at least one parking space for every 50 square feet of gross floor area used or intended to be used in the operation of the establishment (exclusive of body preparation rooms), whichever requires the greater number of parking spaces. |
Gasoline Service Station or Fuel Service Islands — One parking space per 200 square feet of gross floor area of any building wherein retail sales are transacted. |
Group Home, Personal Care Home, or Institutional Home — Minimum of four off-street parking spaces for facilities with less than four occupants and one additional off-street parking space for every two occupants, or fraction thereof, in excess of four occupants. |
Hotel/Motel/Inn — No less than one parking space for each guest room provided on the premises, plus one parking space for each employee working on the largest shift, plus required parking spaces for accessory uses such as entertainment, restaurants, and the like, as established herein. |
No-Impact Home-Based Business — No additional spaces are required, over and above what is required for the residence. |
Open Areas Used for Commercial Purposes — One parking space per 1,500 square feet of area, or fraction thereof. |
Rental Agency — One off-street display space for each vehicle displayed or intended for rental, plus one standard-size parking space for every 200 square feet of gross floor area devoted to office, sales, showroom, or stockroom use. |
Restaurant, Sit-Down — For restaurants located in the CR or OCR Zoning Districts, one parking space for every 50 square feet of gross leasable floor area devoted to customer or patron use for sit-down restaurants, or one parking space for every three seats, whichever requires the lesser number of spaces. In all other districts, use the "commercial buildings" off-street parking requirements. |
Restaurant, Take-Out — For restaurants located in the CR or OCR Zoning Districts, one parking space for every 75 square feet of gross leasable floor area devoted to customer or patron use, plus one parking space for every three seats provided. In all other districts, use the "commercial buildings" off-street parking requirements. |
Rooming House — One parking space per room, plus one parking space per employee. |
Rowhouse — 1.5 parking spaces per unit. |
Schools, Stadiums, Theaters, Public Auditoriums, or Other Similar Places — One parking space for every five seats. |
Self-Storage Facility — One parking space for every 100 storage units or fraction thereof, the spaces which shall be located in the vicinity of the leasing office; plus one space for the number of employees on the largest shift. |
Shopping Center — One parking space for every 250 square feet of gross leasable floor area. This standard applies when the gross leasable floor area of all buildings comprising the shopping center are greater than 10,000 square feet. |
Single-Family Detached — Two parking spaces exclusive of garage space. |
Sober Living Home: — Minimum of five off-street parking spaces for facilities with six occupants and one additional off-street parking space for every two occupants, or fraction thereof, in excess of six occupants. |
Supermarket or Grocery — One parking space for every 200 square feet of gross leasable floor area. |
Townhouse Dwelling Unit — Two parking spaces exclusive of garage space, plus 0.25 parking space per dwelling unit for visitors and overflow parking if proposed in a subdivision having more than 16 units and involving the creation of new streets or drives. |
Twin Dwelling Unit — Two parking spaces. |
Veterinary Clinic — Four parking spaces for each exam room. |
§ 320-305 Parking space computation.
A.
Standards.
(1)
Fractions. In computing the number of required parking spaces, if the computation results in a fraction, one additional space shall be required for the fractional amount.
(2)
Gross leasable floor area. Unless otherwise stated, parking space requirements are calculated using the gross leasable floor area of a building. The gross leasable floor area is calculated by determining the sum of all floor areas of a building capable of being devoted to a principal or accessory use of an occupant or tenant, as measured by the exterior building walls, minus floor areas of the building devoted to:
(a)
Basement and crawl space utilized strictly as storage use.
(b)
Mechanical and building utility spaces such as elevator shafts, water closets, and building equipment rooms.
(c)
Common hallways and stairways.
(d)
Aesthetic lobbies used for architectural enhancement or display, and not used or intended for business use.
(e)
Mezzanines devoted exclusively to storage use.
(f)
Bathroom facilities for use by common tenants or the general public utilizing the building.
(g)
Garage area utilized in the required parking space count for the principal building use, and not devoted to storage use.
(h)
Design elements for handicapped accessibility.
(3)
The gross leasable floor area may not be altered without consideration and adjustment to the available or producible parking spaces on the premises. Once floor area is omitted from the gross leasable floor area calculation, it cannot be converted into other uses unless the appropriate parking adjustment is satisfied.
(4)
Unless specifically provided for herein, when multiple uses occur within the same building or upon the same premises, the collective parking requirement shall be calculated as the sum of the square footage required for each individual use. This provision does not apply to uses identified as qualifying for multiple use reduction, as provided herein.
§ 320-306 Special exceptions.
The nonresidential parking spaces required in § 320-304 herein may be located elsewhere than on the same lot when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board, subject to the following conditions:
A.
That the owners of two or more establishments shall submit, with their application for special exception, a site plan showing joint use and location of a common off-street parking area.
B.
That some portion of the common off-street parking area lies within 400 feet of an entrance, regularly used by patrons, into the buildings served thereby.
C.
That the Zoning Hearing Board may, in its discretion, reduce the 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 number of off-street parking spaces be reduced by more than 20% of the required number of spaces.
D.
The Zoning Hearing Board may eliminate the off-street parking requirements for establishments of under 2,000 square feet of floor space if, in its judgment, the requirement is adequately met by available on-street parking within 400 feet of an entrance regularly used by patrons into the proposed building or by available off-street parking open to the public within 1,200 feet of an entrance regularly used by patrons into the proposed building. All calculations of distance between the entrance of a building and the entrance to a parking facility proposed to meet the requirements set forth in this article shall be based on the shortest distance along existing public sidewalks and walkways.
§ 320-307 Parking held in reserve.
If the number of spaces required by § 320-304 of this article is substantially larger than the number of spaces anticipated by the applicant, then the concept of parking held in reserve may be used to avoid unnecessary paving while ensuring adequate area for potential parking demands.
A.
Suitable area must be available on the site for 100% of the parking required by § 320-304, above.
B.
The number of spaces which must be paved initially may be reduced by up to 50% by the Municipal Council, upon recommendation of the Municipal Planning Commission and Engineer.
C.
Suitable area must be reserved for the balance of the total number of spaces required by § 320-304. The total number of spaces shall be constructed by the applicant if and when determined necessary by the Council, upon recommendation of the Borough Engineer. The Council may require the installation of these parking spaces under the following conditions:
D.
A financial guaranty shall be provided by the applicant to cover the cost of installation of the parking spaces held in reserve, for a period of one year following installation of the initially constructed parking spaces. The type and dollar value of the guaranty must be approved by the Municipal Council, upon recommendation of the Municipal Solicitor and Engineer.
E.
To qualify for use of the reserve parking concept, the applicant shall demonstrate that the number of spaces required by § 320-304 herein is substantially larger than the number of spaces anticipated by providing evidence supporting reduced parking needs to the Municipal Planning Commission and Engineer for their review and recommendations to the Municipal Council.
§ 320-308 Mobility requirements (buses, shuttles, and bicycles).
A.
Standards.
(1)
Buses. Multiple use retail centers and planned business complexes greater than 50,000 square feet in total gross building area are required to provide:
(a)
One off-street space for every 50,000 square feet of gross floor area. Bus spaces must be designed to accommodate buses; spaces designed for general vehicles may not be counted towards required parking for buses and may not occupy required fire lanes.
(b)
A pickup area for public transportation. The pickup area must include a ten-foot-by-twenty-foot waiting area that is additional to the development's sidewalks. The pickup area must also include an area where a forty-foot bus can park without blocking any lanes of the development's driveways. Where the pickup area is internal to the development, driveways and a parking area must be provided that can handle and are designed for the weight and length of a forty-foot passenger bus.
(2)
Van pool and paratransit vehicles. Multiple use retail centers and planned business complexes greater than 50,000 square feet in total gross building area are required to provide a single lane drop-off area for van pool and paratransit vehicles. Drop-off facilities may not occupy other required areas and must be clearly identified with permitted signage and lane markers.
(3)
Bicycle storage areas. Multiple use retail centers and planned business complexes greater than 25,000 square feet in total gross building area are required to provide bicycle storage areas near the principal building entrance area.
§ 320-309 Parking lot use restrictions.
A.
Standards.
(1)
No parking area shall be used for any purpose that interferes with its ability to provide the required amount of parking.
(2)
All parking lots shall be operated and maintained in accordance with all of the following conditions:
(a)
They shall not be used for the sale, repair, or dismantling of any vehicles, equipment, materials or supplies.
(b)
They shall be property graded for drainage and surfaced with concrete, asphaltic concrete, asphalt, or any dustfree surfacing.
(c)
All parking lots shall be maintained in good condition; free of weeds, dust, trash or debris.
(d)
They shall be provided with access drives located so as to minimize the effect of headlight glare.
§ 320-310 Parking space reduction formula.
A.
The required number of parking spaces may be reduced by 15% if the property is within 660 feet of a public transit stop, based on the shortest distance along existing public sidewalks and walkways.
§ 320-311 Off-street loading requirements.
A.
Standards. In connection with any building or structure which is to be erected or substantially altered and which requires the receipt or distribution of materials or merchandise by trucks or similar vehicles, there shall be provided offstreet loading berths not less than the minimum requirements specified in this subsection:
(1)
Areas provided for the loading and unloading of delivery trucks and other vehicles, and for the servicing of shops by refuse collection, fuels, and other service vehicles, shall be arranged so that they may be used without blocking or interfering with lanes, access drives; parking aisles;, parking facilities, or pedestrian ways; or requiring backing out into a street.
(2)
All required loading berths shall be located on the same lot as the use to be served, and no portion of the vehicle shall project into any traffic lane.
(a)
Exception. Loading and unloading of motor vehicles for delivery to automobile sales agencies may be arranged for and conducted in an alternative location in order to reduce the impact of noise to adjoining residential districts. The alternative location may not be one which creates the same noise impact to another residential area.
(b)
Exception. Two or more establishments may use a common loading area if it meets all other applicable requirements within this section.
(3)
Loading areas or docks shall be located to the side or rear of the building.
(4)
No loading facilities shall be constructed in any required buffer area.
(5)
All off-street loading areas shall be adequately screened from adjacent streets and properties, and landscaped in accordance with an overall plan, designed according to the provisions herein.
(6)
A required off-street loading berth shall be at least 15 feet in width by at least 50 feet in length, exclusive of aisle and maneuvering space, and shall have a vertical clearance of at least 16 feet.
(a)
Exception. Where it can be demonstrated that loading and unloading will only be performed by small trucks or vans, the loading berth size may be reduced upon agreement with the Municipality. The approved plan shall contain a note which so restricts the type of loading permitted, and subsequent uses shall be restricted as necessary.
(7)
Each required off-street loading berth shall be designed with appropriate means of vehicular access to an interior drive in a manner which will least interfere with existing or planned traffic movements.
(8)
The location and design of loading areas shall be acceptable to the Municipal Engineer.
(9)
All open off-street loading berths shall be paved in accordance with the regulations of the Municipal Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
(10)
No storage or motor vehicle repair work of any kind, except emergency work, shall be permitted within any required loading berth.
(11)
Space allocated to an off-street loading berth shall not be used to satisfy the space requirements for any off-street parking facilities or portions thereof.
(12)
Required number of loading berths. Each building, premises, structure, or use erected or altered after the adoption of this chapter shall provide loading berths as described below.
(13)
Off-street loading requirements by land use type; designated off-street loading areas are not required for lots smaller than 10,000 square feet.
(14)
Nonresidential berths:
Use | Gross Floor Area (square feet) | # Of Berths |
|---|---|---|
Business and professional office | First 10,000 | 1 |
Next 40,000 | 1 | |
Each additional 50,000 square feet or fraction thereof | 1 | |
Retail | First 5,000 | 1 |
Next 5,000 | 1 | |
Each additional 20,000 square feet or fraction thereof | 1 | |
Uses over 100,000 | 1 loading dock | |
Industrial | First 3,000 | 1 |
Next 7,000 | 1 | |
Each additional 20,000 square feet or fraction thereof | 1 | |
Other uses (as deemed necessary by Municipal Council) | First 20,000 | 1 |
Each additional 20,000 square feet or fraction thereof | 1 |