Palmer Township, PA Zoning Ordinance

§ 190-601 Required number of off-street parking spaces.

Requirement.

Each use established, enlarged or altered in any district shall provide and satisfactorily maintain off-street vehicle parking spaces in accordance with Table 3 and the regulations of this article. When not specifically stated, bicycle parking and/or storage facilities shall be provided for each use in an appropriate location.

Where the computation of required parking spaces results in a fractional number, the fraction shall be rounded to the next whole number.

Any warehouse/logistics use shall include parking spaces for trailer trucks waiting for dock time. These spaces shall be provided with electrical connections for these trucks so that there is no need for the trucks to idle during their wait time.

Conditional reduction in off-street parking areas. In order to prevent the establishment of a greater number of parking spaces than is actually required to serve the needs of nonresidential uses, the Board of Supervisors may permit a reduction of parking spaces to be built if the following conditions are satisfied:

The design of the parking lot, as indicated on the land development plan, must designate sufficient space to meet the parking requirements of this chapter. The plan shall also illustrate the layout for the total number of parking spaces.

The reduction shall provide for the establishment of not less than 60% of the required number of parking spaces, as specified in this chapter. This initial phase of the parking provision shall be clearly indicated on the plan.

The balance of the parking area reserved shall not include areas for required buffer yards, setbacks, or areas that would otherwise be unsuitable for parking spaces due to the physical characteristics of the land or other requirements of this chapter. The parking area that is reserved shall be located and have characteristics so as to provide amenable open space should it be determined the additional parking spaces are not required. The developer shall provide a landscaping plan for the reserved area with the land development plan. The area reserved shall be graded as if parking were to be built, and seeded.

The developer shall enter into a written agreement with the Board of Supervisors, in recordable form, that the additional parking spaces shall be provided at the developer's or owner's expense should it be determined that the required number of parking spaces are necessary to satisfy the need of the particular use or establishment. The developer shall post financial security in a form acceptable to the Township and such security shall remain in place for five years following the certificate of occupancy issuance.

Land which has been determined and designated by the Board of Supervisors to remain as open space rather than as required parking shall not be used to provide parking spaces for any addition or expansion but shall remain as open space and shall be shown on the record plan as land reserved for parking.

§ 190-602 General regulations for parking facilities.

General. Parking space layout and requirements shall be adequate for the intended use.

Existing parking. Structures and uses in existence at the effective date of this ordinance shall not be subject to the requirements of this article, provided that the kind of use is not changed and that any parking facility now serving such structures or uses shall not in the future be reduced to an amount less than that required by this ordinance.

Changes in use. Whenever a building or use (including those specified in Subsection A) is changed or enlarged in floor area, number of employees, number of dwellings, seating capacity or otherwise to create a need, based upon the requirements of § 190-601, Required number of off-street parking spaces, the number of additional spaces to be provided shall be based upon the incremental change or enlargement so required.

Continuing character of obligation.

All required parking facilities shall be provided and maintained so long as the use which the facilities were designed to serve still exists.

Off-street parking facilities shall not be reduced in total extent except when such reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this article in conjunction with a change in the nature of the use.

Conflict with other uses. No parking area shall be used for any other use that interferes with its availability for the parking need it is required to serve.

Location of parking spaces. Required off-street parking spaces shall be on the same lot or premises with the principal use served. Parking shall be located at the side or rear wherever possible.

Joint use. Two or more uses may provide for required parking in a common parking lot, provided that the total number of spaces in such lot shall not be less than the sum of the spaces required for each use individually and provided such parking lot is within 300 feet walking distance of all of the principal uses served by such lot, and provided that the applicant shows evidence of a long-term legally binding mechanism to ensure joint use of the parking. The applicant may seek to prove that the parking requirement should be reduced under the provisions of § 190-601B, Conditional reduction in off-street parking areas, because the uses would have their peak parking at different times of the day.

Handicapped parking shall be in accordance with current requirements of the American with Disabilities Act, as amended.

§ 190-603 Design standards for off-street parking facilities.

[Amended 9-15-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-495]

General requirements.

Every parking facility shall be designed so that its use does not constitute a nuisance, hazard or unreasonable impediment to traffic.

Every parking area shall be arranged for orderly, safe movement.

No parking area shall be designed to require or encourage parked vehicles to back into a public or private street in order to leave a parking space, except for a single-family or two-family dwelling backing onto a road other than a major or minor arterial road.

Every parking area shall be designed so that each motor vehicle may proceed to and from the parking space provided for it without requiring the moving of any other motor vehicle, except those of a single-family or two-family dwelling.

No parking area shall be located within:

A required buffer yard;

Ten feet of a septic system absorption area; or

Five feet of an existing driveway for new stone parking pads.

All parking areas shall include clearly defined and marked traffic patterns, with the utmost care taken to provide for safe internal traffic movement and to avoid conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. This shall include providing safe pedestrian pathways and crosswalks, both from the parking lot as well as sidewalk to the principal structure.

Parking spaces.

Each parking space shall at a minimum consist of a rectangle with a minimum width of nine feet and a minimum length of 18 feet, except that a minimum length of 22 feet shall be required for parallel parking.

All spaces shall be marked so as to indicate their location, except those of a single-family or two-family dwelling.

Aisles.

Each aisle providing access to stalls for one-way traffic only shall be at least the minimum aisle width specified as follows:

Angle of Parking (degrees)	Minimum Aisle Width (feet)
Parallel or up to 30	12
45	14
60	18
90	20

Each aisle providing access to stalls for two-way traffic shall be at least 25 feet in width.

No aisle shall exceed 200 feet in length.

Parking within and obstruction of a required aisle shall be prohibited.

Access drives and driveways.

Driveway width.

Unless a differing requirement is established by PennDOT along a state street, for common driveways serving four or more dwelling units, or for any driveway or accessway serving a nonresidential principal use, the following driveway widths shall apply, measured at the curbline (or at the edge of street paving if no curb will exist):

For two-way traffic: a minimum width of 25 feet and a maximum width of 50 feet.

ii.

For one-way traffic: a minimum width of 12 feet and a maximum width of 20 feet.

All other driveways shall have a minimum width of seven feet and a maximum width of 24 feet.

All driveways shall be set back from any property line a minimum distance of five feet.

Driveway slope. See § 165-67 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO). If the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance does not apply to a proposed driveway, then the same slope requirements as stated in the SALDO shall apply by reference through this zoning ordinance.

Adequate provisions shall be made to maintain uninterrupted parallel drainage along a public street at the point of driveway or access drive entry.

At least 50 feet shall be provided between any two driveways along one street for one lot Unless a greater separation is required by another section. See the minimum separation distance between driveways and streets in § 165-67 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.

All driveways to be constructed, paved or resurfaced shall require a zoning permit. If access is to a state street or road, a state highway occupancy permit shall be obtained.

Where access drives and driveways are proposed as part of a subdivision or land development, the provisions of the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance[1] shall also be met.

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 165 of this Code.

Sight distance for driveways. See § 190-804C(2), regarding sight distance at the intersection of driveways or accessways with streets.

Paving, grading, surface drainage. Except for areas that are landscaped and so maintained, all parking facilities, including parking access aisles and driveways, shall be graded, surfaced with asphalt, concrete, decorative paving block or other appropriate material approved by the Township, and drained to the extent necessary to prevent dust, erosion or excessive water flow across streets or adjoining properties.

Nighttime illumination.

Unless restricted elsewhere, any parking area designed for use by six or more cars after dusk shall be adequately illuminated for security and pedestrian safety during all hours of darkness when the parking area is in use. The minimum illumination of such parking spaces and aisles shall be 0.75 footcandle, except that a minimum of 0.5 footcandle is permitted for industrial uses. The maximum footcandles measured at any location along the horizontal and projected vertical lot line shall not exceed 0.1 footcandle.

All luminaires shall be adequately shielded and directed to protect adjacent dwellings and motorists on public streets from glare. See also screening requirements of § 190-603I, Screening. See also § 190-513, Light and glare control, especially concerning maximum height of a luminaire.

Parking lot setbacks. The following requirements shall apply to uses other than single- and two-family dwellings.

All parking spaces and driveways shall be at least five feet from any side or rear lot lines, unless the uses share a parking lot and access or unless the adjacent lots involve buildings that are attached at the lot line, or unless shared abutting driveways are approved by the Township.

No parking space nor outdoor display of articles or vehicles for sale or rent shall be located within the right-of-way required to be reserved for future dedication under § 190-806, Establishment of future/ultimate right-of-way widths for streets.

Parking setback from buildings. No parking space or parking access aisle shall be located within 15 feet of any apartment building of four or more dwelling units or any townhouse building or within 10 feet of any nonresidential principal building. This setback shall not apply for driveways entering into a private garage, carport or vehicle service garage bay. This requirement is intended to allow sufficient space for walkways, foundation landscaping and firefighting. This requirement may be waived or reduced by the Zoning Officer if the Planning Commission finds that the requirement would be unreasonable or unsafe considering the characteristics of the site.

Parking setback from arterial and collector streets. No off-street parking space nor outdoor display of articles or vehicles for sale or rent shall be located within 15 feet of the proposed curbline (or of the proposed legal right-of-way for a street that will not be curbed) of a minor arterial street for lots that include parking spaces for more than five cars and less than 60 cars. This setback shall be a minimum of 30 feet for lots including a total of 60 or more off-street parking spaces. Such setback shall be 10 feet for a collector street.

Parking lot landscaping. The following shall apply for uses other than single-family or two-family dwellings.

All areas not serving as parking spaces, aisles, access drives or pedestrian walkways shall be covered with an all-season ground cover and be well-maintained.

Except where entrance and exit driveways cross street lines, all parking areas shall be physically separated from any public street by a raised curb or landscaped berm and an area not less than 10 feet in depth (measured from the right-of-way line) which shall be permanently landscaped and maintained.

Any lot that would include more than 30 parking spaces shall be required to provide landscaped areas within the paved area. This required landscaped area shall be equal to a minimum of 5% of the total paved area.

One deciduous tree of a minimum caliper of three inches shall be required for every 15 required off-street parking spaces. The trees shall be of the same species as listed in the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.

A substantial proportion of the trees required by this section should be planted within the parking lot within protected islands. These protected islands should be used to direct the flow of traffic through the parking lot in a smooth and safe manner to prevent "cross-taxiing." Required trees are also encouraged to be planted in highly visible locations, especially between parking areas and major streets.

Screening. Any area of six or more off-street parking spaces which is not within a building and abuts or is across the street from any residential lot in an LDR, MDR, or HDR District or an existing primarily residential use shall be provided with a suitable fence, wall or evergreen planting at least four feet in height, designed to screen the parked vehicles and headlight glare from such residential lot.

Electric vehicle charging/fueling spaces.

The installation of charging equipment shall not reduce the length or width of a parking space below the size and standards required under this § 190-603.

Electric vehicle parking spaces shall not be located immediately adjacent to internal vehicular circulation routes, such as end cap parking islands, in order to reduce vehicular and pedestrian safety issues.

Charging equipment shall be protected by wheel stops, curbing, or concrete filled bollards.

Outdoor storage. For storage within off-street parking areas, see § 190-817.

Reconfiguration of parking area. In the case that the parking area of a multi-tenant building use is reconfigured by greater than 25%, then the resubmission of a land development application is required to allow Planning Commission to review the revised site plan.

§ 190-604 Parking of commercial, unlicensed and junk vehicles in residential districts.

[Amended 9-15-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-495]

Commercial vehicles.

Applicability. This Subsection A shall apply to the following:

Within any lot in any district occupied by a primarily residential use.

Within a lot without a principal building within the LDR, MDR, or HDR District.

Within on-street parking spaces within 25 feet of a lot occupied by a primarily residential use within the LDR, MDR, or HDR District.

In locations specified in Subsection A(1) above, no commercial vehicle with a PennDOT registration of higher than Class 4b shall be sold, stored, repaired, dismantled or parked.

Exceptions:

Routine operations as may be permitted within a lawful principal business nonconforming use or home occupation use.

The on-site construction or repair of buildings, streets and utilities.

Routine service or delivery calls by commercial vehicles or routine loading or unloading of moving trucks.

A single, operable commercial vehicle with a PennDOT registration of up to Class 4, unless otherwise approved elsewhere in a Township ordinance or by zoning variance, may be parked in a residential zone if the vehicle is necessary for the occupation of the resident, including a lawful home occupation. If parking is available on the lot, the vehicle shall be parked there; otherwise, it shall be parked on the street immediately adjacent to the lot.

Emergency service vehicles, which include, but are not limited to, police and fire, are permitted to be parked in all zoning districts.

Junk and unlicensed vehicles. In the LDR, MDR, or HDR Districts, or on primarily residential lots in other districts, on lots of less than five acres, no junk vehicles (as defined in Article II herein) shall be parked outside of an enclosed building, except as specifically permitted for a gasoline service station, auto repair garage, junkyard or other lawful use. For parking an unlicensed or junk vehicle on public streets, reference is made to the Pennsylvania State Motor Vehicle Code or the Palmer Township Code.

In LDR, MDR, or HDR Zoning Districts, all streets and off-street parking areas shall be reserved and used for automobile parking only. Not allowed in such zoning districts are sales, dead storage, repair work, dismantling or major servicing of any kind or any type of vehicles.

§ 190-605 Off-street loading.

General requirements. Each use shall provide off-street loading facilities sufficient to accommodate the maximum demand generated by the use (as determined by the Zoning Officer or another applicable review agent for the Township), which comply with the regulations contained in this section.

Design and layout of off-street loading facilities. Off-street loading facilities shall be designed to conform to the following specifications:

Each off-street loading and unloading space shall be at least 14 feet in width by 60 feet in depth, unless the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Township that the use will only utilize smaller trucks.

Each space shall have sufficient maneuvering room separate from other parking to eliminate traffic conflicts within off-street loading and parking areas.

Each space shall be located entirely on the lot being served and be so located that each space and all maneuvering room is outside of required buffer areas, yard areas, and rights-of-way.

An appropriate means of access to a street or alley shall be provided that the maximum width of driveways (measured at the street lot line) shall be 35 feet and that the minimum width shall be 20 feet exclusive of any radius or flared areas.

All off-street loading and unloading spaces, maneuvering areas, driveways and entranceways shall be graded, surfaced with asphalt or other suitable material and drained to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer to the extent necessary to prevent nuisances of dust, erosion or excessive water flow across public ways and to protect adjoining property.

No such facilities shall be designed or used in any manner so as to constitute a nuisance, a hazard or an unreasonable impediment to traffic.

No vehicles, commercial or noncommercial, shall park or load in any median or turn lane.

All such facilities shall comply with the lighting requirements of § 190-513, Light and glare control, the landscaping requirements of § 190-603G, Parking lot setbacks, and the noise limitations of § 190-510, Noise control.

§ 190-607 Electric vehicle charging stations.

Electric vehicle charging stations utilizing parking spaces located in parking lots, or parking garages shall comply with the following requirements:

The installation of an electric vehicle charging equipment should not reduce the dimensions of the parking space to below the size and standards required within this article.

Charging equipment shall be configured so that it does not impede the safe travel of pedestrians along a driveway, traffic isle, sidewalk, walkway, or passenger unloading area.

Electric vehicle charging stations may contain one parking sign per charging station which identifies the parking space as designated for charging of electric vehicles, in accordance with § 190-705.

No portion of the electric vehicle charging station shall be covered or mounted with any signage other than the name of the manufacture and/or provider of the charging station.