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Powhatan City Zoning Code

ARTICLE V

- OFF-STREET PARKING AND OFF-STREET TRUCK LOADING

Sec. 125-379. - Provision and maintenance required.

No land shall be used or occupied, no structure shall be designed, erected, altered, used, or occupied and no use shall be operated unless the off-street parking facilities herein required are provided in at least the amount and maintained in the manner herein set forth; provided, however, that off-street parking facilities in excess of the amounts heretofore required by law, need be neither provided nor maintained for land, structures, or uses actually used, occupied and operated on the effective date of the ordinance from which this article is derived, unless, after the effective date of the ordinance from which this article is derived, such land, structures, or uses are enlarged, expanded, or changed, in which event, the land, structures, and uses hereby excluded shall not be used, occupied, or operated unless there is provided for the increment only of such land, structures, and uses, and maintained as herein required, at least the amount of off-street parking facilities that would be required hereunder if the increment were a separate land, structure, or use. The provision and maintenance of the off-street parking facilities herein required shall be the joint and several responsibility of the operator and owner of the use and the operator and owner of the land on which, or the structure in which, is located the use for which off-street parking facilities are required to be provided and maintained.

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(A)(1), 5-15-1991)

Sec. 125-380. - Size and location.

Each off-street parking space shall be an area of appropriate dimensions of not less than 200 square feet net, exclusive of access or maneuvering area, ramps and other appurtenances. Except as otherwise permitted under a special plan for location or sharing of facilities, off-street parking facilities shall be located on the building site on which the use or structure for which they are provided is located; off-street parking facilities for dwelling uses shall not occupy any part of a required front yard.

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(A)(2), 5-15-1991)

Sec. 125-381. - Maintenance.

Off-street parking facilities shall be constructed, maintained and operated in accordance with the following specifications:

(1)

Drainage and surfacing. They shall be properly graded for drainage, surfaced with concrete, asphaltic concrete, or asphalt and maintained in good condition, free of weeds, dust, trash and debris;

(2)

Wheel guards. They shall be provided with wheel guards or bumper guards, so located that no part of parked vehicles will extend beyond the parking space;

(3)

Protective barriers. They shall be provided with barriers of such dimensions that occupants of adjacent structures are not unreasonably disturbed, either by day or night, by the movement of vehicles;

(4)

Lighting. Facilities shall be so arranged that the source of light is concealed from public view and from adjacent residential properties and does not interfere with traffic;

(5)

Entrances and exits. They shall be provided with entrances and exits so located as to minimize traffic congestion;

(6)

Prohibition of other uses. They shall not be used for the sale, repair, dismantling, or servicing of any vehicles, equipment, materials, or supplies;

(7)

Limitation on sizes of vehicles. In the residence districts, except the R-1 districts, they shall be used only by vehicles up to three-fourths ton manufacturer's capacity rating and having wheels not to exceed 17 inches.

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(A)(3), 5-15-1991)

Sec. 125-382. - Combined facilities.

The off-street parking facilities required of two or more uses located on the same building site may be combined and used jointly; provided, however, that where the facilities are combined and used jointly by two or more uses having different standards for determining the amount of facilities required, the off-street parking facilities shall be adequate in area to provide the sum total of the facilities required of all such uses; provided, further, that where the facilities are combined and used jointly by two or more uses having the same standard for determining the amount of facilities required, all of such uses, for the purposes of this section, shall be considered as a single unit in determining the amount of off-street parking facilities required.

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(A)(4), 5-15-1991)

Sec. 125-383. - Amounts of off-street parking facilities required.

At least the following amounts of off-street parking facilities shall be provided. The classifications of uses shall be deemed to include and apply to all uses, and if the classification of any use for the purpose of determining the amount of off-street parking facilities to be provided is not readily determinable hereunder, the classification of the use shall be fixed by the office of zoning administration.

Use Classification Number of Spaces
Single-family dwelling 2 spaces per family dwelling unit
Townhouses 2 spaces per dwelling unit, plus 1 visitor space per each 2 dwelling units
Two-family and multifamily dwellings and apartments 1½ spaces per dwelling unit
Hotels, motels, roominghouses, tourist courts 1 space per guest room
Trailer courts 1 space per trailer space
College fraternities and sororities 1 space per 2 beds
Hospitals and sanitariums 1 space per 2 beds
Institutions for children or the aged, convalescent homes 1 space per 4 beds
Theaters, auditoriums, gymnasiums, convention halls 1 space per 3 seats
Churches 1 space per 3 seats
Funeral homes 1 space per 3 seats in parlors and chapels
Schools, elementary 1 space per classroom
Schools, secondary 6 spaces per classroom
Business college and trade schools 1 space per 4 seats
Restaurants 1 space per 10 square feet
General business, commercial, and personal service establishments, commercial amusements, offices, filling stations, repair shops, medical and dental clinics 1 space per 200 square feet of gross floor area
Libraries, museums, art galleries, clubs and lodges 1 space per 300 square feet of gross floor area
Industrial and manufacturing establishments 1 space per 400 square feet of gross floor area

 

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(A)(5), 5-15-1991)

Sec. 125-384. - Special plan for location or sharing of facilities.

Under the standard provisions of this article, off-street parking facilities are required to be provided on the same building site as the use or structure for which the facilities are provided and are required to be provided in an amount based on the listed requirement for the individual use or structure. Pursuant to the procedure hereinafter set forth, either part or all of the required off-street parking facilities may be located on another site than the one occupied by the use or structure for which the facilities are provided; also, two or more uses may share the same off-street parking facilities and each of such uses may be considered as having provided such shared space individually.

(1)

Limitations on separation from use. In B-3 districts off-street parking facilities may be located on a separate site from the building site on which the use is located, provided such separate site is no farther from the building site of the use of which provided than 400 feet; all such distances shall be measured by a straight line from the nearest point of the building site on which the use is located to the nearest point of the separated off-street parking facilities.

(2)

Limitations on sharing facilities. No use shall be considered as individually having provided off-street parking facilities which are shared with one or more other uses unless the schedules of operation of all such uses are such that none of the uses sharing the facilities require the off-street parking facilities at the same time as any other use sharing them.

(3)

Applications for approval of special plan. An application for approval of a special plan hereunder shall be filed with the office of the zoning administrator by the owner of the entire land area to be included within the special plan, the owner of all structures then existing on such land area, and all encumbrances of such land area and structures and, additionally, shall contain sufficient evidence to establish that the applicants are all the owners and encumbrancers of the designated land area and structures. The application shall contain such information required by this article or deemed necessary by the office of zoning administration and shall include plans showing the location of the uses or structures for which off-street parking facilities are required and the location at which the off-street parking facilities are proposed to be located.

(4)

Review of application. Applications hereunder shall be reviewed by the office of zoning administration and either approved or disapproved; any approval may establish conditions and limitations.

(5)

Registration of special plan. Upon approval of a special plan, a copy of such plan shall be registered among the records of the zoning commission and clerk's office and shall thereafter be binding upon the applicants, their heirs, successors and assigns, shall limit control of the issuance and validity of permits and certificates and shall restrict and limit the use and operation of all land and structures included within such special plans to all conditions and limitations specified in such plans and the approvals thereof.

(6)

Amendment or withdrawal of special plan. Pursuant to the same procedure and subject to the same limitations and requirements by which the special plan was approved and registered, any special plan may be amended or withdrawn, either partially or completely, if all land and structures remaining under such special plan comply with all the conditions and limitations of the special plan and all land and structures withdrawn from such special plan comply with all regulations established by this article and unrelated to the special plan.

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(A)(6), 5-15-1991)

Sec. 125-412. - Provision and maintenance required.

No structure shall be designed, erected, altered, used, or occupied unless the off-street truck loading facilities herein required are provided in at least the amount and maintained in the manner herein set forth; provided, however, that off-street truck loading facilities in excess of the amounts heretofore required by law need be neither provided nor maintained for structures actually used, occupied, and operated on the effective date of the ordinance from which this division is derived, unless, after the effective date of the ordinance from which this division is derived, such structures are enlarged, expanded or changed, in which event the structures hereby excluded shall not be used, occupied, or operated unless there is provided for the increment only of such structures, and maintained as herein required, at least the amount of off-street truck loading facilities that would be required hereunder if the increment were a separate structure. The provision and maintenance of the off-street truck loading facilities required shall be the joint and several responsibilities of the operator and owner of the structure for which the off-street truck loading facilities are required to be provided and maintained.

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(B)(1), 5-15-1991)

Sec. 125-413. - Size and location.

For the purposes of this article there shall be considered to be two sizes of off-street truck loading spaces, "large" and "small." Each "large" space shall have an overhead clearance of at least 14 feet, shall be at least 12 feet wide, and shall be at least 50 feet long, exclusive of access or maneuvering area, platform, and other appurtenances; each "small" space shall have an overhead clearance of at least ten feet, shall be at least eight feet wide, and shall be at least 20 feet long, exclusive of access or maneuvering area, platform, and other appurtenances. Off-street truck loading facilities shall be located on the same building site on which the structure for which they are provided is located; provided, however, that facilities provided under a cooperative arrangement as hereinafter permitted may be located on another site not more than 300 feet from the structure for which they are provided.

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(B)(2), 5-15-1991)

Sec. 125-414. - Maintenance.

Off-street truck loading facilities shall be constructed, maintained, and operated in accordance with the following specifications:

(1)

Drainage and surfacing. They shall be properly graded for drainage, surfaced with concrete, asphaltic concrete, or asphalt, and maintained in good condition, free of weeds, dust, trash, and debris;

(2)

Protective barriers. They shall be provided with barriers of such dimensions that occupants of adjacent structures are not unreasonably disturbed, either by day or night, by the movement of vehicles;

(3)

Lighting. Lighting facilities shall be so arranged that they neither unreasonably disturb occupants of adjacent residential properties nor interfere with traffic;

(4)

Entrances and exits. They shall be provided with entrances and exits so located as to minimize traffic congestion.

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(B)(3), 5-15-1991)

Sec. 125-415. - Cooperative establishment and use of facilities.

Requirements for the provision of off-street truck loading facilities with respect to two or more structures may be satisfied by the permanent allocation of the requisite number of spaces for each use in common truck loading facility, cooperatively established and operated; provided, however, that the total number of spaces designated is not less than the sum of the individual requirements unless, in the opinion of the zoning administrator, a less number of spaces will be adequate, taking into account the respective times of usage of the truck loading facilities by the individual users, the character of the merchandise, and related factors. In order to eliminate a multiplicity of individual facilities, to conserve space where space is at a premium, and to promote orderly development generally, the office of zoning administration is hereby authorized to plan and group off-street truck loading facilities cooperatively for a number of truck loading generators within close proximity to one another in a given area, and especially in the central business district, in such manner as to obtain the maximum efficiency and capacity, provided consent thereto is obtained from the participants in the cooperative plan.

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(B)(4), 5-15-1991)

Sec. 125-416. - Amount of off-street truck loading facilities required.

At least the following amounts of off-street truck loading facilities shall be provided for all structures containing uses devoted to commerce, business, industry, manufacturing, storage, warehousing, processing, offices, professional purposes, hotels, multiple-family dwellings, hospitals, airports, railroad terminals, and similar purposes; provided, however, that structures required to provide and maintain less than five off-street parking spaces as per article V of this chapter shall be exempt from these requirements:

Square Feet of Gross Floor Area Required Number of Spaces
0—12,500 1 (small)
12,501—25,000 2 (small)
25,001—40,000 1 (large)
40,001—100,000 2 (large)
For each additional 80,000 over 100,000 1 (large)

 

(Ord. No. 6-91, § V(B)(5), 5-15-1991)