Quakertown City Zoning Code
PART 6
OFF-STREET PARKING AND LOADING
§ 601 Required Number of Off-Street Parking Spaces.
1.
Requirement.
A.
Each use established or enlarged in any district shall provide and satisfactorily maintain off-street parking spaces in accordance with Table 6.1[1] and the regulations of this Part.
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 6.1 is included at the end of this chapter.
B.
Uses not specifically listed in Table 6.1 shall comply with the requirements for the most similar use listed in Table 6.1.
C.
Where a proposed use contains or includes more than one type of use (regardless of whether each use is listed in Table 6.1[2] or is an unlisted use), the number of parking spaces required shall be the sum of the parking requirements for each separate use.
[2]
Editor's Note: Table 6.1 is included at the end of this chapter.
D.
Where the computation of required parking spaces results in a fractional number, the fraction of 1/4, 0.25 or more shall be counted as one.
2.
Conditional Reduction in Off-Street Parking Areas.
A.
Purposes. The Borough recognizes:
(1)
The importance of providing adequate, well-designed off-street parking areas.
(2)
The need to limit the amount of paved parking areas to preserve open space and limit stormwater runoff.
(3)
That unique circumstances associated with a land use may justify a reduction in the parking requirements of § 601, Subsection 1, to be initially developed.
B.
Procedure. The Zoning Hearing Board may permit a reduction, through the special exception review process of § 316, of the number of parking spaces to be initially developed as required by § 601, Subsection 1; provided, each of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1)
Reduction Warranted. The applicant shall demonstrate to the Board, using existing and projected (five years) employment, customer or other relevant data, that a reduction in the off-street parking spaces to be initially developed as required by § 601, Subsection 1, is warranted.
(2)
Plans.
(a)
The applicant shall submit plans of the parking lot(s) which designate a layout for the total number of parking spaces needed to comply with the parking requirement in § 601, Subsection 1.
(b)
The plans shall clearly designate which of these parking spaces are proposed for immediate use and which spaces are proposed to be conditionally reserved for potential future use.
(c)
The portion of the required parking spaces conditionally reserved for potential future use shall not be within areas for required buffer yards, setbacks or areas which would otherwise be unsuitable for parking spaces due to the physical characteristics of the land or other requirements of this chapter.
(d)
Areas conditionally reserved for potential future use shall be attractively landscaped and remain in open space.
(3)
Agreement.
(a)
The applicant shall enter into an agreement with the Borough requiring the applicant to:
1)
Maintain each conditionally reserved area as attractively landscaped open space.
2)
Convert some or all of the conditionally reserved area to additional off-street parking if at any time the Board finds (based upon the results of field investigations and recommendations of the Zoning Officer) that additional parking is needed.
(b)
This agreement shall be recorded to the deed as a covenant running with the land.
3.
All commercial uses in the TC Town Center Zoning District are not required to provide off-street parking.
[Added by Ord. 1173, 10/6/2010]
§ 602 General Regulations Applying to Off-Street Parking Facilities.
[Ord. 983, 3/4/1992, § 6.2]
1.
Existing Parking. Structures and uses in existence at the effective date of this chapter shall not be subject to the requirements of this Part; provided, 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 chapter.
2.
Changes in Use. Whenever a building or use (including these specified in § 602, Subsection 1) 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 § 601, for an increase of 10% or more in the number of existing parking spaces, the number of additional spaces to be provided shall be based upon the incremental change or enlargement so required.
3.
Continuing Character of Obligation.
A.
All required parking facilities shall be provided and maintained so long as the use which the facilities were designed to serve still exists.
B.
Off-street parking facilities shall not be reduced in total extent except when such reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this Part in conjunction with a change in the nature of the use.
4.
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.
5.
Location of Parking Spaces. Required off-street parking spaces shall be on the same lot or premises with the principal use served, except that in the Town Center District, Neighborhood Commercial District or Hospital District such spaces may be within 500 feet walking distance of the principal use, as measured by a straight line on the map.
6.
Joint Use. In the Town Center District, Neighborhood Commercial District and Hospital District, two or more uses may provide for required parking in a common parking lot:
A.
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.
B.
Provided such parking lot is within 500 feet walking distance of all of the principal uses served by such lot.
7.
Parking of Commercial Vehicles. Only one commercial motor vehicle may park on a residential lot within the Low Density Residential or Medium Density Residential Districts.
8.
All commercial uses in the TC Town Center Zoning District are not required to provide off-street parking.
[Added by Ord. 1173, 10/6/2010]
§ 603 Design Standards For Off-Street Parking Facilities.
[Ord. 983, 3/4/1992, § 6.3; as amended by Ord. 1013, 7/24/1995, § 1]
The following standards are guidelines for the development of off-street parking facilities.
A.
General Guidelines.
(1)
Every parking facility shall be designed so that its use does not constitute a nuisance, hazard or unreasonable impediment to traffic.
(2)
Every parking area shall be arranged for orderly, safe movement.
(3)
No parking area shall be designed to require or encourage parked vehicles to back into a public street in order to leave a parking space, except those of a single-family or two-family dwelling.
(4)
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.
B.
Design Standards For All Uses Other Than Single-family Detached Residential. The minimum dimension of stalls and aisles shall be as follows:
(1)
Parking lot dimensions shall be no less than those listed in the following table:
Aisle Width | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Angle of Parking | Parking Width (feet) | Stall Depth (feet) | One-Way (feet) | Two-Way (feet) | |
90° | 9 | 18 | 20 | 24 | |
60° | 9 | 18 | 18 | 21 | |
45° | 9 | 18 | 15 | 18 | |
30° | 9 | 18 | 12 | 18 | |
Parallel | 8 | 22 | 12 | 18 | |
(2)
All dead-end parking lots shall be designed to provide sufficient backup area and turning radius for the end stalls of the parking area.
(3)
Parking areas 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.
(4)
At the street line the width of entrance and exit drives shall be:
(a)
A minimum of 12 feet for one-way use only.
(b)
A minimum of 20 feet for two-way use.
(c)
A maximum of 24 feet at the street line.
(5)
Setbacks for parking areas shall be provided as follows:
(a)
All parking spaces and access drives shall be at least 20 feet from any multiple dwelling building on the lot.
(b)
Except at entrance and exit drives areas shall be physically separated from any public street by a planting strip of at least five feet. In no case shall parking areas be designed to require or encourage cars to back into a public street in order to leave the lot.
(6)
A structure or planting material shall be provided of sufficient height and density to screen off-street parking lots from adjoining residential districts.
(7)
The area of the lot not landscaped and so maintained, including driveways, shall be graded, road base prepared, surfaced with asphalt or concrete, curbed and drained to the satisfaction of the Borough Engineer to the extent necessary to prevent dust, erosion or excessive water flow across streets or adjoining property.
(8)
Where the nine-foot stall widths are used, a four-inch striped hairpin or looped line shall be painted on the pavement surface. The hairpin or looped line shall have 16 inches between lines.
C.
Design Standards for Single-family Detached Units. Off-street parking requirements may be fulfilled on the lot by driveway, carport or garage or any combination thereof, subject to the following provisions:
(1)
Each parking space must be at least 10 feet in width and 20 feet in depth.
(2)
Parking spaces are not required to be placed 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.
(3)
Each space and access to it must be surfaced with concrete, asphalt, gravel or other suitable material.
(4)
An area for turning the motor vehicle around must be provided on the lot except for local streets as per the Borough Street Classification Map.
D.
Except for residential units specified in Table 3.1, Schedule of Uses and Zoning Districts, live-work units, and mixed-use, residential/nonresidential uses, all other uses in the TC Town Center District shall not be required to provide off-street parking. For residential units specified in Table 3.1, Schedule of Uses and Zoning Districts, live-work units, and mixed-use, residential/nonresidential uses, off-street parking shall be required for the residential uses in accordance with the standards in Table 6.1, Off-Street Parking Requirements.
[Added by Ord. 1173, 10/6/2010; amended by Ord. 1198, 2/6/2013]
§ 604 Off-Street Loading.
[Ord. 983, 3/4/1992, § 6.4]
1.
General Requirements.
A.
Each use shall provide off-street loading facilities sufficient to accommodate the maximum demand generated by the use, which comply with the requirements of Table 6.2[1] and the regulations contained in this section.
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 6.2 is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B.
Uses not specifically listed in Table 6.2 shall comply with the requirements for the most similar use listed in Table 6.2.
2.
Design and Layout of Off-Street Loading Facilities. Off-street loading facilities shall be designed to conform to the following specifications:
A.
Each off-street loading and unloading space shall be at least 12 feet in width by 35 feet in length and shall have at least 14 feet of vertical clearance.
B.
Each space shall have sufficient maneuvering room separate from other parking to eliminate traffic conflicts within off-street loading and parking areas.
C.
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 right-of-ways.
D.
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.
E.
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 Borough Engineer to the extent necessary to prevent nuisances of dust, erosion or excessive water flow across public ways and to protect adjoining property.
F.
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.
3.
All commercial uses in the TC Town Center Zoning District are not required to provide off-street parking.
[Added by Ord. 1173, 10/6/2010]
