Promoting multi-modal transportation options and enhanced safety and convenience for nonmotorized travel; and

Providing flexible methods of responding to the transportation and access demands of various land uses in different areas of the Town.

Definitions and general principles. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated:

Except as otherwise expressly stated, off-street or on-site motor vehicle parking spaces must be provided in accordance with Table 146A Minimum Parking Requirements.

Flexibility in administration required.

Imposition and fulfillment of on-site parking requirements.

Determining the minimum number of on-site parking spaces required.

The Planning Commission is authorized to establish required minimum off-street parking ratios for unlisted uses and in those instances where the authority to establish a requirement is expressly granted.

Such ratios may be established based on a similar use/parking determination (as described in § 340-146 on parking data provided by the applicant or information otherwise available to the Planning Commission.

Parking data and studies must include estimates of parking demand based on reliable data collected from comparable uses or on external data from credible research organizations (e.g., Institute of Transportation Engineers, Urban Land Institute, or American Planning Association). Comparability will be determined by density, scale, bulk, area, type of activity, and location. Parking studies must document the source of all data used to develop the recommended requirements.

Applicability. Shared parking facilities are allowed for mixed-use projects and uses with different periods of peak parking demand, subject to approval by the Planning Commission. Required residential parking for a detached single-family detached dwelling, duplex dwelling, and townhouses and accessible parking spaces (for persons with disabilities) may not be shared and must be located on site.

Methodology. The number of parking spaces required under a shared parking arrangement shall be approved by the Planning Commission and shall be determined by the following calculations:

Other uses. If one or more of the land use proposing to make use of shared parking arrangement do not conform to the land use classifications in Table 148B, as determined by the Zoning Inspector, then the applicant must submit sufficient data to indicate the principal operating hours of the uses. The Zoning Administrator or his or her designee is authorized to determine the appropriate shared parking requirement, if any, for such uses based upon this information.

Alternative methodology. As an alternative to the shared parking methodology in § 148B, the Zoning Inspector is authorized to approve shared parking calculations based on the latest edition of the Urban Land Institute's or the Institute of Transportation Engineer's shared parking model or based on studies prepared by professional transportation planner or traffic engineer. The shared parking analysis must demonstrate that the peak parking demands of the subject permitted uses are at different times and that the parking area will be large enough for the anticipated demands of both uses.

Location. Shared parking may be located on site or off site. Off-site parking is subject to the regulations of § 340-149.

General. Except as otherwise expressly stated, required off-street parking spaces must be located on the same lot and under the same control as the building or use they are required to serve.

Setbacks. Except as otherwise expressly stated, off-street parking areas are subject to the principal building setbacks of the subject zoning district.

Off-site parking.

Off-street parking facilities may not be used for the parking of vehicles to display the same for sale unless the principal use of the property on which the parking facility is located is the site of a business that sells or leases vehicles. This provision is not intended to prohibit an owner or occupant of residentially zoned property from displaying vehicles for sale on the property's off-street parking facilities provided the vehicle is owned by the owner or occupant of the residential property. Except for flagrant or repeated violations, the Town will endeavor to obtain voluntary compliance with the restrictions on displaying cars for sale before the initiation of enforcement proceedings.

No vehicle repair or service of any kind shall be permitted in conjunction with off-street parking facilities in a residential or business zoning district, except for minor repairs or service on vehicles owned by an occupant or resident of the premises. The sale of gasoline and motor oil in conjunction with off-street parking facilities is not permitted in any residential zoning district.

Not more than one recreational vehicle and one piece of recreational equipment or utility trailer may be parked or stored in the rear or side yard of any lot in a residential zoning district unless otherwise approved by the Planning Commission. For this provision, one piece of recreational equipment is equal to a single nonmotor vehicle with no more than one watercraft, personal watercraft, or specialty prop-crafts. Recreational vehicles, recreational equipment, and utility trailers may not be parked or stored in a required front yard except that one recreational vehicle, recreational equipment, and utility trailers may be parked in the front yard if located on a driveway.

Seasonal parking of boats on trailers in the front yard is permitted for a period not to exceed six months yearly with prior approval of the Zoning Inspector.

Recreational vehicles, recreational equipment, and utility trailers stored or parked in residential zoning districts must be owned by the owner or occupant of the subject property.

The recreational vehicle, recreational equipment, or utility trailer must be properly licensed. Major recreational equipment or utility trailers must be properly licensed and ready for highway use.

No recreational vehicle, equipment, or utility trailer may have its wheels removed or be affixed to the ground to prevent its immediate removal.

No parked or stored recreational vehicle may be used for living, sleeping, or business purposes.

Unregistered vehicles parked on a property shall conform to the provisions of Chapter 191, Housing Standards, of the Town Code. They shall not be parked in a required front yard setback or closer to the lot front than the principal structure, whichever is more restrictive.

It shall be unlawful for an owner or person in control of any commercial vehicle to park, store, or keep such vehicle(s) on any public street, avenue, alley, or another thoroughfare, or right-of-way in an R-1, R-2, or R-3 District or on that portion of a street abutting an R-1, R-2, or R-3 District for a period over one hour unless engaged in legitimate loading or unloading activities, or while engaged in the provisions of goods or services to an abutting property owner or tenant in such districts.

Alternative Off-street parking, commercial vehicles. Off-street parking and storage of a commercial vehicle are prohibited in the R-1, R-2, and R-3 Districts except as provided in Subsection B(1) below.

Each on-site parking space shall be located on the lot toward whose minimum on-site parking requirement it is intended to apply. Except in the case of single-family or duplex dwellings, each on-site parking space shall have the minimum dimensions specified herein and shall have direct access from the maneuvering aisle. The maneuvering aisle for entering and exiting a parking space shall be in addition to the area of the parking space itself and shall have at least the width specified herein.

Motorcycle parking. In parking lots containing over 20 motor vehicle parking spaces, motorcycle or scooter parking may be substituted for up to five automobile parking spaces or 5% of required motor vehicle parking, whichever is less. For every four parking spaces for motorcycles or scooters provided, the automobile parking requirement is reduced by one space. Each motorcycle and scooter space must have minimum dimensions of four feet by eight feet. This provision applies to existing and proposed parking lots.

Car-share service. For any development, one parking space or up to 5% of the total number of required spaces, whichever is greater, may be reserved for use by car-share vehicles. The number of required motor vehicle parking spaces is reduced by one space for every parking space that is leased by a car-share program for use by a car-share vehicle. Parking for car-share vehicles may also be provided in any non-required parking space.

Bicycle parking.

The number, location, and design of accessible parking spaces for people with disabilities must be provided in accordance with this section and the Maryland Accessibility Code.

Accessible spaces must be provided in accordance with Table 154B.

Accessible parking spaces count towards the total number of parking spaces required.

Each accessible parking space, except on-street spaces, must be at least 16 feet in width, with either an eight-foot or five-foot wide diagonally striped access aisle. The access aisle may be located on either side of the vehicle portion of the accessible space. Abutting accessible parking spaces may not share a common access aisle. (See Figure 154-2.)

Accessible parking spaces must be signed in compliance with applicable state law and must identify the current fine amount for violations. The sign must be fabricated to be two separate panels, one for the disability symbol and one for the current fine amount as established by the town.

Accessible parking spaces and accessible passenger loading zones that serve a building must be the spaces or zones located closest to the nearest accessible entrance on an accessible route. In separate parking structures or lots that do not serve a building, parking spaces for disabled persons must be located on the shortest possible circulation route to an accessible pedestrian entrance of the parking facility.

The regulations of this section apply to required spaces and to spaces that are voluntarily designated for accessible parking.

Purpose. The regulations of this section are intended to help ensure that:

Applicability. The regulations apply to new developments, the addition of drive-through and drive-in facilities to existing developments, and the relocation of existing drive-through facilities.

Stacking spaces required. Stacking lanes must be provided in accordance with the minimum requirements of Table 155C.

Stacking lane dimensions, design, and layout.

Setbacks. Stacking lanes must be set back at least 25 feet from any abutting residential zoning district and at least 10 feet from all other lot lines.

Noise. Sound attenuation walls, landscaping, or other mitigation measures may be required to ensure that drive-through facilities will not have adverse noise-related impacts on nearby residential uses.

Site plans. Site plans must show the location of drive-through windows and associated facilities, e.g., communications systems and access aisles, as well as adjacent residential uses. Plans also shall show how drive-through windows are identified, e.g., signage, pavement markings, etc.

Connection to the street. The on-site pedestrian circulation system must connect all adjacent public rights-of-way to the main building entrance. The connection must follow a direct route and not involve significant out-of-direction travel for system users. (See Figure 156-1.)

Connection to abutting properties. The on-site pedestrian circulation system must provide at least one connection to existing paths and sidewalks on abutting properties or to the likely location of future paths or sidewalks on those properties. When the Planning Commission determines that no paths or sidewalks exist on a neighboring property or it is not possible to determine the likely location of a future path or sidewalk connections or extending a link would create a safety hazard on either property, no such connection is required. (See Figure 156-2.)

Internal connections. The on-site pedestrian circulation system must connect all buildings on the site. It must provide connections to other areas of the site likely to be used by pedestrians and nonmotorized travel, such as parking areas, bicycle parking, recreational areas, common outdoor areas, plazas, and similar amenity features. (See Figure 156-3.)

Design. Required on-site pedestrian circulation facilities must be designed and constructed in accordance with the following requirements:

In any zoning district, in connection with every building or part thereof having a gross floor area of 4,000 square feet or more, which is to be occupied by manufacturing, storage, warehouse, goods display or sales, mortuary, or other uses similarly requiring the receipt and distribution by vehicles of materials and merchandise, there shall be provided and maintained on the same lot with such building or use at least one on-site loading space plus one additional such loading space for every 10,000 square feet of gross floor area or major fraction thereof.

Each loading space shall not be less than 10 feet in width, 45 feet in length, and 14 feet in height. Such space shall occupy all or any part of any required yard or court, except a front yard.

No such space shall be located closer than 50 feet to any lot located in any R District, unless wholly within a completely enclosed building or unless enclosed on all sides by a wall or a uniformly painted board fence, not less than six feet in height.

Off-street loading spaces may occupy all or any part of any required yard, except a front yard. Nonresidential off-street loading spaces shall be located at least 15 feet from every street line and six feet from every residential lot line. The edges of the loading spaces shall be curbed or buffered, and the space between the off-street loading area and the street or lot line shall be landscaped and maintained in a sightly condition.

All off-street loading areas shall be properly engineered and improved with an all- weather, dustless surface approved by the Zoning Inspector.

Plans for the location, design, and construction of all loading areas are subject to approval by the Zoning Inspector.

Loading spaces may not be used to satisfy off-street parking requirements or for the conduct of vehicle repair or service work of any kind.