The intent of this section is to ensure the provision of off-street parking facilities that are sufficient in number, adequately sized and properly designed to meet the range of parking needs and demands that are associated with land uses now in place in the city or with land uses allowed by this ordinance.

(1)

Where required. In all zoning districts, off-street parking facilities for the storage and parking of self-propelled motor vehicles for the use of occupants, employees, and patrons of the buildings hereafter erected, altered, or extended after the effective date of this ordinance, shall be provided as herein prescribed. Such space shall be maintained and shall not be encroached upon so long as said main building or structure remains, unless an equivalent number of such spaces are provided elsewhere in conformance with this ordinance.

(2)

Existing off-street parking at effective date of ordinance. Off-street parking existing at the effective date of this ordinance which serves an existing building or use, shall not be reduced in size to less than that required under the terms of this ordinance.

(3)

Required greenbelt and setbacks. Off-street parking, including maneuvering lanes, shall not be located within the required front greenbelt in accordance with section 7.02(6). Off-street parking shall be permitted within the required side or rear yard setbacks, provided a minimum five-foot setback is maintained between off-street parking and the side and rear lot lines of all adjoining properties.

(4)

Parking duration. Except when land is used as storage space in connection with the business of a repair or service garage, a 24-hour time limit for parking in nonresidential off-street parking areas shall prevail, it being the purpose and intention of the foregoing that the requirement of maintaining vehicle storage or parking space is to provide for the public safety in keeping parked cars off the streets, but such requirement is not designed to or intended to provide, and it shall be unlawful to permit, the storage or prolonged parking on any such parking area in any such district wrecked or junked cars, or for creating a junk yard or a nuisance in such areas or for the purpose of selling cars.

(5)

Units and methods of measurement. For the purpose of determining off-street parking requirements, the following units of measurement shall apply:

A.

Floor area. Where floor area is the unit for determining the required number of off-street parking spaces, said unit shall mean the gross floor area, except that floor area's within the principal building used for parking, incidental service and storage, housing of mechanical equipment, heating systems and similar uses need not be included.

B.

Employees. For requirements stated in terms of employees, the calculation shall be based upon the maximum number of employees likely to be on the premises during the largest shift.

C.

Places of assembly. In stadiums, sports arenas, churches and other places of assembly in which those in attendance occupy benches, pews, or other similar seating facilities, each 24 inches of such shall be counted as one seat. In cases where a place of assembly has both fixed seats and open assembly area, requirements shall be computed separately for each type and added together.

D.

Fractional requirements. When units or measurements determining number of required parking spaces result in requirement of a fractional space, any fraction shall require one parking space.

(6)

Location of parking.

A.

One- and two-family dwellings. The off-street parking facilities required for one- and two-family dwellings shall be located on the same lot or plot of ground as the building they are intended to serve, but shall not be considered a parking lot under the provisions of this article.

B.

Multiple-family residential. The off-street parking facilities for multiple-family dwellings shall be located on the same lot or plot of ground as the dwellings they are intended to serve, and shall consist of a parking lot as set forth in this article. In no event shall any parking space be located nearer than ten feet to any main building.

C.

Other land uses. The off-street parking facilities required for all other uses shall be located on the lot or within 500 feet of the permitted uses requiring such off-street parking, such distance to be measured along lines of public access to the property between the nearest point of the parking facility to the building to be served.

D.

Restriction on parking on private property. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to park any motor vehicle on any private property without the authorization of the owner or agent of such property.

(7)

Motor vehicle storage. No motor vehicle shall be stored outside on any residential lot or in any residential district unless it shall be in operating condition, currently registered, and the registration plate attached to the rear of the vehicle, as required by MCL 257.225. No motor vehicle in excess of 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight shall be parked or stored on any residential lot or in any residential district except when making a delivery. Only one commercial vehicle less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight per lot may be parked or stored on any residential lot or on an adjacent city right-of-way. Recreational vehicles are not subject to the 10,000 pound gross vehicle weight limit if they comply with all other requirements for storage of recreational vehicles. Personal noncommercial vehicles in excess of 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight may be parked or stored on residential lots upon approval of the zoning or code inspector.

(Ord. No. 674, § 1, 12-15-03; Ord. No. 701, § 2, 2-5-07)

(1)

The amount of required off-street parking spaces for new uses or buildings, additions thereto, and additions to existing buildings shall be determined in accordance with the schedule set forth in section 13.04. Parking requirements listed in section 13.04 shall not include off-street stacking spaces for drive-through facilities set forth in section 13.07.

(2)

Similar uses and requirements. When a use is not specifically mentioned, the requirements of off-street parking for a similar use shall apply as determined by the zoning official.

(3)

Collective provisions. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent collective provisions of off-street parking facilities for two or more buildings or uses, provided such facilities collectively shall not be less than the sum of the requirements for the various individual uses computed separately in accordance with section 13.04 of this article. Uses that "share" parking should provide a "parking agreement" when required by the city.

(4)

Flexibility in application. The city recognizes that, due to the specific requirements of any given development, inflexible application of the parking standards set forth in section 13.04 may result in development with inadequate parking or parking far in excess of that which is needed. The former situation may lead to traffic congestion or unauthorized parking on adjacent streets or neighboring sites. The latter situation may result in excessive paving and stormwater runoff and a waste of space which could be left as open space.

The planning commission may permit deviations from the requirements of section 13.04 and may require more or allow less parking whenever it finds that such deviations are more likely to provide a sufficient number of parking spaces to accommodate the specific characteristics of the use in question.

The planning commission may attach conditions to the approval of a deviation from the requirement of section 13.04 that bind such approval to the specific use in question. Where a deviation results in a reduction of parking, the planning commission may further impose conditions which ensure that adequate reserve area is set aside for future parking, if needed.

The amount of required off-street parking space for new uses or buildings, additions thereto, and additions to existing buildings shall be determined in accordance with the following table:

(Ord. No. 856, § 15, 8-7-23)

The construction of any parking lot shall be in accordance with the requirements of the provisions of this ordinance and such construction shall be completed and approved by the zoning or code inspector before use of the property as a parking lot and before a certificate of occupancy is issued. Unless incorporated in a site plan prepared and approved in accordance with article 8, plans for the development of any parking lot must be submitted to the zoning or code inspector, prepared at a scale of not less than 50 feet equals one inch and indicating existing and proposed grades, drainage, pipe sizes, parking of all dimensions, type of curbing, drive and aisle dimensions, lighting, adjacent main buildings, sidewalks, landscaping, surfacing and base materials to be used and the layout of the proposed parking lot per city standard specifications.

(1)

All such parking lots, driveways, or loading areas required shall be hard-surfaced with asphalt, concrete or brick pavement, shall be graded and drained so as to dispose of surface water which might accumulate within or upon such area, and shall be completely constructed prior to a certificate of occupancy being issued. Drainage for parking lots shall conform to the standards set forth in section 7.12.

(2)

All illumination for all such parking lots shall meet the standards set forth in section 7.09.

(3)

Parking lot landscaping and buffering requirements shall meet the standards set forth in section 7.02 (5).

(4)

Adequate designed ingress and egress to the parking lot, by means of limited and clearly defined drives, shall be provided for all vehicles.

(5)

Where necessary to prevent encroaching upon pedestrian walkway or damaging required landscaping, wheel stops shall be provided. No portion of a parking space and/or maneuvering aisle shall obstruct or encroach upon a public sidewalk.

(6)

Plans for the layout of off-street parking facilities shall be in accordance with the following minimum regulations:

_____

(7)

Barrier-free parking. Off-street barrier-free parking facilities shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of the State of Michigan. Barrier-free parking shall be included in the total number of required parking spaces according to section 13.04.

On the same premises with every building or part thereof, erected and occupied for any uses involving the receipt or distribution of trucks and/or delivery vehicles, material or merchandise, adequate space for loading and unloading shall be provided in accordance with the following:

(1)

Such loading and unloading space, unless completely and adequately provided for within a building, shall be an area ten feet by 50 feet, with 14-foot height clearance, and shall be provided according to the following schedule.

(2)

Required greenbelt, setbacks, and screening.

A.

Off-street loading areas, including maneuvering lanes, shall not be located within the front greenbelt required in accordance with section 7.02(6) Off-street loading shall be permitted within the required side or rear yard setbacks, provided a minimum ten-foot setback is maintained between off-street loading and the abutting side and rear lot lines.

B.

Off-street loading which abuts residentially zoned or used property shall be screened in accordance with section 7.02(4).

(3)

Double count. Off-street loading space areas shall not be construed as, or counted toward, the supplying of area required as off-street parking space area.

All businesses which provide drive-through facilities for serving customers within their automobile shall provide adequate off-street stacking space and lanes which meets the following requirements:

(1)

Each stacking space shall be computed on the basis of ten feet in width and 20 feet in length. Each stacking lane shall be a minimum of 12 feet in width.

(2)

Clear identification and delineation between the drive-through facility and parking lot shall be provided. Drive-through facilities shall be designed in a manner which promotes pedestrian and vehicular safety.

(3)

For all drive-through facilities which have a single stacking lane, an escape lane shall be provided which allows other vehicles to pass those waiting to be serviced.

(4)

The number of stacking spaces per service lane shall be provided for the following uses. When a use is not specifically mentioned, the requirements for off-street stacking space for the similar use shall apply.

In all residential districts, not more than one recreational vehicle or utility trailer may be parked or stored per lot. For the purpose of these regulations a utility trailer that is used for transportation of a recreational vehicle shall be considered a single unit when the recreational vehicle is stored on or in the trailer.

(1)

Storage or parking shall not be permitted on vacant lots or parcels, except as approved by the zoning or code inspector.

(2)

Unless within a completely enclosed building, a recreational vehicle or utility trailer shall be parked or stored in one of the following manners:

A.

Within the side or rear yard, but no closer than five feet from any side or rear lot line; or

B.

In those instances where the side or rear yard is not accessible or has insufficient clearance for the passage of a recreational vehicle, the zoning or code inspector may allow the parking or storage or a recreational vehicle or utility trailer in the front yard. In those instances where a recreational vehicle or utility trailer is to be parked or stored in a front yard, only the driveway portion of such yard shall be utilized and in no instance shall such recreational vehicle or utility trailer be parked or stored in a manner which obstructs pedestrian or vehicular visibility. If stored on the driveway, recreational vehicles or utility trailers must be not closer than ten feet to the sidewalk.

(3)

No recreational vehicle shall be used for living, sleeping, or housekeeping purposes on the premises, except for occasional living purposes to accommodate visitors not to exceed a maximum period of two weeks per year.

(4)

No recreational vehicle, utility trailer, or commercial trailer shall be stored on a public street or right-of-way or private road easement.

(5)

A recreational vehicle or utility trailer stored outside shall be in a condition for the safe, effective, and legal performance of its intended function.

(6)

An open top utility trailer may not be used for the storage of any material other than a recreational vehicle.

(7)

Unless within a completely enclosed building, no commercial trailer shall be stored on any residential lot or in any residential district.

(Ord. No. 701, § 3, 2-5-07)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 736-1, § 8, adopted Dec. 17, 2012, repealed § 13.09, which pertained to central area parking and exemption and derived from Ord. No. 661, adopted June 16, 2003.