(A)   General. Off-street parking and loading shall be provided in accordance with this subchapter for all structures and uses erected or established after the effective date of this chapter.

   (B)   Existing parking/loading facilities.

      (1)   Existing off-street parking or loading facilities located on the same lot as the use served shall not be reduced or if already less than, shall not be further reduced below the requirements and standards for similar new structures or uses.

      (2)   When an existing structure or use is damaged or destroyed and subsequently repaired or rebuilt, parking/loading facilities equivalent to any maintained at the time of the damage or destruction shall be restored, but additional parking/loading spaces need not be provided.

      (3)   Whenever the use of any structure or premises is intensified through addition of dwelling units, increased floor area, greater seating capacity and the like, additional off-street parking and loading spaces commensurate with the intensification shall be provided.

      (4)   Whenever the existing use of a structure is changed to a different use, off-street parking or loading facilities shall be provided as required herein for the new use.

(1994 Code, § 40-5-1)

   All off-street parking lots shall conform to the standards indicated in the subsections which follow:

   (A)   Spaces.

      (1)   Every off-street parking space shall be at least ten feet wide and 20 feet long, and shall have at least seven feet of vertical clearance. Every space shall be situated so that no part of any parked vehicle overhangs the public right-of-way.

      (2)   Markings shall be laid and restored as often as necessary to clearly delineate each parking space.

   (B)   Interior aisles. Aisles within parking lots shall be sufficiently wide to permit safe and efficient vehicular movement in the aisles, and into and out of parking spaces. Aisles designed for two-way traffic shall be at least 22 feet wide. One-way aisles designed for 60-degree parking shall be at least 18 feet wide.

   (C)   Access ways.

      (1)   Parking lots shall be designed so that ingress to or egress from a parking space is from an aisle or driveway, not directly from the public right-of-way.

      (2)   No access way to any parking lot shall be located within 30 feet of any corner formed by the intersection of the rights-of-way of two or more streets. At intersections where traffic control devices are installed, the Administrator may increase this requirement as necessary to prevent hazards.

      (3)   Parking lot access ways (as well as residential driveways) and public street shall be aligned to form, as closely as feasible, right angles.

      (4)   The access way to every parking lot located in any business district or in the Industrial District shall be at least 24 feet wide unless two one-way drives, each 12 feet wide, are provided.

      (5)   The access way to every parking lot located in any residential district or in the Conservation District shall be at least ten feet wide; but if the parking area contains more than eight parking spaces or if the access way is longer than 100 feet, access shall be provided either by one two-way drive at least 20 feet wide or by two one-way drives, each at least ten feet wide.

   (D)   Surfacing. Parking lots shall be graded and improved with a compacted stone base at least four inches thick, surfaced with at least two inches of asphaltic concrete or approved comparable material. (Note: "Oil and chip" is not comparable material.)

   (E)   Lighting. Any light(s) used to illuminate any parking lot shall be arranged or shielded so as to confine direct light rays within the lot lines of the parking lot to the greatest extent practicable.

   (F)   Landscaping. In order to reduce heat and glare, to minimize blowing of dust and trash, and to reduce the oppressive visual effects of large open parking areas, landscaping shall be provided and maintained within every parking lot that contains 20 or more parking spaces.

      (1)   A landscaping plan (either a separate document or an element of a more inclusive development plan) shall accompany every application for an initial certificate of zoning compliance to develop any parking lot that will contain 20 or more spaces.

      (2)   The landscaping plan shall include the following information:

         (a)   Proposed type, amount, size and spacing of plantings, including trees, shrubbery and ground cover;

         (b)   Proposed size, construction materials and drainage of landscaped islands; and

         (c)   Sketch indicating proposed spatial relationships of landscaped areas, parking spaces, automobile circulation and pedestrian movement.

(1994 Code, § 40-5-2)

   All off-street parking shall be located in conformity with the following requirements.

   (A)   For dwellings.

      (1)   Parking spaces accessory to any dwelling shall be located on the same lot as the dwelling. The parking spaces shall not be located in any front yard except in the driveway, but may be located in the side or rear yards.

      (2)   Each parking space accessory to a multi-family dwelling shall be unobstructed so that no vehicle need be moved in order to allow another vehicle to enter/exit the parking area; provided that this requirement shall not be applicable to two-family dwellings.

   (B)   For business/industrial uses.

      (1)   Every off-street parking space accessory to any business or industrial use shall be located within 500 feet of the use served; provided, that no portion of any parking lot for non-residential uses shall extend into any residential district or into the Conservation District except by written permission of the Administrator.

      (2)   In any business district or in the Industrial District, off-street parking facilities for different buildings or uses may be provided collectively; but only if the total number of spaces so located together is not less than the sum of the separate requirements for each use, and if all other pertinent regulations are observed.

(1994 Code, § 40-5-3)

   All off-street loading facilities shall conform to the minimum standards indicated below.

   (A)   Size of space. Every off-street loading space shall be at least 12 feet wide and 45 feet long exclusive of aisle and maneuver space, and shall have vertical clearance of at least 14 feet. In no case shall a vehicle being loaded or unloaded overhang into the public right-of-way.

   (B)   Access way. Every off-street loading space shall have a safe means of vehicular access to a street or alley. The access way shall be at least 12 feet wide.

   (C)   Surfacing. Every off-street loading area shall be improved with a compacted stone base at least seven inches thick, surfaced with at least two inches of asphaltic concrete or approved comparable material.

   (D)   Buffer strips. No loading space or area for vehicles over two-ton cargo capacity shall be developed closer than 50 feet to the lot line of any lot located in any residential district or in the Conservation District unless the space/area is completely enclosed by walls, a solid fence or closely planted shrubbery at least ten feet in height and of sufficient density to block the view from residential property.

   (E)   Location. Every off-street loading space shall be located on the same parcel of land as the use served, and not closer than 50 feet to the intersection of the rights-of-way of two or more streets, and not on any required front yard.

(1994 Code, § 40-5-4)

   In computing the number of parking spaces required by this chapter, the Zoning Administrator shall apply the following rules.

   (A)   In computing parking space requirements based on the number of employees, the maximum number of employees on the premises at any period of the day shall be used. EMPLOYEE PARKING means "one parking space shall be required per one and one-half employees", unless otherwise stated.

   (B)   In computing parking or loading space requirements on the basis of building floor area, the gross floor area shall be used.

   (C)   Whenever it is necessary to translate gross parking lot area into number of parking spaces, 350 square feet of gross area shall be deemed one parking space.

   (D)   If computation of the number of parking or loading spaces required by this chapter results in a fractional space, any fraction of one-half or more shall be counted as one space.

   (E)   No space or portion thereof needed to satisfy the minimum applicable requirement for number of off-street parking or loading spaces shall be counted as part of the off-street parking or loading spaces required for another structure or use.

(1994 Code, § 40-5-5)

   (A)   Off-street parking and loading spaces shall be provided as indicated in tabular form below. For any use that is not listed in the table, the same amount of parking and loading space shall be provided as is required for the most similar listed use.

   (B)   The Zoning Administrator shall make the determination of similarity.

 

(1994 Code, § 40-5-6(a))

   Semi-trucks and heavy duty commercial vehicles are hereby prohibited from parking on commercial parking lots.

(1994 Code, § 40-5-6(b))