The primary purpose of this Chapter is to reduce traffic congestion on public streets by providing parking off streets; providing additional traffic lanes for major streets; providing more traffic capacity on major streets; allowing faster emergency access; and allowing narrower local streets to be designed within subdivisions. Secondary purposes include: minimizing development problems with neighboring uses; providing for special parking needs for handicapped drivers, compact cars, and bicycles; providing adequate parking for all uses; and allowing flexibility in meeting the community's parking needs.

A.

Responsibility: The duty to provide and maintain off-street parking areas shall be the joint and sole responsibility of the operator and owner of the land use(s) and the land for which the off-street parking areas are required to be provided and maintained.

B.

New Structure Uses: For structures and/or uses established or placed into operation after the effective date of this Ordinance, there shall be provided the amount or number of off-street parking spaces set forth herein.

C.

Alterations or Additions to Existing Structures or Uses: All nonconforming structures and uses which are subsequently moved, converted, extended, enlarged or increased in capacity by adding dwelling units, guest rooms, floor area or seats shall provide and maintain parking spaces for the increment of increase in the amount or number of off-street parking spaces that would be required hereunder if the increment were a separate land use or structure. All structures and uses meeting the parking requirements of this Ordinance, but then subsequently moved, converted, extended, enlarged or increased in capacity by adding dwelling units, guest rooms, floor area, or seats shall provide and maintain parking spaces for the increment of increase in the amount or number of off-street parking spaces that would be required hereunder if the increment were a separate land use or structure.

D.

Combined Off-Street Parking: Application may be made to the Director of Public Works or designee for combined use of off-street parking area for two (2) or more buildings or uses provided that:

1.

The off-street parking facilities are located within six hundred feet (600′) of all buildings or uses proposed to use the parking facilities;

2.

The applicant shows that there is no substantial conflict in the principal operating hours of the involved buildings or uses proposed to use the parking facilities;

3.

The applicant present[s] for approval by the City Attorney, a properly drawn legal instrument, executed by the parties for the joint use of off-street parking facilities. Such instrument is to be filed with and made a condition of occupancy of the building and uses.

E.

Obstructions: All off-street parking spaces shall be unobstructed and free of other uses.

A.

Computation: When calculation of the required amount of off-street parking results in a requirement of a fractional space, a fraction shall be counted as an entire parking space.

B.

Size: A required off-street parking space shall be at least nine feet (9′) wide by twenty feet (20′) long, exclusive of access drives, ramps or aisles. Compact car spaces shall be at least seven and one half feet (7½′) by eighteen feet (18′). Handicapped car spaces shall be at least thirteen feet (13′) wide by twenty feet (20′) long. Such spaces must be clearly marked on the pavement in standard blue marking, with a sign heading the space using the international wheelchair profile symbol for handicapped persons. There shall be a minimum of one (1) handicapped space provided for each use requiring thirty (30) spaces, two (2) spaces for each use requiring one hundred (100) spaces, and one (1) space for every one hundred (100) spaces thereafter.

C.

Access: All off-street parking spaces shall be reasonably accessible to the uses served. Each required off-street parking space shall open directly upon an aisle or drive of such design as to provide safe and efficient means of access to a street in a manner which will least interfere with traffic flow. Parking facilities must be designed to require vehicles leaving parking stalls to maneuver on site to exit onto streets head first. One-way entrances/exits shall be at least sixteen feet (16′) wide. Two-way entrances/exits shall be at least twenty-two feet (22′) wide, but not wider than thirty-five feet (35′) at the property line. The foregoing may not be applicable to R-1 and MH zones.

D.

Curb Cuts: All curb cuts are subject to approval of the Director of Public Works or designee, or the State Highway Department for state highways. Their placement, size, use signing, signaling, and construction shall conform to the Director of Public Works or designee's written requirements. No new curb cuts shall be permitted within fifty feet (50′) of a corner of an intersection, except for access to a single family residence. For any commercial, multiple family, or industrial use, curb cuts shall be a minimum of twenty feet (20′) and a maximum of thirty-five feet (35′) measured at the property line. There shall be a minimum of twenty feet (20′) between curb cuts or radius points for curb returns and no more than one (1) curb cut or return shall be permitted for each seventy-five feet (75′) or major portion thereof, of street frontage, nor shall more than two (2) curb cuts be permitted for any individual property per street frontage.

E.

Surfacing: All driveways and open off-street parking spaces shall be surfaced with gravel, asphalt or concrete.

F.

Lighting: All parking areas in business or industrial districts shall be suitably illuminated for night use. Any lighting used to illuminate off-street parking areas shall be directed away from residential districts or uses.

G.

Storm Drainage: Storm drainage shall be designated on the parking site plan, acceptable to the Director of Public Works or designee.

H.

Screens, Buffers and Walls: Walls are required between commercial parking lots in side and rear yards abutting parcels that are residentially zoned or contain dwellings. These walls must be solid with a minimum height of six feet (6′).

I.

Zone Yards and Setbacks: Parking zone yards are required between parking facilities and property lines for any parking facility abutting or within residential zones. Parked vehicles must not overhang into zone yards. The zone yard setback shall be a minimum of one foot (1′). Each space shall be equipped with wheel guards when necessary to prevent vehicles from extending beyond the boundary of the space and from coming into contact with other vehicles, walls, zone yards or plantings.

J.

Landscaping: There shall be one (1) tree and/or shrub planted for every twenty (20) internal parking stalls, and one (1) tree and/or shrub for every five feet (5′) of zone yard.

The minimum number of parking spaces required for each type of use is as follows:

A.

Assembly Halls: For auditoriums, arenas, gymnasiums, exhibition halls, theaters, convention centers and other similar public gathering places, at least one (1) parking space for each one hundred (100) square feet of usable floor area or one (1) space for each four (4) seats, whichever is greater, plus one (1) additional parking space for every two (2) employees. When individual seats are not provided, twenty-two inches (22″) of undivided seating shall constitute one (1) seat.

B.

Assisted Living: One (1) parking space for each two (2) residents, plus one (1) parking space for each employee on largest shift.

C.

Automobile Service Stations: One (1) space for each service bay, plus one (1) space for each two (2) persons employed at one time, but in no case less than two (2) employee parking spaces shall be provided.

D.

Bowling Alleys: Three (3) parking spaces shall be provided for each bowling lane.

E.

Churches: One (1) space for each four (4) seats in the principal auditorium shall be provided. Where patrons occupy benches or pews, each twenty-two inches (22″) of undivided seating shall be counted as one (1) seat for the purposes of determining off-street parking requirements.

F.

Day Care Facilities: One (1) space per four hundred (400) square feet of gross indoor play area plus one space for every two (2) employees shall be provided. (Note: Does not apply to Home Based Day Care facilities.)

G.

Eating and Drinking Establishments: Other than specified in (H) below, one (1) parking space shall be provided for each four (4) seats.

H.

Educational Institutions: For high schools and colleges, one (1) parking space shall be provided for each two (2) employees, plus one (1) space for every four (4) students. For junior high and elementary schools, two (2) parking spaces shall be provided for every classroom.

I.

Hotels, Motels: One (1) parking space shall be provided for each lodging room, plus space equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of maximum seating capacity in restaurants or lounges serving the general public.

J.

Hospitals, Nursing Homes: One (1) parking space for every two (2) employees, plus one (1) space for each five (5) beds, shall be provided.

K.

Libraries, Museums: One (1) parking space shall be provided for each five hundred (500) square feet of floor area.

L.

Manufacturing and Industrial Uses:

1.

One (1) off-street parking space shall be provided for each two (2) employees based on the number of combined employees of the two (2) largest successive shifts.

2.

One (1) parking space shall be provided for each company vehicle based at the plant, in addition to employee parking.

3.

One (1) parking space in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the employee parking area for the major shift shall be provided for customer and visitors, in addition to employee and company parking.

4.

Plant or employee expansion shall provide for employee and company vehicle parking in the same ratio as indicated above.

5.

Off-street parking agreements shall apply to any change in industrial occupancy.

M.

Professional Clinics: For medical, dental and veterinary clinics two (2) parking spaces shall be provided for each doctor, plus one (1) additional space for every two (2) employees.

N.

Professional Offices and Financial Institutions: One (1) parking space shall be provided for each three hundred (300) square feet of usable floor area.

O.

Residential R-1, R-2, R-3, MH Districts: Two (2) off-street parking spaces shall be provided for each single-family equivalent dwelling unit.

P.

Retail Store, Office, or Other General Commercial Use Not Specified Above: The number of spaces shall be the total obtained using the following formula:

1.

Ground floor space: One (1) space for each three hundred (300) square feet of interior floor space, plus one (1) additional space for each two (2) employees.

2.

Other than ground floor space: One (1) space per three hundred (300) square feet of usable floor space, excluding basement storage areas.

Q.

Other: For all uses which could not reasonably be placed in one of the above classifications, the required number of spaces shall be determined by the Director of Public Works or designee.

(Ord. No. 13-1997, 4-8-97, eff. 4-18-97; Ord. No. 6-1998, 3-24-98, eff. 4-3-98)

This Section provides flexibility to vary the requirements of the Parking Chapter to accommodate special needs, situations, and new and unusual uses.

A.

Reductions:

1.

A five percent (5%) reduction is allowed in the required number of spaces if two (2) or more uses with different hours of operation can share the same spaces.

2.

Ten percent (10%) of the parking spaces in a parking facility can be provided for compact cars.

3.

If the applicant can demonstrate that users for a use do not come by automobile, but rather as pedestrians or by bus, the parking requirements may be reduced.

4.

If the applicant can demonstrate that users for a use strictly utilize a drive-through facility, the parking requirements may be reduced.

B.

Exceptions:

1.

Planned projects: Recognize design flexibility for parking zone yards, buffers, screening and landscaping. These are design elements integral to the unified design of the planned project. Planned projects include: Planned Unit Developments; residential cluster and zero lot line projects; special assessment parking districts; and public redevelopment districts.

2.

Off-site parking facilities: Allow a percentage of the required parking for non-residential uses to be located on another parcel. Applicants for off-site parking must meet these conditions: off-site facilities must be located within four-hundred feet (400′) of the public entrance; the walking path must not cross major streets except at a cross-walk; the off-site lot shall be limited to all-day parkers and employees and not to the general public and customers of the use.

3.

Central Business District: Exceptions as approved by the Board of Adjustment.

C.

Application Procedure: For any changes in required parking design or any reduction or exception, the applicant must show non-economic hardship or demonstrate with expert evidence that the proposed use does not need the number of parking spaces required by this Parking Chapter. The Board of Adjustment shall grant all approvals for reductions or exceptions to this Parking Chapter.

Off-street loading berths accessory to uses permitted in the use districts shall be provided, subject to the following regulations and any other applicable provision of this Ordinance.

A.

General Provisions:

1.

Location: All required loading berths shall be located on the same lot as the use served. No loading space shall be located within thirty feet (30′) of the nearest point of intersection of any two (2) streets. No loading space shall be located in a required front or transitional yard.

2.

Size: Unless otherwise specified, a required loading berth shall be at least thirty-five feet (35′) long and ten feet (10′) wide, not including aisle and maneuvering space.

3.

Access: Each required off-street loading space shall be designed with appropriate means of vehicular access to a street in a manner which will least interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

4.

Surfacing: All drives and loading berths shall be surfaced with gravel, asphalt or concrete.

A.

Parking Structures, Garages: For parking structures or garages, roof parking, and underground parking, site plans must show the location of all parking stalls, aisles, walls, posts, pilasters, and pedestrian ways, stairs, railings, and elevators. The plans for adequate turning radii and clearance for aisles inside structures, height clearance, top to bottom clearance on ramps, and adequate maneuvering room for all parking stalls, are subject to approval of the Director of Public Works or designee.

B.

Cash Fees Paid in Lieu of Providing Parking Spaces: Special assessment parking districts, historic and architectural districts, rehabilitation and/or redevelopment projects may apply to pay cash in lieu of providing parking spaces. The fee for each space is determined for each application by the Director of Public Works or designee, subject to Council approval.